Samatva
Byte Sized Travel Stories
people, places and stories.
nothing else.
just the trivial things.......
that make travel interesting....
and memorable
Lake placid at Renukaji
Everyday life at Kali Bhari, Shimla
Sun Temple of Sutlej Valley, Nirath
Philosophy at a glance, Kardang
Coming out of Mud, Dhankar
One of her kind, Bhimkali at Sarahan
Hanumanji at hilltop, Shimla
Hatkoti, on its own
Land’s end at Bharmour
Variety of Manikiran
Harmony lived each day, Triloknath
The perspective of Buddha, Langza
Mataji, Mountains and Maggi, Dainkund
The pleasure of doing nothing at Ki
When the whole town is a temple, Kullu Dussehrah
Perfect setting for the soul. Baijnath
Philosophy at a glance, Kardang
Kardang Monastery. Temples of Himachal … 4.
Kardang is one of the many monasteries in Keylong. Probably one of the oldest, the building has been rebuilt maybe several times. It looks quite modern despite being 900 years old.
It is across the Bagha river that flows fast, thin and deep. The walk requires either a steep trek down and up, crossing the river (or) a long winded drive which crosses the river further ahead at Tundi with a gentle, but long drop and climb.
The views across Keylong
Armed with a scooty, I chose the drive and by evening, reached the monastery. The monastery has several things to see, including the rock carvings that I unfortunately missed. However, the most striking part of the monastery is outside of it. A sitting Buddha, maybe three or four feet tall, made of sandstone that you could mistake to be from Orissa. The Buddha is seated on a pedestal that is chest high, with a small pot of plants next to him. He overlooks the snowy peaks of the north, Ladakh and beyond.
To gaze along Buddha’s line of vision is to live the entire Buddhist philosophy in a single moment. There is absolute nothingness in terms of civilization. The view jumps over all of Keylong, the grassy slopes above it, and the treeless rock faces further above. You see Buddha and then the sharp snow clad mountains at the distance, in one frame.
Few places summarise their philosophy in just the setting. Kardang is one such.
Kardang, across Keylong, Lahual, Himachal.
Grazing pastures near Kardang monastery
Views behind the Kardang Monastery
Keylond and its fields, from Kardang Monastery
The Bagha valley at Keylong
The perspective of Buddha, Langza
Langza. Temples of Himachal ….12
The river Spiti is the spine of the region and Kaza, the largest town. It is about 3800 meters altitude. The river valley is somewhat narrow and hardly has any vegetation along it. A number of villages rise up the valley at different heights. Each has a patch of land, some large, some small, that surprisingly is cultivable.
Langza is one such village. It has less than 150 people. It is at 4250 meters. It is a sharp climb from the valley on barren mountain face. The road snakes through gaps in the mountains and then it suddenly opens up to the vista. You can see tiny specks of the village and houses at a distance.
The first glance of Langza
The centrepiece of the village is the Buddha statue, giant, maybe 40 or 50 feet high. He overlooks the vast plains and it is difficult to get a sense of proportion with all that space. Right behind the Buddha is the 21000 feet Chau Chau mountain. With snow all around the year, it looks like a ice cream cone.
Buddha and Chau Chau mountain
There are a couple of houses that host guests. When I reached early afternoon there was no one around at the place I was planning to stay. A toddler asked me to settle down and said his dad will come in a while. Time kind of doesn’t make sense here and he eventually came, hosted, guided and cooked for me. The womenfolk are totally engrossed in the farm work and don’t waste a minute of sunshine in late summer. Langza is also known for fossils which I didn’t buy from the two women bent on selling to me. I should have. I had plans for Annapurna in the autumn and thought I’d buy them there. I should have bought some in Langza.
High street retail at Langza, Fossil sellers
Langza also leads up to Hikkim which the world’s highest post office; and further on to Komic which has a road at 4600 meters.
Langza and the Buddha, at 4250 meters, more than take the breath away. It is a different perspective.
Around Langza 
Around Langza 
Post office of Hikim
The landscape of Langza
Hatkoti, on its own
Hatkoti, Temples of Himachal… 5.
Shimla is over visited, so is Dehradun-Mussourie. Surprisingly, the region between Shimla and Dehradun is not. There are several routes, some as short as six hours.
Hatkoti is in one of them, a 100 odd kms east of Shimla. This is the start of the Yamuna river territory. Every drop of water that falls on this side finds its way to Yamuna and eventually to Allahabad and Varanasi and Bay of Bengal. The road passes through Karapathar: a hill station that Himachal tries to hide for its own good. You can see all the snow you want, and also leave behind the crowds of Kufri and Shimla.
Entrance gate of Hatkoti
The Hateshwari temple is at Hatkoti, where the road meets the river Pabbar. At Hatkoti, Pabbar opens up into a wide valley and the temple overlooks the valley and the rice plains.
On an idle day, there is so much to do around. You can wander in any direction and into any field as guests are assumed to be non threatening. There was a dam under construction and I even slithered up the spillway without anyone objecting. The depth of knowledge in the chit chat within the temple; the extent of their global awareness stunned my assumptions.
December Sun at Hatkoti
Gup Shup at Hatkoti Temple
Hatkoti temple, on its own
Guardians of Hatkoti
Shrines of Hatkoti
The route from Hatkoti towards Dehradun is bliss. It snakes along the Pabbar river at level; jumps over the confluence of Tons and Pabbar; and then runs along the Tons for several miles. There is not an outside soul and no Gujarati, South Indian, Chinese Vaisnavi Dhaba. I stopped at the riverside and was served fresh milk tea, by a Gujjar family.
Temples, rivers and hospitality, Hatkoti, Himachal Pradesh
Pabbar river that meets Tons to flow into Yamuna eventually