PRAYAG BHOOMI,ACROSS RISHIKESH-JOSHIMATH-BADRINATH.

      THE HOLY LAND OF PANCH PRAYAG -across Rishikesh-Badrinath..............

 R. Ganga ,at Rishikesh Ganga ghat.

 R. Ganga ,at Kaudilya on the way to Devprayag.

The Panch prayag r DEVPRAYAG , RUDRAPRAYAG, KARNAPRAYAG, NANDPRAYAG,VISHNUPRAYAG..................

 Devprayag, where Alakananda & Bhagirathi river meets to form R. Ganga.

 R. Ganga ,as it starts on its journey from Devprayag.

 As one starts his/her journey from the holy town of Rishikesh ,the GANGES river greets him/her at  the holy ghats of Rishikesh.... Then ,as the journey continues uphill, R. Ganges flowing in full force calms down ones soul at Kaudilya,where from the steep climb starts off..............& than the confluence site of R. Alakananda & R. Bhagirathi at DEVPRAYAG to form the R. Ganges ....

 Rudraprayag, where R. Mandakini meets R. Alakananda.

RUDRAPRAYAG

    DEVPRAYAG, a municipality in Tehri Garhwal in the state of Uttarakhand & is considered one of the holiest prayag or confluence, where R. Ganga is born after R. Bhagirathi & R. Alakananda meets together. R. Alakananda rises at the confluence & feet of theSatopanth & Bhagirathkharak glacier in Uttarakhand near the border with Tibet. The headwaters of R. Bhagirathi r formed at Gaumukh ,at the foot of Gangotri Glacier & Khatling glacier in Garhwal Himalayas... RISHIKESH to DEVPRAYAG is 74kms distance across high mountain roads & often encountered with heavy Landslides...
    As the journey continues, next comes RUDRAPRAYAG, where R. Alakananda meets R. Mandakini. RUDRAPRAYAG IS 67Kms from DEVPRAYAG. It lies on NH58 highway & is named after Lord Shiva...

 R. Alakananda at Badrinath.

 Karnaprayag, looks like a bed of rocks..

  KARNAPRAYAG located in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand & is the confluence of R. Alakananda & R. Pindari which rises from Pindari Glacier.  KARNAPRAYAG is31kms from RUDRAPRAYAG.
   NANDPRAYAG ,is the confluence of R. Alakananda & R. Nandakini. It is located in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. Nandakini river rises from Nandadevi peak ....
  VISHNUPRAYAG ,is the confluence of Alakananda river & R. Dhauliganga on the Joshimath- Badrinath route in Chamoli district. Vishnu Hydroelectric Project by Jaypee Industries have comeup at the confluence at Vishnuprayag...Photography is strictly prohibited here as one drive across ,up hill & the most dangerous track of the whole journey to reach Badrinath...

Travelling across the state of Punjab & Haryana.

The Mustard fields across the Dhariwal-Batala-Amritsar region.

          My Diary on the drive across the state of Punjab & Haryana.

 We were driving from Dalhousie to Amritsar via Pathankot & thereafter from Amritsar to Chandigarh via Jallandar , Ludhiana , Ambala & Kurukshetra . Its a 2 days drive route ,But we intended to stay 2 Nights at Amritsar to visit the Harmandir Sahib Gurudwara on Gurupurnima day & a trip to the Wagah Border & enjoy the ceremony there ,the next evening;
       Started off from Dalhousie around 10am with a cloudy atmosphere ( as if the drizzle will start soon ,followed by snowfall)...it was very very cold  there; The route moves as :

 Myself at Chakki onto our drive to Pathankot from Dalhousie.

DALHOUSIE- -- BANIKHET--- NAINAKHUD---DUNARA--CHAKKI---BADHANI----PATHANKOT----DINANAGAR( BYPASS ROAD)---GURUDASPUR---DHARIWAL---BATALA----AMRITSAR.

 The beautiful Harmandir sahib complex.

The evening's lowering down of national flag's ceremony at wagah Border.

 The litup Golden Temple Amritsar on Guru purnima day.

 Upto Chakki ,its all mountain roads & thereafter we were on  the straight flat land drive. I was quite surprised to see the loose pebble & mud peaks across Dunara( quite dangerous, as landslide can take place any moment in this region);From Pathankot to Dhariwal , the traffic was just crazy & the road extension work ( four lanning work on ) made it more & more difficult to move ahead. After Dhariwal , its the countryside beauty to enjoy as one drives ahead ...lush yellow mustard field adorning both side of the AH roadway... Just loved it . Kept on requesting our driver to stop somewhere ,so that I could make it to the field & enjoy its beauty ,besides capturing it on my frame.

