kinnaur trip on my new punto

hellletloose · 16th June 2010, 23:35

well I am from kinnaur & I have done this route ,may be a 100 times,I am not that much of a travelogue writer but these were the places that made my click finger itchy.I went to {pooh} kinnaur on my new grande punto diesel{bought on 30-05-2010} on 14th & was back on 16th of june,I was driving on a rainy day & the risk of landslides & falling rocks increases many folds,but this very fact makes the photos, a little bit special. I will answer any queries,if any. enjoy the photos!!

mjothi · 17th June 2010, 08:06

Great locations. Lucky guys

Bring on more sir.

MutantX · 17th June 2010, 08:17

The location is superb, especially the 4th picture where you have parked your punto near the mouth of the artifical cave! please do post more.

*off-topic* how the punto diesel's performance on the ghats?

hellletloose · 17th June 2010, 08:30

the punto's in built mileage indicator showed a reading of 16.5 km/l at the end of the trip. the distance travelled was 634 kms {from shimla to pooh & back} including a detour to nako lake too.

The way to my apple orchards is a place I trek a lot ,at pooh, its a 3km climb from the village,but the location is divine.

well trekking in places like these is somewhat like high altitude training, the SAI guys undergo at shilaru,i can guarantee one kg weight loss per climb.

neoonwheels · 17th June 2010, 10:45

Awesome... For first few shots I thoughts this place is outside India (Never heard about Kinnaur),. Keep the pics coming man !

deky · 17th June 2010, 11:23

Beautifull place indeed, does it snow in Kinnaur in winters, how much? How are the road conditions during winters? Can this drive be done during winter time??

regards

lordofgondor · 17th June 2010, 11:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by deky

Beautifull place indeed, does it snow in Kinnaur in winters, how much? How are the road conditions during winters? Can this drive be done during winter time??

regards

Yup, it does snow in Kinnaur during winters. The amount varies, but you do get a decent amount. Places like Kalpa & Chitkul get covered with snow. The roads are open, but yeah, there's snow on them too. Though I haven't done it (but want to), I believe the drive can indeed be done during winters.

hellletloose · 17th June 2010, 11:32

well the upper kinnaur area starts from the village of spilo ,which is 25 kms from pooh, the main villages in the area are dublin,chango,namgya,pooh & nako.the mongolian tribes of upper kinnaur migrated from mongolia & conquered lands here,the businessmen{negi's} migrated from uttranchal ,during the days of indo tibetian border trade, to upper kinnaur .we had the lands & they had the money, so alliances were forged through marriages.as per my village elders upper kinnaur held no interest for the mughal rulers as this was a hostile terrain with cold weather & not much of a revenue to offer.the rest of the low lying himachal was made up of hindu's escaping the aurangzeeb's muslim conversion drive.
apples are the main stay of the kinnauri economy,the apples are 90% organic & i rarely find these apples for sale in india,the buyers again do some waxing & re-grading of apples in smaller packs & even do some mixing & matching of the kinnauri apples with the apples from rohru,kotgarh ,kullu & lower kinnaur to make money.
apples in my orchards are picked up in the last week of october ,at the same time as the apples from chango{the best apples as per the local folklore} are picked .its the altitude that defines the quality of apples here in himachal, price of 1kg of apples from {chango}kinnaur = price of 2-3 kg of apples from anywhere himachal.The apples cant be any better ,As it starts snowing here in the first week of november & its just the one week window we have to do our picking/packing/transporting/selling thing before we are cut off from the rest of the world.

hellletloose · 17th June 2010, 11:45

well there are army encampments at karcham,shantong & a brigade at pooh ,the roads are well maintained by the GREF people,so ,as to keep the ration coming. but there are times of heavy snow fall when helicopters are the only option.a double lane road is being made these days,till pooh ,the army guys told me that they are going to bring in the bofors guns to sumdoh & pooh & the roads are being widened for them.

raj.barcode · 17th June 2010, 11:45

Brilliant pictures there; is it the same road which has a 3 kilometer tunnel to pass through

hellletloose · 17th June 2010, 11:50

that 3 km tunnel is at largi en-route to manali via chandigarh

ampere · 17th June 2010, 12:28

Amazing snaps. Looks like Punto has taken a real beating!

//M · 17th June 2010, 12:39

Wonderful vistas and the Punto looks eternal in the Himalayas.
Great snaps. Bring it on !!

lordofgondor · 17th June 2010, 13:22

Great to hear tales about Kinnaur from the perspective of a local, that being you hellletloose. The apple thing reminds me of the Kinnaur trip I'd done in July 2008. In Kalpa we saw apple orchards left, right and center. The locals told that if we'd come in September, we could have brought freshly plucked apples and the price he mentioned left us

. They're so low as compared to NCR.

While coming back, we stopped at Sarahan for a couple of days. The place was full of apples ready for plucking, which we of course did. It felt so good relishing on freshly plucked, juicy apples. But yeah, waiting for the time when I'll be plucking those Kinnauri apples.

Waiting for more!

hellletloose · 17th June 2010, 13:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by ampere

Amazing snaps. Looks like Punto has taken a real beating!

The punto seems dirty as i mentioned it was raining that day & the road was muddy, but do have a look at the glass panes that are clean & transparent ,they are the only thing that you need to clean ,when in kinnaur. that graffiti is done by village kids.
Well punto in itself is a amazing car ,it really cuts you off from the noises & rattlings of the outside & lets you to spend time with yourself & of course nature{barring the driver

}.At times I can also feel the feel some sort of g-forces, when i am overtaking another vehicle. well if you know the art of not loosing momentum at the curves & bends you can climb literally in 4th gear, with a 3rd gear kept in reserve for steeper climbs.

