Seeing Jalori Top was an unfulfilled dream for a very long time. By end of today, Jalori would no longer remain a dream and I was excited by that prospect. Moreover, riding back via the same route is always boring so barring a major issue, we expected the ride to be enjoyable.
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| Exiting the "Gateway to Kinnaur" |
We decided to start early so we could make maximum use of daylight and avoid traffic in Rampur. Our first halt was for breakfast at Tapri, the same place where we stopped for lunch en route Sangla on day 2. During our onward journey, we have braved the rain to reach this place. However, today the weather was fantastic and the sun was also out. Gradually, one layer after another started coming off, thanks to the quickly disappearing cold and chilly winds.
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| Excited AF to just be able to ride in the mountains! |
We crossed Rampur and Jeori in good time and had to take the diversion from Kingal, about 25 km before Narkanda. It was about 2 pm and we decided to halt for lunch about 10 km further, at Luhri. Jalori Top was exactly 50 km from here but unfortunately, because of some road construction work, we had to take a 15 km detour that was breathtakingly stunning but totally off-road.
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| Beauty at it's best! |
Covering this stretch itself took us almost an hour. However, once we merged with the regular highway, the road, though extremely narrow, was well-maintained. There was a lot of greenery all around and snow only slightly visible in the background. Road conditions all the way up to Khanag and beyond are excellent and a pleasure to ride on.
The last 5 km ascent is highly steep (I mean literally even on first gear it is difficult) and you need to be really careful. It is advisable not to look towards the valley because it is bound to freak you out. The top was beautiful and we did get to see a lot of snow out there. There is a temple at the top and if you have any energy left, a short trek takes you to the Serolsar lake.
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Jalori Top
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The descent, however, is very very tricky with a lot of snow and black ice on the road and on the sides. Moreover, it is off-road and passes through a dense forest. Yes, it does make you feel slightly scared because there is not a single soul on the road. We decided to stay for the night at Ghiyagi at a fantastic place we found - Jalori River Touch. The sound of the flowing river was indeed music to the ears and we felt fortunate to be able to see and stay at places we never thought existed!
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| Well, I definitely will! |
We lit a campfire to have some fun in the cold weather and spent our last evening together talking about the incredible journey so far and the route we traversed to get here!
Stay tuned to know how the last day of our ride turned out to be!
Route: Reckong Peo - Rampur - Kingal - Anni - Khanag - Jalori Top - Ghiyagi/Jibhi
Super.. thanks for sharing
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