Tag Archives: Palampur Bikers Club
Road Trip to Mata Ashapuri Temple from Palampur
Road Trip to Uttrala from Palampur
Palampur Reunion Evening 2015
Book Online
Book and pay online here:
http://palampurreunionevening2015.eventzilla.net
Event Details
Date: 13th November, 2015 | Time: 5 PM to 11 PM
Dear Friends,
Palampur Bikers Club (PBC) is back with this year’s reunion event. Last year in 2014 we started celebrating the Palampur Reunion Day, and decided we will celebrate this day anually around Diwali. This year we are celebrating it on 13th November (two days after Diwali). Along with other activities we are also organizing a evening get together and dinner on this day at one of beautiful resorts in Palampur.
We invite you to join us on this get together with your family and friends and make this evening a memorable for everyone.
Program (Inclusions):
Live Musical and Singing Performances
Dance on DJ Floor
Kids Entertainment activities
Unlimited Veg and Non-Veg Snacks
Veg and Non-Veg Buffet Dinner
Entry Fees:
Adult: Rs 1000
Couple: Rs 1500
Kids (Below 5 Yrs): Free
Kids (Above 5 and Below 12): Rs 500
How To Register:
> Register at www.palampurbikersclub.com
> Call us at 09718347840
> Email us at palampurbikersclub@gmail.com
> Offline registrations can be done at Palampur market, please call or email us for details.
Note: Only 100 entries will be considered on first come first serve basis. Please book your slot early to avoid the disappointment.
Triund-Bir-Billing-Palampur
Palampur Bikers Club organized a one of a kind, Multi-Activity Program (MAP) during month of April 2015. The program started from 2nd April and ended on 6th April. I was one of the participants of MAP and here is a story from a participant’s perspective.
We started off our journey to Dharamshala early morning on 2nd April from Delhi, fully excited and eager to participate in the programs scheduled for next 3 days. We covered a journey of about 500 Kms in about 12 hrs with breaks and fun in all way. Rains played spoil sport while we entered Himachal but we reached Dharamshala around 10:00 P.M ; had dinner and slept for the day.
Route we followed
On 3rd April, at around 7 A.M. we all geared up our shoes and got ready for the trek to Triund. Triund is one of the major tourist attraction situated in McLeodganj, Dharamshala, giving a perfect view of Dhauladhar Mountains. It is a very popular trek attracting people not only from India but all over the world. Trekking to Triund hills can be easily covered by any age group.
A group photo after Breakfast at the Mclo Roof top restaurant
It was a challenge for us as the weather conditions were not favorable, the rain Gods were too happy to see us as it was raining cats and dogs in McLeodganj. There were lot of questions coming in everyone’s mind but nothing could stop us. In the meanwhile, while we were waiting for the rains to stop, the group members decided to visit the nearby Monastery. It turned out to be good decision as the place is so peaceful, Buddhism culture spread in every corner indicating the power of the Almighty Lord.
Monestery at McleodGanj
The monks were offering their regular prayer while all the visiting tourists were mesmerized by the beauty and art of the place. The idols of Lord Buddha were imposing with an exotic fragrance surrounding the environment.
At the Mclo Monestery entrance
After the visit to monastery the members decided to start of the trek, the weather was somewhat clearing and we thought let’s start and will see what happens. I guess the saying- “Where there is a will, there is a way”, suited us best at that moment. There were groups of people heading towards the Triud hill as everybody was on a long weekend.
Triund Trek begins
We started the trek around 11:00 AM and covered the half way mark quickly. Even rain gods encouraged us to carry on as there were no rains since we started. But it was not long before rain gods came to greet us, everybody was enjoying a different experience this time, but hold your breath there is a lot more to come this way this time. By the time we reached Magic Café, the oldest tea stall on our way, heavy rains welcomed us.
We also met the other PBC members and Participants who were coming down from the Triund after enjoying their night stay at Triund hill. A quick introduction round with all members and participants followed with photo session.
A group photo with all the members and participants
We also got the first-hand information about the conditions ahead and after a quick tea break our group moved on towards Triund hill while the other group moved down.
As we moved on, rain gods came again and this time they were not alone but came with a companion. The companion called,”Hail Storm”; we were in the tricky part of our trek and this was not a good time for Hail storm. You cannot reason with nature and Gods, that’s the way they are, we mortal souls have to adapt to their ways. We adapted, pulled up our socks, covered our self with everything we have got and marched on.
