9-day itinerary was planned to cover the key tourist places in Chandigarh and Himachal. We planned 2 nights (first and last) in Chandigarh, 2 nights in Shimla, 2 nights in Manali, 1 night in Kullu. We had one more night, which we planned for Kufri; but, as we were into the trip, we changed it to Amritsar. We pre-booked our cab for the whole trip and rooms through usual methods.
Tour dates - 28 April 2018 to 6 May 2018
Trip members - Karthik and family, Vijay and family
Day-1
We started from Chennai and my friend with him family from Bangalore by flight to New Delhi. We reached by New Delhi by mid-afternoon in the sizzling heat and we had booked our train to Chandigarh by Kalka Shatabdi express by 17:00 hours. We had an average lunch in the lunch house near NDLS railway station. We took the Delhi metro from Airport terminal 2 for Rs.60 per person and reached NDLS station in 25 minutes. A very useful utility to get from and to airport and railway station – luggages can be take comfortably in this transportation and save road hours and money. We reached Chandigarh by 9 PM and checked-in to Hotel Grand View Jain in Sector 22. The rooms were quite comfortable and all basic amenities were made available and clean rooms, mattress and rest rooms. We had dinner at Hotel Sanjha Chulha, the food was excellent – nice and perfectly made butter rotis, wheat parathas, Jeera rice and paneer gravies. They were made on order and took quite time but were all very good.
Day-3
Jakhu temple – not all size vehicles could go here. This is a steep climb on very narrow roads and quite tricky to drive. Jakhu temple hosts a tall statue of Lord Hanuman – which we can see from most of the places in Shimla valley. The status is 33 metres tall and this requires few steps – around 50 to climb. It is quite steep and can be climbed in patience. There are so many hundreds of rhesus macaques all around; they just grab anything that one might have – advised by our driver to leave everything back in the car. I squeezed in my mobile to take some photos and managed to take a couple of them before monkeys came around. Having had bad experiences few months back with monkeys in Nasik, I decided to leave taking photos and enjoy the nature.
Manikaran is around 43 kms from Kullu. We reached Manikaran by 3 PM – river Parvati runs all along the route till Kullu and merges into Beas river. Manikaran hosts a Gurdwara and hotwater springs rich in sulphur. There are Sikh and Hindhu beliefs on the origination of the hotsprings. The water from the hot springs is so boiling that we just can’t touch directly. Bathing is allowed in swimming pool like structures where the hot water is routed to. It is difficult in the first attempt to get into it, but, once you do, you would not feel like getting out of it. So, serene and enjoyable.
We visited the Gurudwara and spent some time there. It was a very good feel being seated there. One has to climb 15 steps to reach Gurudwara. There is a hot cave beneath the Gurudwara and Langar served on the right side of Gurudwara entrance. The langar food served in the Gurudwara is cooked from this water directly by immersing rice and it cooks without fire. The same is served 24 hours here and anyone can have food here any number of times; but should not waste the served food. There is a hot cave under the Gurudwara where a Linga can be found. One cannot sit there more than few minutes for the fact that the hot steaming water runs beneath it, making it impossible to stay in the cave for more than 5 minutes.
We spent close to 90 minutes here including the bath, dharshan and the langar time. This is one of its kind place across the world and glad to have made it.
We then visited a temple at Kullu – the Mahadevi Theerth. This was a 3 tier temple hosting the 3 devathas at 3 levels and Sivalinga cave at he top most level. The temple was so serene and gave a lot peace and energy to one who visits. Apart, is also has stunning views of the Kullu valley with river Beas gathering speed and sounding pristine.
We reached back Kullu around 8 PM and checked in to Hotel the Nest – close to Kullu bus stand. The rooms were very spacious, clean and comfortable in all means. One drawback is that it does not have lift; however, the service boys are active in getting the luggage to rooms as quick as possible. No frills and no complaints at hotel Nest. Perfect budget stay for a night with no compromise on comfort and cleanliness.
Day-7
The plan was to start by 5 AM ! And drive through Mandi – Joginder Nagar – Palampur - Pathankot – Amritsar.
We reached our hotel in Amritsar by 8 PM – Hotel National residency.
We order food from them and they got yummy gravies which were so good. We got to know that the Golden temple is open all 24 hours for tourists to visit and the Gurdwara inside shall be open until 10:30 PM. We decided the witness the night view and if possible complete the dharshan of the Gurudwara. The temple has place to deposit the footwear and also it is mandate one covers the head with a piece of cloth.
The golden temple was in full glow having been lit all around with nice lights. We spent almost 1 hour in the temple premises and we were able to complete the dharshan as well. Inside the golden temple, there are 3 levels, very beautiful with ornamental carvings and well maintained. One can see that the temple is cleaned with minute detail with many volunteers around the clock. The serene feel in the temple is so divine and pleasing. We spent time until 11:45 in the night and came back to the room.
Day-8
Quite tired, we got up round 8 AM and made another visit to the Golden temple. The temple was bright and shining in the broad daylight. We went around the temple and enjoyed the Langar as well. This langar – rotis, aloo sabji, dhoodh kheer, jeera pulav and dhall makani – is easily one of the best food one can have. The Pulav and Dhall were outstanding and wondering how can it be so rich in taste in mass cooking. One gets served any number of times and no wastage is allowed.
Some distances
Ø Chandigarh – Shimla- 120 kms (3 hours)
Ø Chandigarh – Manali – 308 kms (9 hours)
Ø Shimla – Kullu – 208 kms (7 hours)
Ø Shimla - Manali – 250 kms (9 hours)
Ø Manali – Manikaran - 80 kms (3 hours)
Ø Manali – Rohtang Pass – 52 kms (3-5 hours)
Ø Manali – Solang – 15 kms (45 mins)
Ø Chandigarh – Dharamshala – 247 kms
Ø Chandigarh – Pathankot – 235 kms
Ø Manali – Dharamshala – 214 kms (8 hours)
Ø Pathankot – Dharamshala – 88 kms (3 hours)
Ø Dharamshala – Amritsar – 199 kms (4 hours)
Ø Amritsar – Wagah – 29 kms (45 mins)
Ø Amritsar – Chandigarh – 240 kms (5 hours)
