DAY1, DAY2, DAY3: PARVATI VALLEY

Day 1: 23^rd May’2009: Chandigarh – Kasol

My first destination was Kasol, I was misinformed there by a local that Kunzum pass would get open by 1^st June and Rohtang is already open, so I thought of spending a week in Kasol and Old Manali and then cross Kunzum and move towards Kaza. To my dismay, I later found Kunzum closed and eventually had to alter my route.

I was on the highway and hit Ropar road in no time. Early hours of morning looked beautiful, I was dreaming about different places and was excited to reach my destination. On the way, I stopped after Bilaspur to have tea and biscuits. Then again I continued almost non-stop till Pandoh dam, where I had my breakfast. I gave lift to a Russian guy who was in India from last 2 months and didn’t had much money. He told me how he survived on hitchhiking, staying in sikh temples and eating free food outside temples. Well, different breed of people, with language barriers but without any fear, he was surviving in India. Reminded me of an old friend Puneet Sahani, who never hesitates to sleep under the stars when he is on the road.

11:45, read the clock. I took a right from Bhunter and reached KAsol at 12:30pm. An old lady approached me at Kasol bridge and told me to take a room in her guest house known as Lucky guest house which was on KAsol-Manikaran road. It was good and cheap and had amazing views of river, pine trees and mountains so I settled there. Took a bath as it was sunny outside and slept. 

In the evening, I woke up to find myself in the company of 2 guys from Turkey, 1 from Japan, 1 from South Korea and 1 from Israel. Well without an Indian, no group is complete, so I joined them for a tea in the evening just outside my guest house.

Then I had my dinner, sat at the river in night and came back to my room after chatting with the family running the guest house.

DAY 2: SUNDAY – 24^TH MAY’2009: MALANA AND CHALAL

I didn’t slept well and kept thinking about Malana all the night. Next morning, I decided to go to Malana. At 5:30 a.m. when most of the outsiders in Kasol must be sleeping, I reached Dunkhra. It is between Jari and Kasol. 20kms from the cut at Dunkhra, right if coming from Kasol side, and Malana village was visible.
I imagined it as some kind of creepy, hidden village with an active drug mafia. However, it looked like any other village in Himachal. I parked my bike outside police post and started walking towards Malana.
I was greeted by literally everyone I met on the way. In contrast to my imagination of unfriendly villagers there, I found everyone so happy and amiable. In around 1 hour, I reached village Malana on foot, and when I thought I would drink some water I heard an old voice – “Aap shayad yahan pehli baar ayein hain, kuch kaam tha? Kuch chahiye?” I immediately realized what is behind his offering, must be Malana cream.




Malana village was destroyed by a fire a few year back and houses were under construction. Then I met a group of old villagers who mistook me as a foreigner but then I met an amazing local guy – Khime. He took me to his friend Krishna’s place and they rolled a joint there. Khime was in his early twenties and Krishna had 10 kids. They told me about Malana 10 years back, when it was closed for visitors and now. I also got to know about certain things forbidden in their culture and that they never had to report to police and they had an internal body which made their own jurisdiction. I got to know about ‘Devtaas’ of village and that Harijans(lower caste Hindus) and Muslims were not supposed to touch the temple. They called themselves Rajputs and were not supposed to touch or make any contacts with Muslims or Harijans, who formed a majority of work force of peasants there.

Those who don’t know about Malana, let me tell you that Malana cream (a kind of hash) is world famous and is considered of superior quality then weed grown in other parts of world.

I left the village at 1 pm, somehow declining numerous requests from people to stay with them. I met a few other villagers on my way back to Kasol. At 3 pm, I was at my hotel room, sat with the foreigners. The Turkish guys showed us how they can play music from tin, water tank and many waste things there.
In the evening I crossed the river and sat on hot rocks caused by sulfur water, it was relaxing. I met a baba there who told me that he is absconding and is wanted by Delhi police. He must have considered me a harmless guy; I was striking well with the locals. Baba asked me to give him some English whiskey and I bartered a few things with him for whiskey. From there I walked to Chalal, a place famous for nothing but drugs and trance music.

Then again I came back to the river outside my guest house and with a blink of eye many hours passed sitting idle there. It was very beautiful, in the month of May the water was very cold and clean off course. I gazed at stars and then slept, this time a lot of sleep.

On the way to Malana

Malana village

 

In Malana

Day3: Kasol – Tosh

After having my breakfast I walked towards Manikaran, which is 3kms away from Kasol. Manikaran has a sikh temple – Gurudwara and the best part about it was the way people cook their food there. Rice and Dal is being put in a pot, covered and immersed in hot water and rice is cooked with it. I got a local bus from Manikaran, buses stop there for 30 minutes, and I just boarded it not knowing about what is ahead. After a few minutes the bus stopped at it’s last stop – Barchaini. 
From Barchaini I just walked. After walking for some 30-35 minutes on a trail passing through weed fields and some forest area, I reached village Tosh. It was a beautiful village away from all the glares of city life, peaceful and pure.
I spent my day in Tosh and then came back to Manikaran and visited the gurudwara Manikaran Sahib, then walked slowly towards my hotel in Kasol.

It was dark by then and the sound of flowing river was amazing. I had no torch but bright stars showed me a blurred way to Kasol. Then I thought of exploring some nice trance café in Kasol and I found one with some amazing continental cuisines. I had a couple of beers there and walked back to my hotel. I thought I would leave Kasol the next morning.

Manikaran Sahib Gurudwara

Base camp in Kasol for Sar Pass trekking

Day 4: Local Kasol

I did nothing but just sat in the sun on 4^th day, talked with lot of people; locals as well as visitors. 

Did a small round of nearby trails on bullet, and then went to a petrol pump to get my tank refueled. Later in the evening, Monu - a local shared his story with me, he was a drug addict but the most interesting guy I met in Kasol. 

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