[SHANKY11]

Me and my friend Shubham were just chit chatting on a Sunday evening, when suddenly he explodes- “Dude lets go to Kasol next weekend. Thursday night departure and Sunday late night arrival.” I thought about it for a few seconds. This had been on my mind for a long time and I said “Why not?” Then he says “So Me, You, My Girlfriend and Anika” a common friend who was there listening to our excited discussion. She said “It’s a little tough to convince my parents right now, but I’ll try.” Then Shubham said “We’ll hire a cab.” That totally put me off. I said “Dude, I have a diesel car which can transport 4 people comfortably (Read i20). Moreover, I love to drive on outstation trips especially mountains and taking a driver on such a long journey will not be that enjoyable.” He agreed to this. On Tuesday, Anika called to say that she wont be able to do this. Neither of my trip-worthy friends were free during that time for an unplanned trip. Now I didn’t want to be the only person travelling with a couple who are in a long distance relationship (She lives in Bangalore) so I backed out although he tried to convince me otherwise. So, I had lost all hopes of doing this trip and decided to postpone it indefinitely.

Thursday morning, Shubham texts me “I have purchased a 2- person tent. A friend of mine is also interested in the trip and my girlfriend has just landed in Delhi.” I jumped off the bed feeling excited. Next thing, he created a group on whatsapp named “THE GREAT KASOL TRIP” and added everyone. Hence started the preparations. The new guy, Abhimanyu and I discussed about the tent. I suggested renting one considering the urgency. He said “Why don’t I buy one” I said “Great.” Within 2 hours, he had purchased the same tent from the same shop at 200 rupees less than what Shubham had paid the previous day. So, all was set and it was decided to depart at 10 PM. I suddenly remembered that I had to get wheel alignment and balancing done. Rushed off at 3 PM from the office, got it done, and then went to the market to purchase the necessary things. Also got the viper blades replaced. Finally reached home at 8:30 PM after a long meeting. Packed in a hurry, and went off to Mehrauli to pick up my companions.

At 10:10 PM, I was standing outside the designated place. 10 minutes later, Shubham emerged with Abhimanyu, whom I was meeting for the first time. 5 minutes later, Shubham’s girlfriend, whom I had met briefly once, arrived via taxi. Even she and Abhimanyu were meeting for the first time. So, everyone was connected through Shubham only. After a short formal introduction, and strategizing on the ways to put the luggage in the boot, we departed. For 5-10 minutes, we drove in near silence and then, as if the ice was broken, we started with some banalities. By the time we reached Dhaula Kuan, we all were talking openly as if we were long time buddies. As we neared the border on NH 1, Shubham suggested to make a stopover at Sukhdev, Murthal. Now this was another downer for me, as I am a very frequent traveler on this route and I believe that the establishments at Murthal are highly over rated. There are much better options ahead if you are looking for some desi food. Nevertheless, as everybody was in favor of it and hungry too, I decided to stop. After a generous dose of paranthas, butter and tea, we hit the road again. Another quick stop was made for dessert, which was the paan kulfi at Sheesh Mahal, which, IMO, was worth it. After that, we resumed the journey. Somewhere near Karnal, it started raining. I was grinning while realizing that the weather would be nice for our trip ahead. Shubham and Navia dozed off after Karnal in the back seat while Abhimanyu was struggling to stay awake. It rained quite heavily between Karnal and Ambala. Suddenly, he pulls out a big sheet of paper from his bag. I asked “What’s this?” He said “It’s a map of the entire state of Himachal Pradesh which I bought after a long search.” I was really surprised. In the age of GPS, this guy is using a traditional map. More on that later.

[SHANKY11]

We reached Zirakpur at around 4 AM while it was still drizzling and we decided to make a quick stopover at Mc Donalds on the highway. We took a long lazy one hour break having coffee and quick bites, talking and attending nature's calls. I took another coffee while leaving. Now, Abhimanyu referred to the map and suggested to go via Pinjore- Baddi- Nalagarh- Swarghat (NH 21A) and merge onto NH 21 at Swarghat. I was inclined towards continuing on NH 21 itself (Chandigarh- Kharar- Rupnagar- Kiratpur Sahib- Swarghat) but I had heard that the former route was more scenic hence decided upon it. While on the newly constucted Zirakpur- Pinjore expressway, I saw a board directing towards Nada Sahib Gurdwara. I suddenly announced “We are going to do a quick darshan at Nada Sahib.” The backseat passengers nodded sleepily “Whatever.” After 10 mins, we were standing outside the magnificent Gurdwara which looked even more beautiful in the early morning and light rain combination.