 The international border gates r opened for the ceremony at Wagah border.

 The highway drive across from Jallandar to Ludhiana.

 A roadside view at Ludhiana

 The Entry gate  to Kurukshetra City.

 The Shiva temple at BrahmaSarovar , Kurukshetra.

 Beautiful Sunset by the BrahmaSarovar ,Kurukshetra.

 Jallianwala baug memmorial , Amritsar.

    We reached  Amritsar around 6pm. Evening ,enjoyed the litup Golden Temple  & admired its harmony besides enjoying the Makkai roti , sarsoo saaj & Amritsari muttor paneer near the temple premise; A bit of shopping of Phulkari dupatta,Akrot & Patiyala churidar was in my agenda before getting back to our hotel at Ranjit avenue. Next day, after a trip to Jallianwala baug,& lunch at the langar in the Golden temple ,we had to hurry to drive down to Wagah Border,which was 40kms drive . Since ,we got our VIP passes we could drive down upto the parking near the International  trade border ,orelse ordinarily one has to walk down more than a Km to the enterance. ( Except Cameras& small clutch bags nothing is allowed inside the premise). We got out sits just next to the Wagah border gates instead of the gallery, So could capture the ceremony very well in my camcorder...Both side of the border looked to bond so well ....; Enjoyed the lowering of national flag ceremony,before driving back to our hotel .
     We had to start on our road drive early the next morning ,as we planned to visit Kurukshetra too before getting back to Chandigarh. Took NHA1 to JALLANDAR-where we planned to have a stopover at the IOC 's bottling plant & meet one of ourfriend there; This region is very dusty & we could hardly breathe well; Even as we drove towards Ludhiana,which is an Industrial belt ,our throats were choking by the amount of pollution in this region..... We had our lunch on the way at Ludhiana before entering Ambala in Haryana state.... Now starts the crazy part of driving ... the construction work of flyovers in the middle of the highway ,made traffic move in slow speed. It was almost 4:45pm when we reached PIPPLI, from where we had to enter the Kurukshetra city limit . The roads looked in its worst state & the traffic is mad rush ..... hardly any one to manage the traffic & police sitting in one corner of the roadside; People hardly use any helmet & follow any traffic rules ---------- crazy site indeed; Hardly any good hotels have come up in this part. We were in a hurry to make it to BRAHMASAROVAR which is some 19kms or so drive ,before the sunset. The Brahmasarovar is well build but maintainance is very poor...after the darshan at the shiva temple here , my husband wanted to make a visit to his Engg. college campus & Hostel ;  According to my husband ,who was visit this area after 21 yrs , though lot of changes have taken place but not well maintained.... As we entered the university campus area ,my husband was so-o excited to take me around But , I was bit tired by nowto be part of his enthusiasm. Maybe next time , will visit the place & enjoy well here . It was almost 7pm when we hit the highwayback to Ambala & than drive thru' the Expressway to Chandigarh which is 50kms from Ambala. We reached our hotel at sector 17 Chandigarh around 8:45pm , & So-o a lovely journey across came to an end & Next morning we'll be taking the flight direct from Chandigarh to Mumbai.

GOLDEN MOMENTS AT THE GOLDEN TEMPLE.

The Golden Temple on Gurunanak's Birthday.

                   GOLDEN MOMENTS AT THE GOLDEN TEMPLE , AMRITSAR.

 The Langar of the Golden Temple litup.

 People sitting in praise of Almighty by the side of the lake at the Golden temple.

 The Harmandir Sahib Scantum .

People taking a dip in the holy waters  at the Golden temple.

We reached Amritsar on Guru purnima day , with the hope to have a different look of the Golden temple. It was our first visit to this place .After checking into our Hotel Clark Inn at Ranjit Avenue, we quickly drove off to the location of the Golden temple( as we were aware that it'll be very crowded) which was some 5kms away .... After removing our shoes at the shoe counter we walked in ,covering our head ...................OMG!!!!! It looked so-o so-o beautifully lit up ; No words to express our feeling . The atmosphere was so-o charged up ,with the guruwani being played ,people praying by the side of the lake with tiny candels & prayer books....The place was creating a very holy atmosphere.....
   We clicked some great photos of the temple site in the litup lights before standing in line to enter the scantum of the Harmandir sahib . It was so-o full of peace & harmony that our soul stood in silence & prayers...

