Since we acquired the Enfield, we have been pretty non-stop with it, planning trips, cross-state journeys and adventures every couple of days. It can be a fairly arduous task at times, planning your motorcycle routes in India. There are a whole variety of completely vital factors to consider - Where are the petrol pumps en route? Is it a landslide prone area? Do we have to cross a mountain “pass” (usually fairly perilous)? Are there Enfield garages in the vicinity? Is there accommodation in case we are waylaid or halted by a roadblock? And crucially - where can we drink chai en route?
So sometimes it’s nice - and totally worth it - to completely stop for a while in one place. Shrug off the constant planning and logistics and really get to know somewhere, only using the bike for smaller, side-trips when we feel like it.
For just over a month now we have been in Manali, in the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh, enjoying the fruits of this completely bountiful and beautiful area. We are staying in the touristy village of Vashisht, in the north of the Kullu Valley, the formidable mountains of the Rohtang Pass just to to the north of us. Surrounded by green deodar forests, lush meadows give way to neatly packed terraces of apples trees and other crops, and the mighty Beas river roars through the valley, echoing from the snow-capped peaks that solemnly guard the serenity of the area. It’s a strikingly beautiful vista from the balcony of our flat; a little bed-sit with and attached kitchen and bathroom above a cow’s mews in the heart of the village that we have rented since we arrived.
Himachal Pradesh possesses one of the greenest lushest landscapes I have seen in India or otherwise- life blooms everywhere.
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| The Beas River from the bridge to New Manali |
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| The saddest, most hard-done to dog in the world. She lives in Old Manali |
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| The Solang Valley peaks and Beas River from Shanag village, just outside Vashisht |
The climate is perfect for feeding the landscape here - hot, sunny and often very wet. There are countless powerful and mighty rivers ripping and roaring through the valleys, fuelled by the glacial melt from the mountains as Summer approaches. Flora and fauna flourishes everywhere; lizards bathe on sunny rocks, exotic birds breeze through the trees and the mountains are essentially just seas of green, plants growing and bursting in to life on every available surface, densely packed snow appearing at the peaks. Agriculture is a mainstay industry here, whether it be farming animals or crops. Shepherds are out most days tending to their animals, usually sheep, goats or cows, preparing them for their Summer pilgrimage to the higher reaches of mountains and out of the soaring heat that will sit like a heavy fog in the valley in the coming weeks and months. Local porters (usually women) are out constantly, transporting 40- 50kg bails of crops on their backs in plastic bins, rain or shine. The market is ripe with local produce - juicy strawberries, peaches and mangoes, huge leaves of spinach, crisp apples and plenty of mysterious and never-before-seen
root, leaf and stem vegetables that are indigenous to the area.
And of course, who can forget the most lucrative and abundant crop of all in Himachal Pradesh - particularly in Kullu and neighbouring Parvati Valley? Cannabis is a pretty big industry here too, and the region is famed for producing some of the best charas in the world. Outside of the organised and very lucrative growing operations, in much of the region, weed is aptly named - it is simply just a weed, growing free, wild and unkempt at the roadside, drowning under a sea of litter; of plastic bottles and old food packaging. The generous height of some plants proves far more useful as a private place for locals to go to the toilet, than for cultivation and harvest.
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| The snow line at Gulaba on the Rohtang road |
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| Biking around the Rohtang and Solang |
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| Village e-route to Gulaba on the Rohtang Road |
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| A beautiful cashew -seller in New Manali |
Freshly painted in an acidic pistachio hue, our new home also boasts an entirely concrete kitchen, 24-hour hot water (electricity permitting), a double bed, 2 plastic garden chairs and a plastic table, a small shelf and a vase with plastic roses. Minimalist living takes on a whole new slant here.
In addition to this, we acquire a full 5kg gas bottle and unit for cooking from the local market for Rs 2000/£20. (refillable per kg for Rs100), and a few pots, pans and items of crockery from the caretaker (“The Ji”) to get us started. It’s a total pleasure to be able to cook for ourselves again, and the local market has been a really brilliant source for us to cook super fresh and really healthy food for extremely cheap. This is the first time I’ve ever rented a place with a kitchen for a longer term period in India, so I’m completely gobsmacked at just how cheap it is really is to cook and eat fresh and healthy food here. I thought our taste in local dhabas and thali-joints was about as cheap as the food could get in India - 50p - £1.20 per meal - but sourcing the ingredients yourself is an entirely different experience. I almost can’t believe the prices of food in the market - 30p for a kg of local spinach, or a kilo of ripe and juicy mangoes for £1 - it’s unbelievably good value to eat well here. We have spent over a month now making Indian food for ourselves, and my chapatis are definitely improving :-) It’s amazing what you can do with one gas bottle and hob unit, 2 pots and one spoon.
