Reasons Why People Love Himachal (Part 2) - Manali, Kasol

Manali

            When it comes to Manali, the first thing that hits your mind is honeymoon packages, but sure nowadays the place has also become a favorite destination for trekkers as well.

Day-3: Manali en-route         

             We continued for our journey from Shimla on 3rd day towards Manali early morning.I was especially excited because of the things I had read about the scenic views on the way from Shimla to Manali. The route made sure I wasn't disappointed at all.         
             The nature seemed to change itself after every 1 hour through the journey.The 1st hour and half of journey from Shimla was a bit slow, due to the terrain and truck traffic.Also people who have nausea issue while traveling, better be prepared for some turns on this road, of course only if you don't enjoy the fresh air 😜.

Anu preferred this way of traveling😜

       On the way its not just the mountains that make you go awe, but also the rivers.Firstly you would come across Sutlej till Mandi and then comes Beas.Just the view of these rivers and the river beds refreshes you, we were awestruck by them and to be frank we couldn't stop saying WOW! for the whole journey from there.

Sutlej river along the way

White stones and the sand on river bed

         Once Mandi is crossed now it is Beas river that gives you company on the way.There's also Pandoh Dam built on Beas river, a spot worth looking but it being protected area, we are not allowed photography and also can't linger around too long.

Backside of Pandoh Dam

               As soon as you cross the dam, its altogether new eye refreshing route, lush green trees on high mountains with green Beas river silently flowing down.Its just perfect for road tripping and I just understood why its so tempting for bikers.The roads are mostly good with some rough patches in between due to four lane construction being done.Also there are tunnels being constructed throughout the route, which also has longest tunnel of India ,9 km long, to cut short travel time of Manali-Ladakh to 1 day.

Few clicks on the route:

Hanogi Mata Mandir

             We reached Manali by around 7 pm and it was shivery cold(around 2° or maybe even below). As in Shimla, it gets dark here as well before 6pm so had no option but to retire to our rooms and get ready for next day.

Day-4: Manali Local sight seeing

            There are many options to visit but we had opted for few selected ones, to make sure we soak in the atmosphere rather than hopping places.

Vashistha Temple : 

Temple is believed to be more than 4000 year old, although the external structure is changed at times.Dedicated to Rishi Vashishta, one of the seven great sages of Hindu.

Another significance of the temple is a hot spring just next to the temple, where devotees are allowed to have a dip.

Vashishta Temple
 

Ram Temple next to Vashishta temple

Hidimba Temple:

Temple dedicated to Hidamba devi, wife of Bhima.It is believed to be built around 1553, is mostly a wooden structure.

Hidimba Temple

There is also place, rather a tree, close to the temple area dedicated to Ghatotkach, son of Bhim and Hidamba.The temple area is quite well maintained with huge cover of thick cedar trees.

          Now came a part for which me and my friend(Ketan) were not ready, getting into the traditional wear, sit on the yaks and have some cliché pics, typical honeymoon couples😜 but then who can argue with wives 😜. Then we had a thought, we won't be coming here frequently, so lets do this stuff😁 and eventually it was a fun experience.

Traditional Himachali dress

Traditional Himachali dress

 

Manu Temple :

       This was one of my most favorite place. There was a strange, peaceful feeling at this serene place, maybe because of the simplicity of the people around and the way they live added to the spiritual energy of the temple.

        The temple is named after sage Manu, who is believed to be creator/saviour of human race. There is also well written history at the entrance of the temple about Manu , why and how he got to Manali.

 on the way to temple

Manu temple

random click

Club House:

          This comes on the way back to Manali city.Its basically like small mall market kind of place created, which has restaurants, chat corners, fun zone, local stuff shopping.We didn't wait for too long here as we were going towards Mall Road of Manali.

Manali Mall Road: 

         As name suggests, its a common shopping center for the tourists and locals, although not as big as in Shimla.You can get all types of woolen clothing here. Also, you would find Tibetan market area here where the crowd comes in.

Along with the mall road you also could visit :

Van Vihar and Nyinmapa Tibetan Buddhist Monastery.

Covering all these we ended the day to start next day for some adventures.

        It seems the post is getting way longer than I had thought earlier, so before everyone starts looking where the scroller of post ends, I will continue in the next post(below is the link).

Extended part 2 of Himachal travelogue (Kasol,Rafting and more)