Sojha (Shoja) & angling in the Tirthan river valley - Photologue

abk · 24th September 2009, 01:57

Weekend + Eid holiday getaway to Sojha (Shoja / Soja / Sojja) & to the river Tirthan for angling the famous Himalayan trout during the long weekend (19 Sep to 21 Sep). The original plan was to spend a night at Sojha & the other inside the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP). However, due to lack of appropriate accommodation ended up spending both nights at Ghiyagi (4 kms from Sojha) at Shiringi Vatika guest house.

Total driving during this trip was more than 30 hours! We reached Sojha from Delhi via Ambala - Ropar - Mandi - Aut - Larji route. While returning we followed the Ani - Narkanda - Shimla - Parwanoo - Ambala route. The high point (literally!) was doing the Jalori pass mostly on the 1st gear because of the steep gradient of the incline.

For route & accommodation info & advices please see Tanveer's thread (amongst others) at: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...nfo-shoja.html

Well, the sad part is, we had no luck with the fishes, that is - the Himalayan trout :( Here's a photo show of the proceedings..

Sojha (Shoja) & angling in the Tirthan river valley - Photologue-img_0805.jpg

Pic 01 | View from Larji where we stopped over for getting angling permits

Sojha (Shoja) & angling in the Tirthan river valley - Photologue-img_0808.jpg

Pic 02 | Forest Guest House (FRH) at Larji

Sojha (Shoja) & angling in the Tirthan river valley - Photologue-img_0818.jpg

Pic 03 | Jibhi Gad flowing down the rocks under the Shiringi Vatika

Sojha (Shoja) & angling in the Tirthan river valley - Photologue-img_0850.jpg

Pic 04 | Natural coolant

Sojha (Shoja) & angling in the Tirthan river valley - Photologue-img_0853.jpg

Pic 05 | Waiting.. waiting..

Sojha (Shoja) & angling in the Tirthan river valley - Photologue-img_0888.jpg

Pic 06 | Yash fiddles one more time with his complicated professional angling rod!

Sojha (Shoja) & angling in the Tirthan river valley - Photologue-img_0897.jpg

Pic 07 | The Tirthan river flows torrentially

Sojha (Shoja) & angling in the Tirthan river valley - Photologue-img_0906.jpg

Pic 08 | The place is idyllic; only if we could catch at least a fish

Sojha (Shoja) & angling in the Tirthan river valley - Photologue-img_0929.jpg

Pic 09 | Time to pack up & return

Sojha (Shoja) & angling in the Tirthan river valley - Photologue-img_0962.jpg

Pic 10 | Friends, bonfire, music, mutton & malted barley. Recipe for warmth

Sojha (Shoja) & angling in the Tirthan river valley - Photologue-img_0973.jpg

Pic 11 | The Shiringi Vatika guest house at Ghiyagi, 2 kms from Jibhi towards Sojha

Sojha (Shoja) & angling in the Tirthan river valley - Photologue-img_0976.jpg

Pic 12 | After crossing the Jalori pass on the way back to Delhi. The camera batteries have now been warmed up sufficiently, finally

Sojha (Shoja) & angling in the Tirthan river valley - Photologue-img_0978.jpg

Pic 13 | The drive from Jibhi all the way to Ani via Jalori pass have some heartening views if one can forget the road conditions & the steep climb

Sojha (Shoja) & angling in the Tirthan river valley - Photologue-img_0986.jpg

Pic 14 | I would love to drive on this stretch of road, many times again!

Sojha (Shoja) & angling in the Tirthan river valley - Photologue-img_0987.jpg

Pic 15 | But mind you, the road is narrow - giving way to an oncoming vehicle is a pain

Sojha (Shoja) & angling in the Tirthan river valley - Photologue-img_1029.jpg

Pic 16 | Another river on its way to meet its end into a sea..

