Visiting Mountains in monsoon is a good idea or not? So many people asked me this question on Instagram and I always say, Yes. Yes, because you will find less crowd everywhere, you will find clouds near to you, foggy weather and bit cold weather. But what to do when you are stuck due to a major landslide on the road and raining non stop for the last 60 hours. Well, I faced this kind of situation on my trip to Jibhi & Jalori Pass this monsoon.
On Friday Night, Me and my friends started our journey from Delhi to Jibhi by Volvo Bus. After reaching near the Aut tunnel, we hired a cab to Jibhi and explore the Tirthan river and Jibhi waterfall on the way. After checking in to our homestay - No Society Cafe & Homestay, we took the rest and explored the nearby places. Enjoyed the bonfire in the evening. The weather was clear and sunny that day.
Next Day, we start our day by drive to Jalori Pass. Started the trek to Serolsar Lake. It was an amazing trek of 4 to 5 hours (both sides). In the evening, we reached back to our homestay after the tiring trek. The weather was hazy this day and we found a little bit of rain during our trek. After evening tea, we planned to go for a bonfire, but suddenly, it started raining heavily. We came back and stayed in our room.
Next Morning, we found that the situation was out of control. The river near the homestay was overflowing. We checked the news on the internet and we found that most of the roads of Himachal are closed due to major landslides and over flowing rivers. We were scary but our host Mr. Nitesh Gupta gave us courage to face this situation and enjoy the moments we are living. I faced land-sliding so many times before during my travel in the mountains but this time, I saw it in front of my eyes. I saw how roads are flowing with water. We hadn’t any other option to keep calm and stay there. We were lucky that we were safe and had a shelter with food instead of getting stuck on roads. Manali - Chandigarh Highway got closed due to landslides at so many places, mainly in Bhunter, Bajoura, Aut, Mandi and Swarghat. We had no options to change the route and reach home on that day. Our bus got cancelled. We passed the time by reading news online and experiencing the changing weather.
Next Day, Our host said that they found a way to go back but it was so long. We hired a cab to Chandigarh and start our journey. We saw the effect of flood on villages, ruined farms, land-sliding and all. We diverted our route and reached Mandi via Bajoura and Kataula, as the main highway was closed. Found a heavy traffic jam and heavy rain on the way. We reached Mandi after the journey of 6 hours and took a tea-break there. Checked the news and we found that the highway is still closed in between the Swarghat and Bilaspur. We diverted our route again and start the journey Towards Una. Experience the sunset of Dhauladhar Range, visible from Una. Crossed the Nangal Dam on the way.
After the non- stop journey of 14 hours, we reached Chandigarh around 11 Pm in the night. Our driver - Teku Bhaiya drove amazingly and carefully. Because of him, we reached our home safely. From Chandigarh, we reach Delhi by taking bus from sector 17 ISBT.
These 4 days were full of adventure and the flood made this trip unforgettable. We faced the worst situation but still I say yes, if someone asks that visiting mountains in monsoon is a good idea or not? Because there are lots of people who made their home and stayed there. The people of the mountains are sweet and always ready to help the tourists. I saw how they all came with their equipment to clean the road after the landslide. They could wait for the government vehicle to come and clean, but they started it on their own. This journey was full of trouble but we called it adventure. And 1 wise man said - Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Strongly agree with this quote.
