Himachal Pradesh 6 : Return to Rampur from Kaza & exploring Kullu District

And I returned all the way back to Rampur from Kaza since Kunjum Pass was closed and would be closed for a fortnight more.. It was 250Km of drive-back but I was much more confident then my way reaching here since I already adept myself on bumpy roads and my predictions got better about rock sliding and driving through waterfalls.. :) I decided to go to Kullu and Manali.. There is a way after Rampur from a village called Saenj which is a one way road but vehicles from both the sides manage some-way or other and cross.. :)

Beautiful bridge only for pedestrians..

Drove constantly and finally crossed Spiti and reached Kinnaur,,

Asses waiting for an Ass i.e. me :)

Almost entire path was blocked due to rock-sliding but the cranes were not stopping from cleaning them all..

Local commuters including priests were waiting for state bus to come.. it was more than an hour delay.. I can understand.. due to road blasts and maintenance most probably.. till that time the farmer was smart and taking his sheeps through main road.. :)

And there I see another rock sliding..

Hardly I could make out anything more than few meters.. I was driving on the edge..

And the visibility was getting better but not enough to gain confidence..

And I observed the broken road,, may be a big big rock changed the entire shape..

And I felt Satluj like my care-taker through out my journey to Spiti..

Poor car got out-of-shape due to bad timing with shooting stones...

And more stoppages due to road cleaning..

And finally I was out of Danger Zone and relaxed sitting next to this waterfall for sometime..

And I met 2 dentists from Chandigarh on my way.. I remember the name of one as Sameer..  we talked things about how we guys are these days not finding time for our on self and just getting into the pattern of life and those strings that dont let us feel free..

I move ahead towards Rampur..

Hungry goats and sheep..

 And finally I found a sign board to go to Kullu.. my next wanna-be destination of Himachal Pradesh

The landmarks would be Anni, Sojha, Banjhar, Bhuntar and then Kullu..

This one was fun to drive .. almost a single lane highway and water was just a bit lower than road track..

The village homes had different architecture then what i have seen anywhere else,,

 View of terrestrial farming from very high top..

And a cute small village in valley on the bank of river..

Different color of farms was worth to stop, watch and observe the crop..

 And farmers were cultivating land using traditional methods of using bulls ploughing the land..

 This was one beautiful tree I have never seen before anything of this kind..

 And now I was not driving near the river but next to stream of water made through many waterfalls..

 And the trees then I was seeing were getting taller than those I crossed before..

This one was special// Its bark was covered with wild leaves..

 And as I climbed bit higher, my ambience turned orange.. :)

 And in excitement I soon reached many levels above sea level..

 And I was stunned to see sooooo many butterflies around me.. :) of many colors.. :)

 And my mouth was watering with the gardens of apple trees on both the sides of road,,

 Tried to catch a pic of butterfly..

And now I get into wild jungle.. I decided to take tea and check with locals and they warned me to stop before sunlight for sure or else i could be the prey for Tigers and Beer ...  :( :(

Compare the trunk and roots of this tree..

 And in intervals the wild flowers were amusing my mood..

And I was in the heart of the ferocious jungle..

Driving carefully and it was an hour more I was expecting sunlight..

Villagers have started coming back to home from mountains with their animals..

And I too made up my mind - Ok! Time to get some hotel.. I was told.. its 10km far.. No issues - It should have not taken more than 25min..

 One of my favourite picture.. :)

Happy to see another vehicle after a long time of driving - ALL ALONE!

 and slowly the fog popped in and added a layer of bloody fear over my already screwed heart! :(

I took camera in hand and started driving with another and managed to take some clicks since I wished to rush and click both at the same time.. wooof!! I am a MESS!

And slowly the fog get reduced for some time...

But again came in! :(

Finallllllyyyyy, I fall down due to heavy mud and lost my balance.. nothing happened to my camera but got few scratches on my leg.. my bike was good but petrol leaked from my tank.. luckily I had reserve of petrol and also funnel to refill the tank.. I was scared after stopping my bike in somewhere at nowhere and I was hoping to see somebody of my specie and I saw a car coming.. :) guys helped me with all that I needed to get-set-and-go and I was just counting meters in a kilometer and I was yet to go 3 kilometers.. :( :(

It was DAMN beautiful but I wasnt 100% able to enjoy that scene.... I was really sh**-scared!

 Saw few cars and I thought - thats it!

But no - it was just a temple - jadoli-jot .. i had a bit more to travel..

Man! bloody sounds started coming aswell.. I have been much careful with road plus accelerated bit more..

Finalllllllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy, I made it! I was referred to a beautiful but costly resort and I didnt gave a second thought that moment to book any room and preferred to take a hot water shower ASAP!

It was a good cozy ambience and I can say I had 'An Ordeal in the Jungle' :)

I rested in Sojha and was destined to reach Kullu next day..

I met 3 guests there.. they were Sikhs from Punjab and when I insisted they helping in understanding their religion, beliefs, pros and cons and many other things which I noted to remember during my trip to Punjab in near future.. :)

After this I will be going to Kullu, Manali, Mandi, Joginder nagar, Pathankot as other places in Himachal Pradesh and then Jammu & Kashmir :)

Soooo keep reading!!! :)