Kalpa is situated at an altitude of 2759 m from the sea level, on the old Hindustan Tibet Road at a distance of 260 km from Shimla. Earlier it was the District Headquarter of Kinnaur. It is 14 kms. and half an hour’s drive from District Headquarter Reckong Peo. It has all the characteristics of a heritage village.

Kalpa came into prominence in the wake of British Governor General Lord Dalhousie’s visit in th 19th century. The Narayan-Nagani temple is an exemplary of local craftmanship. There are couple of Buddhist monasteries at Kalpa including the Hu-Bu-Ian-Car Gompa, said to be founded it by Rinchensang-Po (950-1055AD).

Kalpa is dramatically located close to the foot of 6050 meter high Kinner Kailash. This is the legendary winter home of Shiva. This is a spectacular sight early in the morning as the rising sun touches the snowy peaks with crimson and gold light.

There are numerous places all over Himachal that are blessed with mesmerizing natural beauty. Some of these places are quite famous like Shimla and Manali; but then there are a few others that are not so well known , but no less in beauty still.

In fact considering the kind of crowd that Shimla and Manali receive, visiting some of these unknown and offbeat destinations can prove to be a much better trip. One such place that I recently went on a trip to and would like to talk about in this article is Kalpa; a small town located in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh.

The name Kalpa would probably be known only to people who have traveled around a lot in the hills; or who have been on the Spiti circuit at least once. Kalpa and the nearby town of Reckong Peo is mostly used as the center point of the journey from Shimla to Kaza.

It is not completely an unknown destination because tourism is a major part of the livelihood of the people around here. You will definitely find tourists here during summer and the place is also very well connected. It however is still not known to many people and it never gets crowded around here.

So if you were planning a trip in near future; wanted to travel to a less crowded place that offers peace and tranquility as well as stunning vistas all around; then Kalpa could prove to be an ideal destination.

Amarnath Yatra 2015

Amarnath Yatra, the most named pilgrimage tour in India that calls all the devotees towards the famous cave of Lord Shiva in the state of Jammu & Kashmir in the form of white “Shivlingam” made naturally of snow. The pilgrims need to cover the rugged and challenging ways towards the Amarnath Cave, 40m which is surrounded by snowy mountains throughout the year. The cave itself is covered with snow most time of the year except for a short period of time in summer when it is open for the devotees.

The Amarnath Darshan is all about an annual pilgrimage that is made to the Amarnath cave by lakhs of Hindu devotees on the challenging mountainous terrains to catch the mightiest glimpse of an ice stalagmite formed inside the cave.

If Lord Shiva has truly called you to visit His holy shrine at Amarnath, be assured that our Amarnath Tour packages are the perfect answers to your prayers for a well-crafted, meticulously executed, and spiritually catalytic Amarnath yatra. Whether you want to visit the holy cave of Amarnath from Baltal or Pahalgam, or also want to include the wondrous spots of Kashmir along with Maa’s holy shrine at Vaishno Devi in a single journey, our Amarnath yatra packages are well-tailored to suit your unique expectations from the holy pilgrimage.

Pilgrims visit the holy site during the 45-day season around the festival of Shravani Mela in July-August, coinciding with the Hindu holy month of Shraavana. The beginning of this annual pilgrimage called the Amarnath Ji Yatra is marked by ‘Pratham pujan’ to invoke the blessings of Shri Amarnathji.

Amarnath Yatra 2014

Amarnath Yatra, the most named pilgrimage tour in India that calls all the devotees towards the famous cave of Lord Shiva in the state of Jammu & Kashmir in the form of white “Shivlingam” made naturally of snow. The pilgrims need to cover the rugged and challenging ways towards the Amarnath Cave, 40m which is surrounded by snowy mountains throughout the year. The cave itself is covered with snow most time of the year except for a short period of time in summer when it is open for the devotees.

The Amarnath Darshan is all about an annual pilgrimage that is made to the Amarnath cave by lakhs of Hindu devotees on the challenging mountainous terrains to catch the mightiest glimpse of an ice stalagmite formed inside the cave.

