India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) (336 page)

If You Have More Time

To break up the journey, you can add an extra day or two right at the start with a side-trip to the apple-growing slopes at
Thanedar.
From Narkanda, a 16km (10-mile) detour off the main highway brings you to the vast orchards, heavy with fruit in summer, and best visited in August/September during the apple harvest. Set in the midst of this sea of apple trees is the modern, whitewashed
Banjara Orchard Retreat,
its pleasant rooms decked with thick, colorful throws and attached bathrooms. It’s a very comfortable place to kick back and relax and enjoy astonishingly beautiful sunsets. Prakash Thakur, host and owner of this small retreat, is also the resident expert on local history and culture, and you can request a guide to take you for an innervating 3-hour trek through the shady forest. Evenings are spent around a bonfire, where Prakash serves up anecdotes,
paneer
-on-a-toothpick, and spicy chicken snacks before an Indian buffet is laid out. Taste the homemade apple juice, chutneys, and other concoctions Prakash makes from the orchard fruit. Doubles cost Rs 4,400 including all meals, but the log cabins (Rs 5,500 double) are much more private and, unlike the modern rooms and suites, don’t feel as if they belong in a city suburb. Book in advance through
www.banjaracamps.com
.

From Thanedar you can either backtrack to Narkanda or continue farther on the Narkanda-Thanedar road which meets the highway at Bithal, 21km (13 miles) from the retreat.

Another overnight option along the way to Sangla (and in many ways, a more interesting choice), is
Sarahan,
especially good if you have any desire to witness the early morning ceremonies (not always guaranteed) at the Bhimakali Temple. Traditionally, just about the only half-decent place to stay has been the half-baked government-run
Hotel Shrikhand
(
01782/27-4234;
www.hptdc.nic.in
), a concrete monstrosity with an out-of-this-world setting and low rates (the disgusting, viewless cheap room goes for Rs 500, while slightly better doubles with balconies are Rs 1,400). You’ll be able to console yourself over the state of the room thanks to the incredible views, but for the best room deal, book a deluxe room in the cottage (Rs 1,500), which gets you a spacious, high-ceilinged room in a separate block with a fireplace, television, and enclosed porch/sitting room. The hotel has a really slack restaurant, but it’s probably the most hygienic place in town. Far better, though, if you want to stay in Sarahan, is to forgo the cliff-edge views and rather try
The Wild Side Retreat
(
94-1800-0056
or 98-1720-0002;
www.wildside.in
), situated a few miles back down the road to Jeori. Occupying a restored traditional teakwood building set among the apple orchards, the 10 rooms (renovated in 2009) here are simple, but neat, and are suite-sized; far and away your best option anywhere near Sarahan—certainly they’re the cleanest and best-maintained. There’s also a cozy lounge and terrace restaurant. A night for two, with all meals costs Rs 4,400, and your host can supply guides for local treks (Rs 300 per day). The owners are committed to eco-friendly principles and organize treks and overnight camping in the nearby wildlife sanctuaries, as well as multiday high-altitude treks in the western Himalayas.

From Sarahan, the onward journey to Sangla should take around 3–4 hr.

The Apple of His Eye

Samuel Stokes, an American who settled here in the early 1900s, is credited with bringing over and planting the region’s first apple trees. He aligned himself with the freedom movement and was highly regarded by a number of important leaders in the struggle for independence. Today, thanks to Stokes’s apple industry, the region claims to have the highest per capita income in Southeast Asia. His daughter, Vidya Stokes, is in her mid-80s and is the MP for Thanedar—a member of India’s ruling Congress Party; she’s also the leader of the opposition in BJP-led Himachal Pradesh.

Day 3 & 4: Sangla to Spiti Valley

From Sangla, head off early back to “National Highway” 22 to continue east towards Kinnaur’s main town of
Recong Peo
(2,670m/8,758 ft.), where you must complete the paperwork for your Inner Line Permit, which will allow you to enter and pass through the zone closest to the Tibetan border (see “Inner Line Permits,” above). If you arrive early enough (10am is a good bet) to have your Permit processed by lunchtime, you’ll be able to press on to Spiti the same day (although it’s a tricky 6-hr. drive). Most people choose to let the bureaucratic wheels run while spending the night in the village of
Kalpa
(2,960m/9,709 ft.), well worth a visit for its crisp, clear air and view across the valley of the majestic Kinner-Kailash massif; it’s a 20-minute drive up the mountain above Recong Peo.
Hotel Kinner Villa
(
01786/22-6006;
www.kinnervilla.freehostia.com
;
doubles
Rs 1,300–Rs 1,600 plus 10% tax) is the best place to stay (well at least service is a notch better given that it is privately run), with simple, clean, and comfortable accommodations (although bathrooms are basic and tiny). Rooms 201 and 208 have the most exquisite views; 101, 104, 202, and 207 aren’t bad, either. When the hotel is quiet, you’ll have to book meals in advance (call manager Anil Purohit,
94-1844-1036,
if you’re arriving late or to have him keep the best room for you); a newly-installed generator kicks in during Kalpa’s interminable power failures. Also affording good views are rooms at the
Tourist Complex
of Kinner Kailash, an HPTDC (state-run) hotel (
01786/22-6159
). Double rooms (without meals) start from Rs 1,700, but you still have to put up with dire service.