Escape Delhi's pollution and crowd in just 10 hours. Book your bust tickets to Mandi. It has one of the busiest bus stations in Himachal with very good connectivity to most places in the state. A friend and I hopped on a bus from Delhi and reached Mandi after completing an overnight journey. It was an impromptu plan, that's why it was more fun. We stumbled upon one of the most beautiful trails and sights after we started our journey from Mandi to Parashar.
Parashar Lake is considered to be a religious place by many. There is a temple at the top which the locals visit quite often. As a result, the roads are well maintained and there is also a bus service, that runs once a day (Leaves at 11:15 pm from Mandi and back from Parashar at 1:30 pm). Alternatively, you can also choose to drive on your own. We guys missed the bus so we hitchhiked with a local till Bagi village, which is the starting point for the trek. The lake is about 7.5 km from here(4-5 hours). It was raining heavily and the roads were pretty badly damaged after a cloud burst that occurred one night before. Still, we decided to keep on going. Since we had already reached the starting point and were looking for some adventure. We chose to go without a guide as my friend had done this trek earlier. But its definitely a bad idea to go without one. The path isn't very well defined and it can easily get dangerous if the weather isn't great.
It kept raining, we got bitten by many leeches. Clearly, the weather wasn't on our side. The important lessons from this little adventure were to pack light, carry a rain-cover for both yourself and the bag, wear full-length trousers and socks over them. I did this trek in my shorts and as a result, my legs were bleeding from all the leech bites. So must carry some salt as well to ward off the little bloodsuckers in the future.
The initial hike is a bit difficult as it is pretty steep. But the beautiful waterfalls and dense forest on the way completely make up for it. Once the ascent is over, you'll get to see large green meadows. The terrain isn't very treacherous from here onwards & even the path is pretty straightforward, just follow the network towers. After we reached this point, suddenly it stopped pouring, the sun came out, and so did 2 rainbows! πThe view was so delightful. I remember staring at the sky and smiling nonstop. Our spirits went skyrocketing high after that moment. Then we literally marched till the end point without stopping once. After a while, we reached the top and discovered the most amazing picnic spot. A lake at the height of 2730m above the sea, an island that's never sitting in one place, and a magnificent view of the Dhauladhar ranges. Soon we experienced a pretty sunset, followed by a chilly night and then a beautiful sunrise. This place is just perfect!
If you're wondering where to stay- there were two guesthouses by Forest and PWD. You can book the rooms on arrival. Although, I would suggest you check the availability beforehand as Parashar sees a lot of tourists especially during the summers. There are also a few shops that'll let you rent tents for a night. We got a great deal which included meals as well.
If viewing two rainbows at the same time, chilling on the lakeside at the top of the mountain is your idea of fun. Then, you should definitely head to Parashar.π
Parashar Lake is considered to be a religious place by many. There is a temple at the top which the locals visit quite often. As a result, the roads are well maintained and there is also a bus service, that runs once a day (Leaves at 11:15 pm from Mandi and back from Parashar at 1:30 pm). Alternatively, you can also choose to drive on your own. We guys missed the bus so we hitchhiked with a local till Bagi village, which is the starting point for the trek. The lake is about 7.5 km from here(4-5 hours). It was raining heavily and the roads were pretty badly damaged after a cloud burst that occurred one night before. Still, we decided to keep on going. Since we had already reached the starting point and were looking for some adventure. We chose to go without a guide as my friend had done this trek earlier. But its definitely a bad idea to go without one. The path isn't very well defined and it can easily get dangerous if the weather isn't great.
It kept raining, we got bitten by many leeches. Clearly, the weather wasn't on our side. The important lessons from this little adventure were to pack light, carry a rain-cover for both yourself and the bag, wear full-length trousers and socks over them. I did this trek in my shorts and as a result, my legs were bleeding from all the leech bites. So must carry some salt as well to ward off the little bloodsuckers in the future.
The initial hike is a bit difficult as it is pretty steep. But the beautiful waterfalls and dense forest on the way completely make up for it. Once the ascent is over, you'll get to see large green meadows. The terrain isn't very treacherous from here onwards & even the path is pretty straightforward, just follow the network towers. After we reached this point, suddenly it stopped pouring, the sun came out, and so did 2 rainbows! πThe view was so delightful. I remember staring at the sky and smiling nonstop. Our spirits went skyrocketing high after that moment. Then we literally marched till the end point without stopping once. After a while, we reached the top and discovered the most amazing picnic spot. A lake at the height of 2730m above the sea, an island that's never sitting in one place, and a magnificent view of the Dhauladhar ranges. Soon we experienced a pretty sunset, followed by a chilly night and then a beautiful sunrise. This place is just perfect!
If you're wondering where to stay- there were two guesthouses by Forest and PWD. You can book the rooms on arrival. Although, I would suggest you check the availability beforehand as Parashar sees a lot of tourists especially during the summers. There are also a few shops that'll let you rent tents for a night. We got a great deal which included meals as well.
If viewing two rainbows at the same time, chilling on the lakeside at the top of the mountain is your idea of fun. Then, you should definitely head to Parashar.π