DATED: 13.06.2015

Embarking on a journey to the Mini Israel of India

Starting my Journey from altogether a separate corner of India - North Eastern State of Sikkim i planned my trip not a week before to travel all the way to the village of Kasol in the North Eastern state of Himachal Pradesh.

starting from Gangtok the Capital of Sikkim- my Home Town, a 4 hrs drive to the New Jalpaiguri Railway Station in West Bengal- the closest station to the state of Sikkim- i boarded on the Dibrugarh Rajdhani which takes me straight to the capital of India - New Delhi.

I had ganged up with two more of my friends and planned to drive all the way from new Delhi to Kasol on my Friends Ford Eco Sport.. the drive is long we knew of- so we decided to leave Delhi Early morning at around 04:00 Am- and that we did.

starting our drive from Rohini in north Delhi we had to cross the state of Haryana, Bypass Chandigarh, Punjab and finally enter the state of Himachal Pradesh from where the hilly terrain starts, in Himachal Pradesh we crossed Mandi and a few Kilometres after Mandi is a town named Bhuntar from where a small road directs to Kasol and further 4 Km's from Kasol the Holy Manikaran Hot water Springs for the Sikhs. the Total drive from New Delhi to Kasol is Approximately 570 Km's and which took us almost 13 hours to reach.

as we entered the peaceful valley of Parvati, we could see a decent crowd- mix of Foreigners, Hippies and young Indian lads like ourselves- Kasol a Place where Lord Shiva is highly regarded and smoking pot (Hash) is very common and believed not as a Drug but as a Herbal Medication and Relaxation to body and mind.

we checked into the Hotel Named "Deep Forest", located at just the perfect location giving us the perfect view of the one of the streams of Parvati river from our Room's Balcony with a Good and a hospitable Manager.

The Food was the best part of Kasol - like we call it having Munchies- our favourite Cafe was "Cafe' Ever Green"- which served us beautiful Israeli and German Dishes and my fav of which was the Schnitzel., served with two Chicken Breast, one Pita Bread Humus and Mixed Vegetable Salad lightly sorted in Vegetable oil, it was just a Perfect meal,

all most all the restaurants and Cafes in Kasol served Israeli, Mexican, British meals and Breakfast - and i had to try them all..some other places we tried our melas were at cafes called: Little Italy, Bhoj Cafe, Shiv Shanti Cafe.

I have to Say our Journey to Kasol would have been incomplete if we did not try the Apple Pie and various other Pies from the German Bakery and the coffee from the mini Coffee Shop just Behind the Bakery.

The Parvati Valley is a Bliss for Nature Lovers, Trekkers / Hikers, Photographers and for some who are looking to some time for themselves.

There is nothing to Do as such in Kasol for the People who are Freckle minded, but for people who understand the value and bliss of nature- a Month's time would be short for them to Enjoy the Parvati Valley; for Example i met this old guy who is from a small country just below Germany and he had been staying in Kasol along with some of his friends for past two Months- and plan to stay

further for one month and plan to go to goa there after- they return back to their country and return after two years.

The Valley Gives us a Magnificent view of the Mighty Parvati Mountain covered with snow.for some who are looking for small hikes and Adventure or date with the Nature- one could take a long stroll along side the streams of Parvati River or even find a Camping Site alongside, camping offers you a Good Chance of bird Watching early at the Morning, you could also take short day hikes to small villages near Kasol such as the Village of Rasoul which is a Days hike up and Down, there are various such villages

.

For Some who are willing to do some strenuous Treks can Drive up to Tosh another Small Village and Trek for 3 Days to a Place Called Manala- which has another completely different Story - yet Interesting- the locals of Manala consider themselves to be the pure descendants of the Aryans and hence consider themselves superior to the Outsider/ travellers, if Going to Manala be sure to not to feel as open as you feel in other destinations as even touching of the walls of their houses

by us outsiders is considered impure to them- many consider this to be a cover for the massive coca and hash Agriculture developing there.. but things are interesting.

we Stayed in the Valley for 04 nights and i did all i could to be close with the nature going to extent of Jumping in the Icy Cold river of the Valley, shared the awareness and Importance of behaving like a Traveler and not a tourist on a Destination, and not to leave our Stupid marks on the destinations by making the place dirty.