Travelogue Parvati Valley: Kasol Manikaran and Tosh!

After a year-long break from travelling, I’m back with an adventurous yet beautiful trip to The Parvati Valley, precisely Kasol, Manikaran and Tosh. It was a long throned wish to visit a hill station, after a lot of planning stuff I decided to explore The Valley!

So I took a train from Bhopal to reach Delhi from where I had to change a train for Phagwara.

You might be thinking, why Phagwara?

It was the place where I was supposed to meet my friends and lead to a beautiful excursion to Parvati Valley.
You can take a direct bus from Delhi to Manikaran at a very affordable price without getting into hassles.

I then took a bus from Phagwara leading to Manikaran, it was a whole night journey so after finalising everything I slept.

When I woke up I was already in the Parvati Valley and my reaction was Wowwwww!!!

 ©Monish Shrivastava

It was around 5:30 AM and I could see a beautiful sunrise set up for me somewhere near Bhuntar(a town located around 30km south to Kasol). You can see the beautiful Sangam of River Beas and Parvati while crossing the overbridge. 

 ©Monish Shrivastava

Within an hour I reached Kasol(a hamlet located in Kullu District of Himachal Pradesh at a height of 1580 metres above the sea level) and then I started walking towards Manikaran.

 ©Monish Shrivastava

 ©Monish Shrivastava

I was acquainted with a cafe for which I had to cross the overbridge and do a little trekking to the village Choj via Chalal Trek Trail.

Choj Overbridge
©Monish Shrivastava

View from our room at Shanti Cafe and Restaurant.
 ©Monish Shrivastava

The hosts were amazing and I found a Baba over there who’s actually a double PhD and spends half of his year in Kasol and a half travelling other parts of the world. 

©Monish Shrivastava

I rested a bit then moved to Manikaran to see the local market and explore a bit more of Parvati Valley.

©Monish Shrivastava

The first day was full of exploration and quite a few pictures!

I stood up till 3:30 AM and couldn’t see a single star due to the clouds but suddenly wind played its game and the sky was clear and that view was magical, a starry sky with beautiful mountains in the foreground! 

©Monish Shrivastava

Day 2 started with a bang, it was the day I was supposed to head to Tosh via Barshaini, I trekked my way through Chalal to reach Kasol and then took a taxi to Tosh.

©Monish Shrivastava

©Monish Shrivastava

Our Trek Video

The journey was beautiful, all the way I could see snow capped mountains hidden under the clouds but it started getting scarier as I started moving closer to Tosh, the roads were narrow, a bit damaged and it was raining all the time, yet was worth taking it!

©Monish Shrivastava

©Monish Shrivastava

©Monish Shrivastava

So I reached Tosh in the noon, it is the last motorable village of The Parvati Valley at the height of approx. 2400 metres above the sea level! 

I then hunted for a place to stay and chose Pinky didi’s cafe which has a mind throbbing view of the Himalayas!

Pinki didi's cafe at the left corner.
©Monish Shrivastava

Pinky didi's Cafe

©Monish Shrivastava 

©Monish Shrivastava

Being there and enjoying the view was the only thing that place demanded from me, in the evening I started trailing to Tosh Village to actually explore the place and get something to eat!

I moved back to the cafe at around 9 PM, it was amazing walking through the streets of Tosh in the dark with a cold breeze and a scintillating view of the village! 

I stood up late and enjoyed the atmosphere, the next day I was supposed to leave back for our places but I was feeling 2 days aren’t enough for the Valley. There’s a lot of things to explore and moreover, you could just sit and enjoy the atmosphere without any pollution and any hassle, a minimum of 7 days is what you need to enjoy the actual beauty of the valley and for me, it was a weekend getaway! Haha. 

Things you can do in the valley:

• Trek the mountains, there are lots of those, Kheerganga, Rasol, Grahan and if you’re brave enough to climb, Malana. 

• River Rafting(Available at Bhuntar)

• Paragliding

• Sit back and enjoy!

• Obviously, you can get high, different types of high moreover, standing on the top of a high rise high, the first time you smoke a Chillum high and the high of being in the hills! ;)

Travel responsibly and please do not pollute the environment! No matter where you go respect the quiet, you might enjoy the electronic trance but the creatures of the mountain don't!

With this I sign off for now, will be back with another travel story soon! 

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