Negotiating thru slippery snow surface on the way to Triund
By the time we reached the top of Triund Hill we were all wet, but the excitement was still there. After such an experience, looking at the snow covered top of Triund finally gave us a feeling that we made it again. But this was not enough that day, lightning and thunderbolts, shocked us. This was truly adventurous experiencing everything in one go. It was all foggy and we could hardly see for few meters. It would have been great if clouds could vanish for few minutes to get us look of mighty Dhauladhars.
View from the Triund Hill
We had our lunch in the small shop at the Triund hill and spent around an hour roaming around on the Trund hill. We atrted our journey back around 4 P.M and rain gods accompanied us all along. The decent down was more challenging then the accent. There were a couple of tricky sections but the groups managed to cross them and were back at the road head by 6:30 P.M.
We then moved on to our next destination i.e. Palampur which was our halt for next 2 days. All tired and drenched in rain, the members decided to take rest as tomorrow was an another big day.
As per the schedule, around 8:00 AM everybody started off for the next big adventure sport, Paragliding from the world best 2nd highest place, Bir Billing around 30kms from Palampur. We reached there in about an hour but again the ball was not in our court today as the clouds covered the dhauladhar range and this type of weather is not favorable for Paragliding. We were left with no option but we had to wait for the weather to be clear, we used this spare time to visit some monasteries in Bir. I must say the monasteries are the place where one can find peace and can have a deep dive in their own selves.
Bir Monestery
We had amazing lunch in Bir and kept waiting for the Dear God to make some magic and allow us to fly. But our hard luck , the weather did not clear.
Another view of the beautiful monastery
So we decided to go back to Palampur and try again tomorrow, if weather permits. On our way back to Palampur we went to the famous Baijnath temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, which is amongst the 12 Jyotirlings in the world.
Baijnath Temple
The temple is magnificent with devotees all around. It is believed that the temple is based there as while taking Lord Shiva along with him, Ravana, the king of Demons, handed over the Shivling to Lord Krishna who was in disguise of the shepherd which he was not actually supposed to do. As blessed by Lord Shiva, Ravana was to carry the shivling in which Lord Shiva based himself and do not put the shivling down anywhere but as a part of game which all the Lords planned out Ravana made that mistake. And that is the shivling which was then merged on the ground and is today preached. The temple has beautiful carving on it. The temple is surrounded by gardens from all 4 sides.
With this another day of our trip was passed by visiting all the blessed places and enjoying to the fullest now it was time for some social activities.
PBC members and participants installing dust bins
PBC installed 12 dustbins between Saurabh Van Vihar and Awarna village. PBC strongly believes in preserving Mother Nature and aims at keeping the beautiful place Palampur clean. A clean up drive was taken up too.
Contributing towards social initiatives by PBC
After having a tough schedule, all the gap-shap and dinner everyone decided to take rest as the following day was actually packed. We left the hotel around 8:0 A.M in morning and towards Bir again just with a hope to fly.
Members getting ready to fly from take off point at Billing
Finally the weather was pleasant and sunny. We were taken to Billing,14 kms, the takeoff site for gliders by our pilots who were to accompany us in flying. It is 2400 mtrs above the sea level. And now comes the best part of this tour- CANOPY..HEIGHT..PILOTS..RUN..AND..AND..AND…A FINAL FLY…I must say it is thrilling once you run against the wind flow and within fractions of seconds you find yourself up in the air. It’s the best feeling one could get. One would feel like a bird up there with the beautiful dhauladhar range just parallel to you and all the houses on the ground appearing to be tiny toys. Well each one of us got a chance to share the experience of pilots with us.
Members enjoying their time during the flight
A member of PBC even did some stunts up there in the air getting his canopy into 360 degree rotation 4 times…..and this was actually stunning and of course PBC is all about adventure and pleasant surprises. We all got a chance to make our videos with GoPro cameras while flying. This flight left everybody lost in their own world of amusement. Finally we landed at different intervals of 30 – 40 mins. It was worth every bit of it. If you have that spirit in you, “Do not miss it , Just go and do it.”
With this our wonderful trip to the sky was fully accomplished and we all started back for Delhi and finally a wonderful journey was covered in about 12 hrs and the members reached by 6:00 AM on Monday morning.
