"Fula Ri Dhar", in colloquial Himachali dialect, translates into a Mountain of Flowers or to be more precise, Fula (Flowers) Ri (wali, as in Hindi) Dhar (Mountain). And it is a mountain range that separates Barot Valley from the Joginder Nagar belt in Himachal Pradesh (India). It lies HERE.
Ghatasani is just a small pass on the Mandi-Joginder Nagar (or more broadly, on the Pathankot-Mandi) road. It lies about 40 Km from Mandi towards Pathankot/Palampur/Joginder Nagar. At Ghatasani, lies the junction from where we turn upwards to proceed towards Barot Valley (25 km). Coming from Mandi/Chandigarh/Delhi side, we turn right, ie. About 5 Km ahead and 20 Km short of Barot town, we hit a small village, Jhatingri, that sits at the highest point between Ghatasani and Barot. One restaurant, one tea shop, half a dozen other shops that sell grocery and day-to-day needs and most importantly, two wine shops- all together, make Jhatingri. A couple of offices, a school and a huge ground (labelled as FREE PARKING) add to the asset portfolio of this small place. Here, in the middle of this settlement, an un-metalled track ascends to the higher reaches towards the north of the village. This four-odd km long track then culminates, at a flat plateau that is called Fula Ri Dhar or Phoola Ri Dhar!
Why I am writing about this place and how significant it is for me, I shall touch upon in the posts that would follow soon.
Good going. All the best. Gopinathan
ReplyDeleteThanks sir. So kind
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