Tranquility of Nature : Parvati Valley

"In the end, we only regret the adventure we did not take."

The Himalayas. The Range of Mountains that houses the highest peaks and the most terrific ones in the whole World.

For us Indians, it has been quite a lucky charm that all the ranges are visible from different parts of the country. One of these parts is Himachal Pradesh.

We have been planning for a Himachal Trip for quite a long time. At last we could cover some parts in this expedition, which follows.

For the past few years, Kasol has become the favourite destination for India's youth for all the right reasons. We were no different but at the same time we wanted to take the road less traveled. So we planned for Kalgha and Tosh - which were pretty near to Kasol but closer to nature and less crowded.

When we started planning for the trip we had very little information about Kalgha except this is a halt for Kheerganga trek. We were not in the mood for a long and hectic trek, so we planned that way.

(Also, the ridge where the trekkers usually camp, is at a huge risk due to the construction of Parvati Dam, which needs heavy drilling. This has made the soil pretty disintegrated and risky for a campsite.)

Starting the trip:

We took a morning flight from Kolkata to Delhi and waited within the airport as we had our HRTC bus from ISBT to Bhuntar in the evening.(It was a vistara flight, and the in-flight breakfast really helped.) After we had our late lunch in the airport we took Delhi airport metro and reached ISBT within an hour. The volvo bus left around 7 pm and we thought we will have our dinner where the bus will stop. Please don't make this mistake, because the bus stopped at a very shoddy and unfairly priced place where we could barely eat. We reached Bhuntar around 8 am the next day. Later we got to know that most of the route buses will do this unapologetically.

Tip : Pack your dinner from ISBT itself. There are limited but better choices that’ll suffice. Choose dry food items like cakes, cookies, sandwiches etc. Also, some roti-sabji combinations are available at fair price at ISBT.

Headed to Kalgha:

From Bhuntar, we took a local bus to Manikaran. The road was bumpy and beautiful at the same time. You can get a direct bus to Barshaini from Bhuntar which will save some bucks, but we missed it. After reaching Manikaran around 11 am, don't forget to eat yummy parathas from the local dhabas. After refuelling ourselves we started looking for a car to Barshaini. After waiting for a while finally we got a car and we got a co-passenger too to share the car. We reached Barshaini in an hour and after crossing the dam we started trekking towards Kalgha. If you are not confident enough, take a porter from Barshaini only. We had to take one midway. After trekking for around an hour and asking multiple persons for directions, we finally reached our accommodation, Lost and Found Galactic House in Kalgha.

Experience in Kalgha:

After a journey of roughly 35 hours, when we saw the virgin beauty of a Himalayan village, we just forgot all our exhaustion. We stayed in a wooden house which didn't have electricity on that day due to rain. That was a new experience altogether. Our host Anirudh, arranged for some hot soup and pasta for our lunch and we passed over after lunch. On getting up, we just enjoyed the full moon night sky and absolute silence around us over some genuine Parvati Valley Cream. Next day, we went to a nearby Israeli cafe which had vibrant decoration and people as well. As many foreigners come here, you will get good continental food in these cafes, which is simple, tasty and healthy at the same time. After roaming around in the village for some time, we packed our bags and left for our next destination.

Experiencing Tosh:

After coming down to Barshaini, we took a shared cab to Tosh and rain had already started. As soon as we got down and entered Tosh, it was raining vigorously. After an hour and an adventurous trek, we reached our destination Hilltop Tosh Guest House. It had a balcony with a view of the Himalayan range on one side and there was a fountain and cliff on the other side. As we were completely drenched in rain, we had to take a shower with cold water in the afternoon. With chattering teeths, we reached the cafe of Hilltop Guest House. After having rum with hot water, we realised, the cafe had a marvellous view of the mountains. Moreover, they served some amazing foods like, Chicken Shipudim and hash brownies. For gastrophilists like us, Hilltop Guest House won our hearts with such appetizing food and phenomenal snowscape. Some enthusiastic travellers were jamming in the cafe. We spent our evening enjoying the ambience. There was another famous food joint named Pink Floyd Cafe, which was just next to our place, due to shortage of time we were unable to visit that one.

Depart from Parvati Valley:

Next morning, after having our breakfast we appreciated the scenery for a bit, and finally bade adieu to Parvati Valley and trekked down to the exit of Tosh village. On the way, you will get many german cafes, do not forget to try the pastries. We packed chocolate and nutella croissants and that was our lunch on the bus. We took a cab from Tosh to Barshaini and another one for Manikaran. With a heavy heart, we left this Shangri-La but Parvati Valley will always remain in our hearts for its simplicity and charm.

Itinerary:

Day 1:

Morning Flight Kolkata → Delhi

Bus ISBT Kashmiri Gate, Delhi → Bhuntar(480Km)

[HRTC Himsuta Volvo Bus - Rs.1500 Per Person. Book Here]

Day 2:

Bus Bhuntar → Manikaran(34Km)

[HRTC Local Bus - Rs. 150 Per Person]

Shared cab Manikaran → Barshaini(13Km)

[Local Cab - Rs.700 whole]

Trek to Kalgha

Stay at Kalgha [Lost and Found Galactic House]

[Airbnb Stay Rs.800 Per night Double Bedded Room ]

Day 3:

Explore Kalgha

Trek Kalgha→ Barshaini

Shared cab Barshaini → Tosh

[Local Cab - Rs.300 Whole]

Trek to Tosh village

Stay at Tosh [Hilltop Guest House]

[Booked via Call+Transfer. Rs. 800 per night Double Bedded room.]

Day 4:

Trek to Tosh entry

Cab : Tosh → Barshaini

Cab : Barshaini → Manikaran

This is the Map of the above trip :

P.S. This was the part of the Himachal Trip(9 Days) we did as nomadics. But the later part was somewhat conventional with a little twist. Stay tuned for that episode as well !

For any information reach us over Email.