Because 'Kasol Diaries' is too mainstream alright?
Delhi-Panipat-Kurukshetra-Ambala-(Take right after Ambala)-Roopnagar-Kiratpur-Take right from Kiratpur- Mandi-Aut-Bhuntar-Take right from Bhuntar-Kasol. You can fill in these points in Google Maps and get a picture of the route.
So we headed to this Moonview Cafe (very cliche name for hippie towns) for breakfast and eating under sunshine was a nice feeling.
We walked up to the Parvati river and it was a serene experience. The sound of river always brings peace to me and here it was coupled with the beautiful views of mountains in sight so I couldn't ask for more.
We rode about 153km to Mandi and booked Hotel Manjula (using their own Wifi) on Goibibo. After a quick shower we were out again to explore Mandi and we ended up reaching this mela/fair which was at its closing time for the day. Still we manage to take a walk around which got us reminding memories from childhood.
We had 3 days in March 2017 long weekend and as always I didn't want to waste this one so decided to head out to Kasol and finally tick this off the list. I understand Kasol is a very hyped place and is (in)famous for several reasons so this was one of the reasons I wanted to visit this place to see if its really worth all the hype around it. I was accomopanied by my friend who is also an active contributor to this blog. So here is the route we took and by 5:30am we both were on road:
Delhi-Panipat-Kurukshetra-Ambala-(Take right after Ambala)-Roopnagar-Kiratpur-Take right from Kiratpur- Mandi-Aut-Bhuntar-Take right from Bhuntar-Kasol. You can fill in these points in Google Maps and get a picture of the route.
Even in March it was pretty cold and I knew it will be pretty chilly in the morning so I was riding in 4 layers to beat the windblast and it worked. For the first time ever the exit from the city was smooth by taking the Bhalswa Flyover. We could totally avoid the traffic jam. About 105km done and we stopped for breakfast at one of the many Jhilmil dhabas and..
..I realized I don't have my wallet with me. What a disaster to begin the ride with wtf! Checked all the pockets but I couldn't find it and so I told myself I must have left it at home (which was a failed attempt to console myself as I will discover at the end of the ride, won't say anymore on this as it still hurts). Thankfully I was riding with my friend Aditya this time and not solo so he took care of the expenses on the ride.
Anyways we continued till Ambala and were slightly confused on the route there, then again at the point where you have to take right from Mandi. So far the roads were good and soon the hills were in sight which made us feel good. We stopped for tea after Rupnagar were it drizzled for a bit but not for long.
Towards Kiratpur we faced a lot of traffic. Both of us riding in full gear on so called 'race bikes' were catching all the attention from the locals there sitting on tractors and pointing at us. Whenever I am in such a situation, I wonder what people are talking when they point at us. Some dudes on their bikes get charged up and think we are trying to race with them, some just wonder why are these guys here! About 5km before Sundarnagar we stopped for lunch. It was getting cold now and our bikes looked really dirty, checked the odo and we had covered 415km by lunch time. Post lunch we were riding on good roads towards Mandi. We stopped at KTM Mandi for a loose nut on the bike and to answer some urgent nature calls lol.
As we reached Bhuntar we could see snow capped mountains. But we had covered 522km by 6pm and Kasol was still 29km which means another hour. It was dark when we reached Kasol facing a mix of good and bad road conditions, mostly bad! At many places we were tempted to click pics but had to keep moving towards Kasol as it was getting dark and cold already. Plus there was lot of religious traffic towards Manikaran which was slowing us down and the game of overtaking as you know. Once we reached Kasol (around 7pm) we found that most of the rooms were blocked however after waiting for about 45mins Aditya was able to get a good deal for Rs. 1100 for a room/night. After checking in we went for dinner at this Italian cafe which were thronged with crowd so we waited for long to get our dinner lol. We also came to know that the trek to Tosh is closed due to snow. Day 1 ended with a good sleep post dinner.
As we reached Bhuntar we could see snow capped mountains. But we had covered 522km by 6pm and Kasol was still 29km which means another hour. It was dark when we reached Kasol facing a mix of good and bad road conditions, mostly bad! At many places we were tempted to click pics but had to keep moving towards Kasol as it was getting dark and cold already. Plus there was lot of religious traffic towards Manikaran which was slowing us down and the game of overtaking as you know. Once we reached Kasol (around 7pm) we found that most of the rooms were blocked however after waiting for about 45mins Aditya was able to get a good deal for Rs. 1100 for a room/night. After checking in we went for dinner at this Italian cafe which were thronged with crowd so we waited for long to get our dinner lol. We also came to know that the trek to Tosh is closed due to snow. Day 1 ended with a good sleep post dinner.
Day 1: 558km (Expenses below are for two people together)
Breakfast: 100
Petrol: Rs. 1990
Tea: 25
Chain tight: 20
Lunch: 150
Dinner: 540
Day 2:
Chilly morning and the first thing I saw which made me fell in love all over again with my bike <3
We could spot a beautiful cafe further up but didn't go due to lack of time. As we had to come back to room to gear up. We rode up to Tosh, 21km/1 hour. The ride was beautiful and we spotted snow on the way and at places snow falling down of tree leaves due to sunrays. But once we reached Tosh it was all slushy and a mess of traffic. This made us immediately turn our bikes back and it took 20 mins just to do that because of the traffic jam of cars. We came back to Kasol to have lunch and after that we checked out to start our ride back. You will be casually asked by people here if you need the 'stuff' which you may entertain. We avoided.
Sorry for not noting down the expenses on this day!
Day 3:
Today was all about riding back to Delhi. We did good speeds and reached Delhi by 5:45pm.
Total 1175km done in these 3 days. If you are not interested in trekking from Kasol then go for this ride but I suggest add another day to your ride. Enjoy a short video I made using Quik app:
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