At 6:30, we hit the road again and moved on. I had not taken the turn towards Pinjore since the opening of the Himalayan expressway connecting Panchkula to Parwanoo, bypassing the towns of Pinjore, Kalka and Parwanoo. But at this hour, it was an empty road and we crossed it in no time. After tanking up at Baddi, we resumed. All 3 passengers were sleeping and snoring after 15 mins. I was fresh as hell after the coffee and the excitement of hitting the hills shortly. This was no doubt a scenic route, but the roads were in a bad condition and combined with the rain, made matters worse. Our pace was painfully slow. However, I was enjoying every bit of it. It was a good decision to change the viper blades because it rained continuously for at least 6-7 hours. Shortly after crossing Nalagarh, the tarmac suddenly disappeared and I was wondering whether we are on the right track. 10 mins later, we found a man walking and asked him. He told us that this is the route to Swarghat, but a bridge ahead is broken and its really tough for cars to cross it. We turned back, and from Nalagarh, headed to NH 21. There was a section of really bad roads after Kiratpur Sahib, but we crossed it shortly and then began the real scenery. By the time we reached Bilaspur, everyone was starving. The rains had finally stopped. We took a halt at a decent- looking restaurant. It had a very nice outdoor seating overlooking the valley, but the owner told us that its not in use currently (without assigning any reason). That put us off as the indoor seating was not that good and was damp too because of the rain. So, we moved on but found another one a few kilometers ahead. This was a good one with monkeys dancing on the tin roof. After a hearty breakfast of omlettes, paranthas, French toast and tea, we resumed the journey at 11 AM. Shubham and Abhimanyu offered to take the wheel, but I was too absorbed in the beauty of the hills that I was feeling no fatigue and was enjoying the drive thoroughly. Hence, I assigned a stupid reason to both of them- “Guys, you both are in the habit of driving petrol cars and diesel engines have a very different setup so you will find it tough to adapt on the hills. Had you guys driven a bit on plains, then it would have been easier. I am comfortable with driving as of now so no need to worry.” And they bought it too. The rest of the journey was uneventful. We made a quick stop at Bhuntar at 2:30 PM seeing a cycle wala guy selling bun- cholle, which is a very popular combo in Himachal. You’ll find lots of them on these routes. Tummies satisfied for the time being, we proceeded towards the town of Bhuntar. We stopped to search for a hammer, knife etc which would be required for camping but could not find the proper stuff we were looking for. So we moved on anyways. The road after Bhuntar changed dramatically as it narrowed down considerably but it was a beautiful stretch.

An hour later, we entered the mini heaven called Kasol and I was surprised to have missed this place on my last trip with my family to Manikaran a few years back. A very small town. No honeymoon couples or families. Israelis in hot pants, German bakeries, Cafes boasting of best Israeli food was all that we could see. It was all on a 2 km long road and it all seemed so out of world and pretty. We all were hungry and stopped at Evergreen Café. Surprisingly, I was not feeling tired or sleepy after this long journey. A hearty meal of falafels, hummus, pita and other such delicacies made our soul really happy and satisfied.

The view from the window of Evergreen Cafe


The agenda now was to search for Roti, Kapda aur Makaan.

[SHANKY11]

Shubham had a place in mind to camp in the wilderness, but upon enquiries, we discovered that it is a half an hour journey on foot. Now doing that with all the luggage was a bit of pain, for me especially, having been driving for 18 hrs continuously. And, we were not prepared at all for camping on our own as we did not have any equipment except for the tents. So we looked for alternatives. There was a place 1 or 2 kms ahead of Kasol which had semi- deluxe tents erected by the river. But, Shubham and Abhimanyu wanted to put their newly acquired equipment to use. We asked the owner if we could put our own tents at an empty spot. He agreed for a charge of Rs. 150 per tent per night. He also gave us blankets to use. Now, erecting the tents was a very simple task and everything was so easy to assemble. In 15 minutes, both the tents were ready.

