EP 4 - Kalpa Local sightseeing, Reckong Peo | Kinnaur Valley | Spiti Tour

Namaskar friends! Welcome to Visa2explore! This is your host, Harish Bali. Right now, we are in Kalpa, the northern district of Himachal Pradesh. We are starting our day with an awesome scenic view. Right now, we are at Kalpa's famous scenic viewpoint, Suicide Point. For your information, no one commits suicide here. No one has committed suicide till date but I don't know why this place is called Suicide Point. We've come 5 km from the main market of Kalpa. Earlier, there was no railing here but now, there is a railing, which you can see in front of you. From here, it is absolutely flat, at least 1000 feet below ground level. I've tried to look at it. Let me show it to you as well. It is absolutely flat below ground level. You can't see it clearly from here. Let us go that way and from there, I will show you this point. One thing to notice here is that there are mountains right in front of us. By God! What an amazing view! There are mountains on both sides and look at this slope in the middle. There is the Satruluj river in front of us and on the road in front of it, there are cars and trucks. It feels like we are at least, I don't know how many feet above ground level. But it feels like we are at least 1000-1200 feet above ground level. Outstanding view! If any stone falls from here, it will go straight to the river. The same is the case here. Even if a stone falls from here, it will go straight to the river. So, it is not advisable to spend too much time here. From here, the road goes to the Rogi village. Locals call this point the Rogi View Point. So, we've come to the front of the suicide point. Now, I am going to show you the view from here. It looks so beautiful and look at the mountain. It is a very steep mountain. You can see a lot of snow on the mountains right in front of us. Snow, clouds, what a view! It is fun! It is also written here that the area is prone to shooting stones. So, stay cautious and do not halt unnecessarily for longer duration. Let us go from here. We've walked about 1 km from the suicide point to reach the Rogi village. We've parked our car outside the village parking space. Let us go inside. We've walked a bit further to reach the temple of Devta Narayan. We have with us the locals of this village. They told us that this temple remains closed during the month of June. It is the last week of June. So, I am sharing this information with you. Brother, what is the population of this village? The total population of this village is 650. 650! Okay, tell me one more thing. We just walked around the village for 10 minutes and didn't see anyone. So, someone told us that the locals here drink Namkeen Chai with Sattu. So, can we taste this tea? Is it possible? Yes, it is possible. So, where will we go from here? Let us go from here. Okay, let us go. In winters, they make these small doors to keep their sheep inside. This is to protect them from the cold. Cows, sheep and goats? Yes, cows, sheep and goats. This is for the sheep. This is where we keep our cows. How old is your house? This house is more than 200 years old. So, we will go up from here? Yes, we will go up from here. This is our ration store. This is our old kitchen. Namaskar! In our Kinnauri language, this is called Panthang. What is this stove called? This is called Meling. In Kinnauri language, fire is called Me. This is the place where fire is lit. Do you also have a gas cylinder? Yes, we have a gas cylinder everywhere. But this is how it used to be earlier? Yes, this is how we used to cook food earlier. So, the smoke used to go out from here? Yes, the smoke used to go out from here. To make Namkeen Chai, you've already kept the water to boil. Yes! Tell me about this. Basically, to make Namkeen Chai, you can get this in a tea shop. But we get this from Kanda. There is a tree at a height of 10,000 to 11,000 feet. We peel it off and bring it here. It also works as a herb. This looks like wood. Yes, it is made of wood. It has a different taste. Before putting it in the fire, we roast it until it turns brown. Now, we clean it with a knife. Like this. Now, we crush it like this. Now, we put it in the water. We also add ginger to the Namkeen Chai for flavor. In winters, we also add black pepper to Namkeen Chai. See, the color has changed. Now, we will boil it for another 10 minutes for the ginger flavor. Can you show me the Sattu? Is this Sattu made of barley? Yes, this is what we grow in our fields. As far as I know, you roast the barley, peel it and then grind it. Yes. Is this how you make Sattu? Yes. This morning, someone told me that Sattu is made of barley oil. Yes, this is barley oil. See the color. It is absolutely