The Hitchhiker's Guide To A 5 Day Trip to Tosh- Kheerganga & Kasol

As far as short getaways go , Parvati Valley, which is the home to a number of beautiful hamlets - Tosh , Malana , Chaalal etc & the famous Kheerganga Trek, is the perfect geography

Planning a 5 day visit to places up North is not easy as a significant amount of time is spent on the roads in these geographies ( which is an an awesome experience in itself) on account of lack of affordable flight or train options . Needless to say a little bit of planning never hurts even though going vagabond is not a bad idea at all.

We made the trip to Parvati Valley and covered Kasol , Tosh and did the Kheerganga trek in the first week of June.  April-June is possibly the best time to visit Kasol and Tosh. It gets warmer in June but nights are quite cold.

TRIP ITINERARY

The overall trip itinerary was something like this :

Day 1 - Tosh
Day 2 - Kheerganga Trek with overnight stay at Kheerganga
Day 3 - Back to Tosh before heading of to Chalaal at night
Day 4 - River Camping at Chalaal
Day 5 - Kasol

Day 0 - Boarded the overnight bus from Delhi  at 11:00 PM to Bhuntar and reached Bhuntar at around 10:00 AM in the morning.

HOW TO REACH KASOL & TOSH

Bhuntar is the nearest bus stand to Kasol with direct connectivity to Delhi. There are numerous buses that run from Delhi to Bhuntar. My suggestion would be to take an AC Sleeper or an AC Semi-sleeper Volvo Bus . Redbus.in is a good source to check and book the bus tickets. The bus rides are safe and a lot of tourists prefer this mode of travel. You can also take an overnight bus from Chandigarh. The travel time is around 10-12 hours from Delhi and 8-9 hours from Chandigarh.

Alternatively , you can also take a cab from either of the places but that's an expensive affair and will cost you Rs. 6,000 - 8000/- one way.

There are also direct flights to Kullu ( Bhuntar Airport) from Delhi but they are scarce and extremely expensive.

After boarding off in Bhuntar , we took a cab directly to Tosh as opposed to going to Kasol first. You get fixed rate cabs from Bhuntar . They are a part of the Taxi Association there and are quite reliable. It takes around 2 hours to reach Tosh from Bhuntar and costs around 1700/- bucks.


WHAT TO DO IN TOSH & KASOL ?

The Beauty of The Snow Covered Mountains - View From the Room 

Tosh is a small and a beautiful hamlet with an awesome view of the Himalayas . There are a lot of staying options in Tosh but be wise will selecting them. Go for places that have a good washroom.

Pink Floyd Cafe

We stayed at the Pink Floyd Cafe. The rooms are decent and the management is sleepy and chilled out pretty much like the place itself. The room rates range from 400/- bucks - 1500/- bucks. Other good places to stay are Hilltop Cafe , Blue Diamond Hotel and Snow View Cafe.

As far as what to do in Tosh is concerned , the answer is to relax. Enjoy the view of the Himalayas , the amazing food of the cafes and the calmness of the village.  Pink Floyd Cafe , Shiva Mountain Cafe and German Bakery Cafe are some of the good places to hang out at.  

German Bakery Cafe

THE KHEERGANGA TREK

One of the main attractions of the Parvati Valley is the Kheerganga Trek. Its a 12 KM uphill trek that takes you to an elevation of feet 13021 feet . The difficulty is level is somewhere in-between easy and moderate.

The Route Less Taken

The trek starts from Barshaini which is 4 KMs from Tosh . You can take a cab to Barshaini or walk down the starting point. I would strongly suggest to take the cab. While there are two routes to reach Kheerganga , the preferred route is through a Jungle. The route takes you through beautiful forest covers and provides spectacular view of snow covered mountains and waterfalls. It takes around 5-6 hours to climb up, depending upon your level of fitness and the number of breaks you take. 

Once you reach the top take a dip in the natural hot water springs , set-up a tent and light up a bonfire at night and gaze at the stars. Its worthwhile to spend a night in Kheerganga.

Camping at Kheerganga

We headed down to Tosh the next day , picked up our luggage ( we had left it in Pink Floyd) . It is advisable that you do not carry heavy backpacks while trekking up. It took us 4 hours to descend and post having our lunch at Tosh , we headed off to Kasol.

It takes an hour and 900 bucks in  a fixed rate cab to reach Kasol . The Parvati river runs parallel to the town of Kasol . On the other side of the river, lies the small town of Chalaal. This is where we decided to spend the last two days of our trip.

THE RIVER CAMPS AT CHALAAL & KASOL

Kasol is a little commercialized and has a plethora of cafes and small shops. It becomes quite crowded during the day with travelers leaving and reaching the place and hence we decided to stay at river camps near Chalaal . This is an experience in itself since it allows you to 'chill' near the mighty Parvati river.

During the day, you can simply cross a bridge and enjoy the amazing Israeli food that Kasol has to offer . You can visit the flea markets and buy cheap and cool clothes , souvenirs , hippie items etc.

River Side at Chalaal

Some of the best cafes in Kasol are Jim Morisson Cafe , Mama's Cafe , Moon Dance Cafe and  Evergreen Cafe. We spent a day and half chilling in various cafes in Kasol before catching a cab back to Delhi.

All in all , Tosh-Kasol-Kheerganga is an amazing place to visit during summers. The tranquility of Tosh , the rigourous Kheerganga Trek and the joyful hustle and bustle of Kasol will give you a glimpse into what Northern part of the country has to offer.

PS - For more info on the place , feel free to ask any questions in the comment section :-)

  

Memory Gland !!

With the world asleep, as darkness falls,

To the Memory Gland, the Silence calls.

“Rise from the sleep”, the Silence cried,

His words, the Memory Gland did abide.

“Give me answers ,that is your task,

To all the questions , I hereby ask .”

And hence began Silence‘s indulgence.

Into ideas hidden in Memory’s astuteness.

“Why is it ,that you always bring,

Memories so utterly disturbing ?

Why is it that you always try,

Visiting times that made me cry?”.

“Why is that you leave me pleading

In dark places, alone and bleeding?.

Answer me ,for I want to know,

The truth from you ,O mighty foe.”

The Memory Gland , now fully awaken,

Gashed and hurt by the Silence’s weapon.

“How mistaken are you, old friend I say ,

Nothing is farther from truth ,I pray.”

“Wasn’t it I who took you on a joyride,

To places which left you happy and mystified.

And wasn’t it I who stood by your side,

When joy and delight, you could not hide.

But every pleasure, has a price to pay,

Life ,mischievous and bold will always sway .

But I will always be there for you to see,

Good and evil ,then , now and ever to be.”

NIGHT WHISPERS

The world screams,its ugly sound,

The fallen angels hold their ground.

Forsaken,the night reeks of pain,

Its arrows that accompany the rain.

Sunset ,long gone,was a beautiful sight,

The angels,now tired, still continue the fight.

While I paint the image of their woeful plight,

Thinking about the future gives little delight.