A month long solo trip to Himachal Pradesh was a sudden decision but a long term bucket list item. I started the trip with many soft-goals in mind. Like, to see the greenish-blue-water rivers, treks, meeting Yeti, treks and Snow! I've never seen snow in my life and being from a tropical climate, my hometown was always a hot place to live.
I chose Kasol as my base for the month and made an itinerary around the villages and activities here. However, I was also confused about the place, landscape and the facilities. The more videos I watched, the more confused I became of everything. So, I booked a place to stay and decided to figure out things on my own.
On the first day itself, I realized the snow would come much later to Kasol. It'll be January or by the end of December if it comes early. As much as I was excited about seeing snow, I am equally worried about my activities if it snows. Treks in snow would be a different experience altogether and I'm not really prepared for it.
How the body reacts to the landscape and climate was another factor of worry. However, everything got better as soon as I reached Kasol. It was much crowded than expected but beautiful. This is the entrance to the road that goes to my accommodation.
I stayed at a hostel/villa called The Kasol Hostel. It was called Kasol Villa till last year. It is easily one of my recommendations if you are planning a trip to offbeat places in Kasol. It is away from the busy Kasol.
The best part: food! It was not easy to find good food when I first went out. They have really good food. It is no surprise since the owner is also a chef! Here’s the location of the hostel: https://maps.app.goo.gl/vAg3mcu2KZYRKSEG8
The next place I want to share is my favorite spot in this valley. That is the Parvati river. I've already published the blog on this place (@elsaenroute/finding-my-happy-place-in-parvati-valley). I found this place near Malana Hydro Power plant. So, check out this location and look for a small cafe nearby. You can easily reach there and go very close to the river. Please be careful though. Parvati valley is also called Death valley!
Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/KV7ZY655kR9XuU5C8
The other two places in the video are super famous. Manikaran (@elsaenroute/manikaran-the-hot-springs-near-kasol) and Kasol Market (@elsaenroute/exploring-the-hippy-market-in-kasol). Both places also provide shopping lanes. Since I came for peace and calm, I prefer to stay at my hostel and walk around that place. It is a perfect location!
The first week I spent in getting used to the place and making my body adjusted to the place. I have treks in plan and I haven’t even gone for a hike after my knee injuries. So, I’m equally excited and nervous about my own plans!
I'll write less in the post and let you see the place in video. I let go of my goal of making aesthetic videos since I was a bit disappointed with watching all the drone shots and close-up videos. The reality is way too different and maybe I'll share those before making any cinematic videos. However, I did fall in love with the place and people here.
The mighty mountains and river seem to understand humans and respond even though they get furious with floods and landslides. The people are one of the happiest and sweetest people I've ever met! After 4 days I was a bit confident about my plan to go to Malana village.
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On the map: [//]:# (!pinmapple 32.00216 lat 77.24275 long Kasol Hostel d3scr)
