Dev Bhomi Himachal - Kasol - Day 2
We
left Mandi very early in the morning, after having a good breakfast of alloo
parantha and chai, in the guest house and headed straight for Kasol vai Bhuntar
and Jhari.
On
the way, as it was drizzling, we stopped at a beautiful restaurant, Nature
Green Restaurant, for chai & pakoras. The restaurant is inside a garden,
right on the banks of mighty Beas river. There is a small entrance fee to keep
the unwanted people out, but it is a must stop to enjoy the beautiful river.
Lovely Pakoras we had @Jhari.
Beautiful river
Next
stop was Kasol, a dreamy little town along the Parvati River
surrounded by pine, fir and Oak trees. It is a perfect place to chill out and
be with yourself in the lap of nature.
We
stayed at the Woodward Magique, a small hotel on the banks of Parvati river.
Although the rooms there did not have a view of the river and there were some
housekeeping issues in the hotel, its location made it worthwhile to stay
there. Both the river and the market was
just a few minutes' walk.
Just
behind our hotel was a dangerous bridge over the Parvati river which took us to
Chalal
village on the other side of the river.
It is a heaven for bag packers who have late night rave prties during the
weekends away from local police.
River Parvati in full swing
Since
Kasol is the base for exploring Tosh, Pulga or trek to the hot springs of
Kheer-Ganga (where Shiva is said to have meditated for 2000 yrs) it is always
brimming with tourists.
While
in Kasol, do not forget to have at least a meal in Little Itlay restaurant,
their grilled Trout is to die for.
On way to Kasol, we passed a village isolated from rest of the world called Malana. It is an ancient village lying under the shadow of majestic peaks of Chandrakhani and Deotibba at a height of 3,029 metres (9,938 ft) above sea level.
The village is totally unaffected by modern civilisation and has its own lifestyle and social structure. It has been the subject of various documentaries on television. It is considered to be one of the first democracies in the world. The residents of Malana are the descendant of Aryans who acquired their independence during the Mughal reign when the Emperor Akbar walked to the village in order to cure an ailment that he was afflicted with after having been successfully cured he put out an edict stating that all the inhabitants of the valley would never be required to pay tax.
An alternative view suggests that Malana was founded by Alexander the Great's Army. People in Malana consider all non-Malani to be inferior and consequently untouchable and visitors to Malana town have to obtain prior approval of the village head. It is famous for its 'malana cream', a kind of hashish/marijuana manufactured here.
Next
day we crossed the famous Manikaran Gurudwara to reach Tosh.
(read Dev Bhomi Himachal - Tosh - Day 3 https://mathurrdm-journeys.blogspot.com/b/post-preview?token=leWuVE4BAAA.T2empvH93NZpx2umD-GBiw.4eIZWRePLaq7qnpgwCe6eQ&postId=6874947623022995529&type=POST#!/2015/07/dev-bhomi-himachal-toh-day-3.html)
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