Before hitting the road again, we had an enjoyable stroll around the immacualte Palace gardens.  Beautiful and peaceful.  We left Pinjore and headed for the hills – the foot hills of the Himalayas, in fact.  The scenary was spectacular, the toad was tortuous.  Carefully tended terraces of emerald green cascaded down the hills.  Where the land was too steep or rocky to farm, sparse pine forests, interspersed with ‘cactus trees’ and scrub predominated.  It was not long before we caught glimpses of the snow capped mountains of the Himalayas.  A breathtaking landscape. 

Our ultimate destination was Renuka, described by our new Rough Guide as “a secluded lake…, tropical forests…shelter colonies of herons, kingfishers and bee eaters…sacred enclave…etc etc.” but more accurately described by our 10 year old Lonely Planet “ a lake with a small zoo and wildlife sanctuary”.  It was something of a strange place.  The natural lake was peaceful and beautiful (but not spectacular enough to come the longhaul to the middle of nowhere).  There were many Hindu temples and shrines in the area near the hotel, whichwas apparently full with a coach party of devoted pilgrims.  The main temple kept all awake (and woke everyone up) by playing devotional music from its loudspeakers.  I expect the monkeys appreciate the entertainment!  We found cheap accomodation in the governement run Rest House and once again swore that our trusty fan heater has turned out to be the best investment that we have made.