The two tents, erected by us very artfully


The river Parvati, by which we were going to live for the next 18 hrs.



We were just lazing around, deciding upon things we needed to acquire to satisfy our camping experience when Abhimanyu went to the car and brought his mysterious backpack, which he had put very carefully in the boot while loading up. When he emptied its contents, what we saw was this- a few eggs, propely packed in a container to prevent breakage, packs of Maggie, a loaf of whole wheat multi- grain bread, a vessel for cooking, a few plates, some disposable spoons, torches, a swiss knife, and other useful stuff. Man, this guy deserves an award for being a fully- prepared traveler. We, on the other hand, were carrying just our basic stuff. I was the worst prepared of them all. We decided to go to the market, buy some wood to make a bonfire at night and buy some more supplies such as water, chocolates, biscuits, soft drinks, sodas, juices etc. Our Makaan was ready, and kapda (read blankets) was promised by the owner. Hence, off we went in search of the roti.


After roaming around in the market, we found out that no dry wood was available that day anywhere in Kasol as it had been raining for the last few days. With a heavy heart, we had to drop that idea. So, we bought the necessary items and went to a famous momos point where we had momos, thukpa and ginger lemon tea. By 9, we were back to our tents. After setting up everything, we went to the owner and requested him to allow us to use the kitchen, to which he happily agreed. Shubham made some Maggie for all of us using his own recipe (a combination of 6-7 different spices, in addition to the one packet provided in the pack), which was delicious. We all sat in the restaurant of the place, where, it was a very soothing environment, some guys playing guitar. We sat there for around 2 hours, chit chatting, playing music, sipping rum and eating maggi. Finally, the wave of fatigue hit me and I went to sleep.

[SHANKY11]

Surprisingly, I slept very comfortably at night and woke up lazily at 9 AM to a beautiful sunny day and the sound of the flowing Parvati river just next to our tent. After some tea made by the staff, and some leisurely time, we decided to make breakfast. Hence began a cooking session of omlettes, half fried eggs, bread with cheese, jam or nutella. Everybody ate to their heart’s content. I recalled somebody talking yesterday about a trance party happening today. We asked the owner about it. He said if we really wanted to go to a trance party, we should head to Tosh, which is a village further 15 kms from Kasol. He also told us there are plenty of options to camp there. So, it was decided then and there that we will head to Tosh for the night. After packing up, we left the place at noon. We paid 200 bucks more for using the kitchen, spices, tea and soft drinks. So, at 500 bucks in all, it was a steal.


After some casual roaming around, we went to Mama’s café for lunch. Here, we ordered trout, pizza, sandwiches and a variety of milk shakes and other beverages. Post that, it started raining when we were on the road so entered a café to stay dry. There was a guy selling waffles outside. Ordered some of them along with coffee. They were delicious. And then, our CFO Abhimanyu announced that we were low on cash and need to visit the ATM immediately.

At the cafe, while eating waffles



When the rain subsided a little, I went to fetch the car which was parked at a distance. Meanwhile, Abhimanyu went to search for an ATM. When he came back, he said that there was only one ATM in Kasol and that too had no cash. But, someone told him that there is another ATM in Manikaran, which was in our way anyways. So, we proceeded to Manikaran. Reached there in 10-15 mins. After asking 2-3 people, finally located the ATM, only to find it closed. So, with 100 rupees total in our pockets, we proceeded to the Gurudwara and decided to think abou it later. The Manikaran Sahib Gurudwara is a magnificent structure and many devotees come here everyday due to its hot springs and their religious significance. At 4 PM, we decided to head back to Kasol, and find a good hotel who could swipe our card and give us cash after deducting a certain fee. But, as we headed back, I saw a long line of cars in front of me. A taxi driver told me that a truck was stuck on a narrow stretch and it could easily take 1.5 hours for the jam to be cleared. We stopped at the side of the road waiting. Meanwhile, Shubham and Abhimanyu decided to cross the half a kilometer stretch on foot, hitch a ride to Kasol, get the money and come back the same way. I was okay with it as we didn’t have another option. If we didn’t get the cash there, we would have to go to Bhuntar which would ruin our plan for the night. I clicked some photos while chatting with Navia.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to Travelogues. Thanks for sharing!