fine. How does it smell? Smell it. I am not sure if you will like it. Taste it. It has a peculiar smell. Should I taste it like this? Yes, yes. I will eat it anyway. It tastes like almonds. Yes, it tastes like almonds. Yes, it tastes like bitter almonds. To be honest, it tastes like almonds with a bit of bitterness and juice. Yes, it tastes like sweet almonds. It tastes like bitter barley. We keep the sweet ones separately for eating. This is very good for massaging. So, this is good for massaging? Yes, you can apply it on your head. You can apply this barley oil on your head. If you take a spoonful of this in the morning, it is considered to be the best medicine for your eyes. Just like we start our day with tea in cities, you also start your day with this tea. Yes, with this tea. Now, our Namkeen Chai is ready. Now, we will add it to this. Then we will shake it. To this, we will add some milk, butter and salt to taste. Wow! So, you are adding butter to this? Yes, we will add butter to taste. Now, we will add some milk to this. Look at this! I've added milk to taste. Yes, you've added milk. Yes, I've added milk to taste. Now, we will add salt to taste. Now, we will close the lid. Now, we will shake it. Wow! After shaking it, we empty it. Wow! Look at this! Your Namkeen Chai is ready! Wow! How does it taste? I am wondering the same. While drinking this tea, I can taste a little bit of salt and butter in it. And there is also a flavor that I am not able to understand. As I told you earlier, it tastes like the skin of a roasted tree. I think this tea warms up the body. Yes, that is why we drink it in winters. That is why you drink it in winters. We drink it at least 4-5 times a day. Okay! It warms up the body. Now, shall we add sattu to it? There is one thing. When I drank this tea, I could taste milk, butter, wood flavor and a little bit of salt. But after adding sattu to it, I can feel the flavor of ghee halwa. And I think if you drink 2 cups of this tea, you can have a light breakfast. So, can we taste the chulha oil made with jaggery in sattu? Yes, you can. This is left over. Should I drink it like this? Yes, you can drink it like this. Or you can add a little more tea to it. That is enough! Since there is no jaggery in sattu, I've added a little sugar to it. Now you are adding chulha oil to it. Yes, chulha oil. Sattu, chulha oil and salty tea! Wow! Now you can taste it. Now I can eat it? Yes! Let me tell you one thing. When you gave me this to eat, with sattu, chulha oil and a little sugar, I thought that after eating it 4-5 times, I would develop a taste for it. But I feel that by the time I finished eating it, I developed a taste for it. No, I am telling you the truth. In the first bite, I didn't like it that much, to be very frank. But now I like it and I will have one more bite. And if we add jaggery to it instead of sugar, it will taste even better. So, you can make 4-5 such dishes and have it with salty tea. Then your breakfast will be complete. I told him that I want some chulha oil, around 200-250 gms. He told me that he doesn't sell it for less than 1 litre. Still, I've taken 200-250 gms of chulha oil from him. So, I will give you Rs. 500 for this. We also got to know that if a tourist comes here, they can contact you if they need such oil. So, when we eat dal-chawal at home, we mix this oil with rice and eat it. You can eat this oil with anything, even raw food. You can also massage your body with this oil. Very good! It is beneficial for everything. It is done! Thank you brother! Thank you for your time and thank you so much! We've come about 1.5 km from the suicide point towards Kalpa. We've stopped our car to show you the Kinner-Kailash Range. The mountain in front of us is the Kinner-Kailash Range. Right now, where I am pointing my finger, you can see the Shivling. I can see it clearly. We don't have a zoom lens so that I can zoom in and show it to you. But with my eyes, I can see it clearly. There are such viewpoints in Kalpa, from where you can see the Shivling directly. There is such a viewpoint in Reckong Peo as well. It feels good to be here. If you want to go to the Shivling point, you will have to do a 3-day trek. It feels good to be here. And we are enjoying Kalpa a lot. On the way to Kalpa, I saw Hotel Apple Pie. We stayed in a hotel branch in Raksham. So, I stopped our car for 5 minutes to check out the room tariff. Right now, the tariff is between Rs. 1500 and Rs. 2200 in double occupancy. The staff told me that if you come to Kalpa in April, May or June,... ...you must book your stay in advance. Because all the hotels in Kalpa are packed. So, in May and June, you must book your stay in advance. This is an important information. And during that time, the