Hi everyone! Here's my second update from India!
Day 5 (Saturday 24th) - Manali
Following a bumpy, windy overnight bus journey, we arrived (having had very little sleep!) in Manali at 6am. We were quickly accosted by a rickshaw driver who took us to a guesthouse up the hill in the village of Old Manali. After showering and breakfast in a cafe overlooking the fast-flowing river, we walked down to the town to organise the trek which would occupy us for the next week. We settled on a 4 day hike up and over the Hampta pass, followed by a jeep ride up to Chandertal lake in the Spiti valley. This job completed, we took an autorickshaw to a nearby village where we went on a short walk up to a pretty waterfall, frequented by hippies and tourists. We then packed our day sacks in preparation for the trek and got an early night before our first day of walking.
Day 6 (Sunday 25th) - Trek
A jeep took us a short distance outside of Manali where we began our trek, ascending up steep steps through the cloud up to the top of the ridge overlooking Manali, nestled on the Beas river. We paused for a while when the clouds cleared to take in the view, including the summer residence of the Indian Prime Minister. More climbing brought us to lunch time, after which the path flattened out through woodland, passing by an impressive hydroelectric facility. A short while after crossing a rickety bridge over a mountain stream, we reached our campsite for the evening the base of a rocky outcrop, and with a largish river below us, all overlooked by a tall mountain. Our guides cooked noodles and soup to start, followed by rice, dahl and vegetables, and an unidentifiable dessert, which we ate sitting on rocks outside our tents.
Day 7 (Monday 26th) - Trek
Tired from the previous day's of exertion, we slept well even though it rained throughout the night. Breakfast comprised chai, porridge and bread and marmalade. The weather cleared up in time for us to be on our way. First, a short descent through woodland lead us to the fast-flowing river in the bottom of the valley. Our guide was somewhat perturbed to discover the bridge crossing the river had been washed away! After discussing with some other guides, and observing just how cold and wet a German couple became following an attempt to cross with ropes, it was decided that we would adopt a different route. We followed the river a short distance along the near bank, before climbing steeply up the valley side, crossing over a number of smaller tributaries. At one point, the path disappeared and we had to beat our way through rhododendron bushes and other fauna, until we came to a steep rocky descent back to the river side. At this point, the weather became misty and rainy, and we clambered our way over more rocks along the river bank for another hour or so, when we reached a place where the river divided into three prongs. We removed our shoes, rolled up our trousers, and waded through the icy cold, knee-deep water to the other side, where we collapsed into our tents.
Day 8 (Tuesday 27th) - Trek
The weather remained wet throughout Tuesday, which started with a clamber over a slippery, rocky path along the river. We came to another place where the river flowed into a mountain lake, where we were forced to remove our shoes again and walk across. With our feet cold and numb, we continued our ascent up the valley, the path becoming more and more difficult. Eventually, we reached an ice sheet which we climbed up slowly, bringing us up to the Hampta pass. Here, around 4500m above sea level, we paused to savour our achievement, but our view of all but the nearest peaks was obscured by the terrible weather. We climbed down into the next valley, where we set up camp and sat in our tents listening the rain and playing word games.
Day 9 (Wednesday 28th) - Trek
The weather finally cleared up just before we set off for the day on Wednesday. We walked a short way down the river along a boggy path, before coming to yet another point where we were forced to cross the river sans bridge. This crossing was the most difficult, the fast-flowing freezing water reaching far up our thighs. We paused to dry ourselves on the far bank, and watched a team of horses make light work of the same crossing! The rest of the day, we followed the river down the valley, walking through meadows of mountain flowers littered with boulders. This river joined a far mightier one at the end of the valley, which we followed for a short way over a distinctly unstable-looking bridge crossing a tributary, and an ice sheet until we reached our camp site for the evening.
Day 10 (Thursday 29th) - Trek
Our campsite was located opposite the tiny settlement of Chandru. On Thursday morning, we crossed the river and boarded a jeep, which took us along a terrible road which was frequently flooded and covered in boulders up the Spiti valley following the river the whole way. After two hours, we emerged stiffly at our campsite. That afternoon, we hiked up a steep climb to the serene Chandertal lake, where we relaxed and enjoyed the mountain sun. The scenery here above the tree line remained stunning but was much more barren, abundant with screes.
Day 11 (Friday 30th) - Trek
The final day of the trek was spent entirely in the jeep, with a long journey returning to Manali via Chandru and the Rohtang pass, where considerable congestion delayed us significantly. Nevertheless, the scenery was stunning in the glorious sunshine. Callum and I had to make a speedy getaway to catch our 4pm bus to Delhi, leaving Elgon, Bronwen and Ralph to make their way to Shimla later that evening. The bus also took a scenic route down the Beas river, the river getting gradually wider and the hills slowly diminishing away until night fall.
Day 12 (Saturday 31st) - Traveling
Our bus arrived 3 hours late in Delhi, and we staggered off into a rickshaw which took us to the station. We waited several hours before boarding a train to Jaipur, where we arrived at 9pm. We were met at the station by a representative from our hotel. It was wonderfully therapeutic to have a shower for the first time in several days! We ate a light supper on the rooftop restaurant, and then fell straight asleep.
Day 13 (Sunday 1st August) - Jaipur
Callum and I have spent today in Jaipur, which has been one of my favourite cities so far, despite the amazingly persistent rickshaw drivers offering us city tours! We first caught a bus out to the nearby town of Amber, where we spent the morning looking around the amazing fort. In the afternoon, we returned to Jaipur's old city and visited the Jantar Manta, a phenomenal collection of astrological instruments, including the world's largest sundial (accurate to 2 seconds!). We took a rickshaw to the Rambagh Palace hotel (the former Maharajah's palace), where we enjoyed some cocktails in an amazingly swanky bar adorned with polo memorabilia and a tinkling fountain whilst writing our postcards. Whilst we were there, there was a terrific rainstorm, and we emerged to find the city completely flooded! We returned via a turbulent rickshaw ride to our hotel for dinner, and it is here that I am writing this blog entry!
Tonight, we are traveling to Jaisalmer by the overnight train, hoping to arrive just before midday! More to come soon!
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