[Vitalstatistiks]

Dude, Shanky11. Are you going to leave this thread a whodunnit ? Let's get to Tosh

[SHANKY11]

Originally Posted by Vitalstatistiks

Dude, Shanky11. Are you going to leave this thread a whodunnit ? Let's get to Tosh

Ohh Im sorry man. Totally forgot about this one. Will finish this one in a day or two. Thanks again for reminding.

[SHANKY11]

Alright, first of all, my apologies for leaving this thread unattended. I totally forgot about this one amidst work and other priorities. Lets continue from where I left off earlier.

So, 2 hours and countless phone calls later, we could see Shubham and Abhimanyu coming towards us, huffing and puffing. They could not find any one going downhill, as every one was stuck in the jam. So they had to walk the entire distance. Thankfully, after a few tries, they found a hotel whose manager agreed to swipe our card and give us cash after deducting a small fee. (Traveller tip: When you cant find any working ATM nearby, usual scenario in remote areas, check with decent hotels who might have a card machine. These can be a boon sometimes)
Anyhow, with cash in hand, they could finally take a cab till the point the jam started from the other side. The jam had spread to almost a kilometre from where we were standing hence they had to walk the entire distance once again. Once settled, we resumed our journey uphill to Tosh. Most of our excitement had died down by then, and we were desperately hoping that our destination might have some thing good for us. It was already dark by then. We crossed a few small villages on our way, stopped at a shop to buy some water, soft drinks and chips etc. By now, it was around 8 PM and pitch dark, when I saw the road dividing into 2 parts- one going uphill and the other down. With no signboards, we checked our phones, with no signals on any. Even Abhimanyu's map seemed useless here. Our direction sense told us to go downhill, as there was supposed to be a river near this village. So, with zero confidence in me, I started towards the downhill road, which cant be even called a road. Barely 150 metres ahead, I saw a man coming up from the same road who upon enquiry told us that we have taken the wrong road. He also scared us to death by telling us that had we gone further, there was no way back as turning around mid way wasnt a possibility on the narrow road and the road condition ahead further deteriorated, and was tough for even big vehicles (mini- trucks or cars with high GC) After gathering our senses back, I slotted into reverse, only to see my next big challenge- how to go back on this road without killing ourselves because firstly, it was pitch dark and the reverse lights were simply not sufficient to aid visibility and secondly, the road we were on, was just enough to accomodate the car ( a u-turn was impossible) and there was the open valley on my right hand side without any protection on the edge of the road. I ordered the 3 of them out of the car and asked Shubham and Abhimanyu to stand on both left and right ends and guide me in reversing. Hence, with full concentration, I started reversing inch by inch. Thank god we had bought flashlights the last evening which now helped these guys in seeing the edges of the car's tyres properly. Finally, I managed to almost reach the top when the rear left wheel got stuck in mud. Normally it would not have been a big deal to get out of it by pushing the accelerator a bit but here it was impossible to do so because keeping the car in total control was vital and any sudden acceleration might be disastrous. I pulled the handbrake, got out of the car and analysed the situation. The only way to do it was to take the car slightly forward, and cross the muddy stretch while having some momentum. I could calculate that if I kept the steering absolutely straight through the entire process, I could easily come out of this road. I asked my co- passengers to clear the road and sat in the car once again. The calculation worked perfectly. I went about 10-15 metres forward, slotted into reverse again and steadily climbed back up without any further drama. This whole process took close to 15-20 mins and now we were back on the right track. The road condition worsened as we kept going further. Intermittent rains were further making matter worse. After a few kilometres, I could spot an Alto coming from the other side, which turned out to be a local taxi once it came close. I stopped it and asked the driver about the route up ahead to which he said that we are indeed on the right way and very close to our destination. That charged the air inside the car and 15 mins later, we reached the end of the road we were on. A few metres ahead, a 4-5 cars were parked haphazardly on an uneven piece of land.It was again pitch dark everywhere and I finally spotted someone who told us to park the car at an appropriate spot and cross the bridge to reach Tosh. Excited, we got out of the car to have finally arrived in Tosh. At that point, nobody knew that the journey was only half complete.

