[Dry Ice]

Why Tirthan?
Well, I wanted some peace, wanted to be away from the maddening crowds that are so typical of almost all the 'popular' hill stations up north. Especially in the months of May-June.

Tirthan seemed like a good option to just relax and do nothing amidst nothing. Apart from a raging river and unspoilt nature there is little else to do. You can go fishing, though!

I firmed up my travel dates and enquired about availability from Chris (who owns The Himalayan Trout House). Unfortunately he was booked for the weekend and after going through other options in the vicinity, I decided to postpone my trip by a weeks time. Don't regret it one bit! Chris and Shefali are amazing people and lovely hosts. Spent an evening chit-chatting and it didn't feel like I had just met them!

Broadly, plan was to drive down (rather up!) on Friday and return on Sunday. We managed to stay on course for the most part during the onward journey (took 12 hrs door to door) but the return journey was a nightmare. Thanks to us leaving a little late and the horrendous overloaded trucks on the Manali Highway (took 14 hrs door to door).

Overview of posts -

The Drive Up & The Drive Up II
Details/photos of drive from Delhi to Nagini - Friday, 3-Jul

An evening on the banks
Time we spent on the riverside - Friday, 3-Jul

The Himalayan Trout House
Place were we stayed

Something Fishy & Something Fishy II
Fishing excursion to a nearby village - Saturday, 4-Jul

The Way Back
The most boring part! Nagini to Delhi - Sunday, 5-Jul

[Dry Ice]

The Drive Up

An early start ensured we were out of Delhi in no time! Breakfast+Lunch break happened somewhere near Rupnagar. A rather non descript dhaba with average food.

Lovely turquoise waters of Sutlej near Kiratpur Sahib lifted our spirits.

Only for a short while though. I was travelling on this stretch for the first time and was unaware of the mess that lay ahead. A combination of steep gradient, long queues of slow moving overloaded trucks struggling to climb, near empty free falling speeding trucks tumbling down make the drive an extremely difficult one. Anyway, I managed fine I guess, and we weren't overtly delayed.


Sharing a few screenshots from my dashcam footage -

Pandoh Dam


Reminded me of Kinnaur


Some kind of detonation work going on


Larji


Banala


Aut Tunnel approaching


Didn't realize it then, but we were to return back very soon ....


.... as the bridge was closed. Google is not yet aware of it I guess.


The road width reduces after the Aut tunnel turn, but so does the mad traffic. It's a peaceful drive here on.




Approaching Nagini Village


Our home for the next 2 days​

[Dry Ice]

The Drive Up - II

Some more photos of the 'Drive-Up', exhausted the 20 pic limit.

Which confluence is this?


Just after Aut tunnel, mix of murky and turquoise water in Beas


A close up


I could have spent a lot longer here, but had to push on ...


Enjoying a break


Some other tunnel

[Dry Ice]

An evening on the banks

I was feeling a little tired as our destination was approaching and we were navigating through the narrow streets of villages enroute. Upon arrival, amidst nature, all the tiredness went away. The gushing waters of Tirthan were music to our ears! A quick change and cup of coffee later, we were right on the banks. Trout House is not on the banks so to say, but is fairly close for all practical purposes. You have a nice view of the river from their front porch. There is a path leading down to the banks a short walk away.

We must have spent around an hour or two there, it was so peaceful and soothing for our over burdened stressed out urban souls . This was the solitude we were looking for so badly! It almost felt like meditation as we couldn't hear anything else other than the Tirthan rushing down. Absolute bliss!!

We did witness a beautiful sunset, eclipsed somewhat though, by the gigantic mountains all around. Following are some of the photos we took at the spot.

Crystal clear chilled water




Sun is starting to set now lending a beautiful warm hue to everything


Golden sky reflecting off in the water


Going down somewhere behind that hill


Meanwhile, clouds started gathering on other tops




I was expecting a shower soon .... but thankfully it didn't happen!


Almost gone now - light started falling rapidly


We moved a little more upstream


Falling light meant no 'action' shot without flash!


It also meant beautiful long exposures without the need of filters!


And then we walked back to our adobe. Last pic of the day.

[Dry Ice]

The Himalayan Trout House

http://www.mountainhighs.com/

The only thing that hasn't changed is probably their warmth. Chris and Shefali are just fabulous people, I enjoyed a lot interacting with them.

Their staff is equally good. Deepak and Anil (they are classmates, grew up together, now work together!) are very friendly and soft spoken. Tell them what you need and they make sure it's there for you. On one of the evenings we were a little late for dinner, and they offered to transfer the dinner from the gazebo to our room even though they have a no-food-in-room kinda policy. Deepak is an ace angler as well, can be your guide for the fishing tour.

Location is brilliant as well. You can sit on the front porch sipping coffee, enjoying the Tirthan's music. They also have a variety of trees/plantations in their property - all grown naturally.

I would definitely recommend this place to people planning a trip to Tirthan.

Some photos we clicked of the place -

Mud Huts - outside view










Really liked how they have utilized the natural light to the maximum by using these skylights!




The front porch


Creatively decorated wall






A visitor in their garden

[Dry Ice]

Something Fishy

Saturday morning we decided to venture out for fishing. Deepak was our guide for the day. He convinced us to travel till Bathad (~14kms from THTH). We carried packed lunch from THTH.

One needs to get a permit for fishing from the nearby Fishery deptt's office - nothing major, just a small slip with your name on it. A fee of Rs.100 has to be deposited per person. Since we were carrying just 1 fishing rod, took the permit for a single person.

