Chandigarh - Narkanda - Rampur - Sangla - Rakcham

Our journey began in Chandigarh at midnight. Nowhere to be but on the road. We had the ultimate highway experience. As passengers, we enjoyed the ride as the plains cooled and the distance was eaten.

At 4:30 am, we found ourselves in the vicinity of Shimla. We had to stop and warm our frozen fingers with some tea at an uncharacteristic roadside stall.

Narkanda showed up with the break of dawn. Our breakfast of chai and steaming hot, buttery paranthas was packed in, and we enjoyed the slowly emerging mountains.

Rampur via Narkanda was the fuel stop we all needed. Some had the bad luck of skipping it and paying the price in Kinnaur. There is no fun in it.

The Satluj appears, the road disappears into the cliffs, and the Satluj appears again. Rakcham brings a much-needed break in the 12-hour journey. Our first act of leisure was to do nothing.

Evening: Walk to the Baspa River. Meadows through Rakcham catch the last lights of the day in a way that I know I won't, ends up in my pockets, yet you still find yourself reaching for your phone. Get a meal at one of the little cafes, and soak in the sights of the wooden houses. You are in the Himalayas, so let the beauty sink in.

Stay: Rakcham.

Rakcham - Chitkul - Sangla Valley - Rakcham

No alarm is needed as the mountains take care of that.

From breakfast, we left for Chitkul, 30 plus kilometers, so no rush. India ends here. Literally, there is a board, and beyond it is Tibet. The Hindustan Ka Aakhri Dhaba lives up to the name, so get the Maggi and eat it by the river. This is as far as a civilian road can stretch.

The Mathi Temple is small and old, but oddly moving. You slow down for village wooden lanes without being told. The Baspa River here is glacier-fed and impossibly blue, and is best admired from the shore.

We start heading toward Sangla, and as you get there, you can tell that Sangla is busier, greener, and more orchard than meadow, and Rakcham is about the opposite. Above the valley is Kamru Fort, which is worth the climb, and the apple orchards, if you're there in season, actually smell like something out of a childhood memory you didn't know you had.

Back to Rakcham by evening to watch the sunset. There's a place by the Baspa where the cliffs bathe the valley in golden light. We spent a long time enjoying the view, which was a good problem to have.

Stay: Rakcham.

Rakcham - Rampur - Narkanda - Chandigarh

Leave by 5, 6 at the latest. The return journey is long, and an early start means you don't have to drive that stretch into Chandigarh at night.

The ride back to Chandigarh through Kinnaur is different. Breakfast at Narkanda, a stop we made on the way in. A quick chai stop on the Shimla Bypass and a lunch stop by Solan, where your body is used to the warm air.

Three days spent in one of the best places in the world that felt like a week, and we finally drove back to Chandigarh; 350 kilometers of mountains and plains in the rear view.