Magical view of Pir Panjal Range
So guys just go and do it.
“This is the right age..the right time..and the right group that would take you to the best places around. Come and join and be a part of Palampur Bikers Club as – “Some Call it adventure, We call it life” “
Travel Story by Aakanksha Sandhu
Palampur Bikers Club Installed Dustbins around Saurav Van Vihar
Taking forward the clean Palampur initiative launched last year, Palampur Bikers Club in association with Spaces Home Decor installed dustbins in Palampur. These dustdins are placed at the road side between Saurav Van Vihar and Awarna village. PBC members have done the cleanup drive in this area several time before and taking a step ahead, this time PBC members decided to install dustbins in this area and also pledged to take the responsibility of keeping this area clean and maintained. Participants from Delhi, who were on visit to Palampur for Multi Activity Program organized by Palampur Bikers Club during 2nd April to 5th April also contributed in the activity along with PBC members. The participants were mesmerized by the beauty of the surrounding areas around Palampur and appreciated the efforts by PBC members to keep the area clean. The visiting participants have also shown interest in other social initiatives started by PBC.
The area where dust bins are installed is most popular among tourists who visit Palampur but because it lies outside the municipality limits; hence there is no mechanism to clean the garbage. Garbage once thrown here always remain there. Due to frequent tourist activity ; over a period of time , a lot of garbage mostly chips wrappers and plastic bottles remain scattered all along the road side. In order to save the beauty of this place and keep it clean and maintained , PBC members have chosen this place for clean-up drive. We thank our members and all those who contributed in the process of accomplishing this task.
Special thanks to:
1. Spaces Home Decor and Aditya Pandit for funding the dustbins
2. Public Welfare Department (PWD) Palampur for arranging the old used tar coal drums which were used for creating the dust bins.
3. Neugal Arts painter who worked till mid night to finish the painting work.
4. Welder near to old Sabzi Mandi Palampur who transformed the old, damaged tar coal drums of no use to robust useful dustbins.
5. All club members and friends for contributing in days and nights for various assigned tasks.
It couldn’t have been possible without the support of all above.
Thanks again to each one of you for your support and love.
Pictures of drive:
Sach Pass – In search of Truth
Preface
“There are BAD roads in Ladakh,
there are extremely BAD roads in Spiti,
and then there is SACH Pass”
That’s what I said when I completed the ride across Sach Pass in Pangi Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India.
Truth cannot be found easily, you have to go thru this
Did you notice the missing word in above line “road” ? that’s because it would be an understatement to call it a road, better call it a wide mule track. If you could manage to cover only 80 kms in 10-12 hrs without many breaks, you can imagine what I’m referring to. And how often you have heard that the main T bolt (the bolt which puts handle bar in place) of Royal Enfield became so loose that it was easily opened with bare hands. Adventure travelers swear by the name of Sach pass and it’s quite common to compare bad roads with Sach pass. We encountered this and much more in this ride of a lifetime. In Hindi Sach means Truth, hence I see it was an appropriate title for this ride.
You gotta have right Attitude
Nature has mysterious plans and you can’t do much about it but be ready and be flexible. How many times it happens that you plan for something and end up doing something else. Same happened with us in sep 2014 , when our well laid plan to do the leh-Ladakh circuit was smashed by flash floods in Jammu and Kashmir just 10 days before our scheduled ride. The situation was so scary that all the Riders backed out of the idea of exploring some other place if we are not riding to Ladakh. All riders backed out except the two hard nuts (Me & Aditya), we were not ready to sit at home thinking what we could have done. Hence, an alternative plan had to be chalked out and that too within next 2 – 3 days. Maps were out, discussions, Google search, more discussions, weather forecasts and contingency plans were chalked out.
And have some faith – Trilokinath Temple
After an extensive 3 day research we came up with a probable route. We would be crossing 3 of Himachal’s notorious passes known for bad roads, landslides and what not (Jalori pass, Rohtang pass, Sach pass) and also cover 3 most popular tourist destinations in Himachal (Shimla, Manali, Khajjiar). On paper it was a good plan, but somewhere at the back of our mind we knew, it will not be an easy ride in this season. There has been news of heavy rain in Himachal and there were chances that we may have to ride in rain as well. We bought some rain gear from the local markets and checked all the necessary items which we might need on the ride. So all was set; 2 guys,me (Rana and Adi) , with me on Jr.Black Bull (Royal Enfield Classic 350cc) and Adi on TB Baby (Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500cc). With all things checked out of our list we were ready to ride and face the Truth.
