Shimla and the Sangla Valley

Shimla is the capital city and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh In. 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India. After independence, the city remains important in the area, but also a popular tourist destination, with people seeking their 'little piece of England' hidden in the mountains of India. Another reason that people visit Shimla is to ride the Kaka-Shimla toy train. A Unesco World Heritage narrow gauge train, built by the British in 1903, that winds its way for over 60 miles up into the mountains, climbing over 4500ft and passing over 800 bridges and through more that 100 tunnels. This is where our journey started. We had caught the train from Delhi up to Kalka where we boarded the toy train for the 6 hour or so journey. The train itself is compact but there is plenty of room and if you want to, you can sit in the open doorway to get some fresh air. The trip up through the mountains is beautiful, passing through farmland and forest and in places chasing the road to the top. The train stops at lots of stations on the way up with just enough time to nip into the toilets or buy refreshment from the platform. It really is a great experience and quite different from the hurried and cramped nature of India`s wide gauge trains

Arriving at the station at Shimla you are greeted by a barrage of local guides that want to take you to a hotel of their choice, carry your bags or organise a tour for you, their fee will of course be added to your bill without you realising it. If you want to use their services, most of them are reasonable, you just have to make sure that you are happy with the hotel they are offering you and the price they quote. We were approached buy quite a few people and decided to use on of them to get us a room for the night, a lovely chap named Mohin Bhatt. Mohin worked with his bother Manzoor in Shimla for the season, but actually lived in Kashmir near the border with Pakistan, he organised rooms and tours for tourists visiting Shimla and the surrounding areas. We initially just opted for the room. A lovely hotel overlooking the valley with stunning views in the evening. I can only imagine that Shimla to Indians is a very odd place as it is built in the style of a typical English Victorian high street, complete with its own Christian church. So our first day was spent having a nosey around town.

With Shimla being quite limited in size we decided we wanted to venture out a little, so we had a chat to Mohin and his brother about organising a tour for us. After explaining what we would like Mohin came up with a four day trip for us through the Sangla Valley area, he promised it would be the most beautiful part of India so we agreed on a price and departure for the following morning. Mohin`s tour included car and driver, and all accommodation on the way round, Mohin acted as our guide and his brother Manzoor drove. On our first day we spent a few hours twisting through the mountain roads through a few busy mountain villages until we came to a park up point that allowed us to get out for a good walk up Hatu Peak, this is one of the smaller hills on the way to the high mountains.

From Hatu peak we continued on towards the high mountains and the Sangla valley stopping for the night in Sarahan, at a hotel called the Snow view. The hotel was basic but clean and lived up to its name having a fantastic view of the snow capped mountains in the distance.

Following our stay in Sarahan we continued through the mountains with the roads getting higher, more twisty and scary and on towards the Sangla Valley. Some of the roads were carved into the rock sides with very high drop offs below, only just allowing the passage of busses and lorries through.

We eventually wound ourselves through the mountains to the village of Kinnor and the Sangla valley. This lovely rural village sat on the side of the Baspa River and was the gateway to the Rakchham Meadow area, a beautiful flat, fertile area sitting between the mountains. Here we spent a few hours walking through the meadow area and exploring the rocky outcrops, then we spent some time exploring the village and meeting some of local people that were going about their business.

Further along in Rakcham we encountered a local gathering where everyone attending was wearing their best or traditional clothing, people were happy for us to watch the goings on ,what appeared to be some sort of celebrations. From here we joined up with another lady who fancied a short hike who we met whilst having a drink in the Osiya Shoshla Cafe and walked out of the valley through the small village and past the ancient doors of another village monastery up the steep valley slopes on the way up to the mountain, Kinnaur Kailash. The walk up was beautiful with stunning views of the valley and the snow capped mountains.

The following morning we explored the town and visited the Bhimakali Temple and its famous silver door. The Bhimakali Temples history is around 800 years old and considered to be one of the 51 sacred Shakti peethas. This temple is dedicated to Goddess Durga known locally as Bhimakali. This is one of the popular pilgrimage sites near Chandigarh. The present Bhimakali Temple is a new one, built-in 1927. The village itself is stunning and has magnificent views of the mountains.

From The slopes of Kinnaur Kailash we continued on up through the heart stopping mountain roads to Kalpa where we stayed at the Hotel Kapa Regency. Another basic but clean hotel with stunning views of the Kailash mountains. Kalpa is a high altitude village with an average height of over 2900m. The following morning we had a look around the village and visited a couple of monasteries before Mohan took us for a drive up to `Suicide Point` where locals have traditionally departed this world. It sounds grim, but actually the road and point are staggering. The road has no barrier and the point sits approximately 1000m above a sheer drop to the valley below! We opted at this point to walk a while along the road, neither of us wanting to sit Cliff side in the car.

From Kalpa we returned back to Shimla again via the mountain roads and through sunning mountain villages, some of which sadly we can no longer remember the names. Below however is a selection of photographs of the people we met along the way, the cannabis that grows at altitude and the places that will forever be burned into our memories that we just couldnt leave out. The mountain routes and villages are truly remarkable places to visit, wild, beautiful and dangerous (just the roads)places, with beautiful, friendly people. Anyone interested in using a guide can contact Mohin BHatt through his website and he will be happy to organise a tour for you or your group https://hillsofkashmirtourandtravels.com/