Kullu-Manali

Summer vacations make everyone excited, as we have to go out of our place to these kind of beautiful places like Kullu Manali. The holidays are literally ‘holy days’, that fill everyone’s life with happiness, especially they are boon for people from plains. I belonged to Delhi, and until the summer vacations, I was literally roasted because of harsh sun, extreme hotness and never-ending pollution of the city. So, the last summers I, along with three more friends, decided to holiday in a cool, serene and fresh air.

We got to know about KPL Expeditions through facebook, we visited their website and finally took a package of 8 days in Kullu-Manali. We had never visited the place before, so we were very excited for the trip. I packed my bag with lots of things including a set of warm clothes (because you can never predict the weather of mountains), a pair of good trekking shoes (as I included a small hike in my package), my driving license (we planned a bike trip too), my camera and batteries along with other items.

We took a night bus from Delhi to Manali. The whole night we slept comfortably in the deluxe bus. As my eyes opened in the early morning, the first thing that greeted me was the divine scenery.

A sea-green river flowed in Kullu Manali

A sea-green river flowed through a rifted slope made up by the mountains all-around. The view was extremely photogenic (far enough to satisfy a non-photographer like me that he too can click better 😛 ).

The sloppy mountains were densely covered with palms and other trees; sometimes the road would be narrow and dangerous, haunting everyone out, and the other time it would transform into a flat, broad trail almost touching the furious river. Each moment was filled with surprises and engaging scenery. My love and excitement for the place were growing more with each moment that our bus took towards it.

 In the next morning, we were in Manali(Kullu Manali). I was already feeling fresh as I breathed in the Himalayan air. Literally, my lungs were thanking me for letting them have unpolluted fresh air. The KPL team was already in the bus stand, welcoming us with a friendly smile. They took us to our rooms in a nice hotel within the main town. We got fresh up and had a breakfast there. Then the team took us for local sight-seeing.

Kullu to Manali Distance:

The distance between Kullu Manali is just 40KM. You can take any of route in Kullu Manali because Kullu Manali has two routes. one is left bank and 2nd is right bank. Right or main road to Manali is much better than left bank but in left bank you won’t find that much traffic.

     Sightseeing in Kullu Manali

We firstly went to Hidimba Devi temple that was located in the town itself. The temple was situated in the middle of dense deodar jungle. The wind flowing through those trees had a whistling sound that greeted our ears with a melody of the wild. The temple was a marvelous example of traditional Himalayan architecture.

It was built with stones, wood, and mud only, still resistant to earthquake and to any kind of natural force. Moreover, the outer walls were decorated with hides and trophies of wild ibex, sheep, and buffaloes, that all looked weird but it was their tradition to give animal sacrifice to their deity who protects them from negative impacts (as per their belief).

The temple vicinity was adjoined by local handicraft market. To my surprise, I witnessed to see Yak for the first time. After spending a quality time in the local market, we then moved to Old Manali. The place was filled with foreign tourists, it would not be wrong to call that place exotic.

The market has foreign materials, restaurants are creatively designed and serving every genre of food, and the local people looked far cooler than you can ever imagine. So, our day ended with a walk through the mall road and marketplace.

The next day we started our journey beyond Manali in a rented bike. Nothing can match the experience of roaming in the mountainous road and cool breeze in a dug-dug Royal Enfield; literally, it is a dream of almost every man to have such experience at least once in their lifetime.

Blessing from Sage:

So, crossing the river we climbed a zig-zag road in our bikes to reach an ancient temple of a deity ‘Rishi Vashisht’. The hot springs located in the temple vicinity added up the quality to the place. We bathed in the sulfurated water spring for some time.

Again we carried our journeys further into the heights of the mountains. The landscape was changing as we traveled; from the dense jungles all around to scattered trees with large boulders and rocky landscape, at least I had never imagined Manali to be like that.

We reached Solang Nala, a beautiful slopy landscape filled up with tourists and adventure sports of various kinds, in the afternoon.