Sojha (Shoja) & angling in the Tirthan river valley - Photologue-img_1056.jpg

Pic 17 | View en-route to Ani

Sojha (Shoja) & angling in the Tirthan river valley - Photologue-img_1057.jpg

Pic 18 | Almost descending to below 1000m

Sojha (Shoja) & angling in the Tirthan river valley - Photologue-img_1106.jpg

Pic 19 | Dense cloud conditions in the afternoon from Narkanda to well past Shimla

Sojha (Shoja) & angling in the Tirthan river valley - Photologue-img_1134.jpg

Pic 20 | Culmination of yet another experience..

lordofgondor · 24th September 2009, 11:33

Hey abk, this must have been a great trip man. Nice place and pics.

BTW, how was the tourist rush in the area? Asking cause I am planning to go there over the 2nd Oct weekend. Accommodation availability good or need to book in advance?

An update on road conditions will be helpful too.

phamilyman · 24th September 2009, 12:21

arre gondor bhai,

Just one thing - do look up this nature resort some 2km before shringi vatika. Its about 30m up the hill but the place is fantastic and comfortable. Jan 26th weekend costed 1k per room. Much better than shringi (who have only 2 decent rooms).

Very nice n easy to make bonfires as well.

Eat at shringi though. They have a atta idli (forget the name) with god level chatni

abk · 24th September 2009, 13:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordofgondor

Hey abk, this must have been a great trip man. Nice place and pics.

BTW, how was the tourist rush in the area? Asking cause I am planning to go there over the 2nd Oct weekend. Accommodation availability good or need to book in advance?

An update on road conditions will be helpful too.

Dear lordofgondor, you will be relieved to learn that there were no tourists at all last weekend.

Shiringi Vatika was not our first choice. We tried to book FRH / PWD RH at Sojha & FRH at Sai Ropa / Raju's cottage at Gushaini. But all in vain :( I haven't noticed the accommodation advised by phamilyman. From what I noticed I will recommend FRH / PWD RH at Sojha based on their location.

Road conditions are ok. They are bad around Jalori pass but not too bad. For more information please see this thread: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...nfo-shoja.html

Have an excellent vacation!

PM me if you need any other information

deky · 24th September 2009, 13:12

Beautifull pics ABK, One place i really want to visit. Have read some nice reports on Tirthan Valley including yours now.

Angling is a great sport, but it requires a lot of patience. I also did some angling almost the same time in Kangra valley (pics in my travelogue), and also caught nothing. The locals said that the flow of water was too much and the fishes in rains usually go down streams to lay eggs or something like that,

So better luck next time.

tsk1979 · 24th September 2009, 13:14

Lovely pics. You went to the Tirthan river at the wrong place.
Right opposite Himalayan trout house, there is a small footpath which leads down. The water slows down there, and swirls around the rocks slowly, and the fish congregate at that point.

The views after Jalori are wonderful. I guess, we are going to come back Via Narkanda if we start early.
I presume 10 hours from Narkanda to Delhi?

abk · 24th September 2009, 16:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Lovely pics. You went to the Tirthan river at the wrong place.
Right opposite Himalayan trout house, there is a small footpath which leads down. The water slows down there, and swirls around the rocks slowly, and the fish congregate at that point.

The views after Jalori are wonderful. I guess, we are going to come back Via Narkanda if we start early.
I presume 10 hours from Narkanda to Delhi?

Dear Tanveer, i think we were angling close to where you suggested. We were around Bathaar (or Bathal?) close to the Himalayan Trout House. We chose the spot based on the advise of the locals there.

10 hours from Narkanda to Delhi is reasonable I think. We left Narkanda at 1:45 PM & drove fast (by my definition) to reach NOIDA at 1:00 AM which included more than an hour's stop over at Haveli for dinner & traffic snarls from Parwanoo to Zirakpur. Though at Atta market in NOIDA we discovered the left tyre leaking air and spent the next 2 hours looking for a puncture repair place that we did not find & eventually replaced the tyre on our own. Innova tyre replacement is not an easy job

After dropping us Yash continued to Gurgaon (Badhshahpur) to reach home at 5:30 AM!!!

