Himachal Diaries - Part II - 3 Day Trip to Kullu & Manali

As promised, this is the 2nd post of a tri-series! This one is about our travel experiences in Manali and Kullu towns of Himachal Pradesh. This trip was done in May,2016. All expenses mentioned below are for 2 pax in Indian Rupees(INR)

Suggested Itinerary:
Day 1: Manali Local Sight-seeing: Mall Road, Hidimbda Devi Temple, Manu Temple, Vashist Temple, Manali Club-House, Beas River Bank
Day 2: Day Trip to Manikaran & Kasol
Day 3: Solang Valley & Rohtang Pass

Trip in Detail:

We headed to Manali from Shimla, on a bus. It was a long cumbersome journey, but what made it worthwhile were the beautiful views on the way to Manali. The Beas river keeps flowing on the right for most part of the journey and is very picturesque!

Captured Enroute Manali from Shimla

By the time we arrived at Manali Mall road, it was late in the evening. Mall Rd at Manali was a honeymooner's paradise! Every other couple had fading henna on their hands and legs. Ladies had their hands adorned with bangles from their elbows till the wrists!! It was a beautiful sight to watch! There are lot of eating joints and different cuisines to try out from on the Mall Rd. We were very tired,due to the long bus journey, and ordered in from the hotel we stayed.

We had earmarked 3 days for Manali and Kullu. The next day, we took a bike on rent in Manali (A Royal Enfield, for 800Rs per day. There are lot of shops in Manali which let out bikes for rent) and ventured out for Manikaran which is around 80 kms from Manali (one way). It is a 3hrs ride from Manali. The roads were pretty good till Kasol village. From there(around 10kms from Manikaran), the road is slightly bumpy.

Manikaran is famous for a Gurudwara and Shiv temple which co-exist and the hot water spring that emerges from a naturally heated up rock. It is believed that Goddess Parvati lost one of her earrings in this sacred spot, and the hot spring marks the opening of the third eye of Lord Shiva, post which the earring is returned by SheshNag

Gurudwara in the background, and the steam emerging from the hot spring

The temple authorities allow you to buy rice grains and tie them in the hot water spring.The hot water boils the rice and the same rice is distributed as an offering(Prasad) in the temple complex! They also have a small facility where tourists are allowed to dip their feet inside the hot water. The water is said to have healing properties and is said to be very good in treating arthritic diseases.

The little bags of rice which get boiled in the hot water spring!

Getting a Natural Hot Water Spa!

That was Manikaran. A famous temple and a nice hot water spring. On our way back at around 3pm, we stopped in Kasol for lunch. We stopped by at Evergreen Cafe in Kasol. Now this was a very hippy place, with a lot of Israeli crowd! The menu of most restaurants in Kasol have more Israeli food than Indian Food! We had Shakshouka and Jerusalem Mix from this cafe. Yummy is an understatement! The Shakshouka was simply mind-blowing!!

Foodgasm at Evergreen Cafe!

Post lunch,we stopped on the way, clicked some beautiful pictures in the Kasol Valley!! It offers breathtaking views for people who want to try their hand at nature photography. One of the amateur captures below!

Captures in the Kasol Valley

We reached back to Manali by around 6 in the evening. With all the riding, we called it an early night, but not without having our dinner at the Mall Road. You can try out the amazing street food there. Chicken Chowmein and Momos will never disappoint you in Manali!

Day 2 in Manali was a road trip to Solang Valley and the attempt to ride up to Rohtang pass. Solang was a 1 hr ride from Manali. It has para sailing and skiing and other snow activities in the winter season. In the summers, its a great place to drive down to. The views and the scenery on the way is worth going all the way!

Solang Valley in Summers; There is a snow point behind, which one can go on a pony ride

The mesmerizing views on the way

The 500cc Enfield and the breath-taking view behind!

Next on our itinerary was the ride up to Rohtang pass. It was closed for visitors during the time we went. Apparently Rohtang pass is open for only around 2 weeks in an year for visitors. The last point we could reach was Gulaba Camp. Nothing spectacular in Gulaba but nevertheless, had some great pics taken. Post Gulaba, we headed back to Manali for local sight-seeing. It was around 1pm and we were raving for some food. On the way back to Manali was this tiny, awesome cafe that had amazing Maggi and Bread Omelette. Along with the great view was a cute pup too!!

The cute little pup and the breath-taking view!

Coming back into Manali, we came to a bank of Beas river! This was the closest we could get to the river, yet!! It is slightly risky to venture out here though. Kids need to be under constant guidance, or avoided at all.

The Beas River Bank!

Before entering into Manali, hunger pangs started again. Just on the entry is a beautiful restaurant which is not just a treat to your stomach but to your eyes as well!! This famous restaurant I'm talking about is the Rose Garden Restaurant & Cafe!

The beautiful entrance!

That's the ambience inside!!

Posing with the beautiful roses!

The Yummy delicious Pizza! 

Post all the posing and foodgasm, we entered into Manali finally and started our local sight-seeing with Vashisht Temple. This is dedicated to Sage Vashisht and has a mini hot spring. Unlike the pool like facility in Manikaran, in this temple, there are separate bath facilities for ladies and gents. Women were plunging into the pool and changing into fresh clothes. I felt uncomfortable to bare myself out! Just dipped my legs and prayed for the holy water to do wonders on my blistered feet!!

Post Vashisht, we went to the Manali Clubhouse. It was small place filled with activities for Kids and adults. If travelling with kids, this place is a must see. We did the river crossing activity!!

Trying my hand at River Crossing!

At the entrance of the Club house

Next destination for the day was Manu Temple. This was a temple dedicated to Sage Manu. It is slightly inaccessible on auto. Bike is the best way to reach this temple with very narrow approach roads. But as they say, the destination makes it all worth! It was very peaceful and not at all crowded! Had a very nice sitting at such an altitude and quietly reflecting on life!

                                                                                                       At Manu Temple

The last stop for the day was Hidimba Devi Temple. Hidimba is a demoness, who is the wife of Bhima in Mahabharat. After the birth of their son Ghatodkach, and as the Pandavas move on in their 13 year exile, the demoness meditates in this place and attains the status of a Goddess. Lot of cute rabbits are available in this place for taking pics!!

Posing with the Bunny!!

The Sanctum Sanctorum of Hidimba Devi Temple

That was Manali - with all major sight-seeing points covered and after a long long day, we retired for the day. Next day, we started early for Kullu. It is a 1hr drive from Manali. The first thing we wanted to tick off from our bucket list was Rafting! It was 6kms from our hotel. Let the pictures do the talking of all the rafting fun!!

We were sharing the boat with another family

All Wet!!

Successful Culmination!

Post Rafting on the Beas river, we came back to our beautiful hotel. What a room it had! Great view which made it all the more difficult to move out of it!!

The beautiful room in Hotel Shobhla!!

Once outside the room, we were in search of local street food for lunch. A walk down the road lead us to a small nondescript place which served Non Veg Momos and Thukpas! We had amazing Mutton Thukpa and Mutton Momos for lunch!!

Mouth Watering Mutton Thukpa!!

That brings an end to Part II of the Himachal diaries. We were next headed to Mcleodganj and then Dalhousie. Will post about my experiences there in Part III. Stay tuned until then :)