A Solo Trip to Himachal : Lost in The Himalayas( 2 weeks itinerary)

Overnight stay in Chandigarh

Chandigarh to Shimla by bus (5-6 hours journey).

Due to heavy snow it took around 3-4 hours to get to the homestay I booked the day before my arrival. I am so grateful that I found that homestay, named Hasta la Vista. The hospitality I received was great, Rajesh uncle and aunty treated me like family and, the food was absolutely the best. (Contact details mentioned at the end)

Due to snow most of the tourist spots were closed that day so I stayed in my room and enjoyed the stunning views from balcony. It was my first time seeing snow so I was already excited just to be there.

Tara Devi Temple:

A quite and peaceful place

Christ Church

Kufri:

Best for fun activities, you can pay for a package which will cost you around INR 2000 and Includes all the activities that are available there like skiing, horse riding along with boots and snow dress.

I went there only to try bungee jumping, but they too offer packages so I decided to go for the 700 package that lets you do any 5 activities such as valley crossing, rock climbing, rope net climbing, reverse bungee jumping etc).

Another peaceful and quiet place. Best known for the giant (108 feet) statue of Lord Hanuman. You will also spot a lot of monkeys there, they might actually snatch your stuff away and, return it only if you give them food, which was quite entertaining to watch ಡ ͜ ʖ ಡ

Craignano Nature Park

Full of tranquility, full of pine and oak trees.

Naldehra

You can take a horse ride to cover all the spots within 1-2 hours

On the way to Dharmshala

Jawala Ji Temple

You can witness the Eternal Flames that have been burning since God knows when, there is ice cold water right below the flame, no fuel is used to light the fire, seems kinda like magic. (Photography not allowed inside)

Bhagsunag Waterfall and Bhagsunath Temple

Serene environment, a perfect place for peace lovers.

All the monasteries in McLeodganj were close due to covid19

Surrounded by nature, a nice place for camping, hiking

Beautiful and quite place with lots and lots of pine trees lined up. Ideal for picnic and nature walks

On the way to Palampur I did Paragliding, it costed me INR 2500 but it wasn't at all worth the cost, the view was great, but it wasn't very high and it lasted like only for 5 minutes. So I highly recommend if you plan to do Paragliding do it in Kullu or Solang.

I was a bit disappointed at first, but ended up enjoying my time there. It was a very quiet place, full of trees and a lot of birds. Saurabh Van Vihar is dedicated to Indian Army martyr Capt. Saurabh Kalia, who lost his life during the Kargil War.

Manali sightseeing

Hadimba Devi Temple and Van Bihar

I loved the architecture of the Mandir, the Doongri Van Vihar is a perfect place to take a walk alone or with friends and family and get close to nature

I was thinking of skipping Solang as I had already seen enough snow, but thank God I didn't, cause the views were totally different and breathtaking, the mountains seem much closer in Solang. The only thing I didn't like was the crowd.

You can take a motorbike there to the top, there is a Shiva temple there, you can also try Zipline valley crossing, Paragliding, horse riding, yak riding there

To Kasol

On the way I did rafting, I had to pay a bit more as I was doing it alone but, I enjoyed it a lot more than expected so spending the extra wasn't in vain.

The architecture of the hotel is beautiful. You can actually book rooms there, wish I had known that earlier

A must visit place. It is a pilgrimage centre for both Hindus and Sikhs. The area is mostly known for its hot springs[and its beautiful landscape.

The Mandir was quite beautiful! There were a lot of paintings of Hindu Gods and goddesses which gives the place a unique look

The Parvati River, which flows through the Parvati Valley makes Kasol even more mesmerizing! I loved how it felt to be there, I could easily sit by the river for hours, but I already had my return tickets booked so didn't have a choice ಥ‿ಥ

It was simple yet beautiful, and peaceful, luckily the place was not crowded at all when I reached there. There were only locals cleaning up the place.

Club House

A nice place to eat , shop, try fun activities like river crossing

or simply enjoy your time by the beas river

This used to be the residence of Nicholas Roerich. Majority of his paintings were inspired by the Himalayas. The artist's private rooms have been preserved in the upper floor of the museum.