Photos from the recent visit to Rock Garden and Sukhna Lake at sector 1 Chandigarh on 3rd July 2018

Hi,

Chandigarh city in itself is a place to wander around, no matter if it is sunny or a winter day. There are plenty of trees along the roads and pedestrian paths which save you from the sunlight. They can save you even in rains, that is the denseness of these trees. After taking two three bike and cycle trips along the arterial roads of the grid pattern city, I decided to visit the most famous places in the city.

Rock Garden

This place was said to be a jungle, but it changed into the Rock Garden when late Sh. Nek Chand started to make these creatures out of the waste material that he collected from all around the city.
These dolls are created with the waste or the cement mortar and steel fibres. Garden is in the first sector of the Chandigarh, very near to the Sukhna lake. Here are some of the photos I clicked with my cellphone.

(The famous waterfall of Rock Garden)

(Garden Paths are like this)

(Please Save your head, because the entrances and exits are narrow and low)

(Water got muddy due to rains)

(Dolls depicting the village culture, inside the dolls' museum)

(Some kind of tree (perhaps cactus) made of concrete and steel - inside dolls' museum)

Here are the short video clips I captured, one at the Dolls Museum, and another the swing garden.

(Man behind the whole creation - late sh Nek Chand with his creations)

(See the army)

(A peacock out of broken glass bangles)

(Entry tickets was INR 30 rupee, it is lesser for kids)

Sukhna Lake

One can take a kilometers walk from Rock Garden to Sukhna lake. Both of them are in the 1st sector of the Chandigarh.
Here is a short clip I recorded for you at the Sukhna Lake Chandigarh. The weather was pleasant and therefore people were roaming around the lake along the path. Some people were boating. I took a small stroll and sit for a while. there.

And here are some photos.

(See the Shivalik hills of Himachal in back)

(All young and old people come here)

(Boating)

Thanks!

Best of Kinnaur and Spiti Travels- part 9 - Chandertaal to Manali via Rohtang Pass - a Bike Ride

Hello again,

In this post, I'm excited to recount my adventure riding my 100cc motorcycle on one of the wildest and most challenging roads in India—from Chandertaal lake to Manali. If you haven't been following the journey from its origin at the Shrikhand Mahadev trek, I recommend checking out the preceding eight parts of this travel series. These earlier segments delve into my explorations in Sangla, Chhitkul, Tabo, Kaza, Kibber, Komik, and the most recent one focused on the mesmerizing Chander-Taal lake. 

Chander-taal to Batal - 11 kms 

Eleven kilometers from Chander-Taal to Batal, the journey continued. As mentioned in the previous post, our day began early, a decision explained in detail earlier. The 11 km stretch of the connecting road posed its challenges, with its terrain proving a bit hazardous for our ride.

Negotiating this path, we encountered a significant water stream where our attempts to keep our legs dry proved futile. Fortunately, having companions like Naren and Rahul proved invaluable in such treacherous terrains. Riding alone in such places can be risky, and their company provided an added layer of safety. Remember, in such circumstances, it's always advisable not to travel alone as you never know when assistance might be crucial. 

Breakfast at Batal

Dhaba of Chacha-Chachi at Batal

At Batal, you have the opportunity to savor local delicacies such as Paranthas and daal chawal. Notably, the place is renowned for Chacha-Chachi, an elderly couple who gained widespread acclaim for their heroic efforts in rescuing a stranded group from Mumbai back in June 2010. Despite the passage of time, Chacha-Chachi, now likely in their 60s with well-earned wrinkles on their faces, continue to embody a generous spirit. Their large-heartedness extends to helping those in need, with no concern for financial gain.

At Batal, Chandra river in the back - clicked by Rahul

Unfortunately, we couldn't request a photo opportunity with them as they were engrossed in preparing food, and I hesitated to disturb their work. Nevertheless, we relished the Paranthas, biscuits, and tea they graciously offered, all at the most reasonable prices considering the remote location.

Batal to Gramphu:

Navigating this stretch proved to be the most challenging part of the journey. The primary obstacle was the numerous crossings of both small and large wild water streams along the road, requiring riders to wade through them. Among the infamous ones, Paagal Nala and Chota Dara stand out in discussions. We managed to capture a video of the crossing, although I cannot definitively identify whether it's Paagal Nala or Chota Darah. I invite you to watch the video and share your insights if you can help identify the specific stream.

This particular nalah was the only spot where we decided to take a brief break. We also seized the opportunity to capture a few photographs.

See the happines on Batal Gramphu road at Pagal Nalah (or Chota Dara?)

After navigating through several challenging nalahs and a dusty, pebbled road, we finally arrived at Gramphu, where our route converged with the well-maintained Rohtang-Kelang road.

Gramphu to Manali via Rohtang Pass

Kaaza road meeting at Gramphu

After an arduous ride that left us with some discomfort, the transition to the metalled highway felt like gliding on butter. The road, adorned with numerous hairpin bends, ascends sharply from Gramphu to Rohtang. In just half or one hour, you find yourself at the pass. Unfortunately, the foggy conditions limited my ability to capture clearer photos.

Rohtang Pass in my front.

view on my back.

Father of Manali Leh Highway

The descent from Rohtang to Madhi (Marhi) matches the steepness of the ascent from Gramphu to Rohtang. Subsequently, the journey features a somewhat gentle descent until reaching Manali. While the road conditions are excellent, caution is advised, especially around the sharp blind curves.

Thank you for reading thus far. Stay tuned for the next post!

