Malana – Epicenter of wild cannabis and an eccentric tribe

Tripoto
Photo of Malana – Epicenter of wild cannabis and an eccentric tribe 1/6 by Sree Dev
Photo of Malana – Epicenter of wild cannabis and an eccentric tribe 2/6 by Sree Dev
Photo of Malana – Epicenter of wild cannabis and an eccentric tribe 3/6 by Sree Dev
Photo of Malana – Epicenter of wild cannabis and an eccentric tribe 4/6 by Sree Dev
Photo of Malana – Epicenter of wild cannabis and an eccentric tribe 5/6 by Sree Dev
Photo of Malana – Epicenter of wild cannabis and an eccentric tribe 6/6 by Sree Dev

After reaching Kasol we were planning to trek to Kheerganga on the second day but unfortunately we got up too late next day. Then we went to cafe Bhoj to have our breakfast. It took around 2 hours to get what we have ordered by that time it was around 1 O clock which was too late for Khirganga. So we came back to our room and inquired our host for the places near by. He told us about Malana. Malana was not a new strory to me but when he started describing this place it was getting interesting making us curious to know more about the place and that curiosity took us to this village with magical surprises. 

Malana is a strange village which is located 21 km away from Kasol towards the Manikaran side. After one hour of bumping drive through the unpaved and steep roads we reached the entrance of Malana trek. From there anyone can see a spectacular view of the village and the route which takes you to the village crossing the Parvathi river. From the trek entrance there is about 1-1.5 hours of trek to reach the main village of Malana. 

It's an exhausting trek but the broad steps makes it little easier. Along side of this route there are terraced plantations of wild cannabis from which they make the famous Charas (Hash) “Malana cream”. Its the most expensive and purest form of hash in whole Parvathi valley in fact the whole country. It cost around Rs 2500-3000 for 10 gms. Gobsmackingly it is the main business of this village and it isn't illegal either. 

The whole village enjoys a spectacular vista of deodar forest and snow capped mountains as the backdrop. We even noticed thick strings connecting two mountains and a carrier which was hanging on it. The people in the village transfer their goods through this or they use pony's to carry it all the way up. Malanese were also carrying huge boxes on their back filled with wild cannabis which they further process and make Malana cream out of it.

This village is completely isolated form the rest of the world. Malana is said to be one of the first democracies of the world. The people in the village consider themselves as a higher society and the decedents of Aryans. They won’t allow the tourist to touch them. If any outside the village touchs them then one who touches will be fined with a hefty amount and the villagers have their own ways to purify the one who was touched. We were surprised to watch the malanese keeping a distance when they pass us by. 

On the way to Malana we saw two people having conversation in a fuzzy language. We stopped there to have a tea and in between we asked them the name of their language, then one replied “Hamein bhasha nahi hai”-“we don’t have a language” then they ignored us and continued their conversation. 

The language they use is called “Kanakshi"(according to Wikipedia), the malanese won’t reveal anything about the village or the people in the tribe to anyone from outside. We are complete aliens for them. Still the place is safe enough for anyone to roam around or trek without disturbing their customs. 

The whole village is surrounded with sublime natural beauty. The roar of river Parvathi echo’s between the mountains and fills the atmosphere with intense ecstasy. While we were driving back through the forest, it was around 6 at night. The view was really exotic giving us hallucinations on the rocks. Some rocks are projected out resembling King kong, Wolf head and more which looks scary. 

We missed to stay one night at this place. Malana is a perfect place to sit, relax, puff and do absolutely nothing. Its surprising that such customs and tribes still exists in our country.Witnessing these strange facts and taboo's makes Malana an unmatchable experience for anyone. 

PS:- If anyone is planning to visit Malana, I would suggest it do it with a one night stay so that you can dig deep into the customs of the place and you can experience the spectacular nightlife of this village. Very less places are there in the main village for the stay  but better get a rental tent form kasol so that you can carry it all the way to Malana and tent their.

This travelogue was first published by Life Improvised .