JIM'S INDIA TOUR
Rohtang Pass: The Highest Place I Had Been To
September 12th, 2012 Rohtang Pass! At 3978m it is easily the highest mountain I had been to! My previous record was 2835m at Shirui peak in Manipur (Which I climbed on foot). I had no apprehensions about altitude sickness. But people who had not been to the mountains had a lot to worry. …Continue reading
Museum of Himachal Culture and Folk Art, Manali
September 11th, 2012 Museum of Himachal Culture and Folk Art is a stone’s throw from Hidimba Devi Temple at Manali. It is located 2-3 km from Manali main town. The Museum was established in 1998 to collect and exhibit cultural and folk art antiques articles of Himachal Pradesh. But the initiative to collect …Continue reading
Vashisht Temple and Hot Springs
September 10th, 2012 Vashisht village is a green patch of steep hill hanging at the base on a cliff. The village is 6 km from Manali at the banks of the Beas River opposite Old Manali.Vashisht is reachable from Manali by half an hour walk or a short drive up a slanting road …Continue reading
Hidimba Devi Temple, Manali
September 10th, 2012 Hidimba Devi Temple is also known as Hadimba Temple. It is located on a deodar covered hill in Manali, some 3kms from the bus stop and few minutes walk from Old Manali. It is an ancient cave temple built in 1553 by Raja Bahadur Singh. Built over a huge rock, …Continue reading
Apple Orchards in Manali
September 7th, 2012 Almost every family in Old Manali owns an apple tree if not an orchard. Apples are integral part of their life. It came from years of perfecting the art of planting and nurturing it; a ritual if not traditional. Small houses lay hidden between apple orchards. It is amid this …Continue reading
Adventure Sports at Solang Nala
September 6th, 2012 Solang Nala is 14 km from Manali. It is a small valley at the base of the mountain before the majestic mountains take over on the North. There’s no end of the mountains from here. This gentle slope is just the right place for skiing during winter. It is popularly …Continue reading
Nature Park, Manali
September 6th, 2012 Nature Park begins at the fringe of Mall Road Auto junction and runs till Old Manali Bridge for around 3km, between the Beas River and the Old Manali road. Unlike many misconceptions there are no big animals at this park except for birds and small animals. The Park is hemmed …Continue reading
Old Manali: A place Where two worlds meet
September 4th, 2012 A bridge over gushing Manalsu River is a gateway to another world known as the Old Manali. The village has an exotic charm; not foreign, not entirely Indian. It is as if you have crossed into another country. Just as the Beas River stopped the invincible force of Alexander’s armies …Continue reading
Hiking 16km to Solang Nala from Manali
September 3rd, 2012 I used to walk 33 km in less than 4 hours. Not just any road, but mountain roads. But that was long ago during my high school days.What made me possibly think that I could walk 14 km now without any fuss? I wasn’t thinking right. I’ve been incubated in …Continue reading
Lazy Sunday with the River Man at Beas River
September 3rd, 2012 It was a nice feeling to wake up to the sonorous sound of the river! In Old Manali I checked into a guest house not far from the confluence of Beas and Manalsu River. I didn’t know which river I was hearing. Maybe both. Warm morning light sieved in …Continue reading
