Journey to heaven- 12 day's trip to Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh Full Details.

• It was a trip of 12 days.

• How to Reach- Take any Train up to Chandigarh and from there car to Shimla.

• Where To Stay- There are many hotels at Shimla, Sangla, Kalpa and Chitkul. You can book hotels after reaching there or can book earlier. Better to book earlier. Click Here To Get The Best Hotel At Cheapest Price In Shimla And Surrounding.

• Trip Budget- 17k per person.

Photo Courtesy- Moupali Dey 

Video details: Click Here

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It’s long again, and I have visited nowhere for past few
months. This time, a totally different interesting and adventurous place to visit. It is the Kinnaur Kailash valley. At first let me give you some information  about Kinnaur. it is located in northeastern side of Himachal near the Tibetan border. It spreads over 235 km at an altitude from 2320 m to 6816 m. We went highest to Chitkul about 3450 m above from sea level.



Journey to heaven- 12 day's trip to Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh Full Details- Planning 

After having the discussion with our group, I gave my ideas and decided we were going to Kinnaur. Booked the trip in the package, which cost us 17k per person. Our journey started on 2 April at 22:36 on boarding Kalka Mail at Asansol Junction.    

 

The train took about 28 hours to reach Chandigarh, from where we took the car. 
(which was pre-booked in our case you can book it after you reach there).  We reached Chandigarh nearly at 3 a.m. 

and went straight to Shimla by car. The distance from Chandigarh to Shimla is 112km by road and took three and a half hours to reach Shimla.

Journey to heaven- 12 day's trip to Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh Full Details- Day-1

The first day we reached Shimla. Shimla or Queen of Hills is the capital city of state Himachal Pradesh, which has been attracting tourists from around the world since time immemorial. Its famous Mall Road, City Library churches and British architecture continue to attract and lure its visitors. After reaching Shimla we checked in to our hotel, freshened took some rest, our bodies were totally exhausted two days of the train journey. I was tired, but I couldn't stop myself from going out to witness the mind soothing beauty of Shimla and real peace giving a view of Himalaya. From here as if I could feel the beauty of majestic Himalaya from the inner core of my heart and could understand why is it called the queen of hills. We spent the whole day doing the local sightseeing at walking distances, which included: Lakkar Bazaar, Ridge, had our lunch, Church, Mall road, scandal and The Kali Bari Temple. I even couldn't understand how the time passed, and dusk came down. We moved back to the hotel. That Night I couldn't sleep in the excitement of knowing what more unexplored, unknown and unexperienced will I be witnessing as the night would pass off.... And the night passedonly in these thoughts.









Journey to heaven- 12 day's trip to Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh Full Details- Day-2-3






Early in the morning, nearly at 7:00 AM we checked out from our hotel. Our next destination was Kalpa. We drove to Kalpa. Kalpa is the district headquarters of Kinnaur 2670 meters above the sea level and once was a favourite gateway of Lord Dalhousie. On reaching Kalpa We checked in to our hotel. It was evening by the time. Once known as Chini, little has changed in Kalpa in the last 500 years. Lagend has it that when Lord Dalhousie wanted to take a break from the hectic schedule in Shimla, he would come here on his Horseback. By the side of Kalpa is a 79 feet high rock formation that resembles "Shivlinga" that changes its color with time as the day passes. We took some rest for the night at our hotel. 
The next day early morning we rejoiced in the sunshine over Kinnaur Kailash peak. There are no words to express the feeling I could feel seeing the Buring reddish yellow peaks of the great Himalya. After this we visited a Buddhist Gompa, Hu Bu Lan Kar, Bhimakali temple and returned to the hotel.

Kalpa is famous for its apples and chilgoza plantation.The tree belongs to the pine family, and the fruit is about an inch long, wrapped in a soft cover. After this we visited the local school, Narayan Nagini Temple, which has Shrines of Hindus, Buddhist and some local deities and went for an excursion to Rohi Village, which brought us more closer to "Pahari" way of life as we mingled more with the locals. Later, we returned to kalpa and spent a comfortable night stay there.



Journey to heaven- 12 day's trip to Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh Full Details- Day-4-5

Early in the morning, checkout from the hotel and depart for Sangla. Sangla is one of the most charming Valley in the whole Kinnaur District. The day passed by travelling in the car. In the evening, we reached Sangla. Arrive at Sangla and check in to the hotel. Spent again a comfortable night.



The morning we went for sight seeing to Sangla which included: Karchma Dam, Bering Nag Temple- Dedicated to the snake of lord Shiva; Kamru village and fort, which is over a 800-year-old; the Baspa Dam Reservoir, Sangla Buddhist temple, and hike to Sangla Kanda. there is also a saffron plantation on the outskirt of Sangla, that you can visit.
The best activity to do in Sangla is to enjoy the scenic beauty around you and relax. Obviously for me, for which I had reached there. Enjoying undisturbed walk between the flora and fauna along with snowy peaks of Himalaya would make you nostalgic... really, the feeling I could not express which in words. Gradually the day came to an end and we moved closer towards the end of our journey. The next day we would go to Chitkul, which was our last destination of this journey, The last village of India. 



Journey to heaven- 12 day's trip to Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh Full Details-Day-6-7

The next morning as like the previous day, we left for an excursion to Chitkul. Chitkul is the last village in the Indo- Tibetan trade route, which is called the "last Indian Village." Walk through the green orchards and enjoy the serenity as a brilliant stream passes by. As the day ends, by the time we reach there, check in to the hotel and spend a comfortable night. This was the first place in the whole trip where we found snow.... Absolutely heaven!!!
Except natural beauty, there is nothing to see in particular here. But the natural beauty alone can keep you busy for days... and where we had only a single day... the day passed, but I don't know how. The only thing I did was felt the cold snow of the Himalaya, which was of one of the dreams of mine and it came true.
I wanted to spent some more time  there but time stopped me from doing so and the call of return back came to us. Saying good bye to the place and promising the Himalayas "I will come back again.... as soon as possible...." our car left towards Chandigarh and we reached out place with a lot of experiences, some which I shared in this article.

"The rest 4 Days are utilised in Going from Asansol to Chandigarh. 2 days for Going and 2 days for coming."

Finally, I would like to grant special thanks to my beloved friend Moupali Dey for supporting me throughout writing this blog by giving me every minute details of the trip, whenever and wherever required. Without her I would have never been able to present this article in front of you all........                                       Thank You Moupali 😊😊