Thread: Bani, Sarthal, 2010!!

Don't know why i'm posting it now, it has been around two years since i went on this trip. Maybe because i'm looking forward to something similar this year as well!!

It was Aug 2010 and we (me and my friend Neeraj) had just finished our summer internship and were looking forward to a small trip to Bani, Sarthal, Bhderwah etc. I had been to Bani, Sarthal before, but it was something like 10 years back, and I didn't remember much as I was some 12 years old then. Mind you, these places are in my home district itself (except Bhederwah, which is something like 25 Kms outside our district's boundries, although we didn't reach there, thats a different story). I belong to the Kathua district of Jammu & Kashmir, its the gateway to J&K, lying on the border with Punjab. Here are a few pics, will post the rest and the log as the thread gets approved.

Travelogue approved.

Beautiful pictures there. You live in a beautiful part of this world

Please share more

Its never too late buddy....keep them coming...

Thanks Sunilg!! Its beautiful indeed!!

It was one fine morning of July 2010 when me and my friend were sitting on the rooftop of his house and were talking about the movie "Into the wild" which we had seen lately!! Lol I feel like a kid while saying this!!
There is this big mountain that can be seen from my town Kathua towards the north, its covered with snow almost round the year. I looked towards it and said "we should go there"! We had no idea where exactly it was or rather I should say that I had no real intentions to go there either. But this idea somehow got embedded in my friend's mind and he told me to search this place on Google Earth, which we did and found out that there was a road (more of a track i should say) that goes right besides this mountain. And we really started making plans to go there.
The mountain is actually called Kaplas Kund, as it has a small lake on its top at an altitude of around 4000 mtrs, and people go there for pilgrimage. It lies on the Bani-Bhaderwah route, about 220 kms from Kathua.
In the beginning we were planing to scale the mountain and reach the lake and had even booked ourselves a two men tent and sleeping bags at the JKTDC center at Bhaderwah. We couldn't reach there though, which i'll tell you later.

We chose the first week of Aug for our trip as our summer internship was officially getting over on 7th of Aug and we had persuaded our mentor to relieve us by 31st July. We finished our project in one week, about which we had done nothing in the first one month lol. So we were free by 31st July, on 1st Aug got our bikes serviced, purchased all the necessary items, made last minute checks and plans etc etc.......



So we were finally ready to roll the next day!!!

I woke up at 5 in the morning though I was intending to wake up at 6 . We had planned to leave at around 7 in the morning as we didn't have to travel much, just around 170 kms that day. I was ready by around 6 and decided to call Neeraj and ask if he was up. He said that he was up and was getting ready. The weather outside was a little cloudy but not unmanageable.



At around 7 I decided to call him up again to ask if he was ready. He said "I have to tell my parents"......rather by his tone he meant "I have to ask my parents yet and please don't abuse me, I'm sorry". And i was like "WTF, @@#%&" . So he told me that he will come for sure but it might take him an hour more. So I told him that I'll start moving and wait for him at the Ranjit Sagar Dam or Thein Dam as we call it. Its around 30 kms away from our place.



Just outside my house.



Lucky me!! Twists and turns start just around 10 kms from my place.



Some kids on the way.





I reached Ranjit Sagar Dam at around 8 and called Neeraj. He had just started rolling! So i had a nice half an hour sutta break, this is how i like to travel....small distances and a lot of breaks!



Ranjit Sagar Dam, Distt Kathua, on river Ravi





Neeraj decides to show up at last!!

I'm sorry guys ,but most, actually all the pics are without proper riding gear. These pics are two years old and we were young and reckless then and foolish too! Please ride safe and use proper riding gear, a lid at least.



The guy with a black umbrella!!

So at around 9 we actually started rolling together.



Can it get better than this!!

Thanks @itsmevini123!!

nice pics!! especially the first one!!

Originally Posted by somen1984

nice pics!! especially the first one!!

Thanks Somen!!

After travelling about a 50 kms more we decided to have another small break. We had crossed the Basohli town about 10 kms back, that is where my dad actually belongs to, a very beautiful place. I will post a pic, though it was not taken on this trip.



Basohli, Kathua!!



Sutta break!





Photo Session lol!



Hills of "Bhoond" from a distance.....lol funny name!!



Big rock in the middle of the road!!

The condition of the roads was pretty bad. Though now it has improved quits a bit upto Bhoond.



Another sutta break, after around 30 kms more

We were having tea inside this small shack when all of a sudden there came a "PHAT" sound from my bike. I thought ive got a flat, but when i approached my bike the tyres felt pretty ok but there was some LPG smell coming from somewhere. "Last time i checked my bike used to run on petrol,lol!!" thats what I thought!! Then I asked the shack owner to check his LPG cylinders, but he had none, infact he was making tea on fire. Took a drag and and all of a sudden it struck me "I had a lighter in my bag". And yes it had shattered into pieces!!
Please don't buy cheap lighters!!

Great Pictures, would like to see more...

Originally Posted by kingkong

Great Pictures, would like to see more...

Thanks Avijit !

I like this one!!



Bhoond is visible at a distance.



Reached Bhoond.





Stopped by a small waterfall!





Dracula Falls

Now this was really scary. There was this huge nullah with an orange colored waterfall........yes orange!! The fall is something like 750 mtrs higher from the road below.....i checked it on google earth.......close to burj Dubai!!