The Kullu Valley

KULLU, the valley’s capital since the mid-seventeenth century, became district headquarters after Independence. Despite being the region’s main market and transport hub it has been eclipsed as a tourist centre by Manali, 40km north. Kullu is noisy, polluted and worlds away from the tranquil villages that peer down from the surrounding hillsides, even though a bypass now diverts some of the traffic from the centre. Kullu makes a handy transport hub if you’re travelling onwards to the Parvati Valley, and there are several temples dotted around town, some of which provide fine valley views. In October, when the entire population of the valley comes to town to celebrate Dussehra, the city takes on a life of its own.

Stacked up the lush, terraced lower slopes of the valley as they sweep towards the tree line from the left bank of the Beas, NAGGAR, 6km from the main road junction at Patlikuhl, is the most scenic and accessible of the hill villages between Kullu and Manali. Clustered around an old castle, this was the regional capital before the local rajas decamped to Kullu in the mid-1800s. A century or so later, European settlers began to move in. Seduced by the village’s ancient temples, peaceful setting and unhurried pace, visitors often find themselves lingering in Naggar – a far less hippified village than those further north – longer than they intended. Numerous tracks wind up the mountain to more remote settlements, providing a choice of enjoyable hikes.

Naggar is a very pleasant place, often sadly overlooked by travellers making a beeline for Manali. The relaxed atmosphere, refreshing elevation, stunning views and a variety of interesting sites combine to make it an excellent spot to while away a few days.

Himachal’s main tourist resort, MANALI, stands at the head of the Kullu Valley, 108km north of Mandi. Despite lying at the heart of the region’s highest mountain range, it remains easily accessible by road from the plains; after one hour on a plane and a short hop by road, or sixteen hours on a bus from Delhi, you could be staring from your hotel veranda across apple orchards and thick pine forests to the snowfields of Solang Nala, which shine a tantalizing stone’s throw away to the north. Manali has become increasingly popular with domestic tourists (five million annually), giving rise to an eclectic mix of honeymooners, holiday-makers, hippies, trekkers and traders.

The Manali that lured travellers in the 1970s has certainly changed, although the majestic mountain scenery, thermal springs and quality charas can still be enjoyed. Old Manali retains some of its atmosphere, and the village of Vashisht across the valley, with its increasing choice of guesthouses and cafés, has become a popular place to chill out. For those preferring to venture into the mountains, Manali makes an ideal trekking base for short hikes and serious expeditions, and countless agencies can help put a package together for you. The relaxing hotels in Manali’s cleaner, greener outskirts, and dozens of sociable cafés and restaurants ranged around a well-stocked bazaar, provide a welcome relief from the rigours of the mountain trails.

Manali’s main street, the Mall, quite unlike its namesake in Shimla, is a noisy scene of constant activity, fronted by the bus stand, several shopping markets, travel agents, and a line of hotels and restaurants. It’s a great place to watch the world go by – locals in traditional caps, Tibetan women in immaculate rainbow-striped pinafores, Nepali porters, Buddhist monks, the odd party of Zanskaris swathed in fusty woollen gonchas, souvenir-hunting Indian tourists and a curious mix of Westerners.

Manali’s days as an authentic pahari bazaar ended when the mule trains were superseded by Tata trucks, but it’s still great for souvenir shopping. Woollen goods are the town’s real forte, particularly the brilliantly patterned shawls for which Kullu Valley is famous. Genuine pure-wool handloom shawls with embroidered borders start at around Rs500, but those made from finest pashmina cost several thousand rupees. Shop around and check out the fixed-price factory shops to get an idea of what’s available: the government-sponsored Bhutico on the Mall opposite the tourist office, the Bodh Shawl factory shop just off the Mall south of the bus stand and The Great Hadimba Shop & Factory next to the Manu Temple in Old Manali are recommended; the NSC (New Shopping Centre) market near the bus stand also has a good selection.

Elsewhere around the bazaar, innumerable stalls are stacked with handwoven goods and pillbox Kullu topis. Those with gaudy multicoloured up-turned flaps and gold piping are indigenous to the valley, but you can also pick up the plain-green velvet-fronted variety favoured by Kinnauris. Manali’s other specialities are Tibetan curios such as prayer wheels, amulets, dorjees (thunderbolts), masks, antiques are genuine, but it takes an expert eye to spot a fake. The same applies to silver jewellery inlaid with turquoise and coral, which can nonetheless be attractive and
relatively inexpensive.

A short distance beyond Kasol, clouds of steam billowing from the rocky riverbank herald the Parvati Valley’s chief attraction. Hindu mythology identifies MANIKARAN as the place where the serpent king Shesha stole Parvati’s earrings, or manikar, while she and her husband Shiva were bathing in the river. When interrogated, the snake flew into a rage and snorted the earrings out of his nose. Ever since, boiling water has poured out of the ground. The site is also venerated by Sikhs, who have erected a massive concrete gurudwara over the springs.

Boxed in at the bottom of a vast, sheer-sided chasm, Manikaran is a damp, dark and claustrophobic place where you’re unlikely to want to spend more than a night. Most of the action revolves around the springs themselves, reached via the lane that leads through the village from the footbridge. On the way, check out the finely carved pale-grey stone Rama temple just beyond the main square, and the pans of rice and dhal cooking in the steaming pools on the pavements. Down at the riverside Shiva shrine, semi-naked sadhus sit in the scalding waters smoking chillums. Sikh pilgrims, meanwhile, make their way to the atmospheric gurudwara nearby, where they take a purifying dip in the underground pool, sweat in the hot cave and then congregate upstairs to listen to musical recitations from the Sikhs’ holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib. If you visit, keep your arms, legs and head covered; tobacco is prohibited inside the complex.