tariff is Rs. 3200-3300, including breakfast and dinner. So, I am going to check out a few more hotels here and then we will move on. While I was planning my Spiti tour, I asked my subscribers where I should stay. A lot of people suggested me to stay at Rolling Rang. But our plan changed after 2 days and we stayed at Kinner Villa, which I showed you in the last episode. While we were leaving, we saw Rolling Rang Hotel right in front of us. So, I walked all the way here. Let us go inside and check out the tariff and the room. Alright! What is the tariff of this room? It is Rs. 3300 plus tax. Rs. 3300 plus tax! Hmm! So, what is included in this tariff? Breakfast and dinner! Wow! Amazing! The view from inside the room is beautiful. You can see the snow on the top of the mountain from the room itself. When we visited Raksham, Chitkul and then came here,... ...I came to know that between November and February, when there is a lot of snowfall,... ...80-90% hotels in Kalpa and Sangla valleys are closed. Sangla is open but I am talking about Raksham. Because the roads are closed. Then gradually, some hotels open in February and some in March. Alright! We've seen the room and the hotel. Now, let us move on. Okay brother, thanks! You showed me the room. Thank you! Right now, I've brought you to a very special place. This is the house of the first voter of Independent India, who voted for the first time. Let us go inside the house and try to meet him. The house looks quite old. It is made of wood. Please come! Right now, we are going to meet Mr. Shyam Sundar. When India became independent, you were the first to cast your vote. Please tell us a little bit about this. I was a teacher in Murug School. I was on duty to cast my vote. The elections were to take place in 1951. But the people here said that... ...in January, February and March, it is the season of winter. It snows here. The elections will not take place here. The elections will take place in October, 1951, instead of 1952. The first election in India took place in 1952. But here, it took place in 1951. Yes! And you were the first to cast your vote. I didn't cast my vote before 7 am. You are right! I cast my vote at 6 am. You cast your vote at 6 am? Yes, at 6 am. Why is that? I had to go to Sontag at 6 am. I had to go with my party. Oh, you were on duty. Yes! Okay! That is when I was elected as the first voter. This is your house. This building looks quite old. Yes! How old was this house built? It was built in 1917. It was completed in 1922. In 1922? Yes! Okay! Sir, how old are you? I am going to be 105 years old. 105 years old? Yes! This is the first time in my life that I am meeting someone who is 105 years old. It was a pleasure to meet you. May God bless you with a long life and good health! Thank you! We've come here to see the gharat. You can see the water flowing in front of us. This gharat is made up of a mill, where the flour is ground. I had seen a similar system during my Uttarakhand-Garhwal journey. Let us go inside. Right now, the road is completely empty. There are very few tourists right now. Even when there are tourists, it is not as crowded as it is in places like Shimla and Manali. Come, let us go up. We've reached the gharat. I have with me Mr. Shivlal and his family members. We've come here to see the gharat. We tried our best to find out where we could find this gharat. Finally, we found out that this is an active gharat. I think you must be the only one who has this gharat in Kalpa. We couldn't find this gharat anywhere else. It was destroyed. Yes, it was destroyed with time. So, can you tell us how this gharat is used to make flour? How do you grind wheat and barley? I've brought some wheat with me to show you how it is ground. This is how it is ground. See, this is how it is ground. This is run by water. There is no electricity in this. This is to speed up the process. When there is a lot of wheat, do you add it from the top? Yes, when there is a lot of wheat, we add it to this. This is how it is ground. How many kgs of wheat is this? This is about 15-20 kgs. How long will it take to grind 20 kgs of wheat? It will take at least an hour. An hour? Yes! We've come up from the gharat. Do you see the water flow here? This water has been flowing from this gharat for years. His father started this gharat. When the gharat is about to start, he opens the way for the water to flow. When the gharat is about to close, he closes the way for the water to flow. Sir, you are doing a great job. These items are now extinct. You've preserved these items. I think these items will become a museum item if people allow them to go extinct. Yes, it is delicious to eat. I think there is a difference in the taste of the chutney that