If Lord Shiva has truly called you to visit His holy shrine at Amarnath, be assured that our Amarnath Tour packages are the perfect answers to your prayers for a well-crafted, meticulously executed, and spiritually catalytic Amarnath yatra. Whether you want to visit the holy cave of Amarnath from Baltal or Pahalgam, or also want to include the wondrous spots of Kashmir along with Maa’s holy shrine at Vaishno Devi in a single journey, our Amarnath yatra packages are well-tailored to suit your unique expectations from the holy pilgrimage.

Pilgrims visit the holy site during the 45-day season around the festival of Shravani Mela in July-August, coinciding with the Hindu holy month of Shraavana. The beginning of this annual pilgrimage called the Amarnath Ji Yatra is marked by ‘Pratham pujan’ to invoke the blessings of Shri Amarnathji.

I am sure that, Amarnath cave needs no introduction. It is a very famous cave, located in Jammu and Kashmir, India. The altitude of the cave is 3,888 m. The cave is about 141 km from Shrinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir. The Amarnath temple can be reached through the Pahalgam town. As you all know that, lord Shiva is the main god of Amarnath cave. The best part is that, the Shivalinga will form naturally due to freezing of water drops.

The water drops fall down from the ceiling of the cave and it grows up vertically from the floor of the cave. This is how the Shivalinga in Amarnath cave will be formed. If you want to see this in your naked eyes, you need to take the Amarnath yatra. You can reach the Amarnath temple by two routes. One is through the old and traditional route called Pahalgam town and it will take 5 days to reach the Amarnath cave.

Second route is that, you can take trekking from Baltal and it will take 1 to two days to reach the cave. It is you that has to choose the route what you find reliable and soothing for you. It is needless to mention that, trekking would not be that simple. If you are physically fit and fine, you can do trekking. Otherwise, you should take the traditional route to reach the cave. May to September is the best time to visit the Amarnath temple. During this time, the temperature will be good.

Barog is a cute little place immerging as a major holiday attraction to spend a day in. It is a small village in Solan district in the Himachal Pradesh. Set in the mountains Barog is just 60km from Chandigarh on the Kalka-Shimla highway. It used to be an important stop in the early decades of the century when the Kalka-Shimla toy train stopped here for an hour while the sahibs and memsahibs enjoyed a lavish lunch.

The station, one of the prettiest on the line with its hanging baskets of pink geraniums. Barog was settled in the early 20th century during the building of the narrow gauge Kalka-Shimla Railway. It is named after Barog, an engineer involved in building the railway track in 1903. Barog, the engineer, was responsible for designing a tunnel near the railway station. He commenced digging the tunnel from both sides of the mountain, which is quite common as it speeds up construction.

However, he made mistakes in his calculation and while constructing the tunnel, it was found that the two ends of the tunnel did not meet. Barog was fined an amount of 1 Rupee by the British government. Unable to withstand the humiliation, Barog committed suicide. He was buried near the incomplete tunnel.

The area came to be known as Barog after him. Soon another tunnel was built by H.S. Harrington, Chief Engineer in Railways at that time. This tunnel is the longest of the 103 operational tunnels on the route of the Shimla-Kalka Railway, which is 1143.61m long. Barog station is immediately after the tunnel. Barog tunnel is the straightest tunnel in the World. Trains take about 3 minutes to cross this tunnel, running at 25 kilometres per hour.

Height 1680 m. On the Kalka-Shimla highway, Barog has grown from a mere stopover to a full-fledged destination. Surrounded by pine and oak forests, Barog has a commanding setting. The Choor Chandni-which poetically translates as the ‘mountain of the silver bangle‘ is clearly visible from Barog-and when moonlight washes down its snow covered slopes, it seems as though thousands of icy, silver bangles are sliding down in the night.

Barog was settled in the early 20th century during the building of the narrow gauge Kalka-Shimla Railway. lt is named after Colonel Barog, an engineer involved in building the railway track in 1903. Surrounded by pine woods and views of the valley, Barog makes a conveniently accessible destination from the Delhi-Punjab-Harayana region or as a travel stopover to or from Shimla. lt is also a convenient weekend getaway.