Kinnaur Diary - Kalpa , Rainbows In The Air

The road to Kalpa winds through the steep hills of Himachal. Please do not hold the notion of great roads in Himachal as it is not true. Fifty percent of the roads are dirt tracks so four wheel drive is the preferred mode of transport or pick up trucks for the more adventurous souls. The Kinnaur Kailash in its majestic splendor was our destination. Sutlej and Baspa has been put on strain for harnessing energy by the JAYPEE group as a result of, which one can see landslides all across the terrain. The ecological story is another one for the fragile bio sphere and I shall pen that down separately. The ride can be bumpy and our bones were really tired by the time we reached HP Tourism Hotel.


This shot was just after the first cup of tea at the TRH and before the sunset (by Sanju of course). It was a magical evening. Although it saddened us to see the hills with very little snow cap but the striking beauty of the landscape nudged us out of our tired bones.
Kalpa has a hidden treasure called the Chini Village, the name is self explanatory, it is where the very first settlers came from Tibet and Dalai Lama was visiting the same week and there was a large number of tourists who had come down from Dharamshala for the same. Chini Village has quaint tea stalls, provision store a small monastery and a school. The locals are very friendly and we were welcome with big smiles and cups of strong sweet black tea wherever we went. The most breath taking experience of Chini village was to see a rainbow at an eye level and fifty meters away, it looked ready to be touched. Had this urge to walk into it but alas it was hanging on the sheer cliff face. I could almost picture myself walking into it with total fascination and then disappearing into a dark abyss as in the Tom & Jerry show.

The hotel is on three levels and makes it extremely private experience. We were at the top most level. Just on the pathway grew such delightful wild flowers pure and white it reminded me of Edelwiess and phenomenal Sound of Music. Here too I had made friends with the four legged variety sadly the film roll was misplaced later on in the journey.