16th June 2010, 23:35	#1
hellletloose BHPian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: shimla Posts: 58 Thanked: 35 Times	kinnaur trip on my new punto well I am from kinnaur & I have done this route ,may be a 100 times,I am not that much of a travelogue writer but these were the places that made my click finger itchy.I went to {pooh} kinnaur on my new grande punto diesel{bought on 30-05-2010} on 14th & was back on 16th of june,I was driving on a rainy day & the risk of landslides & falling rocks increases many folds,but this very fact makes the photos, a little bit special. I will answer any queries,if any. enjoy the photos!! Attached Thumbnails Attached Images
	() Thanks

17th June 2010, 08:06	#2
mjothi Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 3,287 Thanked: 231 Times View My Garage	Great locations. Lucky guys Bring on more sir.
	() Thanks

17th June 2010, 08:17	#3
MutantX BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Madras Posts: 868 Thanked: 93 Times View My Garage	The location is superb, especially the 4th picture where you have parked your punto near the mouth of the artifical cave! please do post more. off-topic how the punto diesel's performance on the ghats?
	() Thanks

17th June 2010, 08:30	#4
hellletloose BHPian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: shimla Posts: 58 Thanked: 35 Times	the punto's in built mileage indicator showed a reading of 16.5 km/l at the end of the trip. the distance travelled was 634 kms {from shimla to pooh & back} including a detour to nako lake too. The way to my apple orchards is a place I trek a lot ,at pooh, its a 3km climb from the village,but the location is divine. well trekking in places like these is somewhat like high altitude training, the SAI guys undergo at shilaru,i can guarantee one kg weight loss per climb. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by Jaggu : 17th June 2010 at 10:31. Reason: Back to back posts. Go through Announcements on how to insert picture between text. Thanks
	() Thanks

17th June 2010, 10:45	#5
neoonwheels Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Pune Posts: 2,065 Thanked: 1,877 Times View My Garage	Awesome... For first few shots I thoughts this place is outside India (Never heard about Kinnaur),. Keep the pics coming man !
	() Thanks

17th June 2010, 11:23	#6
deky Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Jaipur Posts: 1,194 Thanked: 1,247 Times	Beautifull place indeed, does it snow in Kinnaur in winters, how much? How are the road conditions during winters? Can this drive be done during winter time?? regards
	() Thanks

17th June 2010, 11:32	#8
hellletloose BHPian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: shimla Posts: 58 Thanked: 35 Times	Real Apples well the upper kinnaur area starts from the village of spilo ,which is 25 kms from pooh, the main villages in the area are dublin,chango,namgya,pooh & nako.the mongolian tribes of upper kinnaur migrated from mongolia & conquered lands here,the businessmen{negi's} migrated from uttranchal ,during the days of indo tibetian border trade, to upper kinnaur .we had the lands & they had the money, so alliances were forged through marriages.as per my village elders upper kinnaur held no interest for the mughal rulers as this was a hostile terrain with cold weather & not much of a revenue to offer.the rest of the low lying himachal was made up of hindu's escaping the aurangzeeb's muslim conversion drive. apples are the main stay of the kinnauri economy,the apples are 90% organic & i rarely find these apples for sale in india,the buyers again do some waxing & re-grading of apples in smaller packs & even do some mixing & matching of the kinnauri apples with the apples from rohru,kotgarh ,kullu & lower kinnaur to make money. apples in my orchards are picked up in the last week of october ,at the same time as the apples from chango{the best apples as per the local folklore} are picked .its the altitude that defines the quality of apples here in himachal, price of 1kg of apples from {chango}kinnaur = price of 2-3 kg of apples from anywhere himachal.The apples cant be any better ,As it starts snowing here in the first week of november & its just the one week window we have to do our picking/packing/transporting/selling thing before we are cut off from the rest of the world. Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

17th June 2010, 11:45	#9
hellletloose BHPian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: shimla Posts: 58 Thanked: 35 Times	well there are army encampments at karcham,shantong & a brigade at pooh ,the roads are well maintained by the GREF people,so ,as to keep the ration coming. but there are times of heavy snow fall when helicopters are the only option.a double lane road is being made these days,till pooh ,the army guys told me that they are going to bring in the bofors guns to sumdoh & pooh & the roads are being widened for them.
	() Thanks

17th June 2010, 11:45	#10
raj.barcode BHPian Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 706 Thanked: 273 Times View My Garage	Brilliant pictures there; is it the same road which has a 3 kilometer tunnel to pass through
	() Thanks

17th June 2010, 11:50	#11
hellletloose BHPian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: shimla Posts: 58 Thanked: 35 Times	that 3 km tunnel is at largi en-route to manali via chandigarh
	() Thanks

17th June 2010, 12:28	#12
ampere Team-BHP Support Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 17,957 Thanked: 12,948 Times View My Garage	Amazing snaps. Looks like Punto has taken a real beating!
	() Thanks

17th June 2010, 12:39	#13
//M Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: New Delhi Posts: 6,204 Thanked: 22,932 Times	Wonderful vistas and the Punto looks eternal in the Himalayas. Great snaps. Bring it on !!
	() Thanks

17th June 2010, 13:22	#14
lordofgondor BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: UP 16 Posts: 936 Thanked: 159 Times	Great to hear tales about Kinnaur from the perspective of a local, that being you hellletloose. The apple thing reminds me of the Kinnaur trip I'd done in July 2008. In Kalpa we saw apple orchards left, right and center. The locals told that if we'd come in September, we could have brought freshly plucked apples and the price he mentioned left us . They're so low as compared to NCR. While coming back, we stopped at Sarahan for a couple of days. The place was full of apples ready for plucking, which we of course did. It felt so good relishing on freshly plucked, juicy apples. But yeah, waiting for the time when I'll be plucking those Kinnauri apples. Waiting for more!
	() Thanks