Dear deky, thanks! Would love to hear more about your angling experiences in these parts of India. I did a little bit of it during my childhood days in Assam. Anyway, we were advised that chances of catching a trout will be bleak because of the monsoon rains as trouts do not survive in dirty water

lordofgondor · 25th September 2009, 15:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by phamilyman

arre gondor bhai,

Just one thing - do look up this nature resort some 2km before shringi vatika. Its about 30m up the hill but the place is fantastic and comfortable. Jan 26th weekend costed 1k per room. Much better than shringi (who have only 2 decent rooms).

Hey phamilyman, is this the place you're referring to?

:::Index::Natures Lap Resort::

Cheers!

phamilyman · 7th October 2009, 05:17

YES YES YES.

that is the place. the tariff mentioned is only aspirational

gadadhar · 7th October 2009, 10:16

Abk, Cool snaps and terrific captions. Loved the "Malted barley" one. Better luck for fishing next time mate. If you are serious angler consider Karnataka for it's Mahasheer

sami316 · 7th October 2009, 12:42

Hi,

The snaps were just breathtakingly AWESOME. Thanks for this great photologue.

lordofgondor · 7th October 2009, 18:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by phamilyman

YES YES YES.

that is the place. the tariff mentioned is only aspirational

Arre yaar, my trip got canceled.

But would be heading there sometime soon anyways and I think I'd opt for this place only. Looks cool.

abk · 11th November 2009, 00:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by sami316

Hi,

The snaps were just breathtakingly AWESOME. Thanks for this great photologue.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gadadhar

Abk, Cool snaps and terrific captions. Loved the "Malted barley" one. Better luck for fishing next time mate. If you are serious angler consider Karnataka for it's Mahasheer

Thanks a lot sami316 & gadadhar! In fact been hibernating for a long time now..

chaunfa · 4th May 2010, 13:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by abk

Anyway, we were advised that chances of catching a trout will be bleak because of the monsoon rains as trouts do not survive in dirty water

Isn't the monsoon the breeding season for fish? Anyway it takes a day just to figure out where the fish are and what they are feeding on. The bhakra has a load of Mahaseer if you are interested. Try a place called Indian Angler if you like angling.

Regards,

Chaunfa

fiat600 · 10th June 2011, 23:25

I'm heading there tomorrow morning I'm also shooting a movie about the journey i'll upload it when i'm back. Lookout for the video soon!

24th September 2009, 01:57	#1
abk BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: NOIDA / Gurgaon Posts: 277 Thanked: 15 Times	Sojha (Shoja) & angling in the Tirthan river valley - Photologue Weekend + Eid holiday getaway to Sojha (Shoja / Soja / Sojja) & to the river Tirthan for angling the famous Himalayan trout during the long weekend (19 Sep to 21 Sep). The original plan was to spend a night at Sojha & the other inside the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP). However, due to lack of appropriate accommodation ended up spending both nights at Ghiyagi (4 kms from Sojha) at Shiringi Vatika guest house. Total driving during this trip was more than 30 hours! We reached Sojha from Delhi via Ambala - Ropar - Mandi - Aut - Larji route. While returning we followed the Ani - Narkanda - Shimla - Parwanoo - Ambala route. The high point (literally!) was doing the Jalori pass mostly on the 1st gear because of the steep gradient of the incline. For route & accommodation info & advices please see Tanveer's thread (amongst others) at: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...nfo-shoja.html Well, the sad part is, we had no luck with the fishes, that is - the Himalayan trout :( Here's a photo show of the proceedings.. Pic 01 \| View from Larji where we stopped over for getting angling permits Pic 02 \| Forest Guest House (FRH) at Larji Pic 03 \| Jibhi Gad flowing down the rocks under the Shiringi Vatika Pic 04 \| Natural coolant Pic 05 \| Waiting.. waiting.. Pic 06 \| Yash fiddles one more time with his complicated professional angling rod! Pic 07 \| The Tirthan river flows torrentially Pic 08 \| The place is idyllic; only if we could catch at least a fish Pic 09 \| Time to pack up & return Pic 10 \| Friends, bonfire, music, mutton & malted barley. Recipe for warmth Pic 11 \| The Shiringi Vatika guest house at Ghiyagi, 2 kms from Jibhi towards Sojha Pic 12 \| After crossing the Jalori pass on the way back to Delhi. The camera batteries have now been warmed up sufficiently, finally Pic 13 \| The drive from Jibhi all the way to Ani via Jalori pass have some heartening views if one can forget the road conditions & the steep climb Pic 14 \| I would love to drive on this stretch of road, many times again! Pic 15 \| But mind you, the road is narrow - giving way to an oncoming vehicle is a pain Pic 16 \| Another river on its way to meet its end into a sea.. Pic 17 \| View en-route to Ani Pic 18 \| Almost descending to below 1000m Pic 19 \| Dense cloud conditions in the afternoon from Narkanda to well past Shimla Pic 20 \| Culmination of yet another experience.. Last edited by abk : 24th September 2009 at 01:59.
	() Thanks

