Kasol is a small yet beautiful village in the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh. It was always in my bucket list since I came to know about the place through my friends. During the second week of June when the temperature was soaring in Raipur, I planned the trip to the cool hill station with my college friends. It was a 5 days/ 4 nights’ trip and we were a total of six guys travelling.
Related post : Away from the scorching summer - Over 30 hill stations in Himachal Pradesh that are close to Delhi
We took an overnight bus on 10th June from Delhi to Kasol. The tickets cost us around Rs. 1,000 per person. The bus takes approximately 10-12 hours depending upon the traffic and takes a couple of halts on the way. The seats can be booked online via paytm or redbus.
Day 1: The bus dropped us at the market area of Kasol at 10 AM. We had our stay at ‘Highland Choj’ in the Choj village nearby Kasol. It was only 1.5 kms from the market area of Kasol. After having breakfast and enjoying the scenic view from our stay, we left for the Gurudwara Shri Manikaran Sahib in Manikaran. The Gurudwara is on the banks of the Parvati River and is very peaceful and divine. Here, we had tasty Langar food which is said to be prepared in the hot water spring. Also, one can take a bath in the hot water pool there. We then took a cab till the market of Kasol where you can find a lot of cafes, bakeries to eat and places to shop.
Related post : Top 10 Hill Stations in Himachal Pradesh, India
Day 2: We headed to Waichin Valley, also known as the ‘Magic Valley’ near Malana village. We took a cab from Choj which took Rs. 1600. It dropped us at ground zero from where Waichin was around 2-3 hours trek. The difficulty of the trek was moderate although trekking shoes is a must. There were picturesque views throughout the trek. You can find a tent or stay easily for Rs. 800 to 1100 per person including dinner and breakfast. We spent quite some time gazing at the star studded sky in our sleeping bags which was provided at our stay. The real magic of the Magic Valley was that one can surely see a shooting star if the sky is clear and we were lucky enough to see multiple.
Day 3: After having breakfast, we left the Waichin Valley. We took a different route to get down, so as to get a different view. This other route felt even more eye pleasing. From ground zero, we took a cab till the Malana gate from where Malana was about 1.5 hours of trekking. The route to Malana mostly had cemented steps but was tiresome as we had already trekked down from Waichin. Malana. It is an old village with a culture that has been untouched. The village has various rules and restrictions for visitors. So we didn't stay there long and headed back to our stay at Choj.
Related post - Exploring impossible landscapes on Kheerganga Trek, Himachal Pradesh - By Ankit Gupta
Day 4: With our plan to go to Kheerganga failing, we decided to go to a place named Kutla which was about 1.5-2 hours trek from Tosh village. The trek was beautiful with numerous natural places to take a halt and relax. En route the trek, there's a cafe in the flowing water where you can dip your feet and refresh yourselves for the road ahead. Back in our stay at the Highland Choj, the caretaker arranged for a bonfire for our last night in that place.
Day 5: It was our last day in Kasol and we had planned to spend it sitting alongside Parvati River. In the evening hours, the sun rays reflecting by the river gave us a heavenly view. We then took the bus at 6 PM and bid adieu to the place with a thousand memories in our hearts.
Related post : Trek to Malana from Kasol, Himachal Pradesh
Related post - Great National Himalayan Park - The first and only exclusive World Heritage Sites in Himachal Pradesh
The bakeries in Kasol are amazing. The cafes in Kasol are great too especially the Evergreen Cafe and the Jim Morrison café which are worth going. We missed the Kheerganga trek but it is a must go place if you are in Kasol. Also, Rasol and Chalal are places worth seeing but we couldn't because of our short trip.
Kasol is known not only for its scenic beauty but also for the people, the aura and the whole vibe the place have. Kasol is a place which no words or pictures can describe. It was by far one of the best trips of my life.
Related post - There is nothing like camping under star-spangled sky of Kullu Sarahan, Himachal Pradesh (India)
If you liked this post and found it helpful, I would request you to follow these things when traveling -
- Manage your waste well and don’t litter
- Use dustbins. Tell us if you went to a place and found it hard to locate a dustbin.
- Avoid bottle waters in hills. Usually you get clean water in hills and water bottles create lot of mess in our ecosystem.
- Say big no to plastic and avoid those unhealthy snacks packed in plastic bags. Rather buy fruits.
- Don't play loud blaring music in forests of jungle camps. You are a guest in that ecosystem and disturbing the locals (humans and animals) is not polite
.jpg)