Our Himalayan Adventure
Part I: Kullu Valley
After meeting in Delhi, we (David and Matt) took a long and not very restful overnight bus ride to Himachal. We got off south of the town of Kullu, in the village of Hat (Aut), to see its beautiful ancient Bajaura Temple.
At the bottom of the Kullu Valley, stretching along the west bank of the Beas River from Bhunter to Manali, is a mini-megalopolis, an urban sprawl fed by the tourist industry, choked with traffic, and surrounded by stunning mountains. Three local bus rides took us through and finally out of this mess to the charming village of Naggar on a mountain slope, with beautiful views looking west across the Valley. The best views are from the Hotel Castle--actually, the very best were from outside our room!
Matt, Naggar, and the Kullu Valley from our room at the Hotel
Castle
The hotel, which was in fact a castle of the local Raja in the 16th and 17th centuries and has an interesting temple, happens to be one of the main tourist attractions in Naggar (which had its advantages and disadvantages, among the latter being the regular visits to our room by other tourists who seemed to think it was the local museum!).
The Hotel Castle
Jagti Pat Temple at the Hotel Castle
Other attractions that we visited in Naggar included several beautfiful old temples, and the house where the Russian painter Nicholas Roerich used to live.
Murlidhar Krishna Temple in Thawa above Naggar
Detail of the Tripura Sundari Temple in Naggar
Dogra Yumtso - Baralacha, by Nicholas Roerich
Naggar was the starting point of our first trek, to the Chandrakani Pass and Malana, although an unfortunate encounter between Matt and a stomach bug delayed our departure by a day and resulted in the watching of a whole lot of movies in our hotel room.
Extra photos from the Kullu Valley
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