Visiting Holi & Laake Wali Mata temple

Enchanting Himachal – Visiting Holi & Laake Wali Mata temple

 

River Raavi flowing along the road to Holi

            As we intended to visit Holi, the day after we had visited Hadsar, we got up in the morning, a wee bit leisurely and after having a sumptuous B’fast started away for Holi.  We had to retrace back our steps upto Kharamukh, which is about 14 Kms. from Bharmour.  After getting down to Kharamukh, we took the road towards Holi, which is situated at a distance of 24 Kms. from Kharamukh.  As the gradual ascent started, the scenic beauty of the destination became apparent.  The road was narrower, with the tarring missing from road at many a spots.  We passed by many small villages like Suai, Channota Khas, Lamu, Greema etc. and finally reached Holi after two hours drive, with usual photography breaks in between.

As we leave the entry gate of Bharmour - headed for Holi

Bridge across Raavi River at Kharamukh - birds eye view from road above

Struck in unusual kind of traffic jam - blocked by flock of sheep -
trade mark of the region associated with the Gaddis

Villages perched along the Raavi River Valley

Another pristine view of Raavi River Valley

The green tunnel - trees along the road to Holi

            The route to Holi is a very scenic as the entire road traverses along the banks of Ravi River, with occasional glimpse of snow clad Dhauladar peaks as a backdrop.   One comes across villages perched atop the ridges or clinging onto the mountainside, albeit precariously, with fruit trees and small patches of cultivated lands interspersed.  Most of the village homes appear to have been constructed in a traditional manner, using wood and slate tiled roofs.  Once in a while, the road gets blocked by a herd of sheep & goats being tended to by the Gaddis, making their way towards the higher mountain slopes.  As the schools start a bit late in the morning in these regions, we also came across batches of children cheerfully walking past, headed for their schools.  In all it is a slow paced but immensely peaceful and endowed with scenic beauty akin to what one used to seeing in photographs of Switzerland or Kinnaur region of India.  Holi is perched at an altitude of 2250 meters or about 7500 feet above mean sea leave with the backdrop of the beautiful, snow clad Talang Pass and other snow adjoining mountains. It is a place for doing nothing but rejuvenating and relaxation, if one is able to get the booking of PWD/Forest Rest House, which is located in a very strategic point on a ridge, it is the place for imbuing the scenic beauty of the place. Holi is also the base for some of the high altitudes treks, such as Talang Pass (4643m), Waru Pass (3850m) and Kalah Pass (4720m).  Whereas, Talang Pass is one of the most difficult passes on the Dhuladhar range, considered so because of its high altitude and almost vertical climbs. The pass normally opens towards the end of July.  An interesting incident occurred here in Holi and I would like to share with the readers, as I was busy photographing the Talang Pass with my son, an ageing local peon or chowkidar from either the PWD Rest House or some nearby Government Office, who was thoroughly drunk, right in the morning, appeared and started a conversation with me, which I could not follow because of the dialect.  My driver spoke to him in the local dialect and he was gone for a minute and then back in a jiffy, with a bottle of chilled cold drink and would not let go of me till I had it and I had to finally relent to his wishes.  Later when I enquired from my driver as to what he had told the poor soul, he informed me that he had merely told him that I was a very senior officer and he should not be disturbing me, but he himself was flummoxed by the response of the character.  Initially I felt bad as the poor soul, as he refused to take any money from me, but then I resigned to the Hindu belief that maybe he had a debt to repay from some past birth/rebirth cycle and he had  repaid the same it in this manner.

