At the foot of the Himalaya and the Dalai Lama

The majestic Dhaula dar mountains.

Master cartographer and Himalayan guide, Rikhy Ram


Aanchaland Muskaan the daughters of our watchman in Sidhbari.


Anuj buying fruit t Nangal

Buying oranges. Note the scales and the rock as a counter weight.

Having potato and onion paratha nea Panipat. Bob (r) Anuj (l)

Potato and onion parathas, juicy oranges, cold Fosters beer, crazy drivers, egg-timer traffic jams. Monkies on the roadside and the climb out of the dusty Pujab plains, crossing the mighty Beas River, (one the the five rivers that the Punjab is named after. Panch and ab, Persian for water) and then the climb for two hours up winding roads to the Himalyan foothills. The lights of Dharamsla and Macleodganj where the Dalai Lama lives, were twinkling to the north west.
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Rikhy Ram and the live-in family who looks after the house and ground, were waiting to warmly welcome us.

The nine and a half hour journey turned into a 12 one and
Incredible India lived up to its reputation yesterday. We are now ensconced in a beautiful village nestled in the the first range that makes up the Himalayas.

Last night over a glass of whisker Rikhy Ram a great mountaineer in his younger day, spoke to me journeys to the Parbati and Chamba valleys.in the coming weeks