Best of Kinnaur and Spiti Travels- part 8 - Yoga at Chander-Taal (Moonlake) in Spiti

Hi dear friend,

(For the details of this photo, you have to read till the end)

Story has reached almost at its end. If you are new to my blog, let me give you a quick recap of this adventure. Himalayan hinterlands are a major tourist attraction, but because of the required permit and limited access period, not many are able to have this once in lifetime adventure, which I recently had. Therefore I started to share my story and experience with you here, so that it is beneficial for you and me and the community as a whole.

As told in my earliest post, my journey starts at ShriKhand Kailash Peak Trek, where I met 2 brothers Naren and Rahul, who later became friends from this trip. On our first day we visited Sangla and visited Chhitkul, the last Indian village.
On second day we took a long bike ride back from Sangla to Nako lake.

3rd Day was spent on reaching Tabo, and further visits to Dhankar monastery, Kaza, Kee, Kibber village and Langza Village. On 4th day early morning we visited Komik village- the highest motorable village in the whole world, and crossed the Kunzum Pass near to the evening. This is where our story was ended in the last part.

Reaching the Chandra-Taal

We were not sure, if the Batal would come first, or the diversion to the lake. Descending down from Kunzum Top was easy and costed us nothing but the free gravity. The road is wide, but dusty, and with curves and curves after each 50 metre. Have a look.

(zig-zag descent from Kunzum Top)

(Rahul and Naren on their Pulsar, Kunzum temple on left in the backsight)

I had heard about the crazy streams that we had to cross on the road leading to Chandra-Taal lake, but we wouldn't know how much crazy they were until we really cross them. We rested for few clicks at the diversion point. This is the point where road again comes close to a river, not Spiti, but Chenab river. Spiti river runs on the other side of the Kunzum pass, and we had left her behind.

(board showing the diversion from Gramphu-Batal-Kaza road to Chandra-Taal, river below is Chenab)

(Look at the glacial erodes, the road diversion to left)

The road is wide enough only for small vehicles, like cabs, moreover one can topple over if don't remain on the ruts formed with tyres. They were so deep, enough to get a jump if crossed from one to the another. The first major stream was only about a kilometer distance, made my shoes and pants wet. One has to be very much careful while crossing the streams, look for the water level, don't risk if it reaches 2 feet.

(Crossing the water stream)

Thankfully Naren took these pictures of me, and I am able to share with you. He clicked a selfie as well.

Stream flows few metres down and merges with the Chenab river. A small valley is formed due to the river, and it is very beautiful. Total peace, wow! have a look.

Booking a Tent for Night Camping at Chandra-Taal base Camp

So after this 11 kilometer stretch is covered one reaches at the base camp of the Chandra-Taal. Tents were pitched at various spots on this plane ground of not more than 150*150 square metres space. A police man was on duty, after making our entry he suggested one camp to us.

The price was 600 rupee per person, night and morning meals were included. Toilet was combined for all, and totally a temporary arrangement. There were camps who charged about 2000 rupees and had separate toilet facility inside the tent itself. Also electricity was available in those tents. We needed not to worry about that, because we had a power bank, also stars are more beautiful without electric bulb, anyway.

We booked the tent at around 4:30 PM, and we had enough time to visit the lake 2-3 kilometers further from the base camp. We put our heavy bags inside the tent, and rode above through a zig-zag dustier road. There were 10-12 vehicles at the stop. One has to walk about 300-500 metres distance from the stop to the lake. Read about the lake in the board, that I clicked at the stop.
)

At Chandra-Taal, tried Yoga, and thankfully didn't break my neck.

(First look of lake)

As you see in the picture above, there were about 20 tourists, mostly Indians. The lake water appears blue, same as the sky above.

We lied flat at the lake bank and waited for people to disperse. Then a sparrow kind of bird came near to me. He was fearless, I had never been so close to a bird in my life. I felt thankful to this bird. It graced me with its closeness and made me feel as if I was safe enough to be trusted. Feeling trusted by a strange bird was definitely a big compliment.

We observed that the number of people was not decreasing, a big group had arrived for filming some video for some song perhaps.

Yoga at Chandel-Taal

I had this idea of doing Shirsha-asanaa, and wanted to be clicked at this beautiful place. It was once in lifetime opportunity. Also Naren is near to master of the Yoga, you won't believe me, what I am going to show you here. Few clicks were clicked at the place where we were lying, but the sun was setting in the same direction, so pics were not that good, except they would make wonderful silhouettes. Please don't try it for yourself at such places, because if you break you neck or back, there is not much of help available. So, make sure that you are confident about whatever you are doing.

(thanks to Naren, for clicking my yoga poses, see his yoga poses below)

We walked to the other side of the lake, so that we could click some pictures without other people. Now sun would be in the back of the cameraman.

Resting for a while and few more clicks.

Back to Base camp and Night

As the sun was moving down towards the mountain, temperature dropped further. One can not stand outside without a jacket. We tried to soak the last rays on the way down to the base camp.

A view of the base camp from higher vantage point on the road to lake.

A biker group looked amazing on that zig-zag road leading from lake to base camp down below.

Tents at the base camp.
We were offered simple rice and daal at dinner. It felt suicidal to get out of the tent at night, cold wind was furious. Sky was overcast with the clouds so no luck with the stars. We were given Kambal and Quilt, so night was quite comfortable inside the tent.

We started early in the morning at around 5:00 AM. Reason was that our next destination was to return back to our normal life, but this last stretch of about 40 kilometers from Batal to Rohtang would be the toughest among the whole trip. There would be numerous water streams to cross, and they swell up in the noon. Let's keep that part for the story for the next post.

Thanks for visiting.