Typical slate tiled roofs of village homes

Panoramic view of the Talang Pass as viewed from Holi

Extreme close up of Talang Pass from Holi 

Holi township viewed from PWD Resthouse

Raavi flowing by - headed beyond Holi towards Laake Wali Mata temple

Mountain stream flowing by

            Having enjoyed the scenic beauty of Holi, we proceeded further ahead towards La’ake Wali Mata, which is a famed pilgrimage for the locals and lies at a distance of 3 Kms. ahead of Nayagran.  Nayagran has regular bus service from Chamba & vice versa and is a fairly big village.  The term ‘gran’ is a convoluted form of ‘gram’ or ‘gaon’ in Hindi meaning a village, as per the local dialect.  There is nothing much to see or do a Nayagran, but as you go beyond this point the road gets very narrow and passes through dense Deodar (Cederus Deodara) forests, with the Gaddis tending their flocks of sheep & goat, getting them ready for the difficult crossing across the Jalsu Pass.  The road ends at the site where the La’ake Wali Mata temple is located, as the semi finished dirt track has sunk beyond this point.  The La’ake Wali Mata temple is strategically placed on top a spur atop a ridge, overlooking the Ravi River valley deep below and the Dhauladhars ranges in the backdrop.  The temple is dedicated to a form of Goddess Kali, as assumed by the Goddess to slay the demon who tormented the people of the valley, as Bhramari Mata (Bumble Bee form),.  There is a ‘Jatar’ (meaning procession) organized by the local Gaddi community during the month of August every year that attracts lots of locals seeking blessings of the reverend La’ake Wali Mata. The procession is said to be one of the most colorful gatherings of local people.  Most of the treks across the Dhauladar from Chamba to Kangra start from this point onwards.  There is the temple priest cum shopkeeper named Sh.Thakur Chand who informed me that treks across Jalsu Pass to Baijnath in Kangra passes through this region and there are some very beautiful meadows like Channi (8 Kms. from the temple) and Yara Got (12 Kms. form the temple) that make up for some soul rejuvenating treks.

Deodar trees jutting on to the road and then making 90 degree angle on way to
Laake Wali Mata temple

The temple dome of Laake Wali Mata temple

The presiding deity of Laake Wali Mata

Sh. Thakur Chand the Priest of Laake Wali Mata temple

River Raavi flowing through a deep gorge - as viewed from Laake Wali Mata temple

Jalsu Jot or Pass, is one of the Eastern most passes of the Dhauladhar perched at an altitude of 3450 meters above sea level.  Its gradient is gently sloping trail towards the Northern side, it is one of the most extensively used shepherd routes by the Himachali Gaddi tribes. Gaddies of Bharmour especially the resident of Holi valley, who used to undertake this trek, whenever they waned to visit Kangra District, instead of embarking upon the long detour through bus route. Some local peoples are known to complete this trek in a day from Nayagram to Baijnath. This route is not as popular with tourists as some other Dhauladhar passes. The rolling grasslands with vegetation extending deep into the trail, sprinkling of conifers, rhododendron bushes and the beautiful yellow grass flowers offer a colorful experience which few other passes can match.  Like other Dhauladhar passes, Jalsu forms the boundary between Chamba and Kangra districts but unlike other Dhauladhar passes, its beauty is not in the bareness and rockiness but in the variety of vegetation it supports and colors sprinkled by mother nature on either side of the pass. The trek route is also not treacherous, as the entire route is interspersed with people & habitations in form of shepherds, shopkeepers, tourists. The famed Pir Panjal ranges are also visible from atop the pass, but the perspective is completely different from the other points. Being a popular shepherd trail, one can do without camping equipment and complete the trek without carrying any food for most of the journey. This trek starts just after the Laake Wali temple, with a trail descending down to the Ravi River and then leads across the River towards the higher mountains. 

Here the road ends - view from the road end head of Laake Wali Mata temple

The Himachal Government is envisaging the construction of a Road tunnel through Dhauladhar ranges, as the Holi (Chamba)-Uttrala (Kangra) tunnel project, which would reduce the road distance between Dharamsala and Chamba by almost 200 kms., through the proposed Road tunnel running through the Dhauladhar ranges, the reduced distance would be merely 65 Kms.  However, this project is still on paper stage only, despite being envisaged way back in 2012.

Here is the link to the video for the destination - Holi 

Here is the link to the video of Laake Wali Mata temple

Enchanting Himachal – traversing through Chamba

Enchanting Himachal – traversing through Chamba

Author atop a wooden bridge across River Ravi on way to Bharmour in Chamba District

