Chandigarh – Nahan – 103 km
In the morning, Narinder Singh accompanied me to a market to find a
detailed roadmap, and it was midday before we left Chandigarh. The
journey started off easy through farmlands until we reached the
village of Naraingarh, located at the foothills of the Sivalik range of
the Himalayas. From Naraingarh, the road climbs an exhausting 30
kilometres through spectacular scenery. The going was dreadfully
slow, and we reached Nahan, situated at 932 meters, after two long
hours of cycling in darkness. The journey along the perilously narrow
road, packed with trucks and buses, was truly hair-raising. Reaching
our destination safely felt like a pure miracle!
Albeit way off the regular tourist route, Nahan was a charming old
town with narrow alleys and ancient Hindu temples and shrines.
Established in 1621, the place was bound to have a few old temples
and lakes—one right in the centre of the village. As in many Indian
towns, cows held the right of way. Revered as sacred, they roamed
freely, much like stray dogs and cats might elsewhere. These cows
could be found sleeping on the pavement and in shop doorways.
Nahan
Due to our late arrival the previous evening, we spent the following
day meandering the old city and resting our tired legs. Ernest was
concerned about the girls calling him “Uncle” and shaved his beard
for the first time in over three months. At least to me, he looked less
of an Indian Sadhu. Next, we did our laundry, which Ernest hung on
the hotel roof to dry, but the monkeys took a liking to one of the
items. Hotel staff later scaled the tree to retrieve the T-shirt which
now sported a large hole! LOL