[Soumik Ghosh]

On 12th Dec 2014 we started with an idea that we will stay in Sarahan and Visit Bhaba Valley (Kafnoo Village). But something else was planned for us by nature posting some pictures from the trip.

Walking up the hill to reach the View point



The snow Pump



On the way while walking up the hill



On the way while walking up the hill



The Bhima kali Temple



My Father's first snow encounter



My first long snow walk



The white Carpet



My Father struggling



The Temple



The Temple



In the Tourism Hotel



The Sunset



The Sunset



The Sun Reflection on Snow



Night view of the Temple



In the Temple at Night



Morning Sun



The White Cream











The Snow Cushion





The Sunrise



The Shrikhand Hotel



Before Starting the return journey



Me and My Daughter



Waiting at a land slide sight during the return journey



This trip was planned quite a few months in advance. My parents had come to Gurgaon especially for this trip. My father is an avid traveler and has been to almost every part of India, his favorites being the famous pilgrimage sites of North India. He has been travelling with me since the very first time I started driving to all these places myself. So, we were pretty excited about the whole trip as our 10 months old daughter was also travelling with us. We had checked the weather forecast for some places already and wanted to select a place which was not that high in altitude. We zeroed in on Sarahan-80 kms from Shimla. The date of our travel came. We started at around 9pm.We crossed Shimla around 7.30am. It was drizzling and then suddenly as we were approaching Narkanda, rain got converted to snow. It started snowing heavily. We made a brief stopover at Narkanda, to have breakfast. As we resumed our journey from Narkanda, the snowfall intensified. The road was already filled up with snow, and as I started the vehicle engine the vehicle started skidding. I tried to keep my vehicle on the mud terrain and follow the tracks created by the vehicles which crossed us. I was finally successful in driving over the snow covered road. Our adventurous ride for that day ended as we reached Sarahan at around 2pm. It was still snowing. We got into Hotel Shrikhand-our favorite whenever we go to Sarahan. The staff at this hotel are very good and we were overwhelmed by the service that they provided. As it grew dark, we suddenly realized that there was no electricity. We got quite apprehensive as to whether we would be able to withstand the biting cold there without electricity. But the hotel staff provided us with hot water every few hours. The snowfall intensified; slowly it was white all around.As the snow covered everything around, it became very cold inside the hotel room as well. With no electricity, we could not switch on the room heater as well. We wrapped ourselves with quilts, and sipped piping hot tea. As all of us were very tired after the long and exhausting drive of over 17 hours, we decided to call it a day and went off to bed pretty early after a sumptuous dinner.

[Soumik Ghosh]

While Reaching Sarahan before Narkanda the snow fall started





The White Road











At Narkanda



Roads after Narkanda when things became slippery





Reached Sarahan



The Day 1 Snowfall continues

















At Night some cotton shower



















Day 2 morning at 7:20 am





The second day of our stay started off on the same white note as the previous day had ended. All white all around us…with more snow falling from the sky.. as if the heavens were showering cotton on us. We were told by the hotel folks that electricity will be restored by evening. So, we decided to explore the local market. We had just started from the hotel, when we suddenly realized that we were in flip-flops. So, our first purchase was a snow-boot. The local market was a small one with few shops. We did not find too many people there as it was snowing hard. We came back to the hotel, but still there was no sign of electricity. After having lunch, we decided to take some rest. The hotel folks kept giving us different deadlines for the electricity to be restored. But the wait seemed to be never-ending. As it grew dark, the cold intensified. We had to warm ourselves near the bonfire that was lit by the hotel staff to keep them warm. Still there was no sign of electricity. We had candle-lit dinner on both the first and second day of our stay. The food was pretty sumptuous. We went to bed as soon as we had finished dinner.
The third day started early as we were supposed to visit the Bhima Kali temple for darshan. All of us had decided to take a bath on that day because we had to go for darshan. We did not take a bath the day before. With buckets of hot water, we freshened ourselves. The snow had thickened and we had to arrange for snow boots to be able to reach the mandir crossing the snow. We had bought only one of them, so we asked the hotel staff to lend us one. So, we started from the hotel and reached the mandir after crossing the snow covered road. It was very cold outside with snowy winds blowing across. The mandir wore a deserted look as there was no-one around apart from the priest. After mandir darshan, we came back to the hotel. Our car was covered with multiple layers of snow. We decided to start the vehicle engine as it was not started since the last two days. The battery needed to be warmed as well or else the vehicle would not start at all. We went to the market to buy some nylon rope so that the car could be pulled out from the snow if required. We had heard stories about people getting stranded in the snow in Narkanda. So, we asked the hotel folks to suggest an alternate route. They suggested that we should take the route via Kingal, Basantpur and Dhami and bypass Shimla and Narkanda. After lunch, we charged our mobiles in our car as there was still no sign of electricity. Hours went by, and we waited for electricity to be restored. As it was about to grow dark, electricity was restored. We decided to do some night photography, so we went outside. We took many pictures with the snow lit up by moonlight.
The next day, we started our return journey at around 11am. After a delicious breakfast of poori sabzi, we started our journey towards Gurgaon. Reached Gurgaon around 4.30am the next day.

[Soumik Ghosh]

Few more pictures......

Day 3 when everything is covered under a foot snow











The Bus was skidding while climbing uphill

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to Travelogues. Thanks for sharing!

[Aditya]

That's a lot of snow indeed. Still, the place looks beautiful covered in white. Loved the images of the evening sunlight lighting up the mountain face.