Covering the ‘Himachal Circuit’ on a budget
If you circle the two most famous hill stations at Himachal, Shimla and Manali, you will complete one of the most scenic routes known as the ‘Himachal Circuit’
Himachal is undoubtedly one of the most attractive destinations in the world. But before going there, most people don't realise that unlike other states in India, there are no specific destinations to cover here.
At Himachal, you simply move from one place to the next and enjoy the journeys in between the travels.
Over the years, travellers have found that if you circle the two most famous hill stations at Himachal, Shimla and Manali, you will complete one of the most scenic routes known as the 'Himachal Circuit'.
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Last year in August, we started our journey from Shimla, situated at an altitude of 2,276 metres.
Usually, people reach Shimla from Delhi or Chandigarh by bus or car. But the three of us, Rithuparna from Bangladesh, and Ashita from Goa, reached there by the famous toy train journey that started from Haryana's Kalka.
Since our goal was to cover this journey on a budget, we mostly used public transport for travel. However, depending on your specific needs, cars or taxis are also available for hire for a few days and stop anywhere you want.
In Shimla we stayed at the rest house of a Gurdwara (home of a guru), walked around the hilly roads, and visited old book shops.
Travelling in mountain areas is significantly different from travelling the rest of the world. You must always be very careful about high-altitude sickness and get some fitness training beforehand. Take it easy at the beginning and take some time to get acclimatised. The air is thin and low on oxygen. Drink plenty of water, carry medicines and try to do some breathing exercises whenever you can.
Then we bought public bus tickets and travelled all the way to Karcham, which is a junction point to Chitkul.
At the bus counter, we were surprised to discover that in Himachal, tickets were half-priced for female passengers.
As it was the end of August, the weather was starting to get chilly, but we were well prepared with warm clothes. When we reached Chitkul, we were overwhelmed by the beauty of the Baspa River surrounded by high mountains. We began to look forward to the rest of the journey.
The Indo-Tibetan border is not far from here but you are not allowed to go near that. This is why Chitkul is known as India's 'last village'.
Some scientific studies say that Chitkul has the cleanest air quality in the country but we were just mesmerised by the tranquillity and the Rhododendrons in full bloom near the river.
After spending two magical nights there, we took an early morning bus to Reckong Peo, at the Kinnaur district from where we received the inner line permits for visiting several places as foreigners in Himachal.
I must add here that travelling in mountain areas is significantly different from travelling the rest of the world. You must always be very careful about high-altitude sickness and get some fitness training beforehand.
Take it easy at the beginning and take some time to get acclimatised. The air is thin here with low oxygen. Drink plenty of water, carry medicines and try to do some breathing exercises whenever you can.
Don't make any sudden movements like running or jumping for the first two days at least.
From Reckong Peo, we took a detour and visited the scenic, historical village of Kalpa (old name was Chini, and known to people as the first place in an independent India to hold an election in 1951).
The whole village has a beautiful view of the Kinnaur Kailash mountain, a pilgrim site for both Hindus and Buddhists.
From Kalpa, returned to Reckong Peo. In Himachal, you should always be aware of the bus timings because there are many places where the bus shows up only once or twice a day.
Then we took the bus to Nako, a small town famous for having a small, green lake. But we were intrigued by the silence and the age-old stone and mud houses.
Our next destination was Tabo, where we had a unique experience of staying at the guest house of a 1,000-year-old monastery.
This is the oldest operating Buddhist enclave in India and the Himalayas. It is also famous for its large number of frescos, murals, thankas (scroll paintings), and statues. It is often called 'the Ajanta of the Himalayas'.
The rooms are very cheap, costing around INR100-150 per day and the meals provided by the monastery kitchen were delicious and cheap as well.
Soon afterwards, we headed towards Kaza, a rugged town with a great mountain view. It is the junction point of many other places in Himachal. From here, we took the bus to Langza which runs only once every 24 hours.
Langza is a famous mountain village, also known as the fossil village of the Himalayas. Ammonite fossils were once commonly found very here, as this area was part of the Tethys Sea just 50 million years ago.
While this village has just a limited amount of houses and homestays, they are very suitable for budget travellers and backpackers. INR1,000 per night can land you a bed and food.
Langza, situated at 4,420 metres, can be a tough place for city dwellers. So some people prefer staying at Hikkim, the nearby village which also houses the highest post office in the world situated at 4,440 metres.
People usually stay there for a short time to send a postcard back home with the famous stamp from Hikkim.
From Langza, we returned to Kaza, and headed for the Key Monastery at the Key village in Kibber district which is situated at 4,166 metres. From a distance, the monastery looks surreal.
There is a guest dormitory on the top floor where one person can stay for INR500. It includes three meals and unlimited cups of butter tea.
When we travelled around Himachal, the roads were still covered in snow and some of them were still closed. Even then, everything was scenic and beautiful.
Manali is a crowded hill station full of traffic, but if you go to outskirts like Solang Valley or Naggar, you must visit the house museum of the legendary Russian mountain painter Nicholas Roerich. Don't miss tasting the famous trout fish from Beas River. It's expensive but truly delicious.
Our Himachal Circuit ended in Manali. If I get the time and money, I cannot wait to journey there all over again.
