Himachal Pradesh (Parvati Valley)My Childhood Dream to Hold the Snow in my Bare Hands fulfilled.

Helo guys! Welcome to a New Blog in this New year 2020. And this blog is about my Experience regarding the Parvati valley journey, the budget & Itinerary details also.

So Where should I start with! Yesss. 'The Snow' the thing which excited me more from decades😅. It was my dream to go to those snow fall places and hold the snow and play with it but I never got a chance to do so. But I don't know why but in this new year I just got something in my head and It strikes so hard that to made me fix, "This is the time You Idiot"😄. And so on January 2nd I Started thinking about the trip and asked permission in my home as I was the only kid, my parents are always concerned about my safety and slowly they have accepted it. And then it's time to ask leave from my superiors in office🙄 and luckily it was granted very easily and then on January 7th the flights are booked and it's all set for a 'Solo Trip' The state of hills - Himachal Pradesh ❤️.

My journey started from TIRUPATHI on 29th January and My flight to Delhi is at 12:10 Am from Chennai on 30th January. So 30th was my Actual start date of Trip. It was my 1st visit to the Chennai Airport and guess what my flight is leaving from Gate no 1 too 😅.

The Adventure started from There itself because my flight will reach Delhi by 3Am if it's on right time and my next flight from Delhi- Chandigarh is at 5 Am. I am a bit worried, actually not a bit I am too much worried 😂 because  if I miss the flight I am gonna miss the other flight from chandigarh-kullu also and then the trip is gonna be a complete mess. Luck helped me a lot in this trip(Remember this point 😁). Somehow I reached at 2:30 Am itself to Delhi airport and with a smooth and fast check in process I am on time to my next flight to Chandigarh . So it took hardly 25 minutes to Chandigarh and reached there by 6:30 Am. And then comes the delays in Chandigarh. My flight to Kullu is late by nealy 2 hours. Started at 11:00Am which was supposed to start at 9:30am. And so reached Kullu(Bhuntar) Airport by 11:45 and let me tell you about this flight especially. The View of Snow capped mountains from this Aircraft is just Surreal.😍 If u have budget,do take this flight and just Enjoy it (Tip: Book/ Ask for a seat only on the right side row of this Flight). After coming out from this small and Cute Airport I am accompanied by locals in their car to Bhuntar Bus Stop.

I am going to Visit A remote village named Kalga in Parvati valley which is near to kheerganga base camp.
Bhuntar is the Major point where Road Diverts to Parvati Valley (Kasol, Manikaran, Malana, Bharshaini,Tosh, Kalga) Villages. Usually the buses run till Bharshaini as it snowed recently when I arrived the buses are running till Manikaran. So they are private buses and they have charged me 70Rs from Bhuntar - Manikaran. The journey time will be around 2 and half hours through narrow roads and High cliffs . After reaching Manikaran they have Cab service which will Charge u around 500-700 rupees. So if you are more in number and Sharing the lesser the price for an individual. From Manikaran it will be around 30-45 minutes journey for Bharshaini Dam. If you want to stay in Bharshaini there are many homestays and cottages and if you are interested to stay in Tosh village or Kalga Village ask them to drop you at the Hydro Power project and path to left leads to Tosh Village and the path to right leads you to Kalga Village.

In this Ride from Manikaran I have started to see snow on the roads itself and it increased my excitement and those Mountains Covered with snow gave me a glimpse of the Vikendi Map of Pubg Game😅. So after getting down from the cab at the Hydro power project I have started moving right and Then I have found that now I have to trek a mountain to reach Kalga Village as there was no roads to reach this Village and that hill is fully covered with knee height snow. Then started the real Adventure. I have slipped in the first step itself, but never mind I have started moving further with all my excitement in my eyes and with great will power to Explore and Finally I have done it in 1 hour of Many Hurdles.

What I have seen over there is amazing. Very minimal houses like 20-30 And Beautiful construed with wood to be warm inside, less People roaming, Less Tourists, but but but more snow🥰. So it was Around 4Pm and I have moved to my cottage and it costed me 500 rupees for a night. On the Way up I came across an auspicious event😅. I am holding snow in my hands for the first time in my life and tears shedded in my eyes it was that moment which I have dreamt of from many years and it made me emotional. So After going to room with all the empty stomach I have told my host to make me Egg Maggie and it was Ready in 10 minutes and that iconic Maggie and Snow Mountains Combination Happened. And I have to tell you something about the food here. The food will be some what costly here and I totally agree with that cost beacuse of the Difficulty in bringing the gas and other food Essentials over to that place is worth giving them that extra cost. Don't even hesitate or think about the cost. Hot hot food in that Shivering climate is worth Diamonds 😁. Slowly the temperature started to decrease as its getting darker. And in my case it was phenomenal change in temperature beacuse I have started  with 28° in Chennai, 12° in delhi 9° In Chandigarh and finally it was -13°C that night in Kalga Village (Himachal Pradesh)😁. Just crazyyy! Right!.

