"Gurudwara Manikaran Sahib"

We visited Manikaran while we were in Kasol during new year. Though Manikaran is a place of pilgrimage for both Hindu's and Sikhs, backpackers come here mostly to enjoy and escape the chilling cold of the terrain.


According to the legends it is the same place Lord Manu, started and established human civilization again after the great flood. There are various Hindu temples situated here and one of the most sacred Gurudwaras in the world.

Manikaran,  situated in one of the most visited districts of Himachal, i.e. Kullu. Quite near to the hippie paradise Kasol, it gives a complete nonsensical feeling when you come here and feel the spirituality in the air.  

                                                    A view from the Gurudwara

"The Ever Flowing River - Manikarnika"

"Parvathi River"

How we tripped in Kasol and How we tripped from the ladder-2.0!

All the major decisions which disrupt life are seemingly taken during the age of 22 to 28. Decisions like who we might end up spending our life with, what should be the name of your first born child or in other cases(like mine) what brand of toothpaste you should experiment with coming week(truly disruptive).

But some of major life changers(apparently) which all Indians experience are whether going to Kasol or Goa this weekend(like every weekend). Both the destinations hold equal status in the dreams of an average Indian of the above mentioned age group. Mountains or beaches? Forests or seas? Weed or .... well both places have there own perks and both have there path to straight Nirvana.

Last December, our travel sense took a crack on these unimaginably hard choices and we started our journey: How we reached Kasol .

The "small" trek of 9 KMs started from Jari to Somaroopa. Initially we were so tired of sitting down in the bus for last 26 hours that it was probably the best decision in our minds at that time to take the walking stroll towards the

camp (later it was actually turned otherwise). Forgetting the initial hardships (please read: How we reached Kasol ) we were up for a fresh start, the way was truly beautiful and our stomachs were full. The starting trek was downhill and we were carrying a truckload of stuff with us and like the general people of our age we overestimated our walking capabilities(we like to boast our trekking skills).

By the time we reached Malana(probably half the journey), we were already out of breath. The morning cold and weight on the shoulders was taking the toll and we took our first break. The beauty of the spot made everything worthwhile. River, the air , the forest and the trees, everything was live out a poets imagination. We met some super friendly people on the way, we took some puffs from the Malana cream(a mistake!!, Straight road became a treacherous path after that. Our loyal legs gave into the Malana high and we walked towards our camps with snail speed. Skipping the gory details of our adventure(I can elaborate, but i will probably take more space than i am willing to write, you can message me if Interested) By the time we covered the distance it was high noon and our bodies crying out of pain.

Malana Chills

We comforted ourselves by seeing lively campsites and ultra-comfortable camps. We kept our bags inside, and since we were already out of the mood to walk anymore took a bus straight to Manikaran.

Gurudwara: Manikaran Sahab

It is a famed pilgrim for both Hindus and Sikhs, and backpackers come here to skip the cold and take a dip into the super hot springs(literal 100 degrees!). We took the bath and we were "Re"-fresh. It was time to explore the local Kasol and make some new friends on the way.

We had some of the most amazing and weird food experiences there, may be it was the remnant effect of the Malana Smoke or the Sulphur fumes from the hot springs our heads were still heavy with a small leg spin. Exploring Kasol was fun, even more was the fun to travel back to our camps. The buses were overflowing with a mix of local people and lousy backpackers(like us!). We made some friends who were staying near our camps and a quick late evening early night party was planned between the seven of us.

The party started at 9 and (there is a lot of embarrassment involved in between) and I woke up in our camp at 3 in the morning shivering at -9 degrees outside without blanket and beside me was my friend in even worse state sitting and shivering. The third was dreaming happily with all the blankets of our camps on him(Laugh!).

How we tripped in Kasol and How we tripped from the ladder!!

We started our trip with the shabby and quick Haryana Roadways from Jaipur to Delhi, since we were all acclaimed travel experts(laughter here and there) we thought that travel time to reach Delhi would be under 7 hours(with all the expertise of google maps and not taking into the account the usual Delhi traffic).

This experience was actually planned by us to close a rather stressful year but since the year did not end and the stars were not in our favor(obviously) the experience turned out a mirror of our year passing(Full of downs and ups).

Our per-booked bus from Delhi to Bhunter was at 7.05 pm and we reached the bus stand at 7.30 pm and missed the bus by “a slight margin”. We were backed into a corner and because of the above reasons(our assumed expertise in travel) our ego was not ready to pay extra for the tickets already booked. We called the bus driver and noted down the nearest point the bus would stop for a “loo-break” and we were pumped enough(since it was only the beginning) to go after a Roadways bus in the next roadways bus to catch it.

Ending your year in Haryana Roadways

Believe it or not, but we caught the bus by 11.30 pm and majestically shivered through rest of the journey with the occasional relief cups of tea without any further adventures for the night. We got down at Jari, a small and beautiful place near Kasol. And had a huge breakfast.

Our stomachs were full with breakfast and tea(lots of it) we wanted to stretch our legs and thus we started our 7 Kms trek towards our camping ground.