Kinnaur- Soulsafar to the land of fantasies and fairies

s

We were traveling in the Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh—me,my husband and daughter in an Indica with Sanjay- our travel guide and partner. After spending 2 nights in the enchanting valley of Sangla we moved ahead to our next destination KALPA. I was truly awaiting for some more surprises. The journey till Recong Peo, the district headquarter of Kinnaur was through mountains and gorges with the river by our side. But as we crossed Recong Peo, suddenly the nature revealed all its beauty The meandering mountainous pathway through thick forests of pine, Deodhar and fir and glimpses of the snow-clad mountain peaks was indeed the most beautiful part of our journey. After about 3 hrs we reached Kalpa---the most beautiful village in the entire Kinnaur district.

Located at a height of nearly 9711 ft, at a distance of 265 kms from Shimla and 50 kms from Sangla at the base of the snow-capped Kinnaur-Kailash range, Kalpa stands apart with its apple orchards, walnut and pine-nut forests and the majestic Shivling peak.

We had already booked our rooms in Kinner Villa, one of the few hotels located here. It was a nice and comfortable one with apple orchards and facing the majestic Kinnaur-Kailash peak. Next morning the spectacular sight of the rising sun over the Kinnaur Kailash peak and the spectrum of colors in the sky left us dumb-struck The crimson and the golden lights of the sun all across the sky and over the grand Shivling peak was a heavenly delight. We were really enjoying our morning cup of tea on the terrace watching the morning sky, shivering in cold .As we went in the month of October, the Royal red apples and the Golden apples were in full bloom everywhere. We were in the middle of an apple land—apples everywhere—in the trees, on the paths, on the terrace-Kalpa was red with apples. I had never tasted such sweet, juicy and delicious apples ever.The last surprise we received was from our hotel manager who gifted us a plate full of red apples at our dinner--a very noble gesture indeed!

Next day we set off for discovering Kalpa It is a small village with a small market having handful of shops and a monastery. Little far away there is a small village called Roghi where lies the Narain-Nagini temple with its Kinnauri architecture.
After staying there for 2 days we left Kalpa with a heavy heart and promised to return again.

Friends, Kalpa does not have the luxuries of a city life,it will not greet you with its delicacies,it is unable to satisfy our earthly pleasures—but Kalpa is Heaven—a solitude amidst grandeur—the grandeur of the nature and our soul.

Kalpa is a land of fantasy-a land of fairies and a land of apples- and moreover a land of heavenly peace—totally away from the chaos of city life-where one can find peace within...