Travel Notes .....: Sojha

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Day 12 and Day 13 and Day 15 - GHNP and Raghupur Fort Sojha - Spiti Valley Trip 2010

Day 12 - This day dawned misty so we decided to go to GHNP. GHNP is located at a 8km trek from Gushaini and no vehicles are allowed on this road. And it was a day for drizzle !!! We got wet pretty soon !! After 3 kms of this our baby had enough so she turned back and that was that !!! :) We did not mind - we saw some great views of the Tirthan River and did not really expect to make much head way on this route with our child. It was just too long a trek !

Day 13 - We had to take a chance and go to Jalori pass - view or no view. It was our last day !! So off we went at 7am since that seemed to be the best time to start with some clearing of mist happening around 9am to 10am !!!

Must do - Raghupur Fort that offers 360 view of the mountain ranges !!!

So we took a guide, our picnic lunch and off we set out. The trek starts from Jalori pass. It was misty and the trek is upward climbing ( obviously !!! ) so we went slowly !!! Took a break after 1 hour and then climbed again !! And then the mist lifted !!!! Magical !!!!!

The views were stunning !!! All around we were surrounded by mountains in a green pasture land !!! Awesome !!!

Raghupur Fort itself is a tumbled down fort with just some of the rocky walls remaining. We had picnic on one of them and feasted of the sights around us !!!

There is a temple here too and after spending some time just exploring the area and gazing around at the purple flowers and views we started back.

Took couple of snaps at Jalori pass and then headed back to the hotel. It marked the end of our fabulous trip !!!!

Day 15 - Uneventful. We started at 3 am since Delhi is far ( 564 kms ) and more importantly the rains could cause a problem ( traffic jams, small landslides ). Reached Delhi at 4pm and took the flight back to Pune !!

Sojha Valley in the mist

Tirthan Valley River

Sojha Valley

View from Raghupur Fort

View of valley from Raghupur Fort

Pasture land at Raghupur Fort

Day 11 and Day 12 - Chandratal to Manali - Manali to Sojha - Spiti Valley Trip 2010

Day 11 - We started early from Chandratal towards Manali. A short heated altercation with the "Terrible Driver of DL 1Y V 8465 INNOVA" left a very bad taste in the mouth. He actually threatened to leave us stranded at a bifurcation of the road from Chandratal if we did not do as he said !!!! This was too much !!!

My hubby rarely loses his cool but this argument decided it for him. We would have to replace this good-for-nothing driver !!!!

River crossings were tough. The camp guide Bishan was with us and it helped quite a bit to have him !!! He was taking a lift till Manali.

The drive to Rohtang was misty and beautiful until we reached the pass itself ! It was jammed with vehicles and the pass was slippery with mud !!! We had a 3 hour wait here for the pass to be cleared for vehicles going into Manali. We halted in Manali.

We called Banjara about the driver's antics and they promptly replaced him in 30 min !!! Phew !! Thank God !!! We were so disgusted with his attitude and behavior. God knows why he had come on this journey if all he wanted to do was stay in Delhi !!! Ugh !!!

I did not think Banjara's would change the driver. I expected them to ask us to adjust for the remaining 4 days of the journey which would be typical of any other travel operator. But they did not !!! That definitely raised my opinion of them.

Tips

Start early. The Rani Nala and one more stream ( forgot the name ) get full as the day passes with ice water melting in the sun. So crossing is very tough.

Day 12 - We headed out to Sojha just 3 hours from Manali. The route was typical green hill station ... green , verdant and misty !! :) Lovely .... We pass a tunnel that is 2.5 kms cut into a mountain enroute.

About Banjara at Sojha
The Sojha property is lovely although it is set amidst other private lands too. So you can hear other families around unlike Sangla !! :) There are many steps to go down [ or climb up !! ] to reach the retreat so
The staff at the retreat is courteous and good. We enjoyed our stay over there. The view from the rooms is wonderful !!! On a good misty day it is like being in the clouds and when it clears -one can see the entire valley and top part of ranges of mountains ... just gorgeous !!

We just relaxed on this day since the day was misty and going to any place would not have yielded us any views. We explored the area around the retreat.

Tips

May-June is the best season for Sojha. The views are fabulous and not obstructed by the mist.
Do check out Raghupur fort. The trek is of medium difficulty but well worth the 360 views of the ranges and ranges of mountains. Take a picnic basket !!!
GHNP is located 8 kms by walk/trek from Gushaini. And this is to the entrance of GHNP. No vehicle is allowed on this route. Plan accordingly. The walk is not very difficult.