on the road

~A local village house with the traditional slate roof. Fagu is along the crest of the mountain behind, above the left gate.~

Driving through Himachal has been something that I have always loved, especially exploring the back roads where one might see some really beautiful and unspoiled spots. On our trip to Mashobra, we took the Bekhalty road to go to Narkanda instead of going on NH 22 via Kufri. The Bekhalty road was the original alignment for the continuation of the railway line beyond Simla, which eventually never got made, so it is completely level and is great for walking as well.

~The Oberoi's Wildflower Hall Spa and Resort is the white building with green conical roofs at the top of the hill~

The road starts from Mashobra bazaar and joins up at Bekhalty on NH 22 just before Theog, from where one goes along the crest of the hill towards Narkanda. Incidentally, this is the same ridge as the Simla one and is the continental divide. Toss water down to one side and it'll end up in the Bay of Bengal and the other down to the Arabian Sea.

~Thick forests in this area and very steep hillsides. Can you spot the house hidden amongst the trees?~

The total drive on this road is 17 km from Mashobra to Bekhalty, which is a decidedly longer time than it would take on the main road. Interestingly, the total distance from Mashobra to Narkanda turned out to be exactly the same from either route, since we went one way and came back the other. There was a good amount of construction on this road, albeit in the few patches that opened up in the forest. Many were weekend homes being constructed by city dwellers and probably a few small resorts as well.

~The next valley, which is much wider and flatter, with agricultural fields. There is lots of construction going on in the area.~