I recently took a week off and just headed off to Kasol, India. I always love to be in the mountains. I’m more of a mountain person instead of a beach person. And the trip was delightful.
We booked our flight from Mumbai to Delhi. It cost me just around INR 7K for a round trip. A lot of my colleagues suggested to take a flight to Chandigarh and start my journey for Kasol from Chandigarh instead but the flight tickets from Mumbai to Chandigarh were more expensive by at least 3k INR. While I was open to spending more for comfort, ultimately it did not feel that I would gain much if I had started my journey from Chandigarh.
✈ Mumbai to Delhi flight — INR 7K
From Delhi, we took an overnight bus to Bhuntar. Bhuntar is still an hour away from Kasol but we couldn’t find any direct bus to Kasol. Delhi to Bhuntar bus cost us INR 1.5K per person. There were cheaper bus options available but we chose a comfortable ride as Delhi to Bhuntar is at least 12 hours away.
Our bus had phone chargers, water, blankets and nice comfy relaxing seats. For a 12 hour ride, it still felt uncomfortable at the end of the ride but most of our travel time went in sleeping. From Bhuntar, we could have taken another bus to Kasol but we were too tired from our journey and decided to splurge on Taxicab instead. There are taxi unions so chances of getting duped are low. All taxis have fixed pricing. It cost us INR 1,150 for the taxi to Kasol. We also got some chips and cake to hog as we were hungry.
In Kasol, we stayed at The Rainbow Inn & Cafe. I can’t shut up about this Hotel. This turned out to be the best decision of the trip. The hotel is beautiful, accessible to the bus stop and right on the way of Chalal bridge. They have a nice bar and a cafe attached. If you book the hotel during your trip, book it via Booking.com as you get free breakfast in the package.
They even have live bands on weekends.
More importantly, the staff was amazing. They helped wherever they could. You can tell how the staff is being treated by the owners based on how they treat guests. I give them 5/5.
Day 1 at Kasol
On day 1 at Kasol, we hiked to Chalal village. It’s just an hour of walk and leads to a beautiful village settled on the banks of Parvati river. Throughout the trail, there are Israelis settled and it wouldn’t be wrong to call it an Israeli hub.
From Kasol, on day 2 we took a taxicab to Tosh Village. It’s just about an hour and a half away from Kasol. Tosh again offers breathtaking views of Parvati valley. It’s located 7900 feet on top and surrounded by hills all around. It’s quite a trek to get to your hotel, and we had booked ours on top of the hill 😎
I highly recommend that you take a day at Tosh to relax and enjoy beautiful views.
Kheerganga Trek
We started our trek to Kheerganga from Tosh. We didn’t want to start from Tosh to save energy. So we took a cab to Barshaini to start our trek. There are two trekking routes and both take up to 10-12KM from Barshaini to Kheerganga.
While heading up we took the route via Kalga Village halting at appropriate times for a newbie trekker. For a healthy person, it should take anywhere between 4-5 hours to reach the top. There are enough points throughout the trail to grab a coffee, maggi, fruits etc.
We spent the night in tents at the top. There are plenty and you don’t need to book them in advance. You don’t get network while on top and you might want to inform your family or close ones that you won’t be available for a day or two.
The view from the top is nothing short of majestic. The larger than life mountains make you realize that you’re just a drop in the vast vast ocean. You do and not matter. Sometimes it’s important to deal with the reality of your contribution to ground you.
