Thursday 17 May 2012

Himachal Pradesh

By Mark


After Chandigarh we headed up into the mountains for the town of Shimla. Nice short ride for us and leaving late was not the best idea as the heavens opened and we got to have a nice wet and cold arrival. The usual ride around trying to find a hotel with safe parking for the bikes was a hassle. The mountainous towns always have little to no parking and makes it difficult to find a room. Eventually we found a place with a very warm and welcoming host who gave us a good deal on a room. This time of year prices tend to double with all the domestic tourists heading to the mountains to escape the heat of the lowlands but we managed to escape the price hike this time round. Our plan was not to stick around long as we wanted to keep heading further north towards Manali and the Himalayas. We found a great quiet road to travel along towards a town called Tatopani. Beautiful scenery that changed along the entire way with monkeys hanging out by the roadside and very little traffic. Just what you want on a twisty mountain road. Every time we hit these roads you fall into a zone of cruising along taking everything in, the next minute you have a bus hurtling towards you in a blind corner with just enough room for you to pass or you can take a tumble down the mountain side. We left with no intentions of knowing where we would spend the night and after a fair old ride, and slow going we found a great quite guesthouse in the middle of nowhere and stayed the night.

Views out over Shimla

The Mall, Shimla

A quick stop on our way to Tatopani

Some curious kiddies who came to check out these white coloured freaks

These photos do not do any justice to how beautiful the countryside is here

Cruising through the pine forests, awesome especially with such a small amount of traffic

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