The roads gradually deteriorated in quality and eventually the tarred surface completely vanished. After Bathad, we travelled on a dirt/stone path.

I will share some dashcam videos of this route soon. For now, here are some snaps to give an idea of the route.

Anyway, we found a parking spot near the end of road and started walking to the 'location.

The walk wasn't really easy to be honest but when we reached the spot, all of it seemed worth it!

The river was in a different form and colour all together here!

... more in next post

[Dry Ice]

Something Fishy II

That's Deepak, village boys looking on.


Fly Fishing!


Measuring his catch!


We kept one

​
After spending half a day at location 1, we moved to another spot, a little downstream. Tirthan was relatively calm here. We had our packed lunch here as well. Amidst all greenery, it felt awesome! Weather was nice and pleasant all throughout!
​

A traditional wood and mud home


Our second spot for the day


A waterfall somewhere far away


The bridge seen here was our second spot. Picture is taken from where the car was parked.


Another confluence near Batad, Tirthan & .... sorry forgot the name

Also made a few underwater videos. Deepak and the local kids were very fascinated with the footage, here is a sample screenshot from one such video. Will uploaad the complete videos soon.

[Dry Ice]

The Way Back

Sunday was probably the worst day of trip. Didn't feel like getting up and leaving the place. We started back around 10.30am blissfully unaware of the troubles that lay ahead.

Drive till Mandi was very pleasant, thanks to the overcast sky and occasional drizzle. Very few pics we clicked during the return leg.

Somewhere just before the Aut Tunnel




Muddy waters of Beas


Clouds looming on the montains


Mist flowing along the river


Nice place!


​

Too many slow moving trucks meant our progress was slow and could reach Kiratpur only by 4-4:40pm. Had a brief stop for some fuel and food. Another stop at Murthal to stretch. Finally reached home around midnight - Full 14 hours after we started from Tirthan.

[Gannu_1]

Moderator's note: Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues section. Thanks for sharing!

[predatorwheelz]

Congrats on the trip. We had gone to Tirthan in March 2014, and stayed at HTH. The sound of the roaring river amidst the general serenity, and the beautiful scenery all around is medicine for tired urban souls. Christopher and Shefali were wonderful hosts as usual, and it was a sublime experience overall.

Just to compare some notes:

1. It seems you stayed in the mud huts. We tried the stone cottages. About the same size, but we found them more airy and with a dedicated small balcony.

2. Is this Bathad place further upstream from Gushaini? When we had gone, the roads upstream were still under ice, and we had a Honda City. So Christopher made us fish on the river just outside HTH. Good fun.

3. Its disappointing to know you took 14 hours to return. In our case the onward journey was made at night. Started at 9PM and reached at 9AM the next day. The return journey also took exactly 12 hours. The only bad stretch we had faced was near Bilaspur, with broken roads and truck traffic.

Here's a link to my travelogue.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...-divinity.html

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by predatorwheelz

Congrats on the trip. We had gone to Tirthan in March 2014, and stayed at HTH. The sound of the roaring river amidst the general serenity, and the beautiful scenery all around is medicine for tired urban souls. Christopher and Shefali were wonderful hosts as usual, and it was a sublime experience overall.

Same here! They are just lovely people.

It seems you stayed in the mud huts. We tried the stone cottages. About the same size, but we found them more airy and with a dedicated small balcony.

I liked the decor of the mud huts more! Moreover, we spent most of our time outdoors, so area was not much of a concern.

Is this Bathad place further upstream from Gushaini? When we had gone, the roads upstream were still under ice, and we had a Honda City. So Christopher made us fish on the river just outside HTH. Good fun.

Right. Judging from the road condition, I was sure it would be under snow at some point in the year. He also suggested fishing in Ropa - it's a trek from Gushaini.

We carried packed lunch from THTH and had a picnic of sorts in the middle of nowhere! Really enjoyed that.

Its disappointing to know you took 14 hours to return..

Tell me about it! Our late start had a role to play.

Fantastic log there btw!

[mentalmaxout]

Amazing pics...was in gushaini girth an valley last Diwali at Rajus place... It truly is serene and peaceful... Your pics brought back fond memories.., especially the road leading to tirthan. Btw did you go to the great Himalayan national park?

[embee]

Thanks for sharing your travelogue DRY ICE!

This place, the Himalayan haven (Tirthan Valley) just looks awesome. I wonder, how it would be like when you are exactly present there. The environment must be so serene there. The pictures you've clicked are nice.

I think a must place to stay in Tirthan is Himalayan Trout House.

How was your fishing experience?
How was the weather?

I also like the travelogue of predatorwheelz about Tirthan Valley and his stay at Himalayan Trout House.

Cheers,
Embee

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by mentalmaxout

.. Btw did you go to the great Himalayan national park?

Thanks! We could not as it was just a weekend trip. The place surely needs a few more days.

Originally Posted by embee

..
I think a must place to stay in Tirthan is Himalayan Trout House.

How was your fishing experience?
How was the weather?
..

Thanks! Now there are multiple options to stay. Some are right on the river bank. Having said that, I would still recommend THTH, just coz of the hosts .

Fishing experience was awesome! Weather was great throughout. We managed to catch quite a few decent sized ones, but, let all of them off except one.

[Dry Ice]

Adding 2 videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za4_70BLQps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57_2KwEzb5U