Skip to main content

Churah Valley - The Roads Less Travelled


    Offbeat Destination, Simple Culture, Majestic Mountains  

   An Authentic Experience    
Churah Valley, the hidden valley of Himachal, is located North from the district headquarters of Chamba.  This year as part of the 'ShodhYatra'- course offered at IIM Ahmedabad, we visited this land of Majestic Natural Beauty. The beauty of Churah Valley and its simplicity made the relentless climbing and walking worth by providing some of the most picturesque scenes. 

Natural Beauty


One starts witnessing the natural grandeur at the beginning of the journey itself while traveling from Pathankot to Bhanjraru to reach the Churah Valley - The criss-cross roads in the mountains offer views as serene as the one below.



Churah in literal terms means four paths. Walking along the dense forests and mountains,  the silent, sublime and awe-inspiring charms of this remote valley was a reward for me.


The valley is dominated by Cedar trees, Oaks and other Fir trees in the dense forests. One also gets to see the walnut and apple plantations along with number of herbs of medicinal value. Not to forget some notorious herbs like बिच्छू  बूटी  that gives you minor shocks once you touch them :)


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

People
While traveling through the valley and its remote villages, one gets to see the multiple sights of hardworking women performing tasks from handling grains, carrying wooden logs through mountains, grazing their cows etc.

 


We also met a number of students at schools and while walking through the mountains who exuberated innocence and simplicity. Despite living with basic facilities and resources, their imagination and creativity had no bounds, which we witnessed while our visit to schools in Devikothi, Bhanjraru, and Bairargarh. 

On the way to Bairargarh
                                           
Primary School-Devikothi
          
The inner beauty and simplicity of the native people of this valley was reflected in the way they welcomed us and offered their home for the stay. Not to forget the special mention of tasty local food ( बिच्छू बूटी, राजमा, दाल, सरसो का साग, मक्के दी रोटी ) which made our journey even more memorable. 

Local Authentic Food 
Culture
Devikothi Temple
The religious beliefs, festivals, and customs in the valley seems to be woven around the numerous temples in the Churah Valley. One of the most famous temples we visited was the Chamunda Devi temple at Devi Kothi. The temple is dedicated to Chamunda Devi and has illustrations of the goddess Durga. Also, the mountain lakes and waterfalls in Churah Valley are considered holy and stories associated with them. 
People in the valley celebrate festivals like Baisakhi, Diwali etc. During the bonfire, I was mesmerized to see people singing local songs and playing the soothing music via Flute, Dodumbi. 

Dodumbi - Local Instrument
                                ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The tiring climb provides the awe-inspiring views of greenery and ruggedness in the valley. It helps one to disconnect to the monotonous thoughts, feel the fresh air, listen to the sound of birds and the waterfall. 

"The best view comes from the hardest climbs"

The people in Churah Valley witness a number of hardships due to the remote location. However, they lead a happy and resourceful life in terms of nature's beauty, calmness of the mountains, fresh water, and local food which people like us lack in cities. It's the connectedness within the hearts of people that helps them to survive in the geographically disconnected world. This is one of those experiences that I will cherish lifelong.

    
    


                                  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bairagarh and Shiv Temple

Bairagarh is a village on the road that connects Chamba to Killar. It is quite small, and not a very touristic place. But this will allow you to experience the local food at its finest. The food bought at the local eateries that you will encounter on the road was delicious: we had exquisite parathas and chai for breakfast and ate bananas bought from the local fruit shop. Continuing uphill on the road, you will encounter beautiful Shiv Temple, that is also a good viewpoint to see the valley.    Next to the Temple is a building in ruins that is accessible from a staircase and can be explored to get an even better view of the valley. You can find the exact location of the village on Google Maps   by clicking on the link.
Post a Comment
Read more

Shodh Yatra - A journey to the unknown yet most beautiful places in Himachal Pradesh

A group of 28 IIM Ahmedabad students set out on a journey of self-realization and social awakening. We call this course “Shodh Yatra”. We went on a trek to the beautiful mountains of the Churah valley in Himachal Pradesh. Well that’s an irony!! Mountains of the valley. Our journey was - Full of unexpected experiences and events. But amidst all of that we got a taste of the vastness of nature, the beauty that resides in the landscape of our country and the tremendous love and care that people from the region had in stock for us. We reached Pathankot on the first day and took a mini bus to Bhanjraru, our base station. The next morning, we started our picturesque journey towards Devikothi, which is called the Jewel of the Churah valley. The day we started the journey, we had no idea what the next few days had in store for us and nor did I know that I would not forget this day all my life because of what was going to happen.    All set to conquer the mountains Headi...
1 comment
Read more

A day in Churah Valley.

 A day in Churah Valley. The first day of Shodyatra began with climbing up the hill to Bhanjararu for breakfast. It was a steep hill. On our way we could see in far away distance mountains which were covered with lusty green trees. Below these mountains we could see dried river covered mostly with small rocks. The entire day was spent on walking up and down the hills on virtually deserted roads. Finally, we reached Devikothi village late in the night. We spent the night in one of the schools. Since we were very tired because of the day long trekking, we slept off immediately after having dinner. On our way to Bhanjraru for Breakfast I woke up the next day to a beautiful sight of the mighty Himalayas and found myself sipping tea with friends amidst the cold breezes. During the day, we had an interaction with a herbal healer from whom we got to learn ancient ways of healing and curing various illnesses. This individual had been doing such practices for years and his kno...
Post a Comment
Read more