Journeys: Manali -- Valley of the Gods

(October 6-9, 2014)

We left Dharamshala and headed northeast to Manali, a town long favored by honeymooners and backpackers. Driving on the narrow curving mountain roads is like a game of chicken: most locals drive in the middle of the road, and don’t move over to their side when another car comes from the opposite direction. So you have to squeeze onto the non-existent shoulder and hope you don’t get run off the road. We were grateful for the competence of our driver and for the fact that we were flanked by the mountain rather than the other side with a steep drop.

Once we turned onto the highway going north towards Manali, the landscape opened dramatically into a long, deep canyon with the Beas River at the base. The curvy bendy highway tracked the river all the way up to Manali, and thankfully, drivers observed the markings separating the two opposite lanes. This landscape was what I had come to see in the Himalayas, and it did not disappoint. Around each bend was a sight more beautiful than the last. We found ourselves saying “Spectacular!” over and over.

We arrived in Manali too late to do anything but crash in the room. As it turned out, we didn’t end up doing much in Manali. Our planned paragliding adventure was aborted by our witnessing (and getting somewhat involved in) an accident of another paraglider. By the time we extricated ourselves from that and went to see the Hadimba temple, the lines were too long. The following day, Marina was unwell from the lousy food in the hotel so we spent the day in the room making bookings for the rest of the trip and taking pictures of the stunning mountains outside the hotel room.

Pictures can't do justice to this landscape, but pictures are all I have for you.