Rain

We woke to rain: the steady dripping of water on the tin roof outside, water flowing down the earthen footpaths, and the hills on the other side of the valley shrouded in cloud. Some time in the early hours of the morning, the fireworks of the Dusshera festival had given way to the thunder and torrential rain of autumn. It may be outside the monsoon season, but these high valleys can still capture the huge downpours as the thick clouds of the Northern plains climb up the steep slopes of the Western Himalayas.

Our first two days in Manali had been dry and clear, giving us wonderful views of the valley and the mountains beyond, complete with a fresh covering of snow on the higher peaks.

The dangerous beers of Manali

After our long bus journey, and revived by a welcome breakfast, shower and late morning doze, we had taken a stroll up above the town through climbing orchards abundant with apples, up and up to the thick forests beyond. It was a steep climb, and we took it gently as we gradually adjusted to the thinner air. Eventually we came to a clearing and a fork in the path – one way seeming to go back down to the river above Manali, and the other carrying on up into the forest. We were about to take the higher path when we heard someone behind us frantically calling us and gesticulating to us not to go that way: ‘no, no, you must not go there, there are beers. I have seen beer shit. They like the apples and they are very dangerous.’ Eventually when he started talking about the ‘brown beers’ and ‘black beers’ we clicked that he may be referring to the furry, four-footed creatures that live in these mountains. So, reluctantly we took his advice and, after a short rest, made our way back down the way we’d come. On our way down we did, indeed, see evidence of the bears, remnants of their apple feast clearly visible in their deposits on the path.

The next day, too, was spent relaxing at the Aadisha retreat house, enjoying the peace and quiet of the place, sitting half-way up the hillside overlooking Manali. We did take a stroll into the town and round the little ‘wildlife’ park, but didn’t encounter any mammalian wildlife other than a few cows, some stray dogs, and a monkey. We did however spot a yellow-billed, long-tailed magpie and some dippers by the river. And a variety of Himalayan pheasants in rather sad-looking cages.

Encounters with a stove

Our plan for today had been to retrace our footsteps of the first day and go further up (defying the bears) into the forests. But those plans were scuppered by the steady, persistent rain. We resolved to spend the day quietly instead: reading, knitting, and relaxing. Half way through the morning, we were all starting to feel quite chilly, sitting in the large main room at Aadisha. So we decided to light a fire in the wonderful iron stove. We found some kindling, wood and matches and confidently lit the fire. Gradually the room filled with smoke. Smoke was billowing out of every gap in the furnace and metal chimney. Fortunately it wasn’t long before the housemaid arrived and showed us how to separate the stove from the flue, whereupon we were able to extract the solid Mynah’s nest that had filled the whole of the long metal pipe. The fire started to draw and soon was generating a wonderful heat to counteract the cold draughts we had needed to blow away all the accumulated smoke from the room.

What may or may not come to pass

Unfortunately, the clouds that had brought us Himalayan rain, higher up had brought further falls of snow, including a thick covering blocking the road at Rohtang Pass. Laji had planned for six of us (Lois and me, Laji and Sheila, and two other friends of theirs) to be picked up at 6 the following morning, to drive up to the Pass (3,978m) and on down the other side for breakfast at the little village of Chattra, before continuing up to the Kunzum Pass (4,551m) and so to the Spiti Valley.

With the Rohtang Pass closed, we have had to change our itinerary. Currently Laji’s plan is to take the longer Southern Road through Kinnaur and the Rupa Valley and so approach the Spiti Valley from the East by Tibet. Whether that will come to pass we wait and see.

Still, even Himalayan clouds may have their silver lining, as we won’t be heading off at 6am tomorrow.