Shimla-Sarahan, Himachal Pradesh:

Shimla

During the first half of September I went on a fantastic road trip – from Jaipur all the way into the high Himalayas of Himachal Pradesh. Together with two colleagues, I did research in the Spiti Valley close to the Indo-Tibetan border.

The first part of the journey followed a broad highway and was relatively unremarkable. We entered the mountains abruptly after passing Chandigarh and the road became narrow and winding. After another four hours, we reached Shimla (~2200 m), the capital of Himachal Pradesh, where we would stay overnight. The following morning, we organized our inner line permits, which would enable us to enter the border areas. Then we left town and followed the Sutlej River up-stream until our next stop, the village of Sarahan (~2300 m). Throughout the day, the landscape became more and more rugged, but the vegetation was still dense (check out a video of the trip here).

on the highway between Delhi and Chandigarh

school bus in Punjab

passing through Chandigarh

entering the mountains

village along the road

arrival in Shimla

cloudy morning in Shimla

cloudy morning in Shimla

the sun comes out

Shimla

Shimla

Shimla

Christ Church

panoramic view into the valley from Mall Road

Gaiety Theater

Mall Road

a rat in Shimla

Shimla

leaving Shimla

the valley of the Sutlej River

the valley of the Sutlej River

the valley of the Sutlej River

the valley of the Sutlej River

the road into the mountains

the valley of the Sutlej River

the valley of the Sutlej River

the valley of the Sutlej River

the valley of the Sutlej River

“beer for real men”

“beer for real men”

the valley of the Sutlej River

The next day brought us much deeper into the mountains – see here!