[SHANKY11]

After much deliberations, we decided to park the car at a safe spot, take 2 backpacks, carrying our valuables and essentials and leaving the rest of the luggage behind in the car. Once sorted, I unwillingly said bye to the car as I was not happy leaving it behind in such a scenario. The village started once we crossed the bridge above a river. Crossing this bridge was a task in itself as it was quite flimsy and had broken patches here and there. Darkness and slippery surface of the ground wasnt helping either. With the help of torches and the flashlights of smartphones, we crossed it and started walking along the narrow street, one after the other. By now, we guys were quite starved and exhausted. Anyways, we kept on walking for quite sometime, with not a single soul in sight. Finally, we entered a kind of market square, where a few local men were sitting. Tried to strike off a conversation with them, but could not get much idea about what we were looking for- the supposed party happening in Tosh. Yes, we guys were still hopeful to find it somewhere in the middle of nowhere. As expected, no one had a clue about any such thing. Then, Shubham recalled the name of the cafe where his brother had stayed sometime back. It was the Pink Floyd Cafe. Fortunately, one of them knew where it was and tried to guide us in its direction. We moved on, but could not find it due to the darkness. After 15-20 mins of wandering, we finally reached the cafe. Shubham still wanted to camp somewhere, he was pretty enthusiastic of his newly purchased tent throughout the trip. And we even found the ideal spot for it just outside the cafe. But, the rest of us were in no mood to go back to the car and fetch the tents and other stuff. Ultimately, we decided to have something to eat first, and then we will decide what to do. Knocked on the cafe's door, which was promptly opened by one of the staff guys. When we entered, we saw some 10-12 foreigners sitting on mattresses on the floor, with candles providing some visual feedback, chit- chatting and eating. We quickly removed our shoes and settled down in a cozy looking part of the small cafe.

This is how our table looked in that ambience



For the next 3 hours, all we did was eat, enjoy music and talk about random things with the foreigners, who were apparently 3 different groups of travellers, from various countries all over the world.
We ate a lot that night, from Pizzas to Pancakes to Falafels to Honey lemon ginger teas to Milk Shakes. In fact, the dinner bill turned out to be substantially higher than what we paid for the accommodation that night.

Once the foreigners started to leave the room for the night, we came to our ultimate dilemma- What to do for sleeping? The owner of the cafe offered to show us the rooms he had to offer. The most basic ones were offered to us at Rs. 150 per room, which had just a flimsy double bed with a thin mattress and blankets. Toilets were shared with other occupants of the place. He also had rooms with attached washrooms at Rs. 500 per room, but only 1 room was available. So, we decided to take 2 basic rooms instead. By now, no one had the energy to even think of fetching our camping equipment and the beds in the rooms shown to us looked so inviting that we just took them without any discussions. Within 15 mins, we all were in our beds.

[Dieselritzer]

Tosh is an absolutely amazing place. Kasol, Tosh, Kheerganga is a must do trip. Hardly any Indian tourist come this way and its a serene place to camp, just chill, or take a hike upto kheerganga. Please post more pics and do continue this travelogue. I hope you'll tried the German Bakery at Kasol, what an awesome place it is.

[SHANKY11]

Originally Posted by Dieselritzer

Tosh is an absolutely amazing place. Kasol, Tosh, Kheerganga is a must do trip. Hardly any Indian tourist come this way and its a serene place to camp, just chill, or take a hike upto kheerganga. Please post more pics and do continue this travelogue. I hope you'll tried the German Bakery at Kasol, what an awesome place it is.

Kheerganga is definitely on the cards this year. I feel that Kasol is getting too commercial now due to its popularity among Indian tourists. On a recent trip to Manali, we stayed in Kasol for a night and what a mad rush it was in Kasol. There were crazy rowdy tourists everywhere, creating a ruckus I hope Tosh, Challal and Kheerganga dont get commercialized. Yes, I did go to German bakery on both my trips.

Will finish the travelogue soon.

[anu007]

Originally Posted by SHANKY11

I hope Tosh, Challal and Kheerganga dont get commercialized. Yes, I did go to German bakery on both my trips.

Will finish the travelogue soon.

Such an adventurous trip does not deserve to be unfinished in the middle of nowhere. Eagerly waiting for the rest of the travelogue