Another year is here again. I bid goodbye to 2023 by elevating my spirits, going to my hometown, and doing a 4-day road trip to Kullu Valley, Sissu, and Parvati Valley. It’s the time of the year when my virtual explorations on Google Earth materialize. However, it’s been a rather dry winter due to the absence of any substantial western disturbance—an instance of weather irregularity that’s becoming more frequent with climate change, especially the rising ocean temperature. Montane forests are blazing everywhere, in some low-lying areas multiple times a year. Lower hills and plains are covered with a persisting smog layer as a result of temperature inversion. Yet, I found some good snow in Lahaul. The remnants of the raging floods of the past monsoon still linger in the Kullu Valley in the form of broken roads, buildings, and ensuing traffic jams.
It was a full day of driving, a 12-hour journey from our home to the initial destination, Manali. Taking a turn onto NH305 from NH5 at Luhri leads you through Anni tehsil. The refreshing woody air from tall cedars at heights on either side of Jalori Jot/Pass (3150 m) provides a breath of freshness. In contrast to my bus travel to Manali in 2019 for the Hampta Pass trek, this time we had the opportunity for a brief halt to ascend the ridgeline on Jalori Pass. However, after a couple of kilometres hike eastward to Serolsar Lake, we headed back, ensuring to save some daylight for our onward journey on these short winter days. Often closed during winter, this pass had a bare minimum snow presence.
The sun descended upon us around Aut tunnel, with the destination still a fair 2 hours away. The Beas River displayed an innocuous calmness after the stormy monsoon. We spent some time at Dhakpo Shedrupling Monastery in Kullu in the evening.
The next day followed the customary visit to Mata Hadimba Devi Temple, venturing across and through the beautiful Pir Panjal range while the mighty white pyramid of Hanuman Tibba (5982 m) on the west, at the edge of the Dhauladhar range, looked down at us. The 9 km long Atal Tunnel at 3100 meters bore the load of more than 2 kilometres of a straight tall massif at its centre. A portal to another landscape awaited at the banks of the partially frozen Chandra River. We spent the day at Sissu, reminiscent of the cold riverbed of Bhaga at Jispa deep within Lahaul during my last visit, and returned for another day of a long drive to Parvati Valley.
The receded water levels of the major tributary of Beas, the Parvati River, also unveiled the remnants of its fiery nature. On another clear day, we found ourselves entering the dry valley during this time of the year, possibly due to the roadway hugging the river’s left bank, exposing us to the sun-scorched southern slopes of the valley. Continuing our route, we traversed the damp surroundings of Kasol and got stuck in a traffic snarl near the sacred Manikaran—a site of worship and natural hot-water springs. We paused there on our way to the last village of the valley, Tosh.
In an attempt to catch a glimpse of the grandiosity that envelops me, I embarked on a brief hike up to the Kutla camps the next morning, only to return and head back home on a long winding journey. The jagged Manikaran Spires, reminiscent of the Karakoram, lingered in my memory, despite not having had the opportunity to witness any mountains from that reknowned range.
The remoteness of the prominent mountains around can be inferred by the absence of a single picture of perhaps the most famous peak in Himachal and the highest in the Kullu-Lahaul watershed, Pravati Parvat (6632 m). It’s likely not visible from the two-week-long and difficult Pin Parvati trek trail. The north face of the mountain gives birth to the 27.7 km long and the largest glacier in the state, Bara Shigri glacier, whose snout extends down to the banks of the Chandra River, reaching about 3950 m. The poor health of the glacier, like any other glacier in the region, is evident from its average annual retreat of about 22.5 meters.
Bhaga River meets the Chandra at Tandi, forming the Chandrabhaga, which eventually becomes the Chenab, flowing northwest to Kashmir. Numerous hippie establishments have sprung up in and around Tirthan Valley, Outer Seraj Valley, and Parvati Valley.
The image below taken from Travel The Himalayas is annotated for reference. Some of the nearby prominent peaks around Parvati Parvat are Dibibokri Parvat (6507 m), Dibibokri Pyramid (6491 m), Kangla Tarbo I (6315 m), Shigri Parvat (6550 m), and Kullu Pumori (6553 m). Parvati Parvat was first summited on 10 June 1968, from Dibibokri Col via East shoulder by M. Tremonti (leader) and his team.
Upon our return, we noted a concerning aspect along a 63-kilometer stretch along National Highway 305, lasting approximately 3 hours from Ratwah in Banjar to Jalori Pass and then down to Anni town—there are no fuel stations.
Back in Rampur Bushahar, the historical International Lavi Mela (Lavi Fair) was being wrapped up for the year. It was probably my first time visiting it and making some modest purchases.
ShySnail 