10th October: 10:00 AM- Reached Bhuntar We got down at Bhuntar, 6Km before Kullu and strolled down the bylanes of the market next to bus station. After having breakfast and asking around for the bus that would take us to Kasol, we were sitting in narrower rickity version of our previous bus. Decorated with all the antics of a bride and blazing local music the bus took us into the valley. The mountains on the sides we noticed were like walls, closing in as the bus moved deeper into the valley. The many villagers on the bus were only too happy to strike conversations about the life in the hills. After about an Hour we passed Malana, the famous village known for Malana cream and the inhabitants who claim to be decendants of Alexander the Great.
10th October: 2:15 PM- Reached Kasol We reached Kasol, after a two hour journey from Bhuntar. Divided to Old and New Kasol by a Bridge, Kasol felt a tad bit too quiet in after the hullaballoo of the bus. But the silence was soon taken over by trance music emanating from the many cafes that lined the lanes of Kasol. After looking around the town and walking up and down a stream of Parvati we decided to check into the Alpine Resort, which was right beside the River, and a little away from the Main road. After refreshing and keeping our bags, we decided that the seventeen hour journey did call for a power nap. In the evening we woke up to a cool breeze blowing by the river, and multiple rounds of chai as the conversations with people staying at the resort started spooling and switched to and fro between the enormity of the hills and our own little lives.
Trail from Kasol. 20-30 Minute walk. Climb down to the river for the Hot spring right after crossing the bridge from Kasol. 11th October: Getting around Kasol Next morning we woke up at 7 and with packaged food and some fruits in our bags decided to take the trails around Kasol. The first one led us from back of the German Bakery (oh, the truffles!), by the stream that flows through Kasol and into an open field. This is where the much talked about Trance festivals happen, though when we walked past through it was completely clear with hardly one or two people strolling down the little field, as we moved further in, the greens got greener as the it started to drizzle, completely unprepared we put our caps on and kept walking down the trail the banks of the stream, lush with mosses and algae. After taking a quick dip (and almost freezing) we moved further in, finding it hard to take in so much of nature all at once, we halted further upstream and stared at the mountains (typical, we know.) as we kept moving further away from the village, the variety and colors of birds went on increasing. Unfortunately, lacking a telephoto and the know-how of bord watching, we merely awed at their beauty and after around 11:00 decided to turn back and after lunch at Kasol took the trail towards the Chhalal. Meeting a Sadhu by a hot water spring on our way to Chhalal we decided to accompany him into his cave which was surprisingly warm (courtesy: hot water spring). We reached Chhalal around 20-30minutes later and walked down to Kasol through the main road after pit-stopping for Chai. We stayed up late into the night following Dinner and Bon Fire by the River at the hotel.
12th October- Towards Tosh From Kasol we took the 9 o'clock bus to Manikaran and from there on to Tosh via Barshaini which was another hour away.
From Barshaini one can either take a shared taxi to Tosh or walk, which takes around 45 minutes. Turning left from the Pulga Hydro project, one can spot Tosh, one of the last villages on this side of the Valley. We took a shared cab with some students who were from Delhi too. Reaching Tosh, we weren't met by a breath of fresh air, the village was full of cowdung. Maneuvering as much as we could we checked into a hotel on the outskirts of the village. Dumping our bags, we immediately set out to go around the area and visited a little waterfall around a km from Tosh and walked further up the hill, had tea at a shack and walked back as the sun set over the snowcapped mountains. Stay at : Sun Valley Hotel. Decent Hotel with attached bath rooms available at a budget rate of 250 INR a night.
13th October- 9:00 from Tosh
We started our Journey back to Delhi from Tosh and walked down to Barshaini, took the bus down to Kasol, had breakfast and waited for the ordinary HRTC bus to Delhi, which only runs once in a day, starting from Manikaran. 13:00- Bus from Kasol to Delhi
' fill='%23359391'%3e %3cpath d='M46.1538462%2c43.5714286 L41.5%2c50 L36.8461538%2c43.5714286 L36.8670256%2c43.5714286 C36.3173077%2c42.7142857 36%2c41.6851429 36%2c40.5714286 C36%2c37.4854286 38.4535641%2c35 41.5%2c35 C44.5464359%2c35 47%2c37.4854286 47%2c40.5714286 C47%2c41.6851429 46.6826923%2c42.7142857 46.1329744%2c43.5714286 L46.1538462%2c43.5714286 Z M41.4294872%2c39 C40.6150641%2c39 39.9487179%2c39.675 39.9487179%2c40.5 C39.9487179%2c41.325 40.6150641%2c42 41.4294872%2c42 C42.2439103%2c42 42.9102564%2c41.325 42.9102564%2c40.5 C42.9102564%2c39.675 42.2439103%2c39 41.4294872%2c39 L41.4294872%2c39 Z' id='Location-white'%3e%3c/path%3e %3c/g%3e %3c/svg%3e)
