Himachal Pradesh 3 - Sangna, Chitkul and Chansu village

After leaving Tapri, my next destination was Sangla and Chitkul.. Sangla is considered as the holy place since standing there you can see the backside of Mount Kailasha.. As per Hindu mythology Lord Shiva resides on Mount Kailasha and hence those mountains are called as ShivLing by the locals.. And I was warned that the roads gonna be bad and I may experience land sliding, rock falling and traffic problems on my way.. Well - whatever.. I was ready to move ahead.. :)

Chitkul is Indo-Tibet border and Chansu Village is a place where my new friends I made are staying.. :)

There are many army barracks and centers there...

And while driving on rocky roads I got to see snow on far farther farthest mountain and I got my adrenaline rush to reach at target..

I was all the way driving on the side of the river and at the base of the mountain but now it was time to climb them.. ;)

After climbing just 2 km I saw rocks falling from the top and there was huge blow of dust all around. that I saw some cranes cleaning the stones fall on the roads and I and other vehicles waited for half an hour to get the go-ahead from the controlling authority..

It was rocky, dusty, bumpy and tedious road to go through and that is what I say multiplied my excitement.. I was just praying that my bike tyre shouldnt get puncture this time.. :-/

There were more of bad roads and very less of good.. Say in every 1 km you may get 100meter of your luck for good way..

The view of valley was mesmerising and the waterfalls and human settlements were adding more to my enthusiasm..

It was very common to find pile of rocks slided from the mountain and it is just one vehicle that can pass by at times..

 

And also common to find waterfalls on the road side..

 I was very close to reach Sangla..

 And the beauty of nature was just adding cumulatively..

 Finally I reached Sangla and decided to have tea somewhere..

The homes and buildings have special kind of construction and majority are made of just wood..

 Endelig (finally) I gave rest to my bike and self and pounced in one of the camping arena and requested for tea and one can see how much I was enjoying it and the ambiance around.. :) :)

Time to go to Indo-Tibet border - CHITKUL

The monument below is called Gompa (I am writing the way I have heard about it :) )

And this is the back side of Mount Kailasha.. :) Its Grand and Majestic..

Well what I can say more about the beauty of the valley.. its just woooofff! :)

And this river is - Baspa .. it meets Satluj River at Karcham.. the place from where I have started climbing for Sangla..

And a pure SNOW MOUNTAIN :)

 Close-up :P

Now I am very close to security check..

Farmers taking rest and chit chatting in shade..

And herd of Sheep.. :)

And I reached the Security Check.. Here the details of Me and my bike were noted and then only I got clearance to go-ahead..

And the water was flowing at speed over the road.. It was fun to cross it.. As it was first of its kind I experienced on my tour hence I was bit more than careful since on the other side it was valley.. :(

On the verge of reaching the end of the roads for the civilians..

And my enfield made it.. :)

Time for my picture aswell.. :)

Mission accomplished.. I am at Chitkul..

Here also there are couple of hotels and I saw few people clicking photographs (like me) and I thought .. Ok! Time to go back.. :)

These men break the rocks falling from the mountain into smaller pieces and in every few kilometers one can see this thing happening..

No one can know except me about HOW IT FEELS WHEN YOU ARE HERE :)

Here also in Valley Cricket is famous.. School kids having fun..

And some going back to their home..

Great Grand Mount Kailasha..

View of a village in valley and a buddhist temple in the middle..

More close view :)

Cars are parked outside these villages since the roads are soooooo narrow.. Privilege of 2 wheeler.. :)

Not a good picture but it is clear to identify the lizard.. there are soooo many of them here..

Finally I reached Sangla and booked a room in a good hotel and came to market to find some character here of the village and there I met Tarun (on my right) and Ashwini (on left).. both of them are teachers in a village called Chansu.. I stopped them to ask about Buddhist Monastery around and I ended up having cup of coffee, 2 hours of chit-chat and an invitation to visit their school next day to attend the student assembly.. wowwww!! how can I say no? It was an honor although.. :)

So I woke up early morning, packed my bags and all set to explore village Chansu and meet my buddies at school :)

View from my room :)

I took the diversion to the village and the roads were like bed of rocks..

I can take my bike only till footsteps of the village and there an organized parking is made.. I started walking from there ..

Interesting boundaries of stones and wooden sticks..

I accept I am getting stout since in that 1 km hiking I took 3 breaks.. :(

Finally at the entrance gate.. yippy :)

 But 200 meters more.... :(

Village temple..

 And interesting homes of wood and stones .. :)

 Finalllllyyyyy, I saw the school..

Assembly was about to end but I captured few moments.. :)

They even had band team and it was playing musicial.. :) I was welcomed by my friends and I socialised with other teachers..

I was offered tea and snacks and then I requested for a group photo.. there are 5 teachers, 1 head-master and 54 students... Cute small school with competent teachers and surrounded by valley all around.. :)

I said goodbye and Tarun wished to drop me till parking and also informed me about many things I was asking about locals and life here.. thanks Tarun! :)

My next destination was Reckong Peo and on my way back I saw another rock sliding and a wait for 45 minutes for the clearance to traffic..

I also saw some snow covered by sand.. :)

 And its a picture time.. :P

Road was better for a kilometer but then it was a mess through out the way..

The view which I have captured then was just mouth opening and then I keep stopping my bike either for taking pictures or for making a careful way out.. :)

The further snapshot of my journey would be captured in next post soooooooo Keeeeep Reading! :)