              Having seen the photographs posted by Mr. Sadanand Kamath in his blog ‘Rambling in the Gaddi Heartland of Himachal Pradesh’ posted in May, 2012, I had wanted to visit Chamba since, as it was one of the areas in Himachal not visited by me till date.  Therefore, during the summer break of my kids I decided to visit the pristine destination alongwith our extended family, which included my mother and mother-in-law also.  The distance from Delhi to Chamba is about 580 Kms. and it would have taken more than 14 hours to reach the destination by road, had we been able attain an average speed of 40 kmph, but this was next to impossible during the peak summer rush.  Such a journey would not only have been physically discomforting for the elderly, but also a tiresome journey for all us too, which would have marred the joy of journey at its inception itself.  Having weighed all the pros & cons, I decided to cover the major distance by train and accordingly, booked the A/C tickets in ‘Dhauladhar Express’ for the     6^th June, 2014 upto Pathankot.  There are plethoras to trains running upto Jammu and Pathankot being a major station on the way, all such trains stop at this destination.  However, I found from the schedule that most of the trains start early and subsequently also drop you at Pathankot very early, before 5.00 A.M in most of the trains and by the time you reach your destination, you are neither fully awake nor able to sleep during the drive, thus, you do not enjoy your onward journey under such conditions.  The 6^th of June, 2014 being a Friday and working day, the ‘Dhauladar Express’ was most convenient, as it leaves Old Delhi Railway Station at 10.45 P.M. at night and one has ample time to get back from office and leave in time for the ensuing journey, simultaneously it reaches Pathankot the next day at 8.20 A.M, by which time there is sufficient day light for good photography as well as people usually have completed their morning ablutions by that time.

Leaving Pathankot

The author with his wife, daughter & Mr. Mahajan-epitome of hospitality in Pathankot

View of Ranjit Sagar Dam from road to Chamba

The winding roads after Pathankot

            We started our journey in the right earnest by hiring a taxi from my residence and the station being a wee bit far coupled with its placement in a crowded location, we started well in time.  The temperature during the day had shot up to 47 degrees Celsius and it was still raging hot when we reached the railway station.  Having boarded the train, we waited for the Air Conditioner to start, but it would not and we had to ingest copious amounts of water and Cold drinks to ward off the heat.  But as the train moved from the station, even after having got past Kishanganj station, the AC did not function properly.  We left Delhi behind, still suffering in agony of the sultry heat and when the temperatures soared inside the train bogey and commuters started asking for the complaint book, a mechanic turned up and made some adjustments after which the AC started working properly.  The reason he gave was that as the power to run the AC is received from the train engine and consequently only when the train engine attains speed that the AC is turned on in full.  Thereafter, the night passed by uneventfully.  However, the main reason for the purported fault in AC revealed itself in the morning, when we saw a huge gathering in the station with all kinds of people and musical instruments thronging the station in Pathankot.  On enquiry, it dawned that the local Member Parliament of Gurdaspur, Sh. Vinod Khanna was traveling in the same train and in order to facilitate his comfort, the AC in the train had been turned on in full force in his compartment, at cost of other paying members and so referred to as ‘Cattle class’ from the same fraternity, this is an example of how Indian Railways attends to the VIPs.

Nainikhud village on way to Chamba

Bidding goodbye to the Mahajan family in Nainikhud

Bird's eye view of Nainikhud village as seen from road to Banikhet

As the road winds up towards Banikhet

Chamera Dam - view from road just after crossing Banikhet

            Having disembarked from the train at Pathankot, we got on to the Mahindra Xylo, being driven by the tour operator himself, Mr. Bhutto as he had been engaged through Mr.Mahajan, relative of my wife’s friend, who too in all his magnanimity had turned up at the Railway station to receive us and also provided us with a sumptuous B’fast & water et al for the journey ahead.  Since the tour operator Mr. Bhutto personally knew the Mahajan family well, he was in all praise for the kind of grand hospitality they were known to offer to all family visitors & friends alike.  As we had just gone past Pathankot, my wife received a call on her mobile handset from the other brother from the Mahajan family residing in Nainikhud, seeking information about our whereabouts and probable time of reaching their place, despite my wife’s best efforts and stating that B’fast had already been served by the other brother of the Mahajan’s, they were not inclined to relent and we had to promise them to take a break for partaking B’fast with them at Nainikhud.

