So here it is, I do not have an idea but for whatever reasons of its own, I had a lot of presumptions about the place called Manali and I always felt that this place was a just a commercial hill station where only touristy honeymooners come.
Nevertheless, delayed planning left us with no option but to embark for Old Manali for the long weekend of August. We three booked our trip with Travel Affairs and Ventilator Village and started from Delhi on Friday night. The group of jolly people made the journey too much fun and the next day we were at Old Manali.
One of the more charming parts of Manali where the scenery, hospitality, and food is all to die for is Old Manali. Our host greeted us with a very warm traditional welcome and after a delicious lunch we headed for ATV ride arranged for us by our host. The weather was charming and no later it started raining. We took a stroll to Hidimba Devi Temple in the rain and drenched ourselves in the ultimate bliss.
Old Manali, in its old rustic charm, have so many quaint little cafes and street shops with the river Beas flowing alongside. We hoped into one of such café at the riverfront, the scent of the nature, the sound of the river and the good music rejuvenated my senses. We had a drink or two and walked back to our stay.
Next day morning, we again went to Hidimba Devi Temple and the architecture of the temple is worth a watch. Old wooden architecture amidst huge, tall cedar trees was a sight to behold. Post that we started for Jogni Falls. The whole purpose of the trip was to experience the non-commercial Manali.
The trail to the Jogni Falls is very gradual and never gets tiring. The peace and the quiet is broken only by the chirping of a bird or by the sound of water gushing through a small rivulet.
We reached Jogni Falls and could not wait to refresh ourselves in the water coming from high mountains.
After bathing for good one hour we headed back to Vashista, which is small village and relief from the jostling crowds of Manali. We walked through the apple orchards and small villages to reach the main market of Vashista.
There is a modest but impressive temple dedicated to Vashist Muni in the main market.
We had our lunch in one of the eating joint here and headed back to our stay for the night.
Our stay for the night was a riverside camp in Naggar hardly 100m away from the swift Beas river.
We sat around Bonfire, had long chats, listened to good music and danced until it started raining. And it was not the end of the night, the fresh mountain air, raindrops and the excitement tempts you to stay back and forget the world you came from. We spent the rest of night singing and laughing.
The next day we were going to explore a virgin waterfall uphill the Naggar village.
The walk to the waterfall was full with the views of the Himalayas which were breath-taking and forced me to stop and gasp at them.
Soon we heard the thunder sound of the water falling on the rocks. It was really an untouched place hidden in the jungle and to our surprise it was only our group to enjoy this place. We spent a good time at the fall and started our trek back to our camp site.
It was our last night in this beautiful places and it was time for a dj-party.
We danced till the time it was on and then had some ghost story telling in a cozy tent.
Next day morning, we packed for our journey back and that’s it, it was our goodbye to this amazing, colourful and soulful place. I learnt from the trip that perceptions are not always right, you need to go out and experience by yourself. Now, Manali is on the list and I wish to visit this place again :)
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