Re: Chitkul - Reckong Peo - Kalpa........ A birthday to remember

T-Log approved!

Nice views! Have you relocated to Himachal? Just seeing the pics sort of lent some respite from this hot season. Do share more.
And a belated happy birthday!

Re: Chitkul - Reckong Peo - Kalpa........ A birthday to remember

Loved that third pic...
Waiting for the full log...

Four Wheels Move The Body.....
Two Wheels Set You Exploring....

Re: Chitkul - Reckong Peo - Kalpa........ A birthday to remember

wow.... what a lovely photos.... waiting for more... feed us dear.... belated happy birthday wishes....

Re: Chitkul - Reckong Peo - Kalpa........ A birthday to remember

Thank you guys for the Bday wishes and Divya Sharan for approving my first T Log. I am still in Hyderabad only this was planned as my wifey moved to Chandigarh for a short while and I sniffed the very first chance to reach to lap of mighty Himalayas.


I contacted my one of friends Swastik to plan for a trip who planned following for my Bday ride:


Day 1 - Chandigarh - Narkanda
Day 2- Narkanda - Chitkul
Day 3 - Chitkul - Reckong Peo - Kalpa
Day 4&5 - Return Journey from the same route


Before I went to the trip I wanted to understand the driving in mountains as my wifey was gonna be with me on the saddle, so before 2 days of ride I took Swastik's bike for a spin to Solan and to be honest I was scared a bit to see the speed in which the driving was done by those expert drivers there and was feeling very low in confidence when I returned.
Somehow I backed myself up and bought the safety gears for our wives the next evening and slept with mixed feelings about the trip. Took one of my friend's Fazer and got the break pads and engine oil changed and basic checks done by an experienced mechanic.


Next day morning we all got geared up and by the time we started it was 2 in the afternoon as my friend had to complete 3.5 hours of Infosys working hours(only infy guys can understand the pain).




Day 1 - Chandigarh - Narkanda


I was riding a friend's Fazer and it did not took long for me to understand that my ride did not have enough power to overtake on the curvy roads going uphill so I started driving very carefully and after 1.5 hours of riding the breeze started getting cooler and was a certain respite from afternoon chandigarh heat. As we had less time to reach Narkanda we did not took many breaks and drove rigorously to reach Narkanda on time.


Some clicks on the way:

Old Shiva temple on the way to Shimla.... took the blessings from the lord to complete the journey safely

A view from the Shiva temple of the greenery.... the temperature was coming down slowly.... loved the fresh air after daily city rush

The tarmac was superb till Narkanda... only a few kilometers were bit damaged but was manageable

The riders who made the trip.... Swastik on the left and me on the right

By the time we reached Narkanda it was 7 in the evening. Tip: The dawn comes very fast in the mountains(I learned that on the very first day) because at 6 there was full light and at 7 it was completely dark so keeping and extra hour will always come handy.

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Thank you guys for the Bday wishes and Divya Sharan for approving my first T Log. I am still in Hyderabad only this was planned as my wifey moved to Chandigarh for a short while and I sniffed the very first chance to reach to lap of mighty Himalayas.


I contacted my one of friends Swastik to plan for a trip who planned following for my Bday ride:


Day 1 - Chandigarh - Narkanda
Day 2- Narkanda - Chitkul
Day 3 - Chitkul - Reckong Peo - Kalpa
Day 4&5 - Return Journey from the same route


Before I went to the trip I wanted to understand the driving in mountains as my wifey was gonna be with me on the saddle, so before 2 days of ride I took Swastik's bike for a spin to Solan and to be honest I was scared a bit to see the speed in which the driving was done by those expert drivers there and was feeling very low in confidence when I returned.
Somehow I backed myself up and bought the safety gears for our wives the next evening and slept with mixed feelings about the trip. Took one of my friend's Fazer and got the break pads and engine oil changed and basic checks done by an experienced mechanic.


Next day morning we all got geared up and by the time we started it was 2 in the afternoon as my friend had to complete 3.5 hours of Infosys working hours(only infy guys can understand the pain).




Day 1 - Chandigarh - Narkanda


I was riding a friend's Fazer and it did not took long for me to understand that my ride did not have enough power to overtake on the curvy roads going uphill so I started driving very carefully and after 1.5 hours of riding the breeze started getting cooler and was a certain respite from afternoon chandigarh heat. As we had less time to reach Narkanda we did not took many breaks and drove rigorously to reach Narkanda on time.


Some clicks on the way:

Old Shiva temple on the way to Shimla.... took the blessings from the lord to complete the journey safely

A view from the Shiva temple of the greenery.... the temperature was coming down slowly.... loved the fresh air after daily city rush

The tarmac was superb till Narkanda... only a few kilometers were bit damaged but was manageable

The riders who made the trip.... Swastik on the left and me on the right

By the time we reached Narkanda it was 7 in the evening. Tip: The dawn comes very fast in the mountains(I learned that on the very first day) because at 6 there was full light and at 7 it was completely dark so keeping and extra hour will always come handy.

