When I finally made my lazy ass fit into that chair which laid before my computer table, the only thing I had in mind was to know at least a bit about Himachal before heading there.

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Himachal is a dream that got etched in my mind two years ago. Like every wanderlust, traveler or photographer out there, for obvious reasons, a trip to Leh-Ladakh topped my list. It was then Richa Kashelkar, a wedding photographer I follow on Facebook uploaded some photos of her trip to Parvati Valley. Apart from what I’ve heard of Himachal Pradesh in my geography classes, back then, I was completely ignorant about the place and its beauty. Her photos struck a chord and they made me want to visit the place. Yes, the initial thought of going to Himachal Pradesh happened to me through a set of photos!

As Paulo Coelho rightly said, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it. Since then, through various sources, Himachal slightly began to crawl up to the top most position of my travel bucket list. I also happened to stumble upon the photos in Himachal Parivahan – HRTC’s Facebook Page. By then, I had Google-ed about Himachal and realized that I should be going there before proceeding with my Leh-Ladakh plan.

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Over an year ago, I joined Instagram and became active soon. I started following travelers and that’s when I finally decided to plan my trip to Himachal Pradesh – Parvati Valley and McLedoganj, to be precise. Photos from HRTC, daily photo updates from abhiandnow, posts from many other Himachal travelers as well as blog posts I read on various websites affirmed my plan.

By April 2015, I decided to make it happen by setting out a solo trip. But due to a few reasons, I decided to postpone it to the first half of 2016 – before monsoon hit those mountains.

2016 came pretty soon and yes, I’m finally making this dream of almost two years come true. Every penny I had saved (although that doesn’t count much) was for making this trip of a lifetime come true. Although it consisted some sacrifices, now when I look back to the whole process of saving, I feel good. Also, slightly proud about myself.

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A much needed break from the monotonous work life will now take me to the mighty mountain ranges of Himachal Pradesh where I plan to spend at least a month. I’m not sure whether I’ll be able to get along with the climate or food. I even fear of getting affected with home sickness; but as of now, I hope to stay there as long as I can.

In it’s course, I don’t intend to see too many places, instead, I plan to do some slow traveling. That being said, I hope to visit Kasol and Parvati Valley. After all, the initial spark of this trip came from the beauty of those places, right?

So yeah, that’s that. If I can have access to a steady internet connection, I hope to update this space.

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