we make here. Yes, there is a difference. One more thing, the flour that is being ground here is not getting hot. No, it is not getting hot. The flour in the mill is hot. Yes, the flour is hot. The flour does not lose its vitamins. You are right. There is a fan down here and a mill on top of it. That is used to circulate the water. The water is circulated by the fan. It was a pleasure meeting you Sir. Thank you! We've reached the main road. Wow! What a view! It looks so beautiful. Let us go a little further. This is how the snow stays here for the whole year. Wherever you look, wherever you stop, you will get to see the view. It is a beautiful place. Let us go further. We were travelling from Kalpa to Reckong Peo. We took a turn to reach Kothi. We've reached Kothi now. We are going to visit the temple here. We have to go straight from here. Wherever I am standing right now, there is a parking space here. So, if you come by car, you can park your car here. Scenic views! I am telling you, this place is beautiful. Let us go inside. For your information, Reckong Peo is 10kms away from Kalpa. Reckong Peo is the district headquarter of Kinnaur District. We've reached the temple of Ma Bhagwati. This temple was not reopened after COVID-19. Right now, we are standing outside the temple. I have with me the locals of this village. Right now, we are not able to go inside the temple. So, please give us some information about this place. Yesterday, we went to Sangla. We saw the pilgrimage of Lord Badri Vishal there. He was carrying the Lord in his palanquin. Please tell us about that as well. This is the Kothi village. This Kothi is named after the temple. This is the temple of the Goddess. This is one of the oldest temples in Kinnaur. It is at least 400-500 years old. It might be older than my guess. There are two Goddesses here. One is called Chandika Mata. The other one is called Kali Mata. There are two chariots here. The chariots of Badri Vishal were moving. They don't move on their own. The chariots move as the Lord's energy moves. The chariots move in the same way as the Lord's energy. The same way, the chariots move all over Kinnaur and the mountains. The chariots are placed in the palanquin. There is no chariot in the palanquin. The chariots are placed in the mountains. So, the Goddess is also seated on the chariot? Yes, she is seated on the chariot. We've just come to know that all the Gods and Goddesses in the mountains... ...are seated on the chariot inside the temple. Yes, they are placed on the chariot, but they don't move. But most of the Gods and Goddesses are seated on the chariot and move. Yesterday, I was also feeling this in Sangla. When the chariot was moving, it was moving in a symmetry. So, it could be that the chariot was moving in the same direction... ...as the Lord's energy was moving. What was that hair on the chariot? It is made up of Yak hair. Yak hair! I didn't understand that yesterday. If the Lord wishes, the chariot can move in any direction. But a normal chariot can move in any direction. You've given us a lot of information. Sir, there are two temples here. Can we go inside the temple? No, you cannot go inside the temple. Only those who are permitted by the Goddess can go inside the old temple. Only those who are permitted by the Goddess can go inside the new temple. So, the tourists who come here visit the temple from outside the temple? Yes, they do. Thank you! We've come to the Reckong Peo Industrial Area, which is about 2 km from the market. I've come here to see how the Nori shawl is made. I was told that this industrial area, where I am standing right now, has about 20-25 units. Right now, we are standing outside one of the units. Let us go inside and ask them about the Nori shawl. We've come inside the unit. Ma'am is the owner of this unit. Namaskar! We've come to see how the Nori shawl is made. How do you make it by hand? And we would also like to see some of the shawl designs that you've made yourself. We make the shawl by hand. First of all, we need to make a support for the shawl. Then we need to buy the material for making the shawl. We don't make it in a power loom, we make it with our own hands. What is this item being made? This is a dodu. What is a dodu? A dhodu is a ladies' attire. This is a ladies' attire. This is a bride's attire. The length of this attire will be long. And the width of this attire will be 6 inches. Can I see you sewing it? See here, I am sewing it. You are sewing each thread one by one? Yes! The entire dhodu is being sewn? Yes! It is a very delicate work. How long does it take you to make a dhodu? We make this dhodu in 3 days, and then we finish it in 15 days. Really! Yes! We sell this at the market. We sell it for Rs. 