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Day 2 - Narkanda to Chitkul

Swastik told me that the last 60 kilometers will be back breaking so we started very early in the morning but before we started I got up early to see the sunrise.... was amazing feeling on my Bday to be in the mountains... some clicks below of the views of mountain peaks where we would be heading:

The distant snow peaks were calling and I was feeling very excited to reach there


Sunrise on the peaks:


We then started for Ramnagar-Bhavanagar-Karcham Dam-Chitkul and way till Bhavanagar was very scenic. We stopped to see the Satluj river from the top and later stopped at its bank for a butt break:

A view from Satluj view point on the way to Ramnagar


On the bank of Satluj river.... freezing water was refreshing after some heat of blazing sun





The roads after crossing Bhavanagar were a bit narrower but the scenery was a blessing:



Then came an awsome road in which we had a carved road on the mountain rocks and hanging rocks on our heads.... posting below video of the ride:






After we crossed the Karcham Dam the roads became very bad with all sand and stones as Swastik told. With a underpower engine I was missing my TBTS and P200NS big time. Some clicks on the way to Chitkul:








Again the weather started becoming worse and we were far(only 36 kms away but in worst driving conditions . It took us around 3.5 hours to cover the last 60 KMs even though the roads were dry so please plan properly when you plan to ride to this place.

After all the hassle we reached near Chitkul and it welcomed us with snow covered roads on the side. Unfortunately I could not click some pics as was desperate to outrun the bad weather.

When we reached Chitkul it was heavenly beautiful.... I never imagined it to be so beautiful seeing icy mountains for the first time.... some clicks below:

This land is blessed by god himself:





Feeling the magnanimity of the structures around me and thanking god for making the world so beautiful and for the chance given to me to explore it:



Sun rays and heavy snowfall in the same picture:


The most mesmerizing sunset I have witnessed in my life..... yet:


Next day morning we started for Reckong peo and sun was shining giving us a warm goodbye.....


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Dear Mods,

I am trying to upload some more videos but the page says I am allowed to post only 1. Can you please guide me how can I add some more vids to the log.

Re: Chitkul - Reckong Peo - Kalpa........ A birthday to remember

Nice pics man, hope you had a good trip.. both the destination and the way are Beautiful..

Re: Chitkul - Reckong Peo - Kalpa........ A birthday to remember

Yes. That is the rule. 30 pics, 1 video per post. To upload more videos, you'll have to create those many posts. Better, create a youtube channel and upload your videos there and share the channel link here.

Re: Chitkul - Reckong Peo - Kalpa........ A birthday to remember

Oh ok, did not know that.... starting a channel is nice idea


so adding further to the log.......

Day 3 - Chitkul - Reckong Peo - Kalpa
So as we started back to Reckong Peo early morning at 7 from Chitkul the weather was made pleasing by the shining sun and the previous evening taught me a lesson of wearing a full gauntlet gloves instead of my half ones. (definitely purchase and will get used to driving with full gloves)

The roads were vv bad till Reckong Peo and those 60 Kilometers were again pain for the back. But as we started reaching Peo the weather went again to the cooler side and views started getting better:

A view on route to Reckong Peo




At reckong peo we got the MONK with us as in Kalpa he must very difficult to get and started our ascent to Kalpa which was steep with great narrow tarmac and again an underpower engine started bugging me. Once we reached Kalpa we go a hotel and after having some good mandvali the owner agreed for 700 per night rent.


We got the top floor(recommended) which will give you the below view when you walk out of your room:

A view of the reckong peo city from the hotel terrace:


Other side of the view which I could not cover in a panoramic shot:


Hyderabadiyon ke pozan:



As in the mountains happens the weather started getting bad again and the lord blessed us with rain also..... a nice rainbow appeared of which a panorama was taken:



The evening was well spent at the terrace sitting and laughing with friends and then we went to sleep as we needed to start the return journey in the morning.

We clicked very few pics when returning because the aim was to reach Chandigarh asap to get some rest before my monday afternoon flight. But we stayed in Narkanda again in the next day and evening was very beautiful as if the mountains were bidding adieu to us:



The route plan we followed on the trip:



So in the end when I looked back to the trip I turned from scared rookie into a confident rider in mountains.... I started feeling that after taking a beating from bad conditions there comes a time when you start respecting the terrain and the terrain starts respecting you (just a thought)



So with a heavy start I returned back from there but reminded my mind that buddy "THE BEST RIDE IS STILL TO COME" and with that note I end this log.
Please give me your valuable suggestions on how the trip could have been better.

Re: Chitkul - Reckong Peo - Kalpa........ A birthday to remember

very nice pics.....

Re: Chitkul - Reckong Peo - Kalpa........ A birthday to remember

Nice trip Vivek. Beautiful pics and I guess you have just got the taste of Himalayas. I am sure you will crave for more.

Re: Chitkul - Reckong Peo - Kalpa........ A birthday to remember

Lovely

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Re: Chitkul - Reckong Peo - Kalpa........ A birthday to remember

Good one bhai

Re: Chitkul - Reckong Peo - Kalpa........ A birthday to remember

Hi guys we are planing to go to spiti velly through manali we are planing to camp at some of the location do you know some good places to camp there in reckong peo


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Re: Chitkul - Reckong Peo - Kalpa........ A birthday to remember

gud trip!bday well spent-motorcycle,nature,wifey n friend=happy you!

Re: Chitkul - Reckong Peo - Kalpa........ A birthday to remember


Hi Manoj,

Never got a chance for camping yet but just before 25-30 Kms from Chitkul there was a very beautiful valley near the river, wide open land surrounded by mountains and greenary... give it a thought.


Please see the following place:


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Awsome time brother... but the best ride is yet to come