help planning holiday

by **mark** » Tue May 03, 2005 11:52 am

OK, so I have 9 days (including travel days) holidays next week, I'm looking for ideas for an itenery to see parts of India i haven't seen before.

I'm thinking the far north would be nice this time of year, HP and J&K especially. Budget isn't too much of a problem, i'll be able to afford a few flights as long

as i stay in cheap enough hotels. Is there anything I can't afford to miss if i go to the far north? towns, villages, mountains, etc.

Also I'd love to see the Ganges, where's the most picturesque spot for that?

any suggestions would be appreciated.

by **The Jackal** » Tue May 03, 2005 12:13 pm

I would suggest hiking in the himalays and river rafting in Ganga at Rishikesh.Also you could go and see the glasier near Rishikesh(I forgot its name).I did this 4 years ago and had a LOT of fun.

by **CtrlAltDel** » Tue May 03, 2005 1:17 pm

try the Chamba Valley and Lahaul-Spiti in Himachal Pradesh....

there are many unspoilt regions in Uttaranchal too...

by **mark** » Tue May 03, 2005 1:54 pm

thanks guys. Rishikesh is definately going on the agenda, as is as much of HP as i can fit in. I'll bring my hiking boots too.

9 days with nothing but the voices in my head and the mountains to keep me company, maybe i'll finally figure out what i'm going to do with my life

by **CtrlAltDel** » Tue May 03, 2005 2:01 pm

mark wrote:thanks guys. Rishikesh is definately going on the agenda, as is as much of HP as i can fit in. I'll bring my hiking boots too.

i think Rishikesh is in Uttaranchal....so can try to cover many other places in that state too.
and if going to HP, try to visit Manikaran (near Manali)...its weed heaven... :twisted:

mark wrote:...maybe i'll finally figure out what i'm going to do with my life

if u r thinking of renouncing the world and settling in the Himalayas, plz give me yr DVD collection

by **The Jackal** » Tue May 03, 2005 2:58 pm

I actually have a visiting card of the company in Rishikesh who handles the river rafting and hiking expeditions.It was a 14 day program,but we spent 7 days hiking,rafting and rappeling down mountain slopes.The other 7 was spent in Delhi and some time in base camp.

I went through Satyam's Comapny.I was charged Rs.15000/- for the entire trip for everything.But the major thing was that Satyam took atleast half of that amount.We met some people on the trek and they paid 2500 for hiking/food/transportation from delhi.

by **mark** » Tue May 03, 2005 3:20 pm

The Jackal wrote:I actually have a visiting card of the company in Rishikesh who handles the river rafting and hiking expeditions.It was a 14 day program,but we spent 7 days hiking,rafting and rappeling down mountain slopes.The other 7 was spent in Delhi and some time in base camp.
I went through Satyam's Comapny.I was charged Rs.15000/- for the entire trip for everything.But the major thing was that Satyam took atleast half of that amount.We met some people on the trek and they paid 2500 for hiking/food/transportation from delhi.

cool! wouldn't mind a day rafting so i'll know if it's worth coming back to, but i really want to see as much as possible (my first time north of Delhi) so i'll know where to go again. if you have the number of that place could you pass it on to me?

by **The Jackal** » Tue May 03, 2005 3:29 pm

Cool.I will contact my bro and ask him to fish out the visiting card from my desk back home.

by **mark** » Tue May 03, 2005 4:03 pm

anyone know what the snow situation will be like? I've just heard the Leh-Manali route will be closed until the end of May

Will I be able to get from Delhi - Shimla/Kullu/Manali by train this time of year? Flights look tricky, only Jagson Airlines fly up there and they charge double rates for foreign type people. How long will the train take?

by **CtrlAltDel** » Tue May 03, 2005 4:37 pm

mark wrote:anyone know what the snow situation will be like? I've just heard the Leh-Manali route will be closed until the end of May

u wud be allowed in snow covered areas upto Rohtang Pass above Manali....as u said i think the route to Leh will be closed. still, u can enquire with tour operators in Delhi or in HP.

