This is one my most favourite memories to relive….
Stepping off the aircraft at Kullu airport I was startled and mesmerised by my first breath and delighted by all that I could see. My heart skipped a beat and then started jumping with joy. There was such a sense of excitement. The sunshine was warming and happy. I just wanted to be there and soak it all in.
Being the only flight on the tarmac we simply walked to the terminal building. I still love being able to amble across from an aircraft to the terminal. It always feels like I am back in time. It was a short walk and nobody objected to us taking pictures. The bags were out almost instantaneously and we were soon with the elegant and well-spoken Virendra who was driving us to our hotel.
He most happily agreed to take the little detour to Neeralaya, where we had planned to stop for breakfast. Neeralaya is about forty-five minutes from the airport and is owned by a very close friend of my first cousin who now lives in Cleveland. The moment she found out that we were going to Manali she insisted that we meet Manisha and visit her most amazing boutique hotel on the edges of the river Beas.
At Neeralaya we were greeted by Dharmendra, an experienced hotelier aptly in-charge of the property. Although not from Himachal he was pretty much naturalised as he was long married to a local beauty.
Let me digress a little here. I noticed through the trip that the men are very well turned out and generally impressive to look at and most of the local ladies are also very impressive and hauntingly beautiful. They all have distinct features and amazing skin tones. Very pink I am sure due to the crisp and clean mountain air. And we discovered that being hard working they are all financially solid. The local houses are smart and well finished.
Digression over, let us get back to our soul-satisfying breakfast experience at Neeralaya. The soul was satisfied in part by the setting, right at the edge of the Beas, in part by the crisp and super clean air we were inhaling, in part by the gracious hospitality of Dharmendraji, in part from our hunger as we had started pretty early from our hotel in Chandigarh and in part by the yummy food from their kitchen. An international breakfast was the only choice given the short notice. So omelettes to Indian taste with toast and coffee, all perfectly done.
Manisha was very busy as she was preparing for an engagement party that had been thrown upon her to host by a close friend. And being a tiny boutique property banquets are not their forte. So she was visibly hassled when she was finally able to getaway from the arrangements and spend some time with us. But she made sure that she was able to spend some quality time with us and even showed us around some of the fabulous cottages that she and her family had so lovingly crafted over the years. The entire property looked like a labour of love. I kept thinking that if I had got to know about Neeralaya earlier I would definitely had stayed here.
Soon we were off to our hotel, Urvashi’s Retreat, now even more excited about our week ahead.
Sadly the experience at Urvashi’s was far from what we had expected. On the face of it there was everything right but it somehow lacked soul. Plus the space in the room, even though we chose to upgrade to a suite, felt claustrophobic. When I think back it was perhaps that there was way too much furniture in the room. Not sure what it was, but we were simply not able to settle there. Prakash from their team was very good.
He even accompanied us for a trek towards the Jogini Falls. The trek wasn’t really tough but at some point we decided to abandon going to the falls and instead diverted to the Vashisht Temple. This turned out to be a lovely walk through the pine forests. Indeed idyllic. On the way we had good fortune to come across a very cute hill side hut where some very well spoken locals were selling fabulous freshly done apple juice. Made right in front of us the juice had the perfect sweetness.
On our second evening at Urvashi’s we had pretty much decided to move. We did a quick search for nearby Homestays and very quickly we narrowed down to one that appealed to us. Tracking down the owners number happened easily and I felt very comfortable after speaking to him over the phone. Next morning we hired a taxi and drove down to Nalagarh House to check if we would really like it. And we liked it almost instantly.
We were quickly back at Urvashi’s to pack up and leave. Unfortunately the owners and the staff made our exit difficult. They tried to enforce a retention which was uncalled for considering we had stayed two nights. After a lot of to-ing & fro-ing we managed to settle the issue. However, the entire process left a very sour taste for us.
On our way to Urvashi’s to check out we had decided to make a trip to Rohtang Pass. So straight from our check out we made our way to Rohtang with Narendra.
The journey to Rohtang pass was fine. It is quite a climb and it was chilly there. We stepped out just for a bit to get some pics as there is nothing really to do there. What we did not realise that it was actually not legally allowed to simply go there and come back even though we had a pass. You are supposed to use that route to go across to the next village and not just to make a chakkar. So the way back became tedious. Our taxi driver was afraid of getting caught as there was a lot of checking on that particular day. He was worried about being fined heavily and losing his permit. We ended up waiting in the cold a little way down at a town called Marhi. There were many dhabas there. And we got some super tea as we waited. Marhi is at a height of 11200 ft and the Rohtang pass is at 13058 ft.
There was a sense of relief getting back and reaching Nalagarh House. We settled in so easily and were super comfortable right from the word go.
The khansamah at the house had made some wonderful home cooked food — mutter gobi, daal and chicken curry with salad, rice and rotis. Wholesome and nourishing food.
Our stay at Nalagarh House was restful and we managed to explore the local area very well thanks to Mahendraji. He was a member of the team and since we were the only guests he happily became our guide and showed us around the area. Helped us buy walnuts from the right local vendor. Manali has a lot to experience in and around the area.
Fat Plate is a popular local eatery and we even discovered a super coffee place — Kilta. Sadly Kilta was only discovered on the last day and hence I managed to get only one cup of coffee there. We made a special effort to go back at the end of the day but being a dull day for business the owner had decided to close early and go home.
Momos & thukpa were had at a very local Tibetan eatery, no idea what the name was; Himachali caps from the person who sat and made them himself and had been doing so for all his life; chaat from the Delhi Chaat Bhandar in the market; an afternoon spent at the Nicolas Roerich Art Gallery (a definite must visit); a spa afternoon at Span Resort; and evenings spent at the house by the fireplace having sips of Woodford Reserve accompanied with a dash of water, our insides kept warm by its delectable flavours and our outsides wrapped snug in a shawl. Woodford was our companion through this trip and over the week we demolished the bottle savouring the whisky as a morning kicker and as an evening relaxant. And how can I not mention the flavoursome home cooked dinners?
Our favourite experience of the trip was a picnic that Mahendra arranged for us. Biryani was made by the team at Nalagarh — with that and some folding seats we drove off to a particular point in the mountains where there was a rapidly flowing stream. After a short trek, very short trek, barely a 100 meters we set ourselves down at this most secluded and picturesque spot. Mahendra had obviously been there a few times and knew his way around. He and a local colleague then set up the biryani and warmed it by burning some twigs that they collected from around the area. These were dry and already fallen down. None were freshly broken. The bubbles we had bought locally was dipped and chilled in the running water. Enveloped in the mountains, the sound of the water, the crisp fresh air against my skin, it was surreal.
To end I must make a mention of the royal presence in the house. There are many a reminder of a glorious past and many give you a glimpse of what life would have been like many many years ago for the dethroned royals of our country.
Written By Mohit Gupta
Week 13, March ’19
