Blissful Manali
Going out with friends for long trips was always
what I wanted to do. But sadly I never got a chance to go for long trips in my
school times. Well all I waited for was college to go on such jaunts. So, this
was my first trip with my college friends. We went to a heavenly place on
earth- Manali.
After several no’s from the students and many
rejections from the college, finally an educational excursion was planned. In
the process of deciding the place for the trip, we went all the way from Jammu
to Rajasthan to Kerala to Shillong on the map and at last all agreed for a hill
station in Himanchal Pradesh. We decided to go to Manali and the places nearby
like Manikaran, Kullu, etc. My journey began on 19th February. It
was an overnight journey from Delhi to Manali. Two buses and a mini bus were
booked for the students. All of my friends and I took over the mini bus.
Day 1
I packed my bags and was all set to go for Manali. I’m
a loyal viewer of the travel shows on Discovery, etc. So as it was my first expedition,
I was imagining myself as one those hosts’ on the television. With a delay of
an hour, our voyage began by 3 in the afternoon. It was an overnight journey
Manali, and the ride was one of the best rides of my life. In the day time, we passed
from outer Haryana. There was not much for the views but lush green farms and
buffaloes. The drive in the night was a
wonderful experience. It was dark; from the front seat only thing I could see
in the headlights was the narrow road with pits and pot holes, blind curves,
steep gradients, no street lights in most of the forest area. We reached
Manali early in the morning. As soon as I came out of the bus, I stepped in the
pure white snow. It was the first time I was in the snow.
After a exhausting journey I slept for
an hour. After getting up we all were set to go the Hidimba Devi Temple. The
500 year old temple is built with wood and has a wooden pagoda with three
tapering roofs. The doors and the outer walls are carved very beautifully and
intricately. The Hidimba Devi image is in a massive rock cave. The temple is
one of the five sites waiting to be added to UNESCO World Heritage Sites list.
There is a rope hanging near the
rock. The legend says that, those days’ hands of sinners would be tied to this
rope and sinners would be pushed hard swinging against the rock!
Hidimba Devi
has a short role in the great Hindu epic Mahabharata. She was one of the wives
of Bhimasena, the second brother of Pandavas, and mother of Ghatotkacha. She
belonged to Kirataka tribe (forest dwellers) from Nepal. She and her brother
Rakshasa Hidimbasura wanted to eat Pandavas. Bhima killed Hidimbasura and
married Hidimba Devi instead. There are many
animal antlers along with the head of the animal mounted on the walls.
A short
walk towards the west is the tree temple of Ghatotkacha, the only son of Hidimba
Devi and Bhima. There were many embellishments on the tree trunk much different
from that of temples in the south. It was a nice experience to visit an ancient
temple of rakshasi, built of wood. After visiting the temple, we went to a Buddhist
monastery. The monastery is near the main market of Manali. The main market is
a nice place to buy shawls and woolen caps, etc. There are also these small
stalls which sell customized key chains. There is also a traditional Tibetan market
near the monastery which sells traditional Tibetan stuff.
After long
walks we came back to our hotel and did nothing but eat and talk all the time. Our
next day was planned for adventure sports in Solang valley.
Day
2
The day
started with a great view of snow outside our hotel window. It was beautiful
white snow outside the hotel which rejuvenated my mood and all my laziness
went. I was again ready to explore more of Manali.
We were to
go to Solang Valley for our adventure sports. Solang Valley is popularly known as Snow Point, is 13 km northwest of Manali. It is a picturesque spot and offers splendid views of
glaciers and the snow-capped mountains. Solang valley also offers attractions
like paragliding, snorkeling etc. Before going to the valley, we needed to rent ski-suits because
the temperature on the top was very freezing. We rented the suits for Rs. 250
and headed our way to Solang valley. From the place where we were dropped, we
had to walk the distance of 2 kms. to the valley or there was another way;
shortcut. (Tip: If you love adventures,
then always go for the shortcut in snow. You would definitely love it.)
There were
many sports up there like Zorbing, Tube Sliding, Skiing, Motor Bike ride but it
was time for some adrenaline rush! Yeah!