mark wrote:Will I be able to get from Delhi - Shimla/Kullu/Manali by train this time of year?

yes...the hill train from Kalka to Shimla runs thru out the year. the route is damn scenic - abt 7 hours. u have to reach kalka from Delhi first...abt 5 hours.

there is no train to Kullu/Manali, tho there is an airport near Kullu. i dont recommend flying coz u'll miss out on the scenery. road is the best.

lemme suggest a plan in case u wanna visit HP: from delhi take the 7:30 am express train to Kalka...it wud reach kalka by noon. frm there catch the train to shimla and u'll reach there by 6:30-7 pm. explore around simla for a couple of days and hire a taxi to take u to Manali. start ot early morning so that u reach Manali b4 dark (abt 8 hr journey), coz u can enjoy the gr8 scenery and stop for pictures if needed.

frm manali, taxi to rohtang pass and explore rest of manali. nxt day go to Manikaran via Kullu. Manikaran is is famous for its Gurudwara (sikh temple) and hot springs...and weed...

it literally grows wild all over the place!

frm here head towards Chamba and Lahaul Spiti...unspoilt uncrowded beautiful hills n forests...and weed!

if u wanna go to Uttaranchal/Rishikesh, u gotta get back to Delhi and go frm there. i've never been there so i cant suggest any routes/plans etc

by **mark** » Tue May 03, 2005 4:48 pm

thanks CAD, that's exactly the sort of thing i was looking for! excellent. going to start the planning this evening.

by **CtrlAltDel** » Tue May 03, 2005 5:04 pm

if u havent seen the Taj b4, try to squeeze in a day from Delhi...

otherwise proceed straight to HP...weathers gonna be very hot in Delhi and Agra

by **mark** » Tue May 03, 2005 5:10 pm

CtrlAltDel wrote:if u havent seen the Taj b4, try to squeeze in a day from Delhi...

otherwise proceed straight to HP...weathers gonna be very hot in Delhi and Agra

yeah saw the Taj last time i was out, definately want to avoid the plains this time of year.

by **hitch-hiker** » Tue May 03, 2005 5:48 pm

with delhi as base there are multiple options:

option 1: Himachal / J&K

mostly as Cad suggested ... but 9 days are trifle 2 many for Kullu can add Dalhousie, Dharamsala easily to it, and also can go till Srinagar .. check out Gulmarg .. it is open for skiing right now

option 2: Uttaranchal & UP

touchbase rishikesh ... perfect base for white water rafting and trekking to gangotri .. the glacier where river ganges originates. Also a very good option is to drive to Valley of Flowers .. roads open on 14th of this month... breath taking drive and views. can of course cover Corbett, Nainital and other std stopovers

option 3: Middle India

touch Khajuraho (beautiful place not only for the temples but also the scenic beauty around of all kinds), stay by the river on the tree houses available on river Ken. Continue to Kanha National Park ... the most lively wild life sanctuary after Kaziranga. Also can touch visit hill stations like Panchmarhi near Bhopal then. This route will take u thru Agra so get the mandatory "I saw the Taj" t-shirt

option 4: Rajasthan

move from delhi to Jaipur, and further to Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Udaipur .. the places take you back in majestical era complete with palaces and forts. worth a dekko

You can of course mix & match the above to suit your needs. if you need details on any one circuit lemme know

by **akhilis2cool** » Tue May 03, 2005 5:58 pm

welkum back hithch hiker...

by **hitch-hiker** » Tue May 03, 2005 5:59 pm

if not the plains some trek options from rishikesh are :

Rishikesh-Uttarkashi-Gangotri-Bhojwasa-Tapovan-Nandanvan-Bhojvasa-Harsil-Rishikesh

Height-4500m

8 days

Valley of Flowers Trek

Rishikesh-Joshimath-Govindghat-Ghangaria-Hemkund sahib-Valley of Flowers-Badrinath-Rishikesh

Max height-3400m

8 days

by **hitch-hiker** » Tue May 03, 2005 6:01 pm

akhilis2cool wrote:welkum back hithch hiker...

thanks akhil bhai ... thought ppl wud have forgotten me in this part of the universe

.. good to be back

by **akhilis2cool** » Tue May 03, 2005 6:03 pm

hitch-hiker wrote:
akhilis2cool wrote:welkum back hithch hiker...
thanks akhil bhai ... thought ppl wud have forgotten me in this part of the universe .. good to be back

deitys dont forget easily :wink:

so ne plans to start new movie threads?

by **CtrlAltDel** » Tue May 03, 2005 6:25 pm

hitch-hiker wrote:option 4: Rajasthan

nooo...

