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वेब सेंसरशिप के खिलाफ 'दखलंदाजी'
Ban on the cartoons
Saraswati Siksha Samiti
The drive to Kaza is absolutely bewildering, the road is as good as no road, there are boulders all over the place, the strong current in the river has this roaring sound that one would get used to on this 10 hour long journey.
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Barren mountains, lifeless vastness, green towering confierous hills, slim ferrocious rivers, wide silt laden river banks - you name it and Himachal has it. Do not be misled by the area that the state occupies - It has multiple folds to it that make it one of the most interesting destinations. With the map of Himachal in front of us, we were trying to count the districts that we had not visited in the state and we fared quite well. We had touched 6 ot of the 8 districts, but what we had missed was one of the biggest in area and thats when we knew where our compass points - Lahaul Spiti, it is!
The place is covered in snow in the winters and hence is more of a summer/spring (June - Septembe) destination.
When we went we were stranded in Keylong as the Rohtang Pass was blocked and there were no buses/taxis playing to Kaza. We had only two options - either stay put in Keylong and stare at the huge mountain right outside the hotel room or just pick our bags and head in the direction of the destination, without a faintest of an idea as to how will we reach. Being the adventure bug bitten souls that we are, we just embarked on this journey where we knew nothing but the destination. We reached Gramphu, after 4 hour long bus travel with double the number of passengers as the number seats. Gramphu is primarily a small village that has nothing but a tea stall that serves hot piping maggi, tea and Indian food. It is the junction where the road from Kaza, Leh and Manali meet. Here you will find many a traveler eating, reading, chit chatting and waiting to be ferried to Kaza.
The drive to Kaza is absolutely bewildering, the road is as good as no road, there are boulders all over the place, the strong current in the river has this roaring sound that one would get used to on this 10 hour long journey. The dangerous bends in the road, the steep climb, barren mountains with sparse vegetation make you lull.
The winding roads lead to a landing ground covered in bright yellow wild flowers - it is the Kunzum Pass. It has a popular temple and Gompas where every vehicle passing it stops to pay homage to the diety. IT is believed that this ritual ensures that people have a safe journey.
NExt up was the tiny village of Lossar which has a population of less than a hundred people, a few tea stalls and home stays. 5 hours from here is Kaza. It is interesting how we learned to measure distance in hours as once you are in this region kilometers fail to give a fair idea :) .
It was evening by the time we reached Kaza. There are innumerable homestays and hotels in this town. Must visit here are the seabuckthorn store that has fresh jams, extracts from the seabuckthorn plant that has great medicinal value.
As dusk falls there is this blanket of darkness that engulfs it, there are no street lights and the sky is generally cloudy. The wind blows and the roaring river currents make it appear like a beautiful haunted place.
When we went we were stranded in Keylong as the Rohtang Pass was blocked and there were no buses/taxis playing to Kaza. We had only two options - either stay put in Keylong and stare at the huge mountain right outside the hotel room or just pick our bags and head in the direction of the destination, without a faintest of an idea as to how will we reach. Being the adventure bug bitten souls that we are, we just embarked on this journey where we knew nothing but the destination. We reached Gramphu, after 4 hour long bus travel with double the number of passengers as the number seats. Gramphu is primarily a small village that has nothing but a tea stall that serves hot piping maggi, tea and Indian food. It is the junction where the road from Kaza, Leh and Manali meet. Here you will find many a traveler eating, reading, chit chatting and waiting to be ferried to Kaza.
The drive to Kaza is absolutely bewildering, the road is as good as no road, there are boulders all over the place, the strong current in the river has this roaring sound that one would get used to on this 10 hour long journey. The dangerous bends in the road, the steep climb, barren mountains with sparse vegetation make you lull.
The winding roads lead to a landing ground covered in bright yellow wild flowers - it is the Kunzum Pass. It has a popular temple and Gompas where every vehicle passing it stops to pay homage to the diety. IT is believed that this ritual ensures that people have a safe journey.
NExt up was the tiny village of Lossar which has a population of less than a hundred people, a few tea stalls and home stays. 5 hours from here is Kaza. It is interesting how we learned to measure distance in hours as once you are in this region kilometers fail to give a fair idea :) .
It was evening by the time we reached Kaza. There are innumerable homestays and hotels in this town. Must visit here are the seabuckthorn store that has fresh jams, extracts from the seabuckthorn plant that has great medicinal value.
There are interesting places around Kaza -
Tabo Monastery: This is the oldest monastery in HImanchal. It is built with brick and mud only. There are nine independent temples that house rich cultural scriptures and documents belonging to the Indo Tibetan Buddhism from the 10th century.
Caves in Tabo: These are natural caves in the mountains right across the monastery and many a monk meditate here. They provide an excellent view to the valley and the town of Tabo.
Dhankar Monastery: This is known to be the richest fort monastery in the region.Some 2 hours from Kaza is this spectacular monastery nestled into the mountain. Overlooking the confluence of the Spiti and the Pin rivers is this endangered site. It is a fort monastery and house over a hundred monks.
Caves in Tabo: These are natural caves in the mountains right across the monastery and many a monk meditate here. They provide an excellent view to the valley and the town of Tabo.
Dhankar Monastery: This is known to be the richest fort monastery in the region.Some 2 hours from Kaza is this spectacular monastery nestled into the mountain. Overlooking the confluence of the Spiti and the Pin rivers is this endangered site. It is a fort monastery and house over a hundred monks.
Kye Monastery and Kibber village are other must sees.
