#roadtrip #soloroadtrip #pongdam #pongdamlake #pongdamwetlands
17th Feb, 2026, Tuesday…Day (2) Dhameta-Sihal Khadd-Khwaja Peer Mandir, Buhala-Lands End Resort-Dadasiba-Karana (Pipal Ka Ped)-Chintpurni (115 km).
Couldn’t sleep all that well inside the car parked at Dhameta Bus Stand.
Night service buses kept plying all through the night and couple of sweet shops began opening as early as 6am morning. Still was fresh when woke up.
It was still dark. A light pinkish glow was shimmering in the sky as I drove on the unpaved path through Sihal Khadd towards Pong Dam Lake Wetlands.
Couldn’t see much but there was lot of bird activity. A huge colony of birds were murmuring, swimming, pecking and flying especially the bar headed geese.
The placid lake looked calm and pinkish blue. Haze and clouds eclipsed the rise of fireball from behind the lake, balmy glow it could not stop though.
Stayed at the place for over two hours enjoying the hectic bird activity, fishermen rowing the boats, cattle grazing and the sunlight glowing everything around.
Skipped Dhameta Wetlands, crossed Pong Dam and began driving towards Dadasiba via the right bank of the lake.
Saw a board mention Khwaja Peer Mandir, Buhala, took a two kilometer detour on a kutcha road through scattered homes and Badnali village to the edge of the lake.
A shrine housing a statue of a peer lay right at the edge of a cliff overlooking the lake, blue lake on all the three sides, leaving only a ridge as pathway to reach the shrine.
View of an island and Pong Dam was fantastic from the place. Since there was no human around, a number of birds were chirping and flying around.
It was quite windy, the wind creating waves in the lake and when the waves struck the rocks, an ocean like sound was created.
Returned to the main road and again after driving for few kilometers took a detour and landed at a remote village. Parked the car and asked a village folk how far was the lake.
The man with a sickle and a gunny sack told me he was going towards the lake to fetch firewood and that I could follow him. The man walked faster and was soon out of sight leaving me alone in the thick jungle.
The jungle had a narrow path leading to even thicker jungle, fearsome looking trees that had multiple branches hanging and interlocked,created unique shapes making the place even more scary.
Walked for some time, might be 1-2 kilometres, into the jungle until the path to the lake became too steep and couple of dogs began barking fiercely.
Picked up a stick and shooed away the dogs, fearing some further trouble hurried back to the safety my car.
Next was again a detour, drive through Seul Khadd, through the narrow lanes, not on google map, to a newly opened property, Lands End Resort, a boutique homestay right overlooking the lake.
Enjoyed simple meals at Dadasiba and then drove to my favorite Pipal Ka Ped (Karana) right overlooking ocean like blue lake. There was lot of bird activity, some visitors as well.
Pawan, the only street vendor at the place, seemed doing good business this time. His wife helping and they servicing teas, momos and noodles to the visitors.
The snowclad mountains were not visible due to clouds and haze otherwise the place looked serene and beautiful as always especially the huge Pipal Ka Ped and the lively swings.
Stayed at the place till Sunset, drove to Chintpurni, enjoyed through the evening, saag and makki ki roti, parked the car and slept inside, my Home On Wheels…!!!
For more travel stories, pls check joyclubsunil.wordpress.com
Информация по комментариям в разработке