Dalhousie ride.....

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आज कुछ दोस्त बहुत याद आये  
गुज़रा हुआ लम्हा वो साथ लाये 

यूँ ही दोस्त हमारे सारे अपने रस्ते निकल गए 
कुछ पीछे रुक गए तो कुछ आगे निकल गए 
यूँ तो अजीब लगा जो ये चेहरे बदल गए 
फिर वक़्त के साथ हम भी सम्हाल गए 

आज बहुत दूर आगये है हम 
याद में भी आये तो किस्मत है हमारी 
पर वो वक़्त साथ जिया है हमने ये नियति है हमारी 
ज़िन्दगी उन्ही पलों में समेट  ले कोशिश है हमारी !!!

it has been four years, four long years....
anyone who reads my blog asks me the reason for writing a poem at the start of blog, I wrote this a long time ago(maybe just after college days), felt like sharing it, why waste another blog for this poem :)

Enough of sentiayapa, let's get back to the blog now! I have always confessed my love for  the mountains. One such place is Dalhousie, I had been thinking of going there for a while. I would be lying if I told you, I was not worried. the reason was pretty simple, it was a bike trip deep in the mountains. I don't count myself to be a through and through rider and riding in the mountains is a thing I had never done in my life. But then, I had recently read that the human brain remains active for at least seven minutes after the heart stops while taking time to go through its most precious memories. And this one thing (riding into the mountains) I would like to keep it for those seven minutes, possibly more in future.

The sun is an early riser in summers and it gives you more time to work. Ek free ki advice "try getting out of the city early early morning to enjoy the countryside or keep cribbing to yourself when you are stuck in a traffic".
So I started early, around 0500hrs within 45 minutes I was in back roads of Amritsar. I must say without any doubt, the stretch between Amritsar and Pathankot is one of the best I have seen. I covered around 120km in 90 minutes and the next 80kms in 160 minutes.

Within no time I was riding in the mountains and I was loving it. Give me a choice between the beaches and mountains, you already know my answer.



teri umr-e-raftaa ki ek aan hai ahd-e-kuhan
waadiyon mein hai teri kaali ghataa'en khaimaazan

If you are going as a traveler, please do not believe in these hotel booking apps. I saw a hotel on the app and luckily I didn't book it, no doubt it was beautiful but it was really far. To put it in simple words the hotel was around 7kms away from Dalhousie, and 7kms in a mountain is 20 odd minutes.

  

There's not much in the main Dalhousie, other than the typical mall road, Tibetan Market and an old church from the times of Britishers in a Hill station


Before the sunset I went to a nearby hill called  Panch Pula, locals told me there is this beautiful waterfall. The road to the place was pretty simple, around 2.5kms from the Gandhi chowk of Dalhousie. Walking for around 6kms and not able to find the waterfall was disheartening but then "unhone apni dukan bhi to chalani thi waha isiliye bola mujhe ki jao waha ek waterfall hai". 

The waterfall :D

 Panch Pula 


yahi mila yaha pe.. water fall to mila nhi...

The next morning, I had decided about a place which I had only heard of "Dainkund". My heart was in my mouth when I saw the road, but then I had no other option. It is around 12 km from Dalhousie at a height of around 9000 feet above sea level. ek free ki advice "Plz do visit this place just after monsoon or during winters" yaa to phool ki vaadi milegi ya fir snow clad mountain milega or else you will atleast get to see a temple. 


Finally, it could breathe some fresh air.... 


the milestone you would feel so happy to see after the ride...


My frnd messaged me " ghutne bacha le apne"
jabtak chalega ye ghutna chalayenge tabtak ye ghutna ...

The legend behind naming it dainkund is a mystery to me, please do enlighten me if you ever come to know about it. Anyways, I had my itinerary planned. Next up was Switzerland of India. If you ever visited Dalhousie, don't miss a chance to visit Khajiaar. It is around 22kms from Dalhousie and is around 6500feet above sea level. A rare combination of lush green ground surrounded by beautiful trees and a beautiful lake in the middle of the ground. It will look majestic in winters, when it is clad in snow.


You will find him carrying a white rabbit and asking you to get a pic clicked with the rabbit for Rs 20/- 


I had to walk for a long time to click them...


I would place a bet without a doubt and call this Switzerland. But I would lose the bet.
This is Khajiaar.....


This view is brilliant. 
I was a second late for the click. 


This is the jheel of Khajiaar, someone showed me a pic of Khajiaar in winters. I will not even dare to share, it looks so beautiful. I should have gone in winters. 


Every horse has a name here, Krish, Sultan etc... 
I wouldn't be wrong if I say horses make a landscape beautiful. They do!!!!!

The beautiful Khajiaar while you enter the valley.
I know, I uploaded too many photos of Khajiaar, but I couldn't help it. 


The years you have seen is just a twinkle for your eyes...
souls you have enchanted is endless in numbers...
The air you breathe is so cold, it makes me alive again...
O the mountains, I have fallen in love with you again..
I am high with the smoke and drops of morning air...
I forget I have Monday around the corner...
I finally let it all go, the moment I meet you...
O the mountains, I have fallen in love with you again...


The ride back from Khajiaar was a long one. The road is narrow but that doesn't stop the big trucks from plying on those roads. The taxi people have a big union so it won't be of much use to bargain. Dalhousie was beautiful as always, I hadn't expected cold weather in Dalhousie at this time of the year. Next on the cards is Dharamshala, a ride of around 4-5hrs (atleast that is what the google maps tell me). 

The mountains always make me feel alive. All I want to do is go up on a mountain and peacefully sit down with arms on the ground, leaning back watching the sun go down. The sky is magical at that moment. I feel the warmth in my soul and it completes me. 

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THANKYOU ...

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वो पल

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