Lesser known Sethan near Manali

It was the end of January and my crave for snow helped me to choose my next destination. So happy that I made it to Manali.

Travel time from Delhi to Manali is around 14 hours so I booked semi sleeper bus through Paytm after checking review. It was an express bus service based in Noida called Expresso Bus service. It was reasonable, comfortable, provide water, blanket and snacks too. They have a host in the bus to take care of everything properly. Woke up with the beautiful Mountain View & I reached my drop point by 8 am.

Simply amazed to see my camp location by the Beas river side. Crossed beautiful small Bhanu bride and rushed to my camp. I got my camp through couchsurfering and luckily got a separate camp. It was a small wooden camp with a king size bed and one small bed upstairs with attached washroom. They have got all necessary amenities in the camp. Having a cup of coffee by the river side and enjoying sun rays, isn’t it sounds so good ?

After having a heavy breakfast, i started discussing about my list of places around Manali to the camp people just to gather local information. Sethan was on top of my & my camp owner offered his gypsy ride towards it. We left at around 12 noon as advised because of heavy snow on that route. It took around 2 hours to reach Sethan.

Sethan Village which is in Hamta Valley is located about 15 kms from Manali . Surrounded by Dhauladhar ranges, hardly 8-10 houses around. Mostly from Tibet with land permit/granted from the Government of India. It is also the starting point of the popular Hampta Pass trek.

That moment when we were entering sethan was mesmerising, all I can see was snow capped mountains, small houses, farms. Everything was covered in a thick snow. We stop by to the maggi points where i can see hardly 8 to 10 tourist & few birds. It is the only place in India which offers Igoloo house. It is a lesser known destination for snowbound trekking, snowboarding, and skiing.

That moment when we were entering sethan was mesmerising, all I can see was snow capped mountains, small houses, farms. Everything was covered in a thick snow. We stop by to the maggi points where i can see hardly 8 to 10 tourist & few birds. It is the only place in India which offers Igoloo house. It is a lesser known destination for snowbound trekking, snowboarding, and skiing.

We reached Pandu lake known as Pandu ropa which means 'Rice fields of the Pandavas' in a local language. I can’t see anything except frozen lake with flags around, even board was almost covered so you can imagine the amount of snow there. It is believed that Pandus stayed at this place during their Vanvas. They also used a part of the land to grow crops & still can see crops during seasons.

We stopped at one very famous maggi point run by a cute couple who offered local meat curry & some local wine. They also offer maggi, rajma chawal & kadhi chawal. I had a good time with them and heard lot of stories about travelers. I said good bye to them with a promise to come back again.

I took lot of pictures. We drove till Allain Duhangan hydropower project as it was only allowed till that point & took turn back to Manali. It was a very memorable day for me where i have seen lot of snow, clicked so many pictures had local wine & saw shepherd.

So if you are looking for a peaceful place to just sit back and relax. Sethan is one of the best place to visit near Manali.

Cheers !!!

XOXO :)

Notes :

How to reach Manali from Delhi : By Bus, Volvo/Ordinary cost between INR 700 to 1100

How to reach Sethan from Manali : Only local Taxi are allowed to enter in winter season (subject to change) cost between INR 500 to 1000 per head

Stay : The Himalayan mountaineer camp near bhanu pul. Cost INR 500 to 1000 per head

Best time to visit Sethan: Except rainy season

Comment below to ask any queries and let me know your experience as well