JIBHI - An Unforgettable Experience
Travelling drafts stories and so does my recent trip to Jibhi in Himachal Pradesh this recent Christmas ended up with one such startling and unforgettable story filled with fun.
Jibhi is a small village sitting at the foothills of the Himalayas surrounded by lush forests of pine, cedar, and other alpine trees. It is famous among backpackers, hikers, and trekkers. Since the covid thing dropped a little around all the places in India and restrictions started to lift off, I started looking for the options to travel and someone to accompany me but I couldn’t find any. So, I decided to experience solo travel this time as always I wanted to, but never got a chance or can say never got the guts because travelling solo sounds boring and lonely but also at the same time it sounds interesting to me, so this time I had convinced myself to at least take a chance to add some new and different experience in my life and I started looking for a date to book my solo trip.
The destination was already decided and so was the travel company. Some of my friends had been there before and they had suggested visiting Jibhi- Tirthan valley. They had been there with the Go4Explore travel community which is one of the best travel communities and now I can say the same with great conviction. Most of the things were already decided. I had to just choose the perfect weekend for my vacation. After considering a few other dates in the beginning of December I finally chose the Christmas weekend because there is no other best way to celebrate Christmas than trekking up in snow-capped mountains and relishing the hypnotic views of another Himalayan gem.
[24th December 2021] Trip begins:
The Bags are packed with all warm clothes. All preparations are done. The day has arrived to start my first solo trip. I was so excited but kind of nervous too. I didn’t know what other people would be like, might be friendly and kind or might be self-involved. I reached the boarding place around 7:20 pm and the bus moved around 8 pm. When I reached the bus was almost full. There were around 35- 40 people on the bus. Some came in a group of 10, some like 3-4 people, some couples, and only I and one more girl were travelling solo. Sachin Dhaka, Prabodh Balyan, Bhanu Pratap, and Ritvik were leading the trip. They had a good experience as a traveller, and had led so many trips for Go4explore and other travel companies. Prabodh was visiting Jibhi for the first time. While talking to them we reached Sonipat where we stopped for dinner. Post dinner, we started an overnight journey to Aut. For the next few hours, we all were enjoying songs, some were dancing crazily and others were just talking and laughing and so I was. And then we fell asleep one by one.
[25th December 2021] Next morning we reached Aut around 12 or 12:30 pm. The early morning was all foggy and freezy but by the time then, the sun started to peek behind the clouds. We had breakfast in one of the hotels there. Behind the hotel, there was a beautiful jewel-blue river named Beas flowing soundlessly. The way to Jibhi from Aut goes through narrow roads, some markets, and small towns and big buses can’t go through those roads. So, we split into 4 groups and boarded 4 different small Traveller’s buses for further travel toward Jibhi. We went straight to Jibhi Waterfall which was kind of on the way to the hotel. 30km drive from Aut to Jibhi Waterfall took one and a half hours. Jibhi Waterfall is hidden inside a lush green forest. A beautiful pathway with small wooden bridges and the gushing of water makes the entire place enchanting and picture-perfect. The whole place was really attractive and soothing. It brought a piece of delight to all of us who were tired of a long journey. Everyone took a lot of pictures, selfies, and big group pics and enjoyed the moment. Around 4 o’clock we arrived at our hotel named No Society Cafe And Homestay in Shoja. Homely and comfortable rooms with wooden flooring give a traditional feel. One can enjoy a beautiful view of snow-capped mountains and a river stream that flows through the hotel. After having hi-tea we moved to our rooms for some rest and refreshments.
In the evening we gathered up for a bonfire around 7:30 after enjoying flavourful snacks and tea/coffee. The weather was so pleasing and the stars were so shining. The cold breezed evening, hot dancing flames, soothing music from guitar, and people singing together made the evening more beautiful. Sachin played guitar and sang beautiful songs and we all joined him with our blessed voices. There we blended a bit with a little introduction session to get to know each other. A group of 10 people, friends from college in Delhi. Three girls, friends and worked together in the fashion industry. The other 2 girls together, one of them had a birthday that day. Few other couples of people came with each other. And then me who was solo on this trip. All were good-natured and fun-loving. Later we had a delightful dinner. Diced-Chicken, Black Gram Lentils (Kali Dal), Mixed fried Veg, Rice, Salad, Bread, and Sweets. The Food was incredibly delicious. I never had that much tasty food on any of my trips ever before. Then I joined Reema and Astha (the birthday girl) with Prabodh and Sachin and celebrated with some drinks, dance, a very nice music playlist of Reema, and some madness before going to bed. The first day of the trip was great and I really enjoyed the company of fellow travellers, and had made some friends by then.
