Fully utilising the long weekend which came around the 2nd of Oct, I and my friends planned a trip out to the mountains! The destinition was a small little town of Kasol which lies en route to the popular hill station of Kulu and Manali in Himachal Pradesh. We had 3 days in hand (Friday to Sunday) and without wasting any time started our journey on Thursday night itself after office hours as we knew we had a long journey by road ahead of us.
We started from Delhi and headed to Chandigarh then to Kiratpur, Bilaspur and finally to Kulu district. The whole journey took almost 15 hours taking up the most of Friday but on reaching our destination i.e., Kasol all seemed totally worth it.
Nestled amidst beautiful mountains this small little town has a majestic river , Beas, running through it.
The touristy attractions of the place are:
1) A trek up to Malana Village or Magic valley!
Malana is a small village nestled on top of a mountain which is 13 kms away from Kasol town. It takes about one and an hour hour to get there by road and the vehicle can be taken up till a certain point after which the rest of the path needs to be trekked. The village has its unique culture and practices. It's a steep trek up the mountains to the village and takes about one and half hours.
2) A stroll in the Kasol market which has a number of eating joints serving international cuisines and shops selling local handicrafts and woollens.
We had a scrumptious lunch at a nice, spacious restraunt located in the heart of the market called, little Italy. It serves the best Grilled trout, fresh out of the river! Must try!
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| Kasol Market place |
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| Lil Italy restaurant |
3) A visit to the famous Gurudwara (Sikh temple) , Manikaran Sahab.
The Gurudwara is just 6 kms away from Kasol market place and is famous for its hot springs. A tip is to visit the Gurudwara at night as the place has a mystical appeal to it at this time. Take a dip in the hot water spring, eat Langar (food served free of cost to the pilgrims) and listen to the sermons by God men!
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| Manikaran Sahab |
Inside the Gurudwara
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| Inside the Gurudwara |
4)Various camp sites and cafes along the riverside to chill at, eat and enjoy the view.
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| Campsite by the riverside |
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| River Beas |
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| River Beas |
It's a beautiful place to visit! In case the road journey seems a bit tiring then a flight from Delhi to Kulu is a possibility too! All in all it was very relaxing, refreshing trip full of new discoveries!
