Manali, the land of adventure. Yeah I was super excited to reach. This place has always been like a drug. I can visit it any number of times. ????
I reached Manali from McLeod Ganj around 7 AM. As soon as I got down from the bus, I could feel the fresh air fleeting through the beautiful mountains. It was windy and the rain was falling in torrents. I took an auto to the NOMAD’s Den, a backpackers Hostel that is located near the Hadimba temple in old Manali. This was the first official backpacking hostel I have ever stayed in. As I reached, a Hyderabadi guy received me at the entrance. The joy of talking to someone who belongs to your place is simply different in an unknown land. ????
Soon, I just left my luggage and went around the hostel, it was simply beautiful. The hostel was facing the mountains with clouds passing by and it was slightly drizzling. When the drizzle stopped, the view of sun rising from the mountain quietly aired me to a different world. I could feel peace.
The place was surrounded by apple farm. I plucked a couple of apples from the trees inside the hostel and started having it as my breakfast.
This place made me meet many other travelers from various countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Portugal and others mostly from South America. There were two Indians from Delhi.
After the yum breakfast, we all decided to go to VASHISHT.
Vashisht Temple
A group of around 10 people started walking towards VASHISHT. It is a place located in Vashisht village around 3 kms from Manali is renowned for its Hot water spring. It has the Turkish Style bathing system, where the water from this spring is believed to have great healing powers. In that cold weather taking bath in burning hot water was altogether a different experience. The bathing for men and women are separate.
Since I was the only girl in the group, I had to wait for the other people. This made me speak to the othee tourists around.
Soon, after having lunch in a nearby hotel, 4 people from the group decided to go to the Jogni Waterfalls.
Jogni Falls
The Jogni falls trail starts right next to the Vashisht Temple. The localites suggested not to go the falls as it was pouring heavily and the surface was muddy and quite slippery. But the adventure bug within would never stop me from moving ahead. The route started with a lot of dung spread around the trail which was really annoying since it was raining along the way. As we entered the core jungle area, the nature started showering its beauty. The tall huge pine trees across the path were beautiful. The weather was cloudy and chill. It was around 2 kms trek till the base.
We reached the base of the waterfall. A beautiful temple of Jogni Devi right at the base. We went around the temple and could feel the positive vibes.
There was a top point from where the waterfall was visible the closest. Most people didn’t dare to reach that place since the path was slippery with no proper directions.
Me and my travel buddies started trekking towards the waterfalls. It was almost dark. We reached the top, climbed really a scary boulder and then started back.
This has been an amazing experience in Manali.
We walked for almost 6 kms and we found this companion across our way. We all had some good time together discussing about Trump, travel, life, philosophy. I am sure that have been the effect of Alcohol affect :D.
The next day morning I bid ADIUE to all the travel buds in MANALI and moved to my next destination and that was Spiti Valley.
Manali has amazing attractions that are nearby and one can plan for day trips to visit these places. A few places include Rohtang Pass, Solang Valley, Kullu, Brigu Lake and many others. A lot of adventure activities allure the travelers to Manali. I was awestruck to see Paragliding in Rohtang Pass. A few other activities include Rafting, Valley Crossing, Trekking, Camping, Skiing, Zorbing and many more.
If you are in Manali, do not forget to visit the Café’s in Old Manali to experience some amazing music and food amidst the chill mountains.