From the adrenaline-pumping rides through the winding roads of Manali to the laid-back charm of Kasol, each offers a unique blend of nature’s splendour and cultural richness showcased in their food. So if you’re planning your next Himalayan retreat, here’s a detailed guide. I had done this trip with a friend of mine. The blog contains following sections:
🗓️ High level plan
One could choose to do a separate weekend trip from Delhi to each of the following places – Kasol (2-3 days), Manali (2-3 days) & Sissu (2 days). Since I had a week long break, I decided to cover all of them at once.
- Kasol – Manikaran hot springs, Chalal trek, Tosh, Kheerganga trek
- Manali – Jugni water falls, Hidimba Devi Temple, Atal Tunnel, Rohtang Pass, Solang Valley
- Sissu – Sissu waterfall, Jibhi, Deepak Taal, Suraj Taal, Bara-lacha Pass
🚊Transport
Took a flight from Bangalore to Chandigarh and an overnight bus to Kasol. The sleeper buses are banned in Himachal since it is not safe in the hilly terrain. Hence, chose to land in Chandigarh instead of Delhi and minimising the bus journey time (just 6 hours instead of 12 hours). Travelled in Laxmi Holidays buses – they provided good service overall (on time departure & arrival, clean buses, nominal prices)
From Kasol, we chose to travel in cab to Manali since it was not that expensive. We booked it from the Kasol bus stop through a government run agency. It costed us around INR 2700. One could also take bus from the Kasol bus stop – but they generally are very crowded
From Manali to Sissu we travelled in a rented bike. One can easily rent them from the multiple rental shops available
🏠 Stay
Kasol – It is recommend that you to stay slightly far (around a km away) from the bus stop area to avoid crowds. You can still get access to everything by walking for just 10-15min
Manali – Do stay in the old Manali area since most of the happening cafes and eateries are in this area. We had stayed in a private room in Zostel Manali. The property is quite good – there are cherry trees right inside the property If you’re there during the season that’s a cherry on top 😜
Sissu – It has limited accommodation options. Would recommend you to stay in Zostel Sissu. Really well maintained property, beautiful meadow views from our balcony. In-house cafe offers some great dishes and is quite pocket-friendly. Ate all our meals here during our stay
📝 Detailed itinerary
Day 1: Kasol, Chalal trek
Reached Kasol early in the morning. Rested for a while and went for the Chalal trek. Started the trek by having maggi at a stall just before crossing the gushing waters of Parvati valley via the suspension bridge. The trail is quite easy and is clearly marked out – it has a free-flowing Parvati river on one side and mountains with pine trees on the other. Took 30-40 min of casual walking to reach the Chalal village. It is much more peaceful than Kasol and has lot of small eateries that serve freshly cooked local and Israeli food. Spent some time in Chalal and headed back to Kasol
Day 2: Manikaran, Tosh
Headed to Gurudwara Manikaran Sahib. We took a cab from the local agency at Kasol bus stop. It costed us 300 Rs one way. Visited the Gurudwara, temple and the hot springs. Our initial plan was to head to Tosh post that. But instead, we decided to relax and met a group of friends who had also come to Kasol. Ideally, one could plan Tosh trek the same day. You need to take cab or bus to Barshein which is 20km from Kasol and then trek to Tosh for 3km. You can spend some time at the peak and head back to Kasol in the same route. We had dinner at Off Limits cafe – the ambience and location of this cafe is just amazing. It is located right next to the Parvati river. They serve some amazing dishes – don’t forget to try out their hemp infused coffees and desserts.
Would recommend trekking enthusiasts to actually spend couple more days in Kasol and do the famous Kheerganga trek with overnight camping. We couldn’t do this since we had limited time.
