Manali: The Land of breathtaking beauty

Amazing Beas river 

IT WAS a fulfilling, relaxing and above all a memorable trip. Planned to go to Manali, undoubtedly one of India's finest hill stations, for long but due to some preoccupations, didn't materialize. In fact, we planned to visit Srinagar in the month of October and accordingly booked flight tickets...

in June. But as ill luck would have it, the unprecedented flood that ravaged the state this summer forced us to change our plan. Manali automatically filled the vacuum created by Srinagar and we were excited to see the breathtaking beauty of this mountainous place.

We booked five seats in Himachal Pradesh State Transport Tourist Bus. It was a Volvo bus so we thought our journey from Kashmere Gate Bus Terminus, Delhi would not be a spoiler one though I knew travelling by bus in hilly terrain that too for around 15 hours with a kid of three years is no joke.

Our journey started at 9 pm and it was smooth till Chandigarh. 

On the way to Rohtang Pass

Then started a harrowing time as the bus was moving upward towards the hills, my wife started feeling nausea. She had a tough time till we reached Kullu. But nature's bounty had overtaken mental stress.

Fresh air, sweet sound of the river Beas, lush greenery welcomed us to a veritable paradise on earth.

We reached Manali and our hotel around 11 am.

We all including our kid had a whiff of fresh air. Without wasting time after a sumptuous breakfast we set out on sight seeing.

After wrapping up the local interesting places like Hidimba Temple, South Manali, Manu Temple, we returned to our hotel in the evening. It was October end so temperature was hovering around 16-17 degree Celsius. We carried woolens with us. So could easily bear the chill. In fact enjoyed a bit.

Spectacular view 

A stroll in the evening along the Mall Road, which is a 5 minute walk from our hotel was worth enjoying in a pre-Diwali night. Crowds were pouring in slowly. Young couples, families with kids walking down the well-lit, clean road was a sight to delight.

But the next morning was a truly thrilling experience as we headed towards 4114 metres above the sea level. Piles of dead bodies, as Rohtang stands for in local vocabulary, Rohtang Pass with all its glory was awaiting us. There was some snow and after wearing the necessary costumes, that we had hired from the local vendor, descended down the pass.

Cold breeze, spectacular surroundings, fresh air greeted us. It was a an amazing experience coming close to nature in its new avataar.

Clicked some pictures in the place where Job We Met was shot, though it was snow-clad in the song.

We spent there almost two hours. With mouthful maggies and coffees we quenched our thirst and hunger.

Also had a darshan of Vyas temple adjacent to the pass. It is the source of the Beas River and we felt spiritually bathed after spending some half an hour in the place.

The return journey was equally refreshing as we halted for a while at Solang Valley. Since it was Diwali day and the paragliding pilots were not keen to stay back late, we missed paragliding there.

The Diwali celebration was a low key affair as we burst some crackers in our hotel and retired to beds at 10 O clock hoping to explore Naggar the next day, yet another place with pristine beauty.

The journey to Naggar, and the Jana Water Falls on the way, was equally energetic.

We missed the local red rice at the Jana Falls as it was a not a rush hour in so far as tourist fall is concerned, explained our driver.

But the Naggar castle, where Hindi films like Krishh and Jab We Met were shot, attracted us a lot.

"Located in Naggar Town, amidst breathtaking forested hills, the Naggar Castle is a magnificent historical edifice. Made of stone and wood, this palace served as the residence of Raja Sidh Singh of Kullu. It was built in AD 1460 in an impressive amalgamation of European and Himalayan architecture. Fireplaces, fitting staircases, and magnificent stone and wood works grace the castle's interiors. There are three small shrines within the premises, each holding immense religious importance. For art lovers, Naggar Castle has incredible art pieces on display. Worth-mentioning are the paintings of Nicholas Roerich- the famous Russian painter. As souvenirs, you can take home traditional items like wall hangings, coasters and artefacts bearing imprints of Roerich's paintings from here.

In the year 1978, the castle was converted into a rest house, and more recently into a heritage hotel that is run by Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC). The holy Beas River flows close to the castle, adding beauty and sanctity to it. No trip to Manali is actually complete if you don't pay a visit to this attraction."