Having our own place here as also been pretty useful - we’ve been able to totally unpack for the first time in ages, and my scabby old bag has been relegated to “under the bed” status for 5 weeks now. It feels good. We’ve had a base here in Vashsisht, and from this base we have been able to explore a lot in the surrounding areas - the Solang Valley, the road to the Rohtang Pass, lower Kullu Valley and the Parvati Valley.
Even although we are deep in to May and officially “the season” here, Himachal Pradesh is still unseasonably rainy (as like much of India at the moment) - much of what we can feasibly do is weather dependent. Storms roll into the valley in what feels like a matter of seconds; clouds descend and linger for hours, eventually making way for earth-shattering thunder and lightning storms that out the power in the valley for hours on end, plunging us and all the familiar settlements dotted across the river from us in to absolute and total darkness - a darkness further shadowed by the formidable mountains above.
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| Paragliding in the Solang Valley |
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| A yak at Gulaba on the Rohtang Road |
We were (in many ways) fortunate to arrive here pre-season, when the village was still a quiet, somnabulent hangover from a cold and snowy winter. Consistently cold and with only a few tourists to start with, we have watched Manali and the surrounding villages bloom (and consequently wilt) in to fully-blow consumer tourist hubs almost overnight - the villages are jam-packed with tourists, both Indian and foreign. The winding roads leading to the Kullu valley are congested beyond reasonable limits, with buses, coaches jeeps, Marutis, taxis and tuk-tuk’s, all fighting for their place on the Kullu Valley roads. Wealthy Indians flock here in summer time, escaping the searing heat of Mumbai and Delhi and Chandigarh for the relative fresh and cool air of Manali. Westerners appear in hoardes, mostly Russians and Israeli’s, who tend to dominate the scene in the Kullu region. But the real beauty of Himachal Pradesh is that, no matter how congested it gets, it is always possible to find a quiet place, completely isolated. A rock next to a river. A patch of meadow. A terrace of apple trees. There is freedom and solitude everywhere here. In no other state in India have I felt so free and uninhibited. The freedom that Himachal offers is a rare gift in India, and one that all travellers to this diverse country must surely wish to experience. This level of personal freedom - of inhibition and nomadic-ness - is truly pleasurable and fairly unique within India. In most other states in India I always feel, at some point, slightly harrassed, in general. But here, in Himachal, this feeling almost ceases to exist. There is us, and there is the wilderness.
We’ve enjoyed plenty hot and sunny days here in the past few weeks, largely spent riding around on the motorcycle, out walking in the hills surrounding, or drinking local apple cider while basking in the oppressive afternoon heat. The valleys around Kullu district are ideal for exploring by bike, and we spend days riding around in the Enfield, out to remote villages, to other tourist towns in the area, to serpentine roads that lead to snowy mountains and ice-packed glaciers. 52 kms north of Manali is the notorious Rohtang Pass - a perilous mountain pass connecting Kullu and the rest of Himahcal Pradesh to the extreme and very remote Spiti Valley and Leh/Ladakh/Kashmir areas of the country - mythical and very extreme landscapes. Rohtang (which literally means “piles of dead bodies”) is only open 4-5 months of year, and is a 3980 meter pass which allows a quicker route into both the Spiti and Kahsmir valleys. For 7 -8 months of year, the pass remains tightly preserved under 40-50 feet of snow - come summer, the snow has melted and teams of road clearing guys have been out preparing the pass for the barrage of vehicular abuse that it will face during the summer season. The Times of India estimated that 10,000 vehicles per day will attempt to get to - or across - the Rohtang during the season. 10,000! Gas-guzzling, tourist-packed jeeps, full of eager snow-seekers.
