Hello! Hope everyone is happy with the way winter is treating you! I was initially disappointed when the winter didn’t set in at all until December, but once it did, it was really awesome. I enjoyed the cold and pleasant weather after a really long time as it is hot most of the time, here, in Mumbai. Time really flies. It’s been over a year now since I went for a weeklong trip to North India during winter. As you all are aware, I’ve created a small Travel Diaries segment in my blog and I’ve been squeezing in my experiences once in a while (I’ve so many topics to write about, it is just too much effort to decide what to put up next). It is high time now that I completed my Travel Diaries I (I’ll do that in the next one or two posts, I promise). I’ll continue from where I left last time.
The fourth day of our trip was at Manali. The previous day we had had a wonderful time at Solang Valley. We had our share of new experiences. We decided that the next day would be spent in a quiet and leisurely manner. We started our day very late as it was super cold as usual. The main market at Manali was very close to the Log Hut (that is name of the HPTDC Resort we stayed at). We decided to just walk along the roads slowly and enjoy the cold and pleasant atmosphere. We started our walk at around 11 am. We first went to the famous Hadimba Temple. We had to walk and climb a bit to reach there. It was a peaceful temple. From there we started gallivanting. We went in search of a particular Italian place for Pizza, but it was shut. We, then, just wandered and landed right in front of this place called Johnsons Lodge and Café. We went into the Lodge for lunch. What amazing lunch it was! Even to this day, we are reminded of the delicious food and the serene atmosphere of that place. The interiors were very elegantly made. After lunch we gallivanted into the Market and spent our evening there and got back to the hotel close to 7. The next morning we were to leave to Kasol from Manali.
Our fifth day was at Kasol. Kasol is not Kasauli. It is altogether a different place. My husband found out about this hidden place on Facebook. The moment he found out about it, we included this place in our Manali trip. It takes about two hours to drive down from Manali to Kasol. What a drive it is! We never expected the entire place to be so scenic. As the Himalayan Mountains stare at you in the eye, you can hear the Parvathi River flowing deep down the valley. It is a scary drive, but yet, the atmosphere altogether gives you the calmness. We had booked our stay at the Himalayan Village Resort. We just couldn’t take off our eyes, as we entered the property. What an amazing property it was! It is one of the few places which I can never forget. We had our lunch. By the time we were done with everything it was 4 pm. We just stepped into our room and we were astonished at the view we had from our room. We were facing the Himalayas with the Parvathi River flowing alongside and right behind us was the Coniferous Forests. We were keen on going on a Nature’s Walk, but then because of the rain, they didn’t have it at all. We just stared at the Himalayas as they disappeared right in front of us because of the rain and accompanying fog.
Kasol is one such place which is a hidden gem of India. If at all at some point you get a chance to visit Kasol, make sure you stay at The Himalayan Village. It is simply awesome!
There’s a last part coming to this Travel Diairies. Wait for it, I’ll be back soon..
Cheers!!!
Vaishu's Corner 