The castle boasts of stupendous architectural features. Starting from the truly majestic façade to extraordinary artworks in the interiors, there are many amazing subjects to shoot in Naggar Castle.

The song Yeh ishq hai from the 2007 blockbuster Jab We Met, which featured Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor on lead roles, has been shot here. Shreya Ghoshal bagged the National Award for the same song.

You need to pay an entry fee of Rs. 15 per person.

Manikaran

Manikaran: Where rice is boiled in natural hot water

Visiting Manali was in our mind for quite some time. Finally when our proposed trip to Srinagar had to be cancelled due to heavy flood there, we decided to spend some great time in Manali.

We almost gave our Manikaran trip a miss during our trip to Manali.

On the last day of our trip, we had barely six ours before our return journey to Delhi. But thanks to our driver Yash, we set on a thrilling journey towards the Himalayas. The sharp curves by the Parvati River welcomed us.

And our driver was right when he said that visiting Manali is incomplete without a darshan to Manikaran.

After the Beas and Parvati sangam (confluence), we move upwards towards Manikaran located in the Parvati Valley along the banks of river Parvati, northeast of Bhuntar in the Kullu District, the amazing landscape of mountains greet us to a world of spirituality and motivation.

Located at an altitude of 1760 metres, Manikaran is about 40 km from Bhuntar. Any tourist visiting Manali and Kullu hardly can give it a miss to its hot springs and piligrim centres.

A pilgrimage centre both for the Hindus and Sikhs, Manikaran attracts both devotees and tourists from various parts of the country.

Here one can find temples of Lord Rama, Krishna, and Vishnu.

There are some interesting anecdotes about this scenic place.

For the Hindus, the place is auspicious because they believe that Manu recreated human life in Manikaran after the great deluge, making it a sacred place.

Also there is another interesting story about the place. Once while roaming around, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, happened to be here. Manikaran was surrounded by spectacular mountains and was beautiful lush greenery.

Mesmerized by the beauty of the place, they decided to spend some time there.

It is believed that they actually spent eleven hundred years here. During their stay here, Goddess Parvati lost her mani in the waters of a stream.

Upset over the loss, she asked Shiva to return it back.

Lord Shiva commanded his attendant to find out the mani for Parvati, however, when they failed, he was very furious.

Then Nataraj opened his third eye, a tremendously inauspicious event which led to disturbances in the universe.

An appeal was made before the serpent god, Shesha-Nag, to pacify Lord Shiva. Shesha-Nag hissed giving rise to a flow of boiling water.

The water spread over the entire area resulting in the emergence of precious stones of the type Goddess Parvati had lost. The Lord was pacified and both Mahadeva and Parvati were happy again.

Here the water is still hot and is considered extremely auspicious. A pilgrimage to this place is thought of as complete, told us by our guide.

It is also believed that there is no need to pay a visit to “Kashi” after visiting this place. The water of the spring is also supposed to have curative powers. The water is so hot that rice for the “langar” is cooked by putting it into a linen-bag and dipping it into the boiling water.

From Manali, Manikaran is around 85 km.

According to Sikhs, during third Udasi, Guru Nanak Dev came here in 1574 with his disciples Bhai Bala and Bhai Mardana.

Sri Guru Nanak Dev was with Bhai Bala and Bhai Mardana in Manikaran and Bhai Mardana felt hungry and they had no food.

Guru Nanak sent his friend Bhai Mardana to collect food for langar.

Devotees offered flour (atta) to make roti. However, there was no fire to cook the food.

Guru Nanak asked Mardana to lift a stone and Bhai Mardana then lifted a rock and a hot spring appeared.

As directed by Guru Nanak Dev ji, Mardana put the rolled chappatis in the spring to his despair the chappatis sank.

Guru Nanak then told him to pray to god saying that if his chappatis float back then he would donate one chappati in the name of God.

Near Kothi

When he prayed all the chappatis started floating duly baked. Guru Nanak said that anyone who donates in the name of God, his or her drowned items float back.

We had langar in Manikaran and all were extremely happy and content.