The environment in these mountains is so fragile ecologically and environmentally that’s it worrying to contemplate the sheer degree of pollution and instability that they face daily that damages their very existence. Prior to the pass opening at the end of June, any vehicle can only go so far as a village called Gulaba, about 15kms from Manali/Vashisht. Apart from the snow-line, a large glacier, several yaks and plenty of tea and snack vendors, there is very little to Gulaba - it’s just a hot spot for Indian tourists to indulge in their obvious love of selfies! Nonetheless the drive there is stunning - mountains, villages, ponies, local women portering crops - the real rural idyll. In between Gulaba and Manali is the Solang Valley - a snowsport and adventure sport hub in Himachal, where you can try out paragliding and zorbing and skiing all sorts of supposedly adrenalin-boosting fun shit. All at your own risk, of course. There are plenty of unregistered shyster-operators in the region, and accidents are not uncommon. Last week (May 2015) a tourist from Mumbai was killed during a paragliding “ misadventure.” Be cautious when embarking on “adventure sports” in the region. Even trekking can be dangerous, and pretty much all the guides we have read from the region warn travellers of the risks of going too far off the beaten track - over 20 backpackers have “disappeared” or been found dead (murdered) in the Kullu district (particularly Parvati Valley) in the past 20 years, with whisperings that bandits and drug gangs are responsible.
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| Mountain vista from Vashisht |
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| The very rickety bridge from Vashisht side of the valley to Manali side of the valley |
A couple of hours ride from the Kullu Valley is the Parvati Valley, one of the most revered mythically in the whole of Himachal Pradesh. It’s home to religious fables and beliefs, to the abodes of meditating Hindu Gods and spiritual creatures and hot water springs that allegedly cure every ailment known to man. It’s also home to the incredibly revered and special village of Malana, 3660 meters in altitude. Believed to be the oldest democracy in the world, Malana is not accessible by road, but by mountain passes or trails, of which there are several that finally reach the village. The villagers believe that they are the only living descendants of Alexander the Great from his Indian invasion, and that they are therefore extremely pure and cannot be “muddied” by any outside presence. They have their own entirely independent system of governance, and any visitors are expected to adhere to the strict guidelines of the community: do not touch any person’s property whatssoever (or face a fine); do not touch any other person even inadvertantly - especially a child (or face a fine); do not touch something (ie a banknote) at the same time as a local (or face a fine); don’t touch, photograph or sit near any temple area (or face a fine). It’s fairly simple - existence is futile.
Nonetheless, we are curious about this fabled and legendary village, and want to see it for ourselves. It’s tricky-ish to get to, and involves regisitering our passports at the entrace to the power plant outside Jari village, driving 12 kms along rough-but-beautiful mountain roads and finally trekking over 2 hours up a very steep and sweaty mountain. But after 2 solid hours of climbing, we finally strike gold. Malana! Fabled village! Home of Malana Cream - renowned as the best charas in the world! ...And what a great disappointment it is! We approach the village from the side of the mountain, and one of the first things we are struck with is how simply filthy the village is - totally filthy. To date this is the highest altitude village we have been in in India - but also the dirtiest. Plastic bottles, food wrappers and other garbage and waste cascade down the side of this unbelievably fragile and remote mountain village like a waterfall of shit. It’s pretty sad to see - an extreme and traditional village so plagued by the conflicts faced by every modern Indian community. Not even Himalayan outposts are exempt from the Indian litter plague.
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| Manikaran |
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| The super-lush Parvati Valley |
The village - aside from being filthy - is pretty tiny, and the typical Himachali homes are built in a terraced formation into the side of the mountain. As we approach, we are met with a mixture of suspicion, hostility and curiosity - while being reminded by the local kids “NO TOUCHING” as they swerve past us to avoid contact on a narrow pathway. A few local shopkeepers shoo us away from their premises, while other entreprenurial characters (including a man lying outside his finca hugging his goat) are amiable enough in their attempt to try to flog us the finest Malana Cream. And almost everyone is watching us with a sort of reserved hostility; as though just waiting fo us to make an expensive cultural blunder. With their own unique governance, any tourist who makes some kind of “error” in Malana is completely on their own. The police can’t help you here - tread carefully and follow the rules. We decide to spend only a few hours in Malana. Their dedication to self-preservation is quite incredible and rigorously adhered to, but it’s not a village I would necessarily hurry to return to. There are countless beautiful, interesting and more cared-for villages around Himachal Pradesh - and India in general - that I would care to return to sooner than Malana.
