gauravtalan
Himalayan Monal
We often ponder and worry if we should take our little ones (as young as 2 year olds) to high altitude destinations. I hope this travelogue will help many parents who are in a similar dilemma and want to travel to places like Ladakh and Spiti with thier young kids. We travelled to Spiti with our daughter in June 2019 and she was not even 2 years old when we started from Delhi. We celebrated her 2nd Birthday at an altitude of 3,700 meters during the trip.
We received many words of encouragement and also some raised eyebrows when we were planning a road trip with our daughter to the the upper Himalayas which would include crossing and staying at high altitude destinations. The first thing that I did was consulting fellow BCMTians on the idea. The response was generally positive and hence I proceeded and met our pediatrician for further advise. We were advised by the doc that it is fine to take the kid to this high altitude as a baby (provided she is older than 3 months) will have same response to altitude as the adults. However, we were also advised that it is necessary to gradually go up the altitude with several night halts in between. Since our doc is also a seasoned traveler and knows the circuit, he immediately advised us to go via Shimla and not Manali to avoid sudden altitude gain. He prescribed certain medicines for the kid (including for AMS) and also asked us to be informed about the nearest army posts if any help is required on the way.
After much thought and preparations, we decided to explore Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti districts of Himachal Pradesh in June 2019. Our daughter's 2nd birthday would also fall during the trip. Me, my wife and our daughter were also joined by my sister in Law and two friends from Bengaluru.
Day 1: We left at around 5:30 AM from New Delhi in our Renault Duster to reach Matiana Village (19 kms before Narkanda) by late afternoon. However, after massive traffic jam at Kumarhatti due to widening of the highway, we crossed Shimla a bit later than we expected.
En-route Shimla
Crossing Shimla
Sanjauli as seen from Shimla. After having lunch between Solan and Shimla, we thought of taking ample breaks until we reach our hotel in Matiana. The heat was gone and air felt fresh. One can gaze at colorful Sanjauli for hours from this point while crossing Shimla towards Kufri.
We reached our destination for the day (Matiana Village) around 6 PM. We spent rest of the evening strolling along the streets and interacting with localites. People there were very friendly and even invited us to their home! Our daughter met lots of kids who she played with as we enjoyed the views from this little village.
Apple Orchids as seen from our Hotel - Backpackers Homestay, Matiyana. The hotel is new and has clean rooms with this view. The food is also good.
Sunset from Matiana Village.
Apple orchards amidst dense forest are sprawled all across the Narkanda region. It got a bit windy and chilly as the sun touched the horizon. After roaming around the village and interacting with the locals, it was time to relax a bit while gazing at this peaceful yet lively sunset.
Watch this space for more....
Gaurav Talan
You can contact us on insta @himalayan_monal
Kanchan, Gaurav & Advika (@himalayan_monal) • Instagram photos and videos
We received many words of encouragement and also some raised eyebrows when we were planning a road trip with our daughter to the the upper Himalayas which would include crossing and staying at high altitude destinations. The first thing that I did was consulting fellow BCMTians on the idea. The response was generally positive and hence I proceeded and met our pediatrician for further advise. We were advised by the doc that it is fine to take the kid to this high altitude as a baby (provided she is older than 3 months) will have same response to altitude as the adults. However, we were also advised that it is necessary to gradually go up the altitude with several night halts in between. Since our doc is also a seasoned traveler and knows the circuit, he immediately advised us to go via Shimla and not Manali to avoid sudden altitude gain. He prescribed certain medicines for the kid (including for AMS) and also asked us to be informed about the nearest army posts if any help is required on the way.
After much thought and preparations, we decided to explore Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti districts of Himachal Pradesh in June 2019. Our daughter's 2nd birthday would also fall during the trip. Me, my wife and our daughter were also joined by my sister in Law and two friends from Bengaluru.
Day 1: We left at around 5:30 AM from New Delhi in our Renault Duster to reach Matiana Village (19 kms before Narkanda) by late afternoon. However, after massive traffic jam at Kumarhatti due to widening of the highway, we crossed Shimla a bit later than we expected.
En-route Shimla
Crossing Shimla
Sanjauli as seen from Shimla. After having lunch between Solan and Shimla, we thought of taking ample breaks until we reach our hotel in Matiana. The heat was gone and air felt fresh. One can gaze at colorful Sanjauli for hours from this point while crossing Shimla towards Kufri.
We reached our destination for the day (Matiana Village) around 6 PM. We spent rest of the evening strolling along the streets and interacting with localites. People there were very friendly and even invited us to their home! Our daughter met lots of kids who she played with as we enjoyed the views from this little village.
Apple Orchids as seen from our Hotel - Backpackers Homestay, Matiyana. The hotel is new and has clean rooms with this view. The food is also good.
Sunset from Matiana Village.
Apple orchards amidst dense forest are sprawled all across the Narkanda region. It got a bit windy and chilly as the sun touched the horizon. After roaming around the village and interacting with the locals, it was time to relax a bit while gazing at this peaceful yet lively sunset.
Watch this space for more....
Gaurav Talan
You can contact us on insta @himalayan_monal
Kanchan, Gaurav & Advika (@himalayan_monal) • Instagram photos and videos
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