MYSTIC MANALI!!

• by ADITYA RAMAN

“INDIA”-This five letter word may just sound as a ordinary piece of land to people who haven’t visited it.but,in reality it is a living nationality with people following such cultures and customs which were originated at the time when many of the present-day countries were not born. This tropical country is very hot in summer but still proves its diversity with the very existence of hill stations in the Himalayas.One such hill station is “MANALI” in the lap of Himalayas and considered as a great escape zone from the scorhing heat.

Lovely yellow-orange sun amidst the snowy white peaks

It was a hot summer evening when I boarded my bus from

New Delhi.I stepped into the town of Manali at around 9:30 am in the confused hot-cold cocktail climate after a hilly region drive of 260 kms and a total ride of 670 kms.The thirst of tiredness was quenched by the natural beauty of Manali…Green mountains on one side and fast flowing Beas river on the other side with the view of snow-capped Himalayan glacier on great heights.

My half day city tour began with ‘The Club House’ which is spot of entertainment and sale.There were numerous winter apparel for sale and entertaining activities such as snooker, zorbing ball, haunted house, boat riding, river crossing, etc.

River crossing is adventure filled andfun-filled activity where one is required to cross to and fro by hanging in the rope…..In my mid-way I was dipped in the icy-chilled river which made me shiver from head to toe.good one though.

Next ,I headed to ‘Manu temple’ built for sage ‘Manu’ and is the parent for the name manali.The next visits were more of devotional like the ‘Hadimba temple’ which is built for ‘Hadimba’ – a character from great Indian epic Mahabharat.The evening blessed me with the rain showers!!

Next day was really interesting for an adventure-lover like me…”RAFTING”.

The nitros of the Beas river and the rapids is what makes the white water rafting really incredible!! Sailing the raft for 9 long kms in fast flowing currents with an artistic view of the mountains on both the sides made my day…..<3<3….

Then I headed towards the district capital ‘KULLU’.

The road towards Kullu was actually a photographer’s path…full of beautiful images to capture.. such as the soft & cute rabbits in the rabbit farm, the sheeps gazing in a disciplined manner, the horses in the farm and the lovely apple orchids which is not a common sight in a tropical country like India….Kullu is famous for its winter clothes….especially the ‘shawls’!!!!!!

The third and last day gave me a heavenly pleasure….I got the opportunity to visit the country’s most favourite biking spot--‘The Rohtang Pass’ (Manali-Leh highway).

The spot is actually favourite for the tourists visiting Manali as this is such type of place where they can play with ice and snow. It also contains the origin of Beas river. My experience in rohtang was priceless…At the height of 22,000 ft and in the freezing sub-zero temperatures, every traveller’s heart will definitely melt on seeing the scenic natural beauty over there..The intense beauty freezed me and I was so stuck that I was unsuccessful in taking many photos in Rohtang …One of the interesting things in Rohtang is eating hot maggi .I don’t know about the taste but it will surely give you a taste of life…On my way down I visited the beautiful solang valley which is famous for paragliding and skiing…but unfortunately it was banned on that day L L….And finally, ‘Vasisht hot springs’ ..The name clearly suggests it’s a hot spring where the hot water emerges from the underground…It is also believed to have medical effects..

The trip came to an end and had to bid farewell to Manali…On my way back to Delhi, I had a nostalgic feel about the past 3 days and ran through those images and moments captured by my eye and safeguarded in my brain …Those slideshows of moments kept flashing in my mind again and again with which my heart was in complete love ....I am so glad to share my photos and memories with you!!!...Expecting a new journey again !

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