A Call From The Sky

Narkanda being the destination of a much-awaited outing didn’t really got me excited. Reasons being first, I had never heard about the place and, second, I had wanted to venture somewhere near the sea. But constant persuasion from my friends, forced me to go along, and we set off to our destination, which I didn’t regret going, later on.

Narkanda is just 60 km beyond Shimla and is a two-hour drive. It is along the National Highway-22. We drove from Shimla admiring the beauty on both sides of the road. Reaching Narkanda we headed toward the Hatu Peak. As the car drove upwards, I felt we were heading right into the sky. At a height of 11,220 ft. above sea level, Hatu isn’t in the league of some other great Himalayan peaks, but is surely impressive. During severe winters roads are under snow. Otherwise its cool, and you'd find patches of hard packed ice by the road.

As you drive you’ll feel better every time a streak of sun beam peeks in through the huge Deodar trees. There is a varied flora up the mountain. Apart from Deodars there are Firs, Spruce, Oaks, Blue Pines, Rhododendrons, and Walnuts. Various wild flowers radiate a colorful hue. There is an ancient temple of Hatu Mata newly renovated. After reaching the top and feeding our cameras with some exquisitely beautiful shots, we just sat to enjoy the sheer silence of the land. It was too refreshing to breathe in the fresh mountain air.

Hatu Peak offers trekking expedition, which is a 7 km climb to the top. Skiing camps are also organized in a package of 3days and 7days from January 10th to March 31st. The best time to visit this place is May-July and September-November. Chandigarh being the nearest Airport, you can always manage some cheap flight tickets from Mumbai and New Delhi. The nearest railhead is Kalka, and Shimla is well connected to Kalka by narrow gauge railroads. The town has two hotels - Hatu and Tethy's Narkanda Resort. We stayed in the latter and was good enough. Other cheap hotels are also available for budget travelers.

On our return from the peak we stopped near a pond in a nomadic village called Guijar Kotha, to witness dozens of monkeys loitering here and there. It was amusing to see them chasing each other and making funny gesture. A honking car nearly startled us and we realized that it was time to return back to Narkanda town to spend the night. The sun was already setting in as if mother nature was unwinding for the day. So if you are focusing on cheap travel, offering adventure with a great excitement, Narkanda is just the right place for you.