And answer some hard questions – “Why we ride?”
Palampur Reunion Day – 2014
Palampur Celebrated it’s first Reunion Day on 24th Oct 2014. Palampur Reunion Day is an initiative by Palampur Bikers Club to bring together people living in Palampur and outside in different cities. Many people from Palampur and nearby places live in different cities to earn their living but come to their hometown to celebrate Diwali with family. Palampur Bikers Club hence decided to mark the day after Diwali as Palampur Reunion Day to celebrate and enjoy togetherness with friends and family.
The Day started with people taking the morning walk near Saurabh Van Vihar. People from nearby places also joined in the reunion walk. After the morning walk, members cleaned the nearby area to contribute for ‘Swatch Bharat Mission’. This morning event was organized between 6 AM to 11 AM.
The evening was enhanced with a cultural program organized at Saurabh Van Vihar. Palampur Bikers Club in association with music band SOULSTERS performed live songs to mesmerize the audience gathered for reunion. It was first of it’s kind program organized at Palampur and attendees showed great excitement. We thank members of band SOULSTERS for their soulful performance.
Palampur Clean-UP Drive
Members from Palampur Bikers Club organized the clean-up drive on 2nd Oct. The event was scheduled for 3 hrs on 2nd Oct.A couple of our members reached directly from Delhi to take part in event after driving all night for 19 hrs(Car trouble). The commitment and dedication of these guys to the clean-up drive must be appreciated.
The initial plan was that we will conduct the clean-up drive around Kandi Bridge (Saurav Van Vihar). We were surprised to see the amount of wafer packets , plastic cups ,bottles and cans around this road.We immediately realized that this clean-up could not be achieved in 3 hrs and would need more time. After 3 hrs of clean-up drive we collected around 12 bags of Garbage. Although we collected quite a large amount of plastic garbage but there was a lot more. One of our member made a commitment to come daily for next 3 days on morning walk in the same area and continue the clean-up drive. Few other members also pitched in this morning walk cum clean-up drive. There were couple of other people who were there on the morning walk who also joined us in the clean-up.
All Palampur Bikers Club members again did the clean-up drive on 4th evening and were joined by few more young and responsible guys who were in the area. We would like to THANK each one of you and hope we can spread this clean-up drive. In all , Palampur Bikers Club members collected 30 + bags full of garbage in 3 days. Though we are happy that we could clean-up the area in the limited time and
resources which we had but at the same time there is lot of work still left to be done in this regard. Palampur Bikers Club is
committed to this drive and will facilitate more such events at regular intervals.
Our prime minister Modiji also launched the Swach Bharat campaign on the same day. This is a great initiative and we fully support
this.However , what we need is consistency and some basic infrastructure to support the Swatch Bharat mission.
Challenges we faced during the clean-up drive:
1>Dust Bins : Huge scarcity of dust-bins to dispose the garbage. We collected around 30 bags full of garbage and had to transport them by car for 7 kms to find the nearest dust bin. In absence of Dust bins , people do not have an option but to throw it in nearby nallas thereby creating water pollution.
2>Awareness: Little awareness in local people is a huge drawback in curbing this issue. We can clean-up the area but this bound to get dirty again unless general people are aware.
3>Plastic Ban: Although Plastic is banned in Himachal since long and it’s a very good initiative but what about wafer packets and disposable cups and glasses. Wafer packets were the highest in garbage while we were doing this activity and form the major chunk of garbage.
4>Responsibility and Accountability: Keeping our surroundings clean and garbage free is everyone’s responsibility but sadly in current situation “Everyone’s responsibility is Nobody’s responsibility” that’s how the general thinking is. Add to it the government departments who have yearly budget for such activities do not have any Accountability. We need to take steps to address this.
5>Attitude: It’s easy to see a post and comment on internet while being in comfort of your house but when it comes to WORK in ground level very few individuals have the courage and sense of responsibility to actually come forward and BE THE CHANGE YOU DESIRE.
We welcome you all to pour in with your suggestions / ideas to help us keep Palampur CLEAN and GREEN.
Thanks.