 The enterance of the Harmandir Sahib Scantum.

We both at the Golden temple.

   We had been to several such sacred places before, But never felt such Harmony  amongst people in praise of Almighty. After we paid our respect & prayers ,we moved out of the main scantum ,to capture some marvelous  photos of this Holy place.....The rawa halwa given as prasad was too tasty... but we thought to come back to the same place in daylight to get another look of the shrine besides enjoying a lovely lunch at the gurudwara's holy langar ,were everythings is so-o automatized ..... It was a great feeling of community & one God ....
     Just loved the way people gave sevadaan here ;I Wondered ,how if the World be such a lovely place ,there'll be no crime around ............Total peace & happiness flow across---Pray for it to Almighty .

KALATOP----CHAMBA.

The View of the Kalatop Peak at Chamba.

               TREKKING UPTO THE PEAK OF THE KALATOP.

The Tall deodar adorning the Kalatop peak.

As we kept climbing across the jungle route of deodar at Kalatop.

 The peak is still a long way ....

Trying to capture the memmories of our adventurous trek in our camera lens.

 The beauty of the surrounding area from top of the Kalatop peak.

 The Pirpanjal peeping thru' the tall deodars....

KALATOP, also considered as a hillstation of Chamba  is a beautiful peak covered with tall deodar trees....Its a 3kms distance to its peak which can be made on foot or by vehicle . If ,someone intend to go upto the top by vehicle ,might have to make a payment of 250Rs/-+ guide charge is 150Rs/-. But we opted for a trek upto its top via an unconventional route across the jungles which will save us a distance of 1&1/2 Km to its top .... though quite an adventurous attempt. we started off from the base after parking our car at the enterance.....For first few mins.of the climb we were quite enthusiatic moving ahead of each other thru' the tall deodar trees. Hardly any road mark on the way except  following each others foot marks across ,we moved on ....After an hour climb ,I was feeling very exhausted as hardly I could see any end to our climb to the top . But ,my husband kept on motivating me to move on & kept exciting me to get to see a wonderful view ,when on top ...So, I moved on ...............Many a time ,I slipped as I was wearing a sneaker shoe instead of a trek shoe... But our driver helped me to move up .... The climb is pretty steep & I was running out of breathe... But some how could make it to the top ... What a view from here ,I shouted!!!!!! The Pirpanjal was looking awesome thru' the dense branches of tall deodars. When on top ...we sat for a while on the grasses as we kept clicking each others photos ,to cool all our pains . Now ,its time to move downward ,which is much more dangerous.... maintaining ones balance thru' & the chilled in the air  made it more difficult. But when at the bottom of the Kalatop peak ,we felt that it was worth attempting rather trying out the ordinary drive on a vehicle .

My Journey from Palampur to Dalhousie.

                My Journey From Palampur  to Dalhousie..............

Across the ghats ,on our drive to Dalhousie from Nurpur.

We were at Shahpur around 3:30pm after all those local sightseeing at Palampur. After Lunch at a local resturant by the highwayside ,we started off to Nurpur. NURPUR to DALHOUSIE is approx. 69kms distance. After taking the diversion from Nurpur towards LAHRU junction,we were bit confussed about out route , though our driver was telling that this route is very picturques but , by this time we were very exhausted ...we moved on; The road passed thru' high mountains & bit deep gorges... By the time we reached Lahru ', we intended to have a cup of tea at the junction & decide whether to take on the JOT ROUTE or TUNNAHATTI-BANIKHET route....as the later one is bit longer & Jot route is steeper. Tunnahatti route passes thru' deep jungles( State reserve forest area)...Ultimately we decided to take on the Tunnahatti route;

The beautiful hill town of Dalhousie by the Pirpanjal range.

Myself, at the ghats on our drive off to Dalhousie.

Our resort at Dalhousie.

     As we moved on , many a times the thought off being ontop of all the surrounding mountain peaks ,kept my heart beating faster, the exhausted mind took its punch ,over the excitements of driving across the mighty Dhauladhar Range towards the Pirpanjal range..........Couldn't use the camera much ,as it was getting dark &the really twisted & narrow roads across was making a scarry feeling. At the end of the Reserve Forest at Tunnahatti , there's a checkpost ,where drivers details & other checkings r conducted before one can drive off towards Dalhousie Cantt. area.
   We had our bookings at Mt. View Hotel, Dalhousie ,which was very close to the Main Bustand at Dalhousie, So didn't find much hassle finding it out........... The next 2 nights we'll be here at Dalhousie which is expected to reach subzero temp. by night .