Approaching Chamba - NHPC residential Complex across Ravi River

Heading towards Chamba town

Water being released into Ravi River by a Hydro Power plant after crossing Chamba

A dam near Chattarari village where the road tunnel is situated

Huge statute of Lord Shiva near banks of River Ravi

Villages perched precariously by mountain sides

            Pathankot is situated in the Indian state of Punjab, but its proximity with the other two states of Himachal Pradesh & Jammu & Kashmir alongwith the border with Pakistan makes it a very important township strategically.  It is a nondescript little destination situated on the banks of Chakki River, which is a rain is fed river.  It is perched at an altitude of 331 meters (about 1086 feet) of mean sea level and therefore, considerably hot.  We went past Pathankot through the Jullunder-Dalhousie Bye-pass raod and thereafter, headed along the Mandi Pthankot Road upto Nurpur.  Beyond Nurpur as you head higher into the hills through the winding roads, you can see the Ranjit Sagar Dam and thereafter, you take the State Highway 33 (also known as Pathankot-Chamba-Tissa Road).  Further you continue uphill upto the point where the where the State Highway 28 meets with the State Highway 33 at Tunnuhatti and therefrom the road starts its downhill run upto Nainikhud, which is at an altitude of 950 odd meters or 3300 feet above mean sea level.  Nanikhud is a small commercial hub with two banks and a small market catering to the requirements of region around.  We stopped here for B’fast with the Mahajan family who run a successful cloth business here. 

Narrow roads running along the Ravi River towards B harmour

Distant view of the bridge at Kharamukh

            From Nainikhud the road again starts winding upwards towards Banikhet, which is at an altitude of about 1700 meters or 5,500 feet of mean sea level.  This is another nondescript but busy village, teeming with shops and small hotels and is the point from where the road continues towards Chamba and another bifurcates towards Dalhousie.  During peak summer seasons, when Dalhousie is full, many travelers who come to visit Dalhousie without prior booking, which is often the case with tourists driving in from Punjab, they seek refuge for the night at Banikhet.  Beyond Banikhet the road starts meandering alongwith the Ravi River, one of the ‘Panch ab’ (Five waters) that make up Punjab, namely Jhelum, Chenab, Sutlej, Beas and Ravi.  After traveling a few kilometers along the road, one comes across the scenic Chamera Dam and being a place that offers water sports, it has become a tourist destination for many visiting the Chamba region.  Passing by many a nondescript little villages, some by the road side and some perched precariously on mountainsides, making up stupendous natural vistas, accompanied by small Hydro Power plants designated as Chamera-I,II, III & IV etc. all along the River side, one reaches Chamba.  Instead for heading for the township, we made it towards Bharmour from the roundabout, continuing with the Chamba-Holi Road.

The bridge across River Ravi at Kharamukh

Budhil Rivulet from Bharmour side meets Ravi River at Kharamukh

Headed towards Bharmour from Kharamukh - an upward climb all the way

The first glimpse of Abode of Lord Shiva - the Manimahesh Kailash

           After crossing Chamba, the road traverses almost along the banks of the Ravi River, as the road is almost at level with the flowing River and one continues to travel along its left bank till one reaches a fairly big village known as ‘Rakh’, where after you cross a bridge and continue your journey along the right bank of the River.  Thereafter, having crossed Chattarari where a barrage/dam has been constructed and just as you cross the bridge you enter a fairly big tunnel about 500 meters or more in length that is a part of the Hydro Power plant situated there and emerge on the other side of the tunnel, headed towards Khadamukh.  The name ‘Khadamukh’ meaning literally ‘A straight face’ aptly describes this little village that is situated at the base of huge mountains all around and at this juncture, the road bifurcates towards Bharmour and the main road continues straight towards Holi.  One has to take a left turn, crossing over the bridge across River Ravi and continue ascending towards Bharmour, which is perched at an altitude of about 2100 meters or about 7000 feet above mean sea level and as aptly described in Wikipedia and I quote – “The land is blessed with deep beauty of abundant alpine pastures and provides home for nomadic shepherds, known as Gaddi, thus also called Gadderan. The foothills are filled with orchards and terraced farmsteads. The epitome of spirituality lies in this land as it is endow with ancient temples. The area goes through inhospitable terrain and severe climate changes. “Kailash Vasio” as the people of Bharmour are known are extremely courteous and welcomes you like their own family member. Along with its ethnic traditions, culture and ancient history, Bharmour forms the perfection of divine splendor”.  Thus, we reached Bharmour the land of the Gaddi’s & Lord Shiva.  More details about the destination in my next blog.

Here is the link to the video for the journey -