12,000. Can you show me the dhodu you've made? See here, you can't decide whether to sew this side or this side. This is the same. See here, you can't sew this side. If you buy a dhodu from a shop, which is cheap, you will have to flip it like this. This side will be neat, and this side will be messy. You won't get a neat dhodu. Can you show me some shawl designs? This is Pashmina. See here, it is very soft. Ma'am, what is the price of this dhodu? You won't be able to see anything below Rs. 25,000. Because, the price of this dhodu is different. The price of this dhodu is different. Pashmina is expensive? Yes! This dhodu is made from goat hair. This dhodu is made from goat hair. The price of this dhodu is high. The shawl is very warm, isn't it? Yes, it is. I can feel it. Very good! This dhodu is made from Angora. There is a big difference between Pashmina and Angora. Can you tell me about the cost of this dhodu? This dhodu will cost you Rs. 6,000. This dhodu has a shorter length. That is why the price of this dhodu is Rs. 6,000. Is this dhodu made from Angora? Yes, it is. What is the price of this dhodu? This dhodu will cost you Rs. 5,000. So, if the design of this dhodu would have been different, the price would have been different. Yes! Ma'am, you've made this Kinnauri topi by hand. Yes! What is the price of this topi? This topi will cost you Rs. 400. Rs. 400? Yes! As I told you earlier, the Kinnauri topi is green on one side and brown on the other. I've seen that this topi comes from the center. So, let me buy this topi from you. Okay! Let me wear it once. So, tell me, how is it? It is very nice! When you wear a topi, I welcome you with a flower. So, I welcome you with this Nyoja mala. Namaskar! Thank you! Ma'am, you welcomed us so nicely with this mala. And this is Neja mala. Here, it is called Chilgoza, right? Yes! I liked the way you welcomed us. Is this how you welcome people in Kinnaur? Yes! When people come to our wedding, we welcome them with this mala. Fantastic! Isn't it beautiful? Ma'am, you gave us a lot of information. It was nice to see all this and to see the designs. So, I would like to wish you all all the best in your work. The government policies are such that your work should be praised. And people should also recognize your hard work and pay you a fair price. That is more important. Thank you! We've reached the Reckong Peo market. This is a huge market. Woolens, clothes, grocery, medical shop, mobile phone shop, a lot of things are available here. Right now, we've come to Ratan Singh Nejaram's shop. We want to buy Kalpa Rajma from here. I was told that if you go here, you will get good quality local Rajma. There are three varieties of Rajma here. The first one is Chitra Rajma, which you can see in front of you. The second one is Jwala Rajma, which is red in color. And the third one is capsule-shaped. What is the color of capsule Rajma? Red! What is the price of a kilo of this? Rs. 180! So, please pack us two kilos of this. We've bought the Rajma. Now we want to eat Rajma. So, what we will do is, we will go to this restaurant, Little Chef, and find out if they have Rajma Chawal. Meanwhile, let me tell you that the entire market of Reckong Peo is closed right now. When we came here, the whole market was open. And since it is 8.30 pm, the market closes at 8 pm due to COVID-19. Come, let us go upstairs. They have Rajma Chawal available. I've placed my order. One sitting space is here. I've seen the second sitting space upstairs. It is also on the terrace. It is a bit cold but it will be fun to sit upstairs. So, I am going upstairs. So, Kinnauri Rajma and Jeera rice is ready. The staff told me that in this region, Jeera is also grown. So, they use local Jeera. So, they told me that the flavor of Jeera here will make a difference. It is delicious! I can feel the ghee tempering on the top of the rice. Along with Rajma, I like Jeera rice very much. He was right. The flavor of Jeera is different. It is good! Tasty food! We are eating on the terrace. I am enjoying it a lot. The weather is cold. My sweater is lying in the car. I haven't worn it yet. But I should wear it. Tell me your views about today's episode. As always, I will wait for your comments. Today, we are going to spend the night in Kalpa. Tomorrow, we have a program in the morning. We will go to Nako Tabo. Right now, I haven't decided where to spend the night. I will decide that tomorrow morning. It depends on what we explore Now, we will finish our food. We will meet you again in our next episode. Bye-bye! Thanks for your time! We are refueling our car. Right now, we are in Reckong Peo. If you are coming here from Raksham or Sangla, there will be a petrol pump on your way. The next petrol pump is in Kaza.