Puneet's Travel Blog.: DAY 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 : TEERTHAN VALLEY, RAMPUR

Day5: Wednesday, 27^th May’2009: Kasol – Aut – Sojha

Now I got confirmed news about Kunzum, so I thought instead of wasting my time here I shuld go first towards Spiti and then cross Kunzum in another 20 days or so. I packed my stuff, paid my bills and left Kasol. I liked that place, a good option for any group or for solo travelers.

I traced the same route back till Aut, crossed Aut tunnel and took a left towards Sojha. Last time we crossed Jalori pass on our way back from Sach Pass ride. I always wanted to spend some more time there, so I decided to stay in Sojha for a few days. I crossed Banjar and Jibhi to reach Sojha, Banjar had a market, bank, mechanic and many other shops. I liked Jibhi too, a friend Kamal had offered me to stay there at his farms but I chose Sojha over Jibhi because of its proximity to Jalori Pass. I took a modest wooden room in Parmar Guest House in Sojha for 150Rs per night.

There was still a lot of light left in the day so I walked to Jalori Pass from Sojha. Met a local guy and we covered that 6 kms distance. I felt very tired so ordered a little to eat in a tea stall at Jalori Pass. Jalori Pass at an altitude of some 3150 meters, offered a spectacular view of beautiful mountains, lush green forests and small villages in between. My memories of last year visit to Jalori were revisited. I met a Bengali group there and I guided them about Sarahan, Sangla and Kalpa. And while coming back from Jalori to Sojha I kept thinking about my next destination, Sarahan or Sangla or Kalpa or may be stay at all of these places. I was tired by that time and to add isult to injury, rains played a prefect spoilsport. And I spotted a couple of Jackals, now I had to be watchful as somebody told me in Sojha about a stray bear around.

After walking for about 2 kms, I saw a school bus coming, I immediately stood in the middle of the road and the driver stopped. He told me to ask master ji if I need a ride. I had no option but to jump inside the bus, and ask master ji if I can board the bus or not. Master ji was not a typical sober master but a young guy from Kullu who took his batch for a picnic to Selosar lake. He greeted me and so did other young students, a few of them had mixed whisky in a Pepsi pet bottle and offered me which I gladly accepted. And then they started singing songs and made me feel comfortable, one of them even asked me to propose a girl on his behalf. And the bus stopped at Sojha, I had to get down inspite of wanting to spend more time with them.

Back in my guest house, asked Didi to cook simple food for me, and she mistook it for Khichdi. Good for digestion, bad for taste but best when you have no other option to eat. I ate and slept.

DAY6, 7: SOJHA AND AROUND

In the morning, I thought of going to Raghavpora fort, a 3-4 km trek from Jalori pass. Just when I crossed Sojha, I had a slip as the roads were very slippery from last night rains. And my battery cover was broken, so I went back to Banjar for getting it fixed.

While mechanic fixed the bike I bought some biscuits, cold cream, moisturizer and torch and then rode back to Sojha. I stopped at a beautiful location on the way, a stream of water passing through rocks.

Also I must mention the road from Banjar to Sojha was beautiful, steep between Jibhi and Sojha and big trees made it dark near Jibhi. So that day I thought of walking in the village and talking to people there. I was surprised to know that Sojha had a lot of Onion, beautifully grown in step farms and transported to as far as Tamil Nadu. Somehow this was not very convincing but I had to agree to what I heard from people there.

Later that evening, I got to know from the lady running the guest house that she is 23 only and got married 4 years back, and I was calling her Didi.

Day 7 was an exciting day for me, early in the morning I reached Jalori pass again and parked my bike there at a tea stall. I inquired about the way for Raghav-Pura fort and followed a thin trail leading to nowhere but a dense jungle.

After walking a couple of kms, I finally saw one man, who assured me that fort is just a few steps ahead on the inclined path. And these few steps turned into a lot of distance and I had no water with me, but then it started raining again and as I moved ahead, rain turned into a hail storm.

I was stuck in the middle of nowhere, and just when I was losing hope 4-5 guys suddenly appeared from somewhere and were running for a cover. I asked them how far is fort and they said -

“Sath mein ho lo”. Aah on the top of the mountain was the ruins of an abandoned fort having a rich history.

I took a cover inside a small temple room where there were some 10 odd people sitting. They greeted me and gave me blankets as suddenly it became too cold there. The weather conditions deteriorated further and it was dark all around. The guys, a few of them local villagers trying a short cut and few working at fort for some restoration work lit some firewood and that really helped in maintaining temperature inside. A lot of time passed inside, those guys cooked rice and dal and we all shared the food. Then they made lemon tea and it was perfect for that weather.

Then they started singing folk songs and we all danced to their tunes. I had to spend that night there and I woke up many times to the sound of cloud bursts that night. At 3 a.m. I heard some commotion and the locals were leaving the place, weather was good now and one could see the stars. I felt left out as I really didn’t wanted to walk all alone in a different direction at 3 a.m. in morning. A senior guy in the group ordered his folks to escort me till Jalori pass, I wrapped a blanket around myself and we walked on that slippery path and reached Jalori Pass. I didn’t had words to express my gratitude, I felt so good of their gesture. Back home I could not think of 1 contact that would ever do so much for a villager if he is stuck in our city. Their spirit made them a hero in my eyes and I sent their clicked pictures later to their addresses with a letter saying thanks.

Day 8: Saturday, 30^th May’2009: Sojha – Jalori – Anni – Luhri – Sainjh(On Nh-22) - Rampur

After coming back to my guest house at 5 a.m. in morning, I slept for some more time. Later the guest house people told me that they kept waiting for me last night and were worried about my safety, but they were happy to see me safe in Sojha again.

I left Sojha after giving chocolates to a few kids whom I saw waiving at me till the next bend.

Weather was good, but my clothes were wet and it was too cold in the fort last night that I started feeling a bit sick. So I decided to stay in Rampur which, from my previous travels I knew, was at a much lower altitude and a comparatively hotter place.

Just after crossing Luhri, came Sainjh and I took a left on Nh-22 and started moving towards Rampur, 28kms from Sainjh.

I took a room in Narinder hotel, INR 242 net for a double bed room with TV and hot water. I ate some good food after 7 days and slept.

Day 9: Rampur and around

Day 9 was a leisure day and I visited the house of local politician which was earlier a palace. It was good, kept my stuff out in sun and had to sit in the hotel keeping a watch.

Went for a shave and called friends back home. Later in the evening went to lower Rampur and crossed a bridge on the river Satluj only to know afterwards that I am back in Kullu district. That bridge at Rampur divided Shimla and Kullu districts.