Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Amidst The River Of Dreams - Tirthan Valley


Amidst The River Of Dreams - Tirthan Valley

Trip Introduction

I have roamed all across Himachal as its one of my favourite places to chill and go away from the cacophony of city life. I have been with the Firang's at Kasol, spend nights with the villagers of chitkul and also seeped in the beauty of the Sangla valley. But nowhere and I mean nowhere, I have been so content as a person mingling with nature as my stay at Tirthan Valley. It combines all things that Himchal has to offer : a wild flowing river, raging waterfalls, Virgin Locations and absolutely no additional crowd.Sometimes pictures are worth a thousand words, so I will try to talk through the photos that I captured during my stay at Tirthan Valley
Tirthan River
The Heart and Soul Of the Valley - The Tirthan River
Trout Farms at Tirthan
Visit a Trout Farm(Carry your own Rod) and catch your own Trout
Trout At Tirthan Valley
People At The Farm Will Help You Clean Up Your Catch
Tirthan valley is actually home to India's most recent National Park - The GHNP (Great Himalayan National Park). The park was open to Public in 1984 and the whole expanse covered by the park is a massive 1170 Sq Hm odd.I did not get a chance to really visit this National Park as my trip was more leisurely and laidback , but would urge people to visit the variety of Flora and Fauna available for this region!GHNP is also noted to be one of the places to spot the spotted himalayan leopard - a real rarity.
Great Himalayan National Park
At the Entrance Of GHNP
The best part about Tirthan is that there are no designated tourist spots. The whole valley is a spot in itself. A trek here and you see a new view of the river, a trek there and you see a new view of the valley.
Tirthan Valley
The Valley From A Vantage Point
Tirthan Valley
Finding my own corner near the River

How to get there

By Road

Possible route(s) to Tirthan Valley from Delhi by road are :
Delhi – Ambala (188 KM) – Chandigarh – Roopnagar (282 KM) – Kiratpur – Bilaspur (371 KM) – Mandi (440 KM) – Pandoh – Aut (481 KM) – Larji – Gushaini – Tirthan (511 KM)
To give some more tips on how to reach there : Post Mandi there is a tunnel that goes towards Manali. Before the tunnel take the right turn on the road and you will reach Tirthan!

Where to stay

Stay options are limited at Tirthan Valley. We stayed at Trishla Guest House and also stayed at the GHNP guest house. Both have minimal stay options, though if you can do some Jugaad, then one can also get the VIP rooms at the GHNP guest house.
Trishla Guest House, Tirthan Valley
At Trishla Guest House

Food

Food options are not very great when you compare with Kasol, Vashisht etc. There is no continental fares and you have to be happy with the regular Pahadi Daal Chawal.

Closure Line

I am a huge fan of Himchal's beauty and I keep going back again and again. Now that I have found the Tirthan Valley, I have found one more hiding place for myself. Here I am at one of the numerous waterfalls that I found in and around the valley!
Waterfall at Tirthan Valley

Comments

Posted By: Panki sood
Dear Shibli thanks for this super photography blog . Every pic of your describes my valley beautifully and is a complete story itself . Hopefully in your next visit you will find some wonderful restaurants in the valley .Please give your reviews on.www.tirthanvalley.com as well
Posted By: shibli anis
Thanks Panki Sood, I would say you are a blessed soul as you belong to Himachal. I have covered a major part of it and found Tirthan to be the best when it comes to virgin locales, minimal crowd, fishing, trekking etc... it has so much to offer unlike other places in himachal.As far as restaurants are concerned there are not many except for few in Banjaar. The best one is Om Jai Restaurant and he makes very nice north indian food (daal, paneer etc) and diagonally opposite to it you will find a sweet shop which serves lunch/dinner. Try their thali with Kadi Pakora. Its very nice.In case you need more details feel free to write back to me...