Sunday, June 24, 2001		Adventure

TIME was when, for an Indian travelling meant packing a tin trunk and trudging to the nearest pilgrimage centre. Then holiday tourism came in and everybody seemed head to for hill stations and beach resorts. Thereafter, came a phase when a holiday without shopping at Singapore or Dubai meant time ill-spent.

Little known spots are being preferred by tourists

Today, Indians have outgrown those fixations and are exploring newer destinations for a holiday. Nobody wants to follow the beaten track and with the lure of foreign travel gradually fading away, little known scenic and heritage spots within the country are emerging as favoured summer destinations.

One such off-beat summer destination in North India is Ladakh, the land of the Lamas. Nestling between the Karakoram and Himalayan ranges on the vast Indus basin, this "moon country" of Changpah nomads and Tibetan refugees is directly accessible from Srinagar or Manali by road.

A tourist in the Ladakhi capital, Leh cannot miss the Buddhist monastery circuit — Lamayuru, Alchi, Hemis, Thicksey... A mountaineer can take off for Stok Kangri, while for those fond of trekking there are numerous trails. A drive over the 17,000 ft Changla Pass can also be a breathtaking experience.

At the foot of the Karakoram (in the northern part of Ladakh) is the Nubra valley. Close to the Siachen glacier, this is a nature lover’s paradise with carpets of moss dotted with pink and blue, gentians, edelweiss and wild mint. The world’s highest mountain pass (at 18,300 ft) Khardong La is also here.

The historic Rohtang Pass and Sonapati glacier in Lahaul-Spiti are also turning out to be hot spots for the athletic and adventure sport lovers. The area is the watershed of three main rivers — Chandra, Bhaga and Yunan. At the 8 km long Baralacha Pass, the paths to Zanskar, Ladadh, Spiti and Lahaul meet.

Here too, the Tibetan-Buddhist presence is strong with countless gompas or monasteries dotting the landscape. Prominent among them are Guru Ghantal on Drilburi Hill, Toopchilling, Kardang, Shashur... These gompas serve as the venue of several village festivals and religious rites through the year.

Those unable to reach so far up north, have a number of unexplored spots in the Himalayan foothills near Shimla. Sarahan is one such spot where the Pandavas are said to have spent time during their exile. The area is soaked in culture with quaint villages with an unusual architecture. The Bhimkali temple is a major draw.

Also in the bowl of the Himachal is Thanedar, 82 km from Shimla by road. Here too, nature is all very bountiful with white-draped peaks, dense greenery and fast flowing streams. The slopes of Thanedar are studded with apple orchards — a mojor cause for economic prosperity in these parts.

Close by and still within reach from Shimla on the old Hindustan-Tibet Road, is the settlement of 77 villages, Kinnaur. Surrounded by orchards and vineyards, the valley is known for brewing the most heady brew — ghanti, anguri or chuli. And almost every day is festival time in Kinnaur — 360 of them in a year!

Kangra is yet another picturesque valley of Himachal where nature and culture conspire for attention. Whether it is the Yol Camp in Dharamsala where Italian POWs were kept in World War II, the Tibetan settlement in McLeodganj or the rock-cut temples of Masrur, this is a veritable photographer’s paradise. The sights from Kunnal Pathri, Tatwani Lake, Kareri Lake and Machchrial are just as spectacular. This is also the cradle for some of Hinduism’s most sacred shrines Brajeshwari Devi, Jwalamukhi, Chintpurni, Baijnath. The International Himalayan Festival is held every year in Kangra.

The Garhwal Himalayas also has many lesser-known destinations as such as Dharali, Chopta, Duggalbetta, Chamba and Chandrashila, which are of the beaten track. Dodital, once the capital of the local Maharaja is another place "where summer becomes spring time". All of them can be accessed from Rishikesh.

Then there is the entire north-east — from Assam to Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland to Manipur and Tripura, Meghalaya and Mizoram, which still remains virgin territory for the tourist. There’s also several parts of Sikkim and the Nepal Himalayas (Pithoragarh), which are as yet unexplored.

Nowhere else in the world can such diversity of scenic, ethnic and cultural strains be found in such a relatively small geographically area. To provide a road map through the magic, mystery and beauty of this region would require another full-length essay. (MF)