...not in summer.... :shock:

hitch-hiker wrote:Rishikesh-Uttarkashi-Gangotri-Bhojwasa-Tapovan-Nandanvan-Bhojvasa-Harsil-Rishikesh

that trek ^^^ sounds interesting...damn i wish i cud go now...

by **hitch-hiker** » Tue May 03, 2005 6:38 pm

CtrlAltDel wrote:
hitch-hiker wrote:option 4: Rajasthan
nooo......not in summer....
hitch-hiker wrote:Rishikesh-Uttarkashi-Gangotri-Bhojwasa-Tapovan-Nandanvan-Bhojvasa-Harsil-Rishikesh
that trek ^^^ sounds interesting...damn i wish i cud go now...

actually its not that bad currently .. its been raining here for last coupla days ...... perfect weather to drive into Rajasthan .. esp with the Del-Jaipur & Jaipur-Ajmer etc roads now turned into 8 lane ones. One can still enjoy Rajasthan till last week of May .. June is real bad there.

The treks are usually kewl ... lot however depends on the organizers and the other ppl on the trek group.. come May 14th & all treks and rafting will start .. infact rishikesh is already open for rafting but then rapids are not 2 gr8 there... further up and we get amzing rapids

by **mark** » Tue May 03, 2005 6:56 pm

hey Hitch hiker, thanks for the detailed plans!

i've decided to focus on HP this time up, i want to fit in:

Kullu

Manali

Shimla

Dharmsala

I'd like to get maybe an easy 2-3 day trek in there somewhere, i've only got boots but i assume there are companys that can provide equiptment/guides/etc?

by **hitch-hiker** » Tue May 03, 2005 9:35 pm

mark wrote:hey Hitch hiker, thanks for the detailed plans!

i've decided to focus on HP this time up, i want to fit in:
Kullu
Manali
Shimla
Dharmsala

I'd like to get maybe an easy 2-3 day trek in there somewhere, i've only got boots but i assume there are companys that can provide equiptment/guides/etc?

ya .. lot of companys provide equipment .. but u may need to get talking to those guys before you reach the place. but i am not sure if you find any gr8 treks around shimla and such. If dharamsala is on cards you shd definitely go up to Dalhousie with Khajjiar on the way. Dalhousie is just an hour and half uphill drive from dharamsala.. while in dharamsala .. plan staying in the monastery ... worthwhile experience.

dont plan on staying in shimla / kullu ... too crowded in may-june

by **mark** » Tue May 03, 2005 9:52 pm

yeah i want to get away from all the rush.

I'm buying a few bikes off a guy in Delhi, i reckon i could twist his arm and rent a cheap (possibly free if i play my cards right

bullet for the week, seeing as Shimla is only 6-7 hours from Delhi. Is this a really bad idea? If the roads are going to be extremely icy then i won't risk it. any suggestions?

by **CtrlAltDel** » Tue May 03, 2005 11:42 pm

the roads wont be icy now, but i dont recommend biking coz the roads up to most of the places u want to see are narrow n winding, and have numerous taxis n busses zooming up n down the slopes....

another thing....take enuf cash with u...last i travelled in HP (2002), there were no ATMs of most banks...for instance the nearest ICICI ATM was at Chandigarh in Haryana... :roll:

by **mark** » Wed May 04, 2005 10:25 am

Thanks for all the advice guys.

1 more thing, how easy and expensive would it be to get an overnight car between Manali and Dharmsala? are there overnight busses on this route?

help planning holiday

help planning holiday

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