“Trees carved in perfect conical synchrony. It is crazy green here,
Amidst the magnificent views of the Pir Panjal range, come with me to the forests of pine & chase the rain;
The memory of the drive in itself, will bring the thrill of being at peace;
The distant meadows take me to the pastures of Heidi, who would feel the same happy trance as I feel.”
I had to deliver these Unposted letters to Manali! I had to be here to taste its essence. And when life worked me up a bit, I decided to take a detour from life itself. There was a want for Travel. So I just waved off my glasses to let the eyes feel the chills of the mountain air. A breather for both my eyes & soul the much cherished dream to visit Himachal came to life. Having virtually been there once, I had to feed my soul with the essence of Manali for once.
We took an overnight bus to Manali, the journey seemed as long as it was, but the eyes had to witness what it had seen through someone else’s eye. Waking up to the sun kissed river Beas, as we drove all along the way to Manali, I pressed my nose against the window glass to just let the views settle. The excitement couldn’t be contained & I was simply looking forward. Our cabbie picked us from the bus stand & we drove straight away to the Prini village, where the Orchard Guesthouse is perched right in front of a massive mountain bringing it so much grace.
The views were just so mesmerising as amidst the apple orchards was a distant, yet imposing view of Pir Panjal range covered in snow. One had to almost take an intentional detour to look for things beyond the captivating greenery of Manali. Everything was happily in harmony with the nature, which personified the life of the inhabitants there. A quick siesta & we were off to hit the roads of Old Manali. The drive to old Manali was a bit tiring, as we had to negotiate with traffic & long waits. But the wait is always worth it! And there we were, to the celebrated Temple of Vashishth, the temple and its wooden architecture – which is though common to all structures in Manali, yet each stands out on its own. As the temples imposed a feminine self, gracefully carved, wearing ornaments like that of a newly – wed bride – they were just pristine to look at!
Heading down from Vashishth our next stop was Jogini waterfalls. One could trek from Old Manali to Jogini waterfalls or alternatively just take a drive of 20 minutes by road. Perched at, 2000 m the Trek to Jogini offers a bird’s eye view of the valley – its snow touched mountains and the spotless green amidst the gurgles of the waterfall. One can actually trek uptill the zenith of the waterfall, which will offer views like these:
The descend to the road head is an easy walk, as it took us no more than 45 minutes. One could revel at the beauty of the fall as much as from the zenith as from the bottom. Now the hungry stomach led us to the narrow roads of Old Manali. We took a halt at Elevenses café to appease our hungry tummies with Falafal and some Chinese cuisine & we were all set to go! You have to try food at the café’s here; they offer you multi cuisine food & a pep crowd to dissolve all your fatigue in the ambience!
Heading ahead to Manu temple in a jiffy we walked to the old village settlement of Kath khuni architecture (a mark of Himachali architecture).The Manu temple is perched right in the middle of this village settlement and is dedicated to sage Manu, the creator of human race who meditated at this place. Next on our list was Hadimba Temple – The Magnificent conical structure, standing upright as an elegant masterpiece of Himachali folklore. It’s a dark stoned temple standing straight amidst the humongous number of devotees paying homage to the goddess. Soon, with the dusk we decided to head back to the Mall road. From the hustle bustle of the Mall, we took a walk to our lodge into the peaceful setting of Prini.
The following day we took an easy ride to Solang Valley. This breath taking valley was too captivating to avoid gliding over, so I tried a short round of Paragliding there. This activity was the most thrilling of all adventure sports I have ever done until now, unless I try Bungee Jumping of course! From Solang we drove to Naggar, the heritage village of Manali. Naggar is a hub for foreigners for the celebrated Nicholas Roerich art gallery and to write about this would not be suffice, so just take a peek into his house!
The mystical music being played in the art gallery of Sir Nicholas, nearly took me to a different cosmos. His paintings are simple, yet perfect. The splash of colours, almost gives a 4D essence to the paintings & well to talk of Sir Nicholas & his imposing personality – I couldn’t take my eyes off his portrait. From his house to the vintage car standing outside, all are just a definite guide to what panache he was himself, of course more so with his creation!
Right next to Nicholas Art Gallery is the Himalayan Folk & Tribal Art Museum, set amidst the dash of greenery to take away the depths of Himalayas & its essence. To reach here one has to take a flight of stairs which will b a rewarding exercise. Apart from the rare collection at the museum, one could just spend hours here soaking the beauty all around. We head back on the same road amidst the strokes of Himachali shops, where you can engage in a quick shopping spree or else just drive further to Naggar Castle.
This Old historic castle is a stop to relish its architectural delights and moving ahead in a drive of 15 minutes we visited the Tripura Sundari Temple. A visit to the temple will be worth your time, for it is peaceful & will not be as crowded as the other temples of Manali. From the temple we drove through a Kaccha road to Jana waterfall, to serve our parched stomachs with some nutrients of the local Himachali food. Jana Waterfall is a hub for adventure activities, amidst which is the Mani Ram Dhaba. This dhaba is your stop if you really wish to taste the local food, they serve 5 distinct dishes on one platter. One has to eat to believe in the wonders of their cooking as we stuffed ourselves with the most palatable food to head back to our lodge – Accomplished!
Himachal on my Platter!
The Palpable Menu
After this eventful day, we took rest for a couple of hours at our lodge & left for the Mall road by the evening. It being our last night, we were on the shopping spree until we shopped till we dropped! With bags of these little souvenirs from Manali we called the night off with a fine dining at Chopsticks restaurant on Mall Road. The evergreen Manali was bustling with life, even at 10 in the night with tourists hopping at every corner. This night ended with a distinct thought of gliding over the Solang Valley, with so much accomplished thoughts – everyone slept a sound sleep, while I was reminded of my Unposted Letters to Manali! All I could do next was sit by the bonfire outside to compile this journey, only to wake up to the soulful dawn in Manali & head to our next stop Mandi, with a head full of trance and this piece, of my Unposted letters to Manali!
Ps- Another draft is ready for the postman to deliver these Unposted Letters to Manali!