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| Sign -post to Malana - the only way is UP. |
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| View from Malana village - 3660 meters |
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| Typical Himachali house on the fringes of Malana |
Also in the Parvati Valley region are the villages of Kasol and Manikaran, both popular in their own right. Manikaran boasts a sulphuric hot spring at the temple in the centre of town (much the same as the hot springs in Vashisht) that is so abundantly hot that it feeds all of the guest houses and hotels in the village with round-the-clock roasting hot water. Given that most of the “showers” that travellers tend to take in India are just buckets of hot water, it’s a real pleasure to be able to stand under hot running water again! We spend an overnight in Manikaran, enjoying the tranquility. Although definitely not the most beautiful settlement in the Parvati valley, it is a lot quieter than neighbouring Kasol village 4 kms away, which is an almost exclusively Israeli hangout.
It’s easy to see why Himachal - and the Manali area specifically is a tourist hot spot. It’s wild, it’s free, it’s beautiful and it offers most travellers something - whatever it is that you are looking for. It’s little wonder that we have become rather rooted here!
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| Parvati valley - life everyehere |
In a couple of days though, we will be back on the road again, en-route to Dharmshala, about 200 kms east of here. As a rough plan, we will spend a few days enjoying the Dharmshala and McLeod Ganj area (home to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan governe
ment in exile), before we attempt to make the 800km trip to Leh and Ladakh, through the remote and challenging Kashmir Valley. Although the short cut to Leh via the Rohtang pass is almost open, we have been advised by a few Indian people that the route which takes us through Srinagar and Kargil and in to Leh from the west has better roads and a few more settlements en route than the Rohtang way, and should, in theory, be easier than crossing the Rohtang.
It promises to be an incredibly challenging journey through some of the most remote and volatile terrain in India (and perhaps even Asia) - so it’s back to meticulous planning and careful and considered riding.
Meanwhile, we have about a week of planning and preparation before we embark on this epic ride - plenty of work to do!
Manali/Vashisht
Accommodation - We stayed in Deepak Niwas, in the heart of Vashisht village. Our little bedsit cost us 7,500 Rs for the month (starting pre-season), which works out a daily rate of Rs 250 (£2.50). This is a great place to stay - the caretaker (The Ji) is a humble, kind and very organised man who bends over backwards to help us at every opportunity. Accommodation costs vary gretly in the region, but backpackers are spoiled for choice here, and it’s easy to find a room in the Rs 300 region.
Fuel - The cost of fuel is relatively steep here, and at the moment the fuel prices seem to always be on the rise. As of May 2015, we are paying Rs 69-70 per litre of petrol. Since we bought the bike 2 months ago, we have ridden over 2000 kilometers, spending only £40 in total on petrol!!
The road condition in Kullu are a mixed bag - some routes are in great condition, while other are reminiscent of the Shimla to Kalpa route that we did before. Landslides are still common here, as are potholes. And now the season is coming in to full-swing, traffic is getting to be a bit of a headache!
Eating/Drinking - There are plenty of places to eat, local dhabas usually being the tastiest and cheapest option. Alternatively, buy your own ingredients, a small stove and cook yourself! The market in New Manali is brilliant and you can get just about everything you will need here for super cheap. A small shop selling gas bottles and stoves is located near New Manali Post Office. When we are finished with yours, we will sell it on and recoup some money. Local apple ciders and wines are available everywhere, starting at Rs 100 for a large bottle. They’re delicious!
Side trips and distances from Manali/Vashisht
- Naggar - 20 kms “down” the Kullu valley; a beautiful, peaceful village with a great art gallery dedicated to the life and work of Russian painter/jack of all trades Nicholas Roerich. Also easily reached by bus from Manali. Worth at least a full day here.
- Solang Valley - 11 kms north of Manali, just off of the Rohtang Road. Skiiing, a cable-car, paragliding, zorbing, quad-biking, trekking, climbing. The Indian version of Butlins!
- Manikaran/Kasol - About 90 and 94 kms respectively from Manali.
- Malana - initially reachable from the village of Jari at the start of the Parvati Valley. From Jari, turn off the main road to the Malana Hydro Power Project. After registering passports with the security here, follow the power plant road for 11 kms through the mountains till you reach a small car park nestled at the foot of Malana mountain. The path to Malana is sign-posted from here, and the village will take about 2 hours to reach. It’s relentlessly uphill so be prepared and take plenty of water. At the start of the path, there are some signs spray-painted on the rocks in red showing the way. THIS IS THE WRONG WAY. Do not follow the red signs! You do not need to cross any river or body of water. The only way is up - up the mountain! Malana is at the very top of the mountain, and there is accommodation available there if you are too knackered or jelly-legged to return.