After experiencing the lowest temperature in my life at night I'm waiting for the Golden Sunrise, wake up early with all the difficulty and sitting in the balcony in that cold climate and watching those Himalayas turn To Gold color😍. After having a minimal breakfast I have headed outside for a photo session 😅 and spent the rest of the Day roaming around the village, talking with locals and other fellow travelers. I have found that many are from south India itself. And after having lunch I thought of moving to Manikaran and spend the night over there. So at 3 Pm I have started my Descent and it's the toughest part of the Trek. We have to be very careful with the Descent in Snow! Just a wrong step might make u fell into a No man place. After completing the Descent, spoke a few words with the Army Cadets at Hydro power project about their life over there and then I have continued my trail to Bharshaini Village, Fortunately I hitchiked to Manikaran with some locals who gave me a ride and by 6Pm I have rented a room in Manikaran. It costed me 500Rs. I took a room near to bus stand as I have to leave early in the morning to Shimla. So in Manikaran you can try to stay in Manikaran Gurudwara also, but it's some what away from busstand. And yeah Manikaran is famous for its Gurudwara and Natural hot water springs. Spent the night by visitng Gurudwara and Walking around the streets and had a great sleep in my warm room with temperatures around -3°C that night.

It's another Morning in Himalayas and today it's gonna be a Travel day. Hopped the First bus at 7 Am to Kulu and reached there by 9:30Am (85Rs). Loved the Himachal road Transportation electrical buses which have 0% carbon emissions. And from there I have catched the bus to Mandi which costed me 240Rs and reached there by 12:30. Without a break I have hopped onto the bus which is ready to leave for shimla and it costed around 300 rupees for a 6 hour journey. So while in the Journey I am taking with the conductor about the status of snow in Shimla and he said u can't find it in the City but go to Higher places u can find it. So I was bit low that tomorrow is gonna be my last day in the trip and I haven't experienced Live snow fall☹️. And at 5:30Pm I have seen the board "Welcome to Shimla" and just after 5 mins it Started to Rain and Then slowly it Turned to Ice drops and then the conductor came to me saying
"Yelo Bhai , snow chahiye thana thereko ,Lelo abhi start hogaya snow fall, abhi bus bhi rukhjayaega aur paydhal chalna padta hy, majha karlo snow mei"😂.

So what he Is saying is - you wanted snow right? Here it comes. The snow fall started now itself and bus will be stopped very soon as it will be dangerous going on snow filled roads and you have to walk in that snow fall to your stay, enjoy the snow😅.

And as he said earlier the bus stopped because of heavy snow fall and I have to walk in that snowfall for 2 hours to reach my hostel(Thira shimla).
After all it was my first snow fall of my life and didn't even thought of the distance I have to walk, just enjoying myself like a small kid in that snow went on by asking directions from the local people.
Reached my stay by 8Pm and hostels are always beautiful to stay, met a bunch of awesome people over there, had a good amount of conversations over the Bonfire and slowly went into the sleep by 11Pm.

A fresh Day in shimla. Woke up around 8Am after a hectic Journey yesterday and went out searching for the street food. After filling my tummy I have tried to cover all the major places in Shimla. The Mall road, The Ridge with beautiful view of Himalayas. And Jakhoo temple which we have to take a Cable Car ride which costs you 400Rs for two way. It's worth the view and the time saved. After going to the Jakhoo hill, Keep ur belongings sealed up and take care of ur mobiles as there will be a lot of mischievous Monkeys😄 at this Hanuman Temple. Spent an hour over there and Returned back to my stay as I have to catch the Toy train from Shimla to Chandigarh (Kalka) in afternoon.

Slowly my Fellow Travelers in hostel also started to checkout and so does me and walked to railway station asking directions from the locals which took me around 20 minutes to reach. My Ride "Himdarshan express " is at 3:30Pm the speciality of this train is it has all the vistadome coaches which has glass windows on the roof and 180° rotatable seats for best views. And I have explored the cute railway station of shimla for half an hour and then it started waving good bye to Shimla. And belive the train journey is so magical. That ride though the Snow filled tracks and hill view is just unbelievable. You can Book these tickets easily from IRCTC app or website or at any Railway station near to you. As my Coach is Vistadome with Executive chair car it costed me 600Rs. You have other options in passenger trains and other express trains starting from 25Rs unreserved fare and varied in 40,80,140,240,400,600 Rs. So budget is never a concern. If u want to see snow while in the journey try to plan in the months of December- February. 5 and hours of pure joy ride with the Narrow gauge Track and retro Coaches spread with 103 Tunnels,912 Curves & 969 Bridges. Kalka Shimla train route is recognised as World Heritage site by UNESCO. So if you are planning to Shimla don't miss it. And My train reached Kalka by 9:30Pm on right time and I have a train to Delhi at 11:50Pm from kalka itself. Boarded the Train and the biggest mistake I have done is not carrying a bed sheet , as I have booked a sleeper class to delhi that journey happened as a nightmare beacuse of those low temperatures and Freezing Air I can't even sleep properly at all. By somehow I survived and reached Delhi in the early morning and Went in search of some history to Mehrauli Archaeological park and spended some ample amount of time over there and headed to Airport by taking the best metroline in our country. Boarded the flight in the evening and Reached my room by late night!. And thus it summed up.

So my trip budget is Around 20000Rs

The flights itself costed me 12000Rs.

If you have time in your hand you can take trains and complete this trip in below 10000Rs itself.

So Money is not a problem every time, it's our mindset which have to be settled. If you come out of your comfort zone you can complete the trip way better in your Budget!.

I always Strive to show everything like a virtual Journey to my friend's wishing they might also Inspire to Travel. Travel brings in so much of positivity and changes the way we live. So keep traveling no matter to a short distance or a long Distance Trip, just Travel.❤️ And also do Try Solo Traveling😉