Paragliding down. The view of the valley from top was gripping. I envy the
birds! I wish they understood the gift of God! Fhew ... I felt so light while
flying. And after
paying for it my pocket felt equally light too. I almost did all the sports
there. I was having the best time in the Solang valley. After doing the sports
my stomach felt empty. Among all the stalls, one dish was common- Maggie. We had
Maggie and were ready to play in the snow. The view of Solang Valley was very scenic.
There was a carpet of clean white snow all over and the sky was full with tourists’
paragliding. After spending a great time at Solang valley, we headed towards
Old Manali.
When I heard “Old Manali”, the first picture
which came to my mind was a village with old pahadi people doing farming and living there. But I was wrong. At a distance of 3 km northwest of Manali is Old Manali,
famous for its orchards and old guesthouses. Calm and serene surroundings
coupled with the sound of Beas river is a very peaceful experience.
Old Manali is one of the best
places to hang out in the evening. It has a great collection of
restaurants/bars and shops. It is also not crowded like the Mall Road, with the
crowd consisting mostly of foreigners. You can get a nibble of Yak's cheese in
the restaurant's here. Some of the hangout places in Old Manali-
The Lazy Dog has an
extensive multi-cuisine menu, featuring an assortment from Korean, Japanese,
Thai, Italian, Vietnamese, Continental and Indian Cuisine. The food is
excellent and the ambiance is great.
Sher e Punjab serves good butter chicken
with butter naan. You can also get a beer which is not mentioned in the menu,
if you ask for.
Bob Dylan's Cafe (also known as
Roasted and Toasted) is
in the heart of Old Manali. It serves the most delicious cookies and sandwiches.
With its extremely good menu and pocket friendly price, it remains one of the
most popular destinations after a day's sightseeing. Also, at no extra cost you
have a very comfortable movie theater where you can choose among some 100 movie
titles and watch as you munch on those delicious cookies. And yes, they do play
Bob Dylan's songs. Must visit.
Cafe m 1947 is the 1st Music Cafe in
Old Manali (near the Bridge), located on the banks of the River Manalsu.
Cuisines from all around the globe and known for its dishes like the
"Burger of Bodom", "UFO", and "The Terminator".
Travelers can also pacify themselves by playing instruments in rhythm with the
Voice of the River. Also, there are Unplugged Concerts and parties held time
and again.
It was
evening by the time we left back for our hotel. The whole day was very tiring but
fun. It was the first time I did the adventure sports in snow. Our next and
last day was scheduled for one final sport- White river water rafting and also
for visiting the Gurudwara in Manikaran.
Day
3
It was our
last day in Manali. The day started early. We got up at 6.30 and were asked to get
ready by 8. After packing our bags we headed for Manikaran. Before reaching
Manikaran, we were to do rafting. (Tip:
If you are afraid of water, then you should definitely go for rafting. It will
scare the hell out of you. If you are
not then also go for it as the temperature of water will chill your bones.)
Rafting is
done in a group. We quickly formed a group of six and went for the rafting. It was
a 45 minute raft in the Vyas River. The flow of the river was quite fast and a
bit terrifying (it is a bit terrifying only
if you are not afraid of water otherwise it’s scary). The sport of rafting
is called White water Rafting as the flowing water of the river give the
impression to be white in color. The ride was enjoyable and also scary at
times. But the water was extremely cold at that point of time. It was so
chilled that after coming out from the rafting, we all were wet and due to cold
water our legs and hands became paralyzed for some time. We were unable to feel
our body parts for a while. After changing our wet clothes, we moved for
Manikaran.
Manikaran
is situated under high snowy peaks of Parvati Mountains. It is famous for its
sulphurous hot water springs. The water is known for its healing qualities. The
water there is so hot that one can even cook rice in that water. After paying a
visit in the Gurudwara and eating the Langar
we sat back in our buses to go back to our homes.
The visit to this small and neat
Himalayan village was memorable. The snowy views from the hotel room, the
adventure sports, time spent with friends and many such things will be kept treasured
to me.
