Kinnaur & Spiti valley

Kinnaur and Spiti : If you want to enjoy the creativity of Nature then
there is no better places than Kinnaur and Spiti Valleys. Kinnaur is known
for its green valleys and remote villages whereas Spiti is famous for its
geological carving. Kinnaur  is the place where the legends for Hindu epic
originated. Still there are some remote villages where the old traditions
are followed and are the basic foothold of the life. You will have a chance
to visit the old forts, wooden temples famous for their wood carvings, pine
nut forests and traditional villlages.

Spiti is the moonlike landscape. Once the seabed of Tythes ocean, from
where the Himalaya aroused, Spiti offers a mind boggling landscape to the
visitor. A place where the nature creates miracles without any vegetation.
The area remains cut of from the rest of the world for nearly six months so
the best time to plan a trip to Spiti valley is from May till October.

Rohtang Pass - Most visited Tourist Place in India

Rothang pass: Himachal Pradesh is known as the land of famous than Rohtang Pass, it lies in district Kullu to the north of Manali. A 51 km drive through the lush green grasslands takes one to the elevation of 13500 feet where you hardly find any trees. Hanging above Manali town Rohtang is a gateway to Lahaul and Spiti Valleys and further on to Ladakh, to the North West of India. Generally remains covered with snow, it opens in the mid of June and remains open till October end. Rohtang holds and amazing attraction for the visitors due to its landscape and snow peaks in the surroundings. One can opt for snowboarding, skiing, para gliding and sledge skiing.

Kufri ( Tourist attraction in winter )

Kufri : once upon a time this famous tourist place to the north east of Shimla was known for its ski slopes. The British introduced skiing in India and Shimla – being the Summer capital, skiing was one of the major adventure sports for the British gentry. Now the ski slopes have been found in Narkanda – 64 km from Shimla but Kufri still remains attractive with its marvellous views of Himalayan peaks and  a Nature Park. In the Park, the leopards hold a major attraction for all. A horse ride upto the Mahasu peak is recommended, from where the view of the Himalayan peaks is much better.

Kalka - Shimla Toy Train

Toy Train: Raising from the elevation of 684 meters to 2195 meters the journey from Kalka to Shimla by the Toy Train has always fascinated the travellers. 

The idea of Toy Train had already come to a journalist’s mind in 1847, much before the railways were introduced on Indian land, but after that a number of surveys took place and finally the work was initiated in 1898. 

Most of the material was brought from Scotland, the labour was locally hired and the skill full engineers of the British government were always ready to fight the hurdles. With 107 tunnels originally, not 102 are left, nearly 900 bridges, similar number of curves, twenty railway platforms, and the time period taken to complete the project as five years, Kalka Shimla railway is a marvel feet of engineering of Victorian era.

KALKA – SHIMLA TRAIN TIMINGS					SHIMLA  -  KALKA TRAIN TIMINGS
DEP.KALKA	ARR.SHIMLA		TRAIN NAME		DEP.SHIMLA	ARR.KALKA	TRAIN NAME
04:00 AM		09:15 AM		KALKA-SHIMLA LOCAL	08:05 AM	02:20 PM	SHIMLA-KALKA LOCAL
05:10 AM		09:40 AM		CHAIR CAR	04:25 AM	08:30 PM	CHAIR CAR
05:30 AM		10:15 AM		SHIWALIK DELUXE	10:30 AM	04:05 PM	HIMALAYAN QUEEN
06:00 AM		11:00 AM		KALKA-SHIMLA MAIL	02:25 PM	08:10 PM	PASSENGER MAIL
08:30 AM		02:20 PM		PASSENGER & CARGO MIX	05:40 PM	10:20 PM	SHIWALIK DELUXE
12:10 PM		05:20 PM		HIMALAYAN QUEEN	06:15 PM	11:15 PM	SHIMLA-KALKA MAIL

Eight Auspicious Symbols

Right-coiled White Conch:- The white conch which coils to the right symbolises the deep, far-reaching and melodious sound of the Dharma teachings, which being appropriate to different natures, predispositions and aspirations of disciples, awakens them from the deep slumber of ignorance and urges them to accomplish their own and others' welfare.
Precious Umbrella:- The precious umbrella symbolises the wholesome activity of preserving beings from illness, harmful forces, obstacles and so forth in this life and all kinds of temporary and enduring sufferings of the three lower realms, and the realms of men and gods in future lives. It also represents the enjoyment of a feast of benefit under its cool shade.
Victory Banner:- The victory banner symbolises the victory of the activities of one's own and others body, speech and mind over obstacles and negativitities. It also stands for the complete victory of the Buddhist Doctrine over all harmful and pernicious forces.


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Golden Fish:- The golden fish symbolises the auspiciousness of all living beings in a state of fearlessness, without danger of drowning in the ocean of sufferings, and migrating from place to place freely and spontaneously, just as fish swim freely without fear through water.







