After the sultry beaches, lush greenery, the cityscapes it was definitely an informed escape into the great mountain ranges of our country. Yes and this time it was Manali and Shimla of Himachal Pradesh.
The road trip from Delhi to Manali though a little longer than expected was indeed beautiful with the Beas River accompanying us till Manali and thereafter too.
Manali, in the Beas River valley, a hill station in the Himalayan mountains of Himachal Pradesh was mesmerizing with its amazing snow capped mountain ranges so huge and vast to have captured by a pair of our petty eyes.
Rohtang Pass, at an altitude of 13,050 feet above sea level, is a
nother adventure tourist site. It is the highest point on the Manali-Keylong road and provides a wide panoramic view of mountains rising far above clouds, which is truly breath taking. The clouds are at their playful best encircling, tangling, shooting, raising, hiding and seeking in these mountains. The route to the Rohtang Top was an absolute adventure on its own passing through Gulaba Camp, Rahala Falls, Marrhi…et al. The view from the top …what to say....needless to say...it must be experienced and breathed moment by moment ....It was ravishingly and boisterously fantafabulous!
Solang Valley, popularly known as Snow Point, was a picturesque spot and offered splendid views of glaciers and the snow-capped mountains. We trekked to the top of this valley to visit the ice Shivling there which again was a naturally magnificent creation of the water falls falling from the top of a rock above on to the Shivling which had all turned into ice.
One dare devil act of mine on this trip here was to get into something like paragliding… Wow!! I can’t just imagine I did it. Now I clearly understand why people get high on risking their lives for these kinda thrills … the only reason being …the thrills just give you moments of thoughtlessness where you only dwell in the absolute present and nothing at all matters except all your six senses coordinating with each other to their maximum extent in being one with the nature and here I was gliding amidst of these incredibly stunning, colossal structures all adorned in white and enjoying the bliss which to me was totally divine.
As humans we can only attempt to express our feelings on what we feel about such pristine panorama. The amazement what one experiences on such instances cannot be expressed in words as one falls short of words and superlatives here and only little one could possibly do is stop feeling but just flow in this experience. Nature cannot be questioned…cannot be described …and cannot be explained…..It would be a futile attempt to breach in and unfold the mystery it offers each time. The three days spent in Manali with clusters of these gigantic snow laden mountains seen everywhere has been recurring in the dreams every night to date….truly euphoric to say. That’s the beauty and brilliance of these overpowering structures on me that I haven’t still got enough of them!
Every time I think of their measureless majesty it only makes me realize where I stand and how inconsequential I feel about myself. I have grown to regard and adore these awe-inspiring creations. Whatever you might have achieved in your life, standing tall and spreading out vast, they still make you feel that you have a long way to go and achieve. Every time you climb a peak and say you have done it, you still have a point higher to climb. As they say…“It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.” The strength and grandeur that they exude is matchless and inimitable. I do have this sense of pride as I consider myself amongst the fortunate ones to have experienced such flawless beauty of my nation.
Shimla, the queen of hill stations offered a different landscape altogether as opposed to what I anticipated it to be as - lush green. It is beautiful and surrounded by pine, deodar, oak and rhododendron forests. Seasons contribute so much to the beauty of nature that it really makes the place wear a different dress and give a distinctive outlook each time. Winter in Shimla is amazing! Shimla was adorned in white snow and looked bewitching. It becomes a frost glistening silent city in no time as a gathering of dark clouds and fog sets off the approach of snow, generally a slight fall first, followed by a heavier one when the snowflakes sweep down bending long branches of the trees to the ground and then we see the town as a fantastic fairyland of white beauty. We experienced the season’s first snowfall in Shimla. Jakhu Hill is the highest peak and supposedly offers a beautiful view of the town and of the snow-covered Himalayas. At the top of the Hill, is an old temple of Hanuman. We could hardly get the glimpse of the Himalayan ranges from the top as there was immense fog and snowfall all over.
Alls well that ends well….. To sum it up it was an amazing treat on my seventh wedding anniversary!
-Manasi
From the highest mountains in the world, Men seek for higher places to climb, When in their heart, It is where the climb always continues. - Jason Berg
