My Epiphany in Rugged Snow Peaks of Sangla Valley

Kinner kilash

I was tired of fighting with the rush hours at the office. It was time to take a much awaited real trip to the mountains. A trip where I could relive my childhood thrills wake up to relentless orchestra of sound birds and cloudy wind knocking at my window. An adventure outdoor lover like me could only think of one place, Sangla Valley at Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh. At an altitude of 2,860 Sangla valley is enclosed by towering snow-dusted mountains on all sides. The valley is situated on the banks of river Baspa. I hurriedly booked a hotel through Himachal hotels and reached there late night.

Morning View

The snowball throwing clouds had brought silent blanketing snow that night. On reaching to my destination I could see the villager’s slate roofs were covered with puffs of snow. The evergreen foliage was covered with layers of icing. For a moment it felt like I was in heaven. At last I retired to my cozy luxurious room. In my passing phase and sleep I saw through my window a flash of lightening in the sky followed by a loud thunder. Suddenly, it woke me up and I’m not complaining. Tiredness took over me and snooze me to a much needed sleep.

The next morning the weather was drearier- grey sky above, strong winds

Old Budhist Temple

followed by drizzle. I was thinking to my self here goes my day down the drain suddenly, there is knocking at my door and I’m being informed that my guide Dhampat is here. After a brief introduction he takes me for a drive to nearby kapla. I was unable to views of the sacred Kinner Kailash due to weather condition. I spent whole three day exploring villages like Roghi, Batseri and Chitkul.

I explored their culture, tasted their famous apples, studied their changing

Walk in the Woods

architecture and hand carving. Spent my evenings around bonfire and ate mouth watering exotic dishes like barbecued lamb with jacket potatoes. Dhampat also took me to weather beaten Bodh temple. The temple had dragon pillars lined in the corners and series of wooden carving on the wall. I saw a group of Buddhists carrying on a deep guttural sound of Buddhist chanting. I sat against one monk his voice wove with the passing of his beads. I sat there for an about one hour in peace. We also took a small walk in the woods where I could see thick chunks of ice straddles into a narrow gulley and forming into a stream. The water in the river glimmered as glass. Beyond Chitkul lies a vast expanse of inhospitable mountains terrain and beyond that the forbidden tracts of Tibet. I am quite thankful to god because it usually rained during the night time.

I spent a beautiful trip and the memory of it will linger on till few decades.

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