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Dharma Wheel:- The golden wheel symbolises the auspiciousness of the turning of the precious wheel of Buddha's doctrine, both in its teachings and realizations, in all realms and at all times, enabling beings to experience the joy of wholesome deeds and liberation.

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Auspicious Drawing:- The auspicious drawing symbolises the mutual dependence of religious doctrine and secular affairs. Similarly, it represents the union of wisdom and method, the inseparability of emptiness and dependent arising at the time of path, and finally, at the time of enlightenment, the complete union of wisdom and great compassion.

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Lotus Flower:- The lotus flower symbolises the complete purification of the defilements of the body, speech and mind, and the full blossoming of wholesome deeds in blissful liberation.Vase of TreasureThe treasure vase symbolises an endless rain of long life, wealth and prosperity and all the benefits of this world and liberationbenefits of this world and liberation.

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Vase of Treasure :-The treasure vase symbolises an endless rain of long life, wealth and prosperity and all the

The Great Himalayas

The Great Himalaya

Himalayas start from Pamir Knot (Middle Asia) and continues in South Eastern direction, first in the northern India in Jammu and Kashmir where the world's second largest peak Karakorum lies then in Nepal where world's highest peak Mt. Everest lies then in Myanmar as Arakom Yoma. Himalayas is divided into three branches.

Greater Himalayas: It is also known as Himadari, its average height is 6000-7000m. Many large peaks like Karakorum, in India and Mt. Everest, in Nepal also lies in the greater Himalayas. Many large glaciers like Gangotari source of water for river Ganga, Yamnotari source of water for Yamuna is also present

Lesser Himalayas: It is also known as Himachal with an average height of 4000-5000m. Many beautiful hill station like Shimla, Darjeeling, Paragpur, Chamba, Chitkul, Dalhousie, Dharamsala, Kangra, Kullu, Lahaul Spiti, Mandi and Solan are also part of these ranges.

Outer Himalayas: It is also known as Shivalik, average height is 1000-1250m. It is not a continuous range and is broken down into many small ranges. It merges with the lesser Himalayas in the east and is made up of loose rock and soil hence it is prone to earthquake and landslides, it then extends eastward as Puravanchal range it includes various ranges such as Naga, Karo, Lushai Hills, Jaintia etc. Many passes like Zoji La, Nathu La, Shipki La, Bomdi La also lie in the outer Himalaya's.

The Himalaya is the youngest mountain ranges on the planet. According to the modern theory of plate tectonics, their formation is a result of a continental collision or orogeny along the convergent boundary between the Indo-Australian Plate and the Eurasian Plate. The collision began in the Upper Cretaceous period about 70 million years ago, when the north-moving Indo-Australian Plate, moving at about 15 cm/year, collided with the Eurasian Plate. By about 50 million years ago this fast moving Indo-Australian plate had completely closed the Tethys Ocean, the existence of which has been determined by sedimentary rocks settled on the ocean floor and the volcanoes that fringed its edges. Since these sediments were light, they crumpled into mountain ranges rather than sinking to the floor. The Indo-Australian plate continues to be driven horizontally below the Tibetan plateau, which forces the plateau to move upwards. The Arakan Yoma highlands in Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal were also formed as a result of this collision. The Indo-Australian plate is still moving at 67 mm/year, and over the next 10 million years it will travel about 1,500 km into Asia. About 20 mm/year of the India-Asia convergence is absorbed by thrusting along the Himalaya southern front. This leads to the Himalayas rising by about 5 mm/year, making them geologically active. The movement of the Indian plate into the Asian plate also makes this region seismically active, leading to earthquakes from time to time.

The Himalaya region is dotted with hundreds of LAKES. Most lakes are found at altitudes of less than 5,000 m, with the size of the lakes diminishing with altitude. The largest lake is the Pangong Tso, which is spread across the border between India and Tibet. It is situated at an altitude of 4,600 m, and is 8 km wide and nearly 134 km long. A notable high (but not the highest) lake is the Gurudogmar in North Sikkim at an altitude of 5,148 m (16,890 ft) (altitude source: SRTM). Other major lakes include the Tsongmo lake, near the Indo-China border in Sikkim(India), and Tilicho lake in Nepal in the Annapurna massif, a large lake in an area that was closed to outsiders until recently. The mountain lakes are known to geographers as tarns if they are caused by glacial activity. Tarns are found mostly in the upper reaches of the Himalaya, above 5,500 metres.

Trekking to Buran Pass (4500m) H.P.India

Dear reader,

Greetings from Himalayas!

I have been to Buran pass last week and it was a real adventure except a snow Storm which created a big hurdle near the pass and we have to move back from there because the clients with me were not able to do it.

This is my suggestions to the the adventure lovers coming to Himalayas that make it a point that whenever you do trekking or even a day hike make sure that a guide should be a professional having a sound knowledge of the topographical and weather conditions. Along with this he should be intelligent and experiences in taking decisions.

Rest as this is my first post so I would be coming up with my past and forthcoming adventure experiences.

Enjoy thrilling but safe adventure.

Regards,

Ravi.