We took a long time arriving in The Valley of the Gods . The drive from Palampur to Mandi was stunning ... steep valleys plunging to glacier colored rivers, strewn with huge boulders; terraced emerald hillsides dotted with painted mud-brick houses resembling daubings from a Roy de Maistre palette; winding ribbons of road which offered unending surprises around each bend. The rambunctious township of Mandi was the halfway point and from there the road became almost impassable