PALAMPUR IN THE KANGRA VALLEY.

The Serene town of Palampur by the Dhauladhar range.

The Mighty Dhauladhar Range at Palampur.

                 PALAMPUR- The SERENE TOWN OF KANGRA VALLEY.

Tea plants bloom.

BAIJNATH TEMPLE , near Palampur.(Jyothirling shrine).

Myself ,at the Baijnath Shrine near Palampur.

On our drive off from Chandigarh to Dalhousie ,we thought to have a night stopover at the serene town of Kangra valley ie. PALAMPUR. With the day break at Palampur , we could feel the severe chill in the air ; The Dhauladhar Range standing tall in front of us made us feel high spirited.... Its a tiny place town but I liked its spread across...Saw & heard about the place many times in hindi movies ,but its the first time that we'r here in this part of India. Wanted to visit the BAIJNATH JYOTHIRLING which is 14kms from the hotel were we stayed the previous night.So, we quickly wrapped up our belonings after a bit of photo session from our 4th floor hotel balcony . Since the place is very small , hardlybig hotels came up; Baijnath temple had a beautiful architecture ...
note: No leather items r allowed inside the temple premise.Cameras allowed outside the main shrine.

Chamunda devi temple , near Dharamashala.

Tea estates of Palampur.

Beautiful sunset across the Beas river on our way to Palampur.

BAJRESHWARI SHRINE, KANGRA.( DURGAMATA's PITH)

Bajreshwari Temple enterance.

 We both at Shahpur on our drive off to Dalhousie from Palampur.

    We really loved this place of worship . Its believed that Ravana got Shiva's blessings after praying here.We had to remove our shoes & belts before entering the place . Taking water in Kalash from the tap besides the main scantum & flowers & prasad ,one can perform His/ hers own puja at this Shiva temple. & being monday  ie. Lord Shiva's day ,we found ourself lucky enough to do our puja & prayers here. We  were planning to go toBIR & BILLING to see the paraglaiding but , due to offseason ,this place was not worth going too ...So, planned out to go around the Tea Estates of Palampur. After that we drove off to Chamundeshwari Temple close to Dharamashala.
   We intended to visit Bajreshwari Shrine in this region ,so instead skipped out Dharamashala ...Bajreshwari is another of the 51 Durgamata's Pith. Here there's not much of hussle bussle like Nainadevi temple in Una City. Since its bit off route & only devotees interested visit the shrine.After Bajreshwari mata's darshan at Kangra we started off our drive to Dalhousie via Shahpur & Nurpur & than bypassing Pathankot.Nurpur to Dalhousie is 69kms via Lahru-Tunnahatti & Banikhet.
  MAIN ATTRACTION OF PALAMPUR: BAIJNATH TEMPLE, CHAMUNDADEVI TEMPLE,TEA ESTATES OF KANGRA,KANGRA TOWN, BAJRESHWARI TEMPLE, BIR-BILLING for paraglaidding lovers.

ACROSS THE KANGRA VALLEY.

                   My Journey from Chandigarh to Palampur ..

I was long planning out a trip to the Kangra Valley in the Western part of Himachal Pradesh. I planned to visit the region just before it gets covered under the snow cap, So choice was definitely end of Nov'....

The Drive Uphill to the Nainadevi Temple peak Base from Una City

The View of the Una City from top of the Nainadevi temple peak.

     Took the direct flight from Mumbai- Chandigarh & halted a night at Chandigarh City. Since prior , we had been around Chandigarh , So preferred to rest the night..... We stayed at Hotel Icon ,at sector 8( just  next to sector 17,Chandigarh)....

The View of Govindsagar Lake from Nainadevi temple Shrine.

Nainadevi Shrine enterance.

Govindsagar Lake view.

Bhakra Dam lock gates.

Sutlej river view from top of the Bhakra Dam gates.

Anandapur sahib Gurudwara , Hosiapur.