24th September 2009, 11:33	#2
lordofgondor BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: UP 16 Posts: 936 Thanked: 159 Times	Hey abk, this must have been a great trip man. Nice place and pics. BTW, how was the tourist rush in the area? Asking cause I am planning to go there over the 2nd Oct weekend. Accommodation availability good or need to book in advance? An update on road conditions will be helpful too.
	() Thanks

24th September 2009, 12:21	#3
phamilyman Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 5,968 Thanked: 4,642 Times	arre gondor bhai, Just one thing - do look up this nature resort some 2km before shringi vatika. Its about 30m up the hill but the place is fantastic and comfortable. Jan 26th weekend costed 1k per room. Much better than shringi (who have only 2 decent rooms). Very nice n easy to make bonfires as well. Eat at shringi though. They have a atta idli (forget the name) with god level chatni
	() Thanks

24th September 2009, 13:12	#5
deky Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Jaipur Posts: 1,194 Thanked: 1,247 Times	Beautifull pics ABK, One place i really want to visit. Have read some nice reports on Tirthan Valley including yours now. Angling is a great sport, but it requires a lot of patience. I also did some angling almost the same time in Kangra valley (pics in my travelogue), and also caught nothing. The locals said that the flow of water was too much and the fishes in rains usually go down streams to lay eggs or something like that, So better luck next time.
	() Thanks

24th September 2009, 13:14	#6
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,717 Thanked: 22,825 Times View My Garage	Lovely pics. You went to the Tirthan river at the wrong place. Right opposite Himalayan trout house, there is a small footpath which leads down. The water slows down there, and swirls around the rocks slowly, and the fish congregate at that point. The views after Jalori are wonderful. I guess, we are going to come back Via Narkanda if we start early. I presume 10 hours from Narkanda to Delhi?
	() Thanks

7th October 2009, 05:17	#9
phamilyman Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 5,968 Thanked: 4,642 Times	YES YES YES. that is the place. the tariff mentioned is only aspirational
	() Thanks

7th October 2009, 10:16	#10
gadadhar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,342 Thanked: 1,116 Times View My Garage	Abk, Cool snaps and terrific captions. Loved the "Malted barley" one. Better luck for fishing next time mate. If you are serious angler consider Karnataka for it's Mahasheer
	() Thanks

7th October 2009, 12:42	#11
sami316 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 484 Thanked: 45 Times View My Garage	Hi, The snaps were just breathtakingly AWESOME. Thanks for this great photologue.
	() Thanks

10th June 2011, 23:25	#15
fiat600 Newbie Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: delhi Posts: 3 Thanked: Once	Re: Sojha (Shoja) & angling in the Tirthan river valley - Photologue I'm heading there tomorrow morning I'm also shooting a movie about the journey i'll upload it when i'm back. Lookout for the video soon!
	() Thanks