Budget Hotels in Jibhi

Anyway, I won't be describing anything about the fort, because I never went there. We were short on time and also really tired. We did climb up a huge staircase to find a temple at the end. From this point we had a 6km trek back and forth for the fort which in now way could have been done in 2hrs without any buffer time. But, we always have backup! Instead we trekked a little futher. Found an amazing spot. Put down our belongings and started crushing Hash. My friend mixed some whisky and coke. I took out my dslr and we started photoshooting. Good music on the portable speakers and great company. Felt like the best possible closure to this trip.We left from Jibhi at 4:30pm. Halted for lunch. We tried a local dish called 'Seedu'. The bread was the softest bread ever. Yummy spicy stuffing with some red coloured onion chutney. Looked great and tasted even better. We also ate local pizza which tasted much much better than Dominos or Pizza Hut. Try everything and anything from this place and you won't be disappointed.

It was already 4 o clock in the evening so we decided not to waste time there and we started our drive back to Jibhi homestay. At around 5 o’clock in the evening we reached Jibhi. Prakash suggested that we should see the water fall just 300 m from the place we were staying. He took us to the waterfall. It is a small hike to an isolated place between two big rocks. The water fall is not that big but the place was beautiful. We sat there for so time, I clicked some photos and came back to our rooms.

Jibhi is a small village. There were many foreigners groups who were working for a NGO and came there to attend yoga camps. As soon as I reached Jibhi I called up J D Thakur, the owner of Latoda pinewood Hut. The asked us to wait near the bridge. He came within minutes and guided us to his property. The property was as we expected. It is a wooden hut with 3 rooms. Located at vicinity of a small river One has to walk downhill from main road around 100 m to reach there. The location of the hut was just mind blowing. One can hear the river flowing on the side of the hut. The place was surrounded by tall pine trees. There is a small narrow bridge for pedestrians to cross the river 20ms from the hut.I was really tired after 8 hour long drive. We sat on the bench facing the river outside the hut.JD joined us and asked us about next day’s plan. As we didn’t had much idea about the place. He suggested that we can either cover baloo temple,gada gusaini and bahu in one day or we can visit Sirolsar lake which is approximately 7 kms from Jalori pass. One has to trek to reach the lake as there is no access road for vehicles. He also added that the lake is less crowded. We decided to go for the 2nd option. He then said that Prakash (caretaker) will guide us on the next day. By the time, Prakash brought some onion pakora with masala tea. Pakora was tasty. Prakash arranged for a bonfire. I took out my camera gears and started experimenting. It was genuinely a different feeling sitting under the stars hearing the sound of the flowing river. We went to the narrow bridge and took some pictures. JD called us to inform that the dinner was ready. We had dinner at around 9 pm and went to sleep.

There are two ways to reach the Spiti valley: one via Manali and Rohtang pass, the other via Kullu, Aut, and Jalori pass. If you haven’t seen the beautiful Kinnaur region, then taking the Jalori pass route would be a good idea. Even if you have seen Kinnaur, Jalori pass would still be a better option, in order to avoid the massive traffic chaos at Manali, caused by large numbers of trucks, tourists, and revellers trying to visit the Rohtang pass. A permit is required after crossing Manali to enter the Lahul-Spiti valley, if you go via the Rohtang pass, which is again a long wait in that chaos. So, in any way, head for the Jalori pass.

Himachal continues to be incredibly beautiful, despite being one of the most visited places in India. There are several small towns and villages here that are yet unexplored in the state and Jibhi is one of them. Best accessed via a private vehicle from Aut or Bhuntar, Jibhi is a place that is straight out of your most beautiful dreams, complete with wooden huts by a vivacious river cutting through polished rocks. A hidden paradise!Must do while here: Set up a bonfire by the vociferous river. Visit the Jalori Pass.For more details, read this.