Nonstop 333.9 km road ride, it was full of thrill and adventure. I've seen the night turned into the aurora, the transition from meadowland to the mountaintop, Punjab to Himachal, it was vaguely majestic. The unbeaten part about Himachal is the air, mildly flowing pollution free breeze mixed with the aroma of hashish is enough to drive you away from all the worldly worries.
The Resort Town
Manali, a little hill station of Himachal and it's a paradise for lover's, the town is famous for its scenic landscape, rejuvenating weather and spellcasting woods. Well like every other overrated hill station, it has one mall road too, from where you can get overpriced things but, it's okay we all want to take some memories with us. But that's not all. Manali holds much more than a mall road, it has definitely got everything to satisfy the lust of every type of wanderer. From trekking, paragliding, skiing, zorbing to water rafting. Manali owns an exceptional locus in the heart of every explorer as it serves as the base town for the Leh-Manali highway.
The roadway of Manali is pulchritude than the town itself, the route has one of the longest tunnels of India which is pretty long. The Beas River which is commonly known as Vyas river gracefully enhances the beauty of the path. Beas got her name after Veda Vyas, who was one of the greatest Indian mythological writer. Vyas has written Mahabharat and many other religious books. It is believed that Vyas created this river from its source lake, the Vyas Kund.
The roadway of Manali is pulchritude than the town itself, the route has one of the longest tunnels of India which is pretty long. The Beas River which is commonly known as Vyas river gracefully enhances the beauty of the path. Beas got her name after Veda Vyas, who was one of the greatest Indian mythological writer. Vyas has written Mahabharat and many other religious books. It is believed that Vyas created this river from its source lake, the Vyas Kund.
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| Kullu |
14th October, 7:00 am we were in Manali, The very first thing we did in the morning is to pay a visit to Hidimba Temple, which is situated deep in the Cedrus Deodar forest, the temple has an exquisite wooden work.
A Stroll to the Shrine
According to the priest, the temple was built in the 15th century, it's a cave temple dedicated to the Hidimba Devi, wife of Bhima, one of the five Pandavas of Indian epic Mahabharat. Hidimba was born in Raksha clan, she vowed to marry one who would defeat her brother Hidimb, who was supposed to be gigantic like a mountain and freakishly strong. During the Pandavas' exile, when they visited Manali, Hidimb attacked them and got killed by the Bhima, the strongest among Pandavas. Thereafter, Hidimba married Bhima and gave birth to Ghatotkacha. Later, when Pandavas returned from exile, Hidimba did not accompany Bhima, but stayed back and did tapasya (meditation, prayer, and penance) in a cave and eventually attained the status of a goddess.
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| Era |
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| Gift |
Moving Forward:
Manali was done with the temple visit, now we had the whole day to explore outskirts of Manali. Non-Stop 9 hours journey made us hell tired, so we went to our hotel to get some rest. The city is full of hotels and motels, I would rather suggest taking a hotel outside of the mall road, they are less expensive and have preferable vista. And don't forget to check hotel booking apps, I am sure you'll get some extra discount.
14th October 4:00 pm, After taking some rest and belly full of food, it was the time for some adventure and trekking.
Solang Valley
Solang Valley is like a heart surrounded by snowcapped mountains. It sits like a queen between the route of Manali and Rohtang Pass. The valley is famous for its winter and summer sports. Solang Valley also offers majestic landscapes, mountainscapes, and snowscapes. In winter season, you can enjoy skiing, while in summers zorbing is a to-do thing. Horse riding and paragliding are also popular here.
People of Himachal are generous and warmhearted. Life here is more dependent on tourism. Everyone works here even if they make small earnings like, insisting you put on Kullu's traditional dress which makes your picture perfect; like helping you to fulfill your dream adventures and rushing adrenaline through your body. Kullu's traditional dress includes Pattu which is a long bright colored shawl with a geometric pattern on it.
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| Colors of culture |
Waterfall
A 4km trek from Solang leads to a magisterial cascade in the middle of the lofty mountains. The fall is showering its prayer to lord Shiva. The trek is renowned as Anjani Mahadev. Historically it's the locale where Anjani conceived Hanuman(the monkey god). The cold winters of Himachal freeze the fall and results into the mighty Ice Stalagmite which is worshiped as Shiva Lingam. The shrine is the most beautiful in entire Manali.
We were the last trekkers there, and there was no one except mother nature and us. It was already dark and cold, we have to track back to Solang valley, where we'd park our car. The track was under construction, when we tracked back to construction point, there was bonfire lit so, we decided to chill for a while and then the most mesmerizing moment happened,
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| Shivaya Bhram, Shivaya Hum |
We were sitting on the narrow grabble path followed to the forest along with the warm fire and the cold breeze, beneath the blanket of blue.The zephyr was gently caressing our face and the blue moon was rising slowly like a silver phoenix was tearing out of blue blanket and stretching her wings in the dark blue sky.The radiance of full moon transformed the path into the silvery thoroughfare, it was like the staircase to heaven, Truly magisterial.
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| Blue Moon |
Around 8:00 pm we went back to the mall road for dinner, there are various restaurants with the various culture of food as well. AT 10:00 am we went back to hotel room. I enjoyed the rest of the night while sitting in the garden and taking over the phone.
Tripping continued!
Adorable
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