Visit of Rohtang Pass:

Next, we moved on to the snow point Rohtang Pass. It’s a narrow conjoint between lush green Kullu valley and glacial cold desert of Lahaul and Spiti. The view from the top of the pass was awe-inspiring that I could not get out of it till now. I could easily observe the two opposite valleys in a single panoramic view. That day was well lived and qualitatively spent.

The following day we move down from Manali towards Kullu valley. Our next halt was Naggar, a small artistic town once a capital of the Rajas, located in the middle of deodar and pine jungles. The place was again full of foreigners, most of them came here to learn traditional dances, art, and culture of the valley. Formerly we entered the ancient castle of Naggar which was perfectly preserved and depicted rich architecture of Kullu valley; and then we moved to Roerich Art Gallery, situated just a walk’s distance from the castle, that featured a huge collection of Russian painter Roerich and his cottage well preserved as a walking museum.

We had our lunch in Naggar only and then visited Rahla Waterfall situated in the extreme wilderness of the place. After spending a quality time in the pine and deodar jungles we moved to Kais Monastery that was located on the way to Kullu town. The Buddhist Monastery hosted a positive and serene environment and a rich Tibetan art form celebrated the existence of positivity. We reached Kullu town by evening, there we had a lifetime experience of living in a traditional Kullvi home.

Parvati Valley”Best Hash in the world”:

The next morning we journeyed to the Parvati Valley on the organizer’s vehicle. We started early and reached Tosh in the late morning. From there started a hike for Kheerganga.

The trek was not difficult yet challenging, each moment that we spend in the wild made us more near to mother nature. That night we stayed in tents, had a campfire and danced around it.

Next day we hiked back to Tosh and then by vehicle reached Kasol by the late afternoon. We had a relaxing lunch in Israeli cuisine and then hiked for local sightseeing. We walked for a kilometer to reach hot water springs in Manikaran.

There was an ancient and traditionally built temple of Lord Ram in the middle of the town which hosted hot water pools, perfect for relaxing and relieving all your exertion out. That night we joined a party in the near-by resort in Kasol.

The following day the Kallngoo team took us to Kullu town. The day was reserved for adventure sports. We did paragliding from a high point, seriously watching the whole place from bird’s eye view was mesmerizing. Then we went for river rafting, crossing the giant rock hurdles in that ice cold Beas water was definitely exciting and chilling.

After all these adventure activities, we went to Sharabi Buddhist monastery, famous for hosting shoots of many Bollywood songs. Finally, again that day was well spent.

    

Prashar lake Trek

On our seventh day of the trip, we went to Parashar. The place filled every one of us with amazement. The place was situated on the top of a mountain, and it hosted a small lake in a depression.

The lake had a small circular island in one corner and adding more to our bafflement, the island moved and shifted its place every season. Also, there was an ancient temple dedicated to the sage Parashar in the lake vicinity.

We camped in the nearby rangeland for the night. That was our last night of that trip, so we enjoyed it to the fullest.

We would never forget that trip. The organizing team was enthusiastic and responsible, not even for a second they made us bored. That tour had definitely lasted an impression on my mind and heart that i never want to forget at all.

Few questions that comes in everyone’s mind:

Kullu to Manali Bus Time Table:

You don’t need to worry about Kullu Manali bus routine because in this route you will find buses every half hour. You can take either from sarvari bus stand or you can also take bus from Dhalpur bus stand.

Kullu to Manali Flight:

No there is no flight route from Kullu to Manali. The airport is in Bhuntar 10Km before Kullu and 50 Km from Manali. You can take flight to Chandigarh or direct to Delhi.

Kullu to Manali Train:

No there is no train facility in Kullu yet. The nearest train track from Kullu-Manali is Jogindernagar. Which is just 120Km from main town kullu.

Kullu to Manali Taxi Fare:

The total taxi fare is ₹1000 from Kullu to Manali for small cars like Aulto and santro.