   Since we hired an Indigo car for 2 of us  earlier, so after a hearty breakfast next morning,we were on the road by 8:40am.After MOHALI came ROPAR,which is 28kms drive ...& Kiratpur is 20kmsfrom Ropar. Roads r pretty good to drive but have to shell out good bucks for the tolls all the way thru'...Since we avail the army facility we need not pay any toll thru'..... After KIRATPUR- UNA city is 40kms drive.... Though , didn't had prior plans to visit Anandpur Sahib Gurudwara at Hosiarpur ( just before Una) ...but then changed our mind ,for a visit  to this Shrine.
         Next we were to drive thru' straightto Una City & Nangal thereafter , But our driver insisted us to visit the NAINADEVI SHRINE at UNA CITY....We drove upward thru' high hill roads to the base ofNainadevi peak .( NAINA DEVI SHRINE IS ONE AMONGST THE 51 DURGAMATA PITHS)..... Seeing the steps climb , I thought to give off the idea to climb to the main temple . Soon our driver told me about the ropeway facility available here though at a cost ...But , I don't mind to shell out 110 Rs/- each for the ropeway as the temple is quite at a height... It was quite chilled at the base of the Ropeway But we were more enthusiatic to capture the Govindsagar lake view from this height as the lights were proper for a good photo opt. After the climb on ropeway, there's a long line of shops selling the Puja items&prasads for devotees to the shrine. We soon came across steps ---- OMG!!!! still steps,was the thought in my mind .... My husband ,was busy capturing pic's of Govindsagar lake from different angles , just to forgo the thoughts that we r crossing over 200 steps( pretty big size steps)....No camera, bags R allowed inside the temple premise...... So, my husband sat on the steps to take care of our expensive cameras & other belonging...It was 11:20 am when I stood in the waiting line inside the temple & the line hardly moved forward ..............After almost an hour wait ,I was really losing patience to enter the main garbagraha....There were several lines formed( couldn't understand,how some people bypassed me ).... At last a darshan of Mata' ( only a second in front of her) & than again a downward climb upto the Ropeway site....Now found that the ropeway service is closed upto 2pm for lunch hour ...Was feeling crazy , & we need to visit Jwalamukhi Temple too on the way & since winter, It'll become dark soon ...After we came down to the base of Naina Devi peak , we wanted to see the Bhakra Dam site too ....
      By the time we reached Bhakra Dam site ,it was 3pm....Never thought ,to see the dam reserviour, gates from so-o close; Since we took the route hardly frequented by tourists ,we got to capture some great photos.....Soon , my husband gave the idea to the driver ,not to go to NANGAL instead take on the THANAKALAN---BANGANA-NANDAUN---JWALAMUKHI route....

Myself , at Bhakra Dam.

    From BHAKRA DAM to THANAKALAN , one need to drive thru' ,over the gates of BhakraDam & enter a tunnel before crossing over to the other side of the GovindSagar lake....But, for that , there's a tough checking of the persons,belongings,& the vehicle before crossing over the gates of Bhakradam.... We didn't mind it ,as its once in a lifetime experience to drive across the gates of BhakraDam....But was bit sceptic to enter the tunnel ,as we were not sure of beingthru' correct route................ But, took a chance & off we go;
    Thanakalan to Jwalamukhi temple is 50kms drive... It was almost 5:15pm when we stopped at the gate of Jwalaji; Its a long straight uphill climb...but we couldn't feel the pain of the long walk as our eyes were on the various stalls all along;There's lot of monkeys waiting to pounch on the devotees prasad's...We were in the hurry for the darshan ... Long heard to this Shrine & today we r here , The feeling was too strong as we entered the main scantum; The flame of Jwalaji is glowing for years & our soul bowed before HER strength as we stood in her praise. After that did a bit shopping of Red Chunri & photos of Mata & the famous Gatiya lasun ( Ayurvedic medicine for joint pains), before stating off for PALAMPUR.

The mighty Dhauladhar Range view from our hotel balcony..

The serene town of Palampur.

      It was almost 7pm & we found ourself lucky to finish off our darshan at Jwalamukhi temple by 7pm as its gates closes after that for an Hour+; Now We started off our drive across the hill mountains....Couldn't make out the places & its surroundings in the Dark ..except the name our the places ie. KANGRA TOWN, BATOR, NAOGRATA & then came PALAMPUR . It was around 8:30pm ,when we arrived at the Hotel at Palampur . It was quite chilling & we were eager to checkin at Hotel Vishal Residency ,which got a beautiful view of the Dhauladhar Range .But we need to wait for the day break to enjoy its beauty & now its a hot bowl of Soup & Biriyani to go off to sleep with lots of woolen wearson...

 ROUTE: CHANDIGARH-MOHALI-ROPAR-KIRATPUR-UNA-BHAKRA DAM-THANAKALAN-_NANDAUN-JWALAMUKHI-KANGRA-BATOR-NAOGRATA-PALAMPUR.

Main Attraction of the region: Anandpur Sahib Gurudwara,NainaDevi shrine,BhakraDam,Jwalamukhi temple shrine...