Day 3: Kasol, Manali old town
Explored the forest area of Kasol. Just search for Graham village and start heading in that street from Kasol main area. Just 1km into the path you will reach a peaceful place with gushing waters, dense pine forest and chirping birds. Not many people seem to know of this place – there was no one around and we had the entire area for ourselves. Spent some time over here and then had lunch at Evergreen restaurant and headed to Manali in a cab. Checked into Zostel Manali and went on walk in the old Manali area. Had dinner at Drifter’s Inn – they also had a live music that night.
Day 4: Jogini waterfalls trek, Mall Road
We had breakfast at Dylan’s cafe – highly recommend their cookies ! Rented a scooty and headed to Vasisht temple area. Right next to the temple is where the trail to Jogini waterfalls begins. The trail to the first waterfall is quite easy and can be reached in 30min. But the trail to the next bigger waterfall is of moderately difficulty and takes around 45min more. But the views on the trail to the 2nd waterfall is definitely worth the effort. This is one of those rare waterfalls where you can actually walk behind the waterfall due to cave like formation on the rocks. Do carry you raincoats since while walking behind the waterfall, it sprays some cold mist on you. A song from the Tamil movie 96 was shot here. On the way back we stopped at Cafe 1947 for lunch. Then headed to Hidamba Devi temple – one of the scenes of Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani movie.
Later headed to Mall road – visited the monastery and had kesar chai and momos from the hawker just outside it. Then shopped for some winter wear. Had dinner at a Tibetan restaurant – Chopsticks. We had the Pahad special multi flavoured ice cream cone for desserts.
Day 5: Solang Valley, Atal Tunnel, Sissu
Rented a bike and headed to Sissu via Solang Valley and Atal Tunnel. Rohtang Pass was still not open – hence we decided to skip it. We found Solang Valley extremely crowded and felt it is quite overrated. We just rode through the area and decided to not stop by. Just few minutes after Solang valley appears the Atal tunnel. Riding through it was definitely an experience in itself – 9 km long tunnel under majestic peaks. It was built to ensure an all-weather road connectivity between Manali and Lahaul valley. In 15 minutes through the tunnel, we reached the Lahaul valley. Snow capped mountains start appearing much closer now. In few minutes we reached Sissu – a laid back town with a handful of houses and eateries.
Checked in to Zostel Sissu and had lunch. Then headed to Triloknath temple on bike. It took us 1.5 hours to get there. Got to witness some breathtaking landscapes on the way. Road is narrow but in decent conditions. A point of caution – it is one the dangerous roads to ride on bike. Ensure you reach back to your base before sunset since it gets quite cold post sunset.
Day 6: Deepak Tal, Suraj Tal, Bara-lacha Pass
Today we hired a cab with a driver to take us on daytrip to Bara-lacha pass. Zostel Sissu can also help in arranging one (it costed us INR 4,000 for a sedan for the day). The drive is quite scenic. We go through the cities of Keylong, Jispa and Darcha. We made a short stop at Deepak tal and admired the crystal clear waters of this lake. Next made a stop at the frozen Suraj Tal. The moment we got closer to the Bara-lacha Pass, the snow around us started increasing. At one point, there was upto 5ft snow above the road on the either side. It was quite fascinating to see the landscape change from barren to snow-capped in a span of 20 min. Bara-lacha pass sits at a height of 16,040ft above sea level and is one of the highest motorable roads in the world. Returned to Sissu around evening and had dinner at Zostel.
Day 7: Sissu waterfall, Sissu Lake, Return to Manali
Went on a hike to Sissu waterfall – it is a short but quite steep trail. But the hike was worth it, witnessed the semi-frozen waterfall flowing through the snow cover on top in some parts. There is also a beautiful meadow with lot of small colourful flowers at the base of the waterfalls. You can easily spend 30-40 min relaxing in this peaceful meadow. On the way back made a quick stop at Sissu lake. Checked out of Zostel and headed to Manali. Stopped at Rider’s cafe for lunch. Spent some time in Mall Road before catching an overnight bus to Chandigarh.
Roamantic Affair 