INDIA

India is a vast South Asian country with diverse terrain stretching from The Himalayas to The Indian Ocean coastline and history reaching back 5 millennia. In the north, Mughal Empire landmarks include Delhi’s Red Fort complex, massive Jama Masjid mosque and Agra’s iconic Taj Mahal mausoleum. Pilgrims bathe in the Ganges in Varanasi, and Rishikesh is a yoga center and base for Himalayan trekking.

KASOL

Kasol is a village in Himachal Pradesh, northern India. It is situated in Parvati Valley, on the banks of the Parvati River, on the way between Bhuntar to Manikaran. It is located 42 km east of Kullu at the height of 1640 meters from MSL.

Stretched along the lovely Parvati River and with mountain views to the northeast, Kasol is the main traveller hang-out in the valley. It’s a small village, but almost overrun with reggae bars, bakeries and cheap guesthouses catering to a largely hippie/Israeli crowd. It's also a summertime venue for trance parties transplanted from Goa, and at any time an easy base for exploring the forested valley or just chilling out. The village is divided into Old Kasol on the Bhuntar side of its bridge, and New Kasol on the Manikaran side.

When it comes to options of reaching Kasol from Delhi or Chandigarh, the only way to hit this region is by road. It's not connected by railway and flights are not very frequent to Kullu. There is an Airport near to Kasol, which is located in Bhuntar (Kullu) but flights are rare and would be a costly affair. There is no rail line in part of Himachal Pradesh. Kiratpur Saheb in Punjab and Una in Himachal are two railway stations around this place. Both of these railways stations are more than 150 kilometers away from Kasol. There is another narrow-gauge line at around 100 kilometers, which is located in Jogindernagar, but it's not recommended except in a scenario when you have enough time and want to experience toy train, which starts from Pathankot and ends at Jogindernagar.

So road is only good options to reach Kasol. Now transportation has improved a lot and you have multiple options. There are luxury buses by HRTC, available for Kullu from Delhi, Chandigarh & many other main cities. Even normal buses of HRTC are also quite good and cheapest way to travel. Luxury buses by Himachal Tourism are also available from Delhi. All Volvo buses by HRTC & Himachal Tourism start from Himachal Bhavan in Delhi, which is located in Mandi House near Connaught Place. All these buses go to Manali via Kullu and one needs to get down at Bhuntar to take local bus for Kasol or a taxi. Kasol is located at around 30 kilometers from Bhuntar. Kullu can be reached from Delhi by national highway NH 1 up to Chandigarh and from there by national highway NH21 which passes through Bilaspur, Sundernagar and Mandi towns. Kullu is 480 km from Delhi.

There are various options available to stay in and around Kasol. Budget hotels, few resorts and luxury home-stays as well. And this place offers great atmosphere all around. Fresh air , blue sky, Parvathi river, local folks, cattle grounds, green hills and lot more. There are various interesting treks around Kasol and Malana. There are various easy, moderate and difficult treks around Kasol village. Kheer Ganga is one of the main treks. Whole Parvati valley is very different and more beautiful from many surrounding hills stations of Himachal Pradesh. There is lot to explore in this part of Himachal, some can be discussed and some are not to be disclosed in public !

Malana is another popular village which is reachable after a moderate trek. Many foreigners have come to this place and have been living here for many years. Lot of Israelis come to Kasol and one can see it by the presence of Hebrew language banners in Parvati valley. There are a lot of mind boggling stories associated with this place, the Cannabis crops, Hindu mythology, Greek descendants of Alexander The Great and The local democracy falling under a separate constitutional part..!!!

Kasol is one of the favorite places for backpackers and also a base for Himalayan trekking to SarPass, Pin Parbati Pass and Kheer Ganga. Wish you a great trip to Kasol.

See You Soon...On Another Famous Hippie Location

Until Then...NAMASTE...

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