A Joyful drive through Bhakhra dam and the beautiful Govind Sagar lake surrounded by lush green landscapes & sounds of colourful birds all around

While driving from Delhi to Rewalsar in Mandi, we chose the route via Una because the highway on this route is much better than the other highway which connects Mandi through Bilaspur. And when we are on the way to Una, we often wonder if we should take a quick detour from Nagal through Bhakhra Dam. This route is even shorter thought not a highway. We have taken this narrow route through beautiful landscapes, water streams, well paved roads and greenery all around. In this blogpost we will share the procedure to take this route, things to not do on your way, precautions to be taken and spots to enjoy brilliant views which are restricted by local authorities. There is a major stretch where you are not supposed to stop the car. We shall share precise details like that along with some information about Bhakhra dam. 

When you reach Nagal, put Bhakhra Dam in maps and take a cut on the left. After driving for few minutes you will see a Nangal Bhakhra Dam project office on your left with a broad saying that you need to get a pass from here. Park you vehicle and get a pass from this office. It doesn't take much time. All you need is Adhar cards of each member who is travelling with you. You will be asked from where you are coming and what's the final destination. From this office you will get a slip with details of your vehicle, passengers etc. This slip will be checked at 2 check-posts on your way to Bhakhra. At the very beginning of this road, each vehicle has to pay 40 rs. 

Photography/Videography is strictly prohibited till you cross the main dam. All the photographs you see in this blogpost are clicked around Govind Sagar lake beyond the Bhakhra dam area. It's highly recommended to not stop your vehicle on the way and not click photographs/videos. There are various watch towers on the way which may not be visible easily from the road, but assume that you are being watched especially when you are close enough to the Bhakhra dam. 

The drive is beautiful with extremely well maintained road, signboards and greenery all around. It's curvy road and for some time you drive in a forest. After a while, you see green water of Sutlej River flowing at a very high speed. There is a bridge on this river and you have to stop the car for verification again and show the slip given in Nangal. After entry in the register, you can move ahead. Soon after you see huge Bhakhra Dam on your right. You are not supposed to stop or slow down and please don't click photographs of the dam. 

As you cross the dam and the next barrier, you are now driving along the Govind Sagar Lake in Himachal Pradesh. Here you can find a peaceful spot to stop the car and enjoy spectacular views of Govind Sagar lake with mountains in the background. Above photograph shows a panoramic view from one of the turns on the road. Since there is a very less traffic on this road, it's very peaceful and you get to listen to bird songs. 

This time when we were driving along the Govind Sagar Lake, we saw a huge temple on the bank of the lake and surrounded by lush green meadows. Since we had time in hand, we thought of taking a break here. Full story about this temple, road condition and other important facts can be checked here. This temple is called Baba Garibaldis Nath ji temple. 

The Bhakra dam is located in Bhakra village of Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh of height 226 meters.Bhakra dam is 15 km from Nangal city and 20 km from Naina Devi town. 

The length of the Bhakra dam is 518.25 meters and the width is 9.1 meters. In terms of quantity of water, it is the third largest reservoir in India, the first being Indira Sagar dam in Madhya Pradesh with capacity of 12.22 billion cu m and second Nagarjunasagar Dam.

This road connects you with the main highway at Thana-Kalan and the highway takes your towards Hamirpur/Mandi. On the way, there is a cut on left which takes you to Jwalaji, Kangra, Dharmshala & Palampur. Above photograph shows the road on which you need to drive, some house in the middle and blue water of Govind Sagar Lake on right side. View of the lake varies as per elevation of the road and amount of high trees close to the road on right side. 

If you liked this post and found it helpful, I would request you to follow these things when traveling - 

1. Manage your waste well and don’t litter Use dustbins.

2. Tell us if you went to a place and found it hard to locate a dustbin. 

3. Avoid bottle waters in hills. Usually you get clean water in hills and water bottles create lot of mess in our ecosystem. 

4. Say big no to plastic and avoid those unhealthy snacks packed in plastic bags. Rather buy fruits. 

5. Don't play loud blaring music in forests of jungle camps. You are a guest in that ecosystem and disturbing the locals (humans and animals) is not polite.