Himachal in winter 1/ Journey starts in Bilaspur
This is a story of wish come
true. The wish which I made way back in 2011, have finally been fulfilled. Will
come to the wish a bit later, first let’s start from the beginning.
Madanji came and hugged us as
soon as we arrived in Chandigarh station late last night. He is Madanlal
Sharma. In 2011, he was our pilot when we toured for twenty days through the
rugged terrains of Kinnaur Kailash. I can still remember the moment when we
first met. Madanji, at first expressed his annoyance seeing our tour schedule.
But as the days progressed, he became our close friend, our guide in the tour.
While ending our journey in Chandigarh that time we could see drops of tear in
his eyes.
Now Madanji has developed his
business. Six years back he was just a driver, driving agency’s car. Now he is
a car owner and has his own agency. But we didn’t lose touch with him in these
six-and-a-half years.
To be frank we were very skeptical
about touring Himchal right in the middle of winter. We were actually in two
minds, whether to carry on with our trip and experience snow, or cancel it fearing
that it could affect our health. As we were two minds, Madanji came to be our savior.
He constantly motivated us from the other side of the phone and asked us to
come to Himachal. There would not be any problem whatsoever.
Riding on his courageous words, we have
finally decided to carry out our trip. Last night he took us to a hotel in
Chandigarh. We started our journey today morning. Our first destination is Bilaspur.
After spending a few hours in
Pinjore Gardens not far from Chandigarh, we started our journey. Our car drove
through the borders of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Right after
crossing Anandpur Saheb, we started our uphill drive. Massive developmental
works being carried out. Roads are being widened by cutting trees.
When we reached Bilaspur, the
clock ticked 2:30 pm. Not a lot of tourists know about Himachal’s Bilaspur.
Most of the people know about Chattisgarh’s Bilaspur, but believe me this town
is a gem. So, why we chose Bilaspur first? Here comes the story of wish coming
true.
Bilaspur is a very important town
in Manali-Chandigarh route. While we were moving to Chandigarh from Manali back
in 2011, I felt in love with the place. The love for the town doubled on seeing
the Lake View Hotel of Himachal Tourism. The hotel is situated on the banks of
the massive Govind Sagar Lake, with all the rooms facing it. That time we
wished to spend a day in this hotel.
This time our tour is based on
Kangra Valley. If you start your journey from Chandigarh, then the nearest
place of Kangra Valley, Palampur is at a distance of 256 kilometers. Hence we
decided to break our journey and stay at Bilaspur for a night. It is exactly
halfway between Chandigarh and Palampur. So we got an opportunity to experience
the massive lake as well.
We wanted a lake-facing big room
and got exactly that. It has a massive balcony overlooking the lake. Apart from
the lake we could notice ruins of a few temples as well in the middle of the lake.
In order to know about those temples we would have to walk through the pages of
history.
What we are noticing below, is
the old Bilaspur. The place where we are currently in is new Bilaspur, which is
just around seventy years old. But the old town was constructed way back in
1665. During that time, these temples were built.
The submerged Temples |
But in 1954, Bhakra Nangal Dam came
up in Sutlej River. The artificial Govind Sagar Lake was created. As a result
the old town of Bilaspur submerged. Though the people of old town were shifted
to the new town, the temples remained where they were. According to historians,
before 1954, there are around thirty temples, now there are only around 5-6
temples.
Once the water of the lake recedes
during summer, the temples rise from its ruins. People can actually walk and
visit those temples that time. But for visiting the temples now, boating is the
only way out.
But we have decided against going
for boating instead we will be visiting to Bundla Hill Top now. Just after
having lunch, we started our Bundla bound journey. After moving towards Manali
for a kilometer or so, Madanji took a sharp turn on the right.
The road uphill towards Bundla
was so steep that some of our team members got frightened. Some even decided
against going to Bundla, but Madanji was determined. He was constantly assuring
us.
Bundla bound road |
After climbing for about 12 kms
from Bilaspur, we reached Bundla. We are now at a height of 4,500 ft above sea
level, which means we have climbed about 2,500 ft from Bilaspur.
Keeping the Forest Department run
Rest House in a side, we trusted our feet and climbed some more steps until we
reached a beautiful view point.
The entire Bilaspur and the
Govind Sagar Lake was looking so magnificent from the view point. The beauty
can’t be expressed in words. Very far away, we can locate a few snowcapped
peaks of Dhauladhar, which were trying to peep out from the clouds. But the
peaks were so far away that we couldn’t capture them in Camera.
We wished to see a beautiful
sunset from the view point. Though there were clouds, still the sunset scene
was mind blowing. The entire Govind Sagar turned red, as the sun set. With the
day nearing its end, we started our journey back. (to be continued).
Day ends in Bilaspur |
How to Reach
Reach Chandigarh from any part of
world. Bilaspur is located at a distance of 130 kms from the capital of Punjab.
Regular buses are available. But if you hire your own car, then you can pay a
visit to Bhakra Nangal and Naina Devi Temple on the way.
Where to Stay
With its location, the Himachal Tourism
Development Corporation run Lake View Hotel is the best property in Bilaspur.
Book the hotel online through the website of HPTDC (www.hptdc.in). There are loads of private hotels
also in Bilaspur. You can find them in various hotel booking websites.
Looking for a wildlife tour so visit on this link- Corbett National Park
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