Revisiting Kasol – Travel Diaries

Looking back to my memories, traveling to Kasol gave me one of the best experiences in life. Biking to tosh, random stay, eating at Manikaran Sahib and updating ourselves to the fact that Kasol is a paradise for Israelis. The great man once said,

Lost time is never found again.
Benjamin Franklin.

The above quote set the correct example about me. I am having the same feeling about time because of global pandemic and lockdown all around. All I am thinking about is the travel I had in the last few years. And this stands out as one of my first and most cherished adventures.

We were shifted to Delhi NCR from Bangalore in 2015, I was working in Gurgaon and my girlfriend was in Noida. To rejuvenate ourselves we were looking for a place to travel. The new workplace and the new city took us around 3 months to adjust.

We decided to just let it go on that Friday, and booked a bus for that evening only. And that’s how we embarked on a journey to our adventures ride to Kasol.

We left on Friday evening and boarded our bus to Bhuntar from New Delhi. We reached Bhuntar the next morning by 10 am where we mingled up with Japanese. They can’t speak English and we don’t understand Japanese. Somehow we managed to get a Jeep to Kasol, we rented it out for ourselves for 100 bucks each. The taxi dropped us near the old bridge of Kasol.

Hotel

Since we haven’t booked any hotel in Kasol. We were looking like a fool and we started walking down the road to Manikaran Sahib. The road was showing no signs of the hotel. It was shining bright and the fresh breeze coming from the Parvati River was so purifying to our soul.

But soon our prayers were answered; we found a hotel which cost us 400 per night. We had that dinner which was costlier than the hotel room. The hotel name was “Hotel Sun ‘N’ Wind, kasol”. It is used to be way cooler back then, I am not sure how it turns out to be, you can checkout Google reviews as of now.

Day 1: Manikaran Sahib

After taking bath and unwinding ourselves we went to explore Kasol.

Taking a walk on the Kasol Manikaran road was a fresh breath, the sound of the Parvati river was astonishing and then there it was – The Manikaran Sahib. Manikaran Sahib is one of the most revered Gurudwaras of Sikhs. We had lunch at Gurudwara only and ate fresh Kadhi with Roti.

We washed our utensils there and went on to explore the Gurudwara.

The peace at Gurudwara is something you won’t forget till your death. The more we walk inside the Gurudwara the more surprises were there waiting for us, we saw hot springs and geysers there. The back of the Gurudwara has a pool and a way to Parvati river, we stood at the banks of the river and watched the river flowing for hours.

We hired a dirt bike near our hotel room. The bike fits the purpose of exploring, we took the bike around the city and markets where we had local snacks.

During the night we open up our wine and ate Chowmeins made by our hotel restaurant, the food was okayish.

parvati-valley Though Gem — Parvati Valley – Though Gem

Day 2: TOSH

I woke up by 7 am in the morning and went for a walk outside and I saw people from Israel were having a morning Jog, they were running down the road like a daily affair.

I asked a local man there and came to know that the people from Israel come to India post their mandatory 2-year army training. They just relax and enjoy the spirituality that India offers them.

After enquiring about the Israelis and how to reach tosh, I came back to my room. I woke up my girl and we both finished our daily morning routines.

Tosh is some 17 odd km’s from Kasol.

The adventure of biking

We reached tosh on our bike in exactly 1 hour, we also stopped at maggie point in between as well. The soothing air and environment were far better than anything else in the world.

The last patch was a straight uneven hill. I put the bike in the first gear and pulled the accelerator to the full to push the bike with both of us. Falling from such a steep hill will only cause bruises and nothing else.

We reached Tosh in the afternoon. We had an awesome Rajma Chawal in the Bob Marley cafe. It was already 4 pm when we started to leave. It was September and the rainy season was still not over yet.

The moment we stepped out of our cafe, it started raining. It was already 5 pm and we were worried about whether the rain will stop or not.

The rain slowed down for a while and then I told her, “let’s reach the hotel before sunset”. There was a steep slope and the clock already ran past 6. Thankfully, the rain stopped for a moment and I instructed her to hold me tight.

Ours was such an act of bravery, people started wishing Good luck to our stupidity.

The moment we reached cemented road, it started raining cats and mice, it was 6:30 pm and the sunlight was fading away. We can hear animal voices and birds chirping. Once the rain slowed down a little, I accelerated my bike and we reached our hotel by 7. Just in time before the sunrise.

EVERGREEN CAFE

Excited by our adventure we dropped the bike and went to the evergreen cafe by 9 pm strdinner, it has the best Israeli food you can have in India, great vibes and awesome hospitality.

We had hummus and Schnitzel there. After that, we went to a German bakery and had a pastry there.

We also brought souvenirs for us in the name of some clothes which are to date the warmest clothes I ever had.

The very next day we took a local bus back to Bhuntar, brought lots of Himachali Green Apples, came back to Delhi the next morning which was Tuesday.

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