Today's post is all about the challenges of reaching Solang Valley and exploring the surrounding areas. In this post, you'll read how four friends set out from Delhi, the capital of India, in their car, venturing into the Himalayan range and spending about 10 days there, having a great time.
We left Delhi, which is in the plains, around 8 AM. We didn't encounter any traffic jams, but our destination was about 600 km away. Google Maps indicated that it would take us 15 hours to reach Solang Valley. We refueled the car twice along the way, stopped for breakfast at one place, and had lunch after crossing Chandigarh. Before evening, we entered the state of Himachal Pradesh.
Over the next few hours, we crossed the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh, covering the last 50 km, and reached Solang late in the evening at 7:30 PM. We checked into our hotel, had dinner, and went to sleep. For the next three days, it rained and snowed, so we couldn't go anywhere. Then, one day the sun came out, and we made a plan to explore the areas around Solang.
We walked from Solang to the paragliding landing site. Paragliding takes place here, and one walking path leads to the Anjani Mahadev Temple, while another goes towards the recently constructed Atal Tunnel. We decided to take a third path. Our plan was to walk from Solang to Barua village, from where we would reach Nehru Kund, and then take a bus or taxi back to the hotel.
It felt so good to see the sun after so many days. We were at an altitude of 2450 meters, and the weather felt quite cold for October. At night, the temperature was dropping to a minimum of 2 degrees Celsius. Walking in the sunshine today was a very pleasant experience. Crossing the pine and deodar forests felt wonderful; looking up, we could hear the sweet symphony of the wind rustling through the treetops. Leaving the main road, we turned onto a dirt trail that would lead us to Barua village. We had only gone about 100 meters when a stream flowing from Anjani blocked our path. Naveen and I retrieved a bridge that had been washed away and placed it across the stream so we could cross. As soon as we crossed the stream, we entered the boundaries of Barua village.
We saw a herd of cows heading towards the river; some of them gave me a rather stern look. We entered Barua village, walking along a cemented path. The village still has many old houses, which I enjoyed seeing. Children were playing in the sun, sounds of laughter and chatter came from the school, and women were busy with their household chores. Most people were still at home, so many vehicles were parked, waiting for their owners.
After crossing the village temple, we reached Nehru Kund, a natural spring with sweet, fresh water. A temple is also located there. This place isn't particularly famous among tourists, but it holds special significance for the locals. We crossed the iron bridge over the Beas River and reached the road leading to the Lahaul Valley, from where we boarded a bus and got off at Solang Valley.
That's all for today's short but wonderful journey. See you tomorrow, and I'll share some more trails and new places from Solang.
Disclaimer: This post is originally written in Hindi and I have used Google Translator to translate the Hindi text in English. All the photos have been clicked by me from One Plus 13R, and post thumbnail created in adobe photoshop.
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