heaven in india.....

well, it has been an extended summer season this year in india due to late arrival of monsoons and we have been facing damn hot afternoons even in the month of july...which is better known for an avalanche of floods in india. with mercury going over 40 degrees last week again, we decided to have a go at himalayas just for a change.

so, we just pack our bags and head from chandigarh towards the Manali....again a world famous tourist spot....and i will admit that after having been a native of the same state for 25 years, this was mine first trip to this place...a real place...maybe i was too higed to the beauty of my birthplace..dharamshala...abode to his holyness..The Dalai Lama.

so, in our first stop, we reached at kasol, in kullu, better known among the devotees of Bhole Nath..its a scenic place situated on the bank of mighty Parvati river..one of the world's most fastly flowing rivers..at some places, its so frightening and noisy that you can't help admiring the beauty created by gods in there country. Regarding the city, it is also known as mini israel as you will find lots of israelis here on vacation...mostly for purposes other then vacations. Hotels here are good..with wooden interiors and mostly under 1000 rs a night, you cant ask for a better deal. Getting up here in the morning among the deodars and a walk along the river is the most heavenly experience, you can get here. About 2 kms from kasol is Manikaran, a holy spot and most famous for its natural hot water springs. i had heard, that the water is hot there, but it is so hot, i never imagined...and the springs were so close to the parvati river with its icy water, anyway, a bath in the spring was so good and when we came out of pool, we all felt in a sort of hangover...dint knew why...but it felt good....

our next stop was the famous manali...and the city lived upto its expectations. well..i really dint expected the place to be soothing but some places there were amazing...the great himalayan forest, Hidimba devi temple...and another park adjacent to bus stand (sorry i cant remeber the name)...among other specialities was the chiines food here..there is a market there of Tibetans adjacent to the Mall road of manali...and the dishes, which they serve are very well cooked and amazingly never disturb your pocket too...a walk through the city in the evening can be very
soothing for the soul.

around 50 kms from manali, is the Rohtang pass, at an altitude of 13,100 feet above sea level, it is cut off from other parts of country for 8 months a year due to heavy snowfall and its open from april to july...we set out early in the morning at 4 am...and as we were scaling up, i dont think, i will be able to explain the experience in words here...our first stop was Madhi..around halfway towards rohtang. They have some small Dhabas there for food...price is again reasonable there , and one can have indian as well as chinese foods there. Rohtang pass is about 20 kms fom here and it can be much less if you just walk by foot..there are enourmous steep hills around and so many scenic sceneries that you are full fledged busy with your camera. we had hired a cab for our trip and fortunately, it got stuck in the mud midway and top was still 16 kms from there, so we just decided to walk and on our way upto the top, we came across numerous glaciers and snow peaks that it really made our day.

At the top, you can something to eat at little kiosks there and you can visit the Beas Kund there, it is the origin of beas river there, and it is really a different experience to walk in the floating clouds there. The drive towards the manali is equally scenic as we decend towards the town and i think most of us find many new places while coming back, which we leave in a haste towards top while ascending.

our next destination was Prashar lake and i would admit that after visiting such great places in 3 days, i was feeling a bit of fatigue for exploring new places..we went there at night and only feeling which i got while going there in the night was that we were going through a dense forest and it was a steep climb. We reached there at 10 pm and we had no advance bookings also in any of the guest houses there, but as they say, its india..we got two suits in the forest guest house for just around 4 usd per night each.... it couldn't have been much better....well after a tiring day..all of us had a sound sleep.

next morning, when i got up, i must say, it was the most beautifull morning of mine ever...even a morning wake up with megan foxx lying next on my bed couldn't have beaten that. we were on top of a mountain and it was impossible to see the bottom from there...overall it was majestic to be there. After breakfast, we set out for the attraction of the place..the Prashar LAKE..it was just a 10 minutes walk from the guest house and the first glimpse of the place just filled mine soul with such an aura that i was left wondering at the artwork of nature there. Here, in the lake, a small island is there, whick keeps on floating by itself. Near the lake, is the Prashar temple.

The clouds come and go here within minutes and its a divine feeling to be up there. Being such a scenic place, we dint found much tourists there.

Maybe the main reason behind is that its situated in the remote place of mandi district. one can reach there from either from mandi or from kullu. first timers can hire cabs as buses dont go upto the lake. The nearest bus station is at baggi, 7 kms downhill walk and 19 kms by road...and the walk is equally splendid through the forest , but one should be aware of small insects plying there.

well, it was the last destination in our list and overall the trip was excellent. i am sorry if i wasn't able to give the account of trip in a more better way..but as i was writing it in mine office hours under the spying eyes of mine boss,i dont think i could have done a better job. ok eneough for now...good day.