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Devidarh - In Winter

Devidarh is a small village and the beautiful place in the dense pine forest in the Jauni valley above Chailchowk at a distance of 17 KM from here, It is about 56 KM from Mandi here you can find traditional culture and abandon with natural beauty. A temple at the one end of a sloppy ground similar to that of Khajiyaar (famous tourist destination in Chamba Himachal) so it can be called mini – Khajiyaar.
One can make a visit to the temple, spend some time in the nature lawn outside the small temple. One can also make a visit to the village to see the tradition of local people and know more about Himachal’s culture

The route for Devidarh is very clear. We went through our car. Our journey started from chandigarh ( Chandigarh To Devidarh: 230Km).

In himachal Pradesh we covered Ner chowk – Chail Chowk – Kot– Shalla – Tunna – Jachh – Jahal – Devidarh(the final stop). 

Evening view of Jauni Valley





We stayed in Jai Mata Home Stay, the food and the atmosphere was wonderful.

I am hoping in near future good facilities going to setup and govt take responsibility to promote these beautiful places as new travel destination, which helps local and govt to get revenue.
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Renuka Lake

Renuka lake is in the Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh in India and it is 672 m above the sea level. It is the largest lake in Himachal Pradesh, with a circumference of about 3214 m. This lake was named after the goddess Renuka. It is well connected by the road. Boating is available on the lake.

Renuka Lake is not just a tourist spot of outstanding and enchanting beauty, it is a place of great religious significance. The lake is named after the goddess Renuka or Renu who is the avatar of goddess Parvati or Shakti, the wife of Lord Shiva.
We started from Chandigarh at Evening.
This beautiful sunset on the way.
Riding from paonta sahib is a pain. The road is in very bad condition and almost feels off road. The lake itslef is beautiful with many fishes and tortoise. Boating costs Rs 300 for half an hour.
The main temple at Renuka 'The Math' was constructed by the invading Gurkhas in 1814. The temple houses an excellent image of Renuka Devi.
A small zoological park on the banks on the Renuka lake has good collection of the local fauna.
After Reach At The Renuka Lake Restore The Soul.
 A few hill stations can offer a nice spot to witness a mesmerizing sunrise view. Undoubtedly,  Nahan is one of them. and don’t miss sunrise on your way to Nahan.
We took out some time for hot tea. Trust us, it tastes mind blowing in a chilly weather. The uphill of Nahan will not disappoint you, there are several stalls serving not only authentic mountain tea,While returning to Nahan, do not miss to stop by at! this only decorated tea stall.
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Old Manali - is not place it's feeling


Old Manali is more beautiful than Manali's main city, do not get me wrong; Manali is a good destination for honeymooners or families. In fact, family travelers can not like Old Manali because they believe it too much hippie.However, if you are a backpacker or hippie on the heart, you will definitely like old manali. The most important reason is that there is a wonderful stretch among the people of old Manali. Himachalis are very hospitable by nature and people of Old Manali are one of the Classy People.



The Journey : It was at 7 in evning, and the bus which will take me to Manali was parked at the designated counter at Chandigarh ISBT. The bus was in a wonderful condition and the interiors were clean.

 I reached Manali after a 8-9 hour journey. Another thing  this was my solo trip and photo  take in mall road , here it was almost night, Here i was alone in Mall Road and suddenly the start snow falling.

Woke up to this…every day!
The most important thing is why people come to this place? Of course, if you are visiting the Himalayan region, the weather will be one of your main reasons. People mostly come in Old Manali (and Manali) in the summer, but In my opinion, it looks even more beautiful in winters. During winters it is really magical when suddenly snowfall begins.


There are some amazing scenes in it and there is an attractive vibe. Here are some funky cafes, restaurants and bars, which attract backpackers and tourists. Some of the best cafes in Old Manali are Cafe 1947Lazy Dog LoungePeople’s CafeKathmandu Cafe, and Shesh Besh to name a few.




Hire a motorcycle to explore nearby places. Another Secret I dropped this motorcycle but there was no serious injury. When I was going on the road of Vashishta Temple to take bath, the tire slipped on the ice.




The Hadimba temple of Goddess located in Manali, Himachal Pradesh


Its history is associated with Pandavas,She was Bhima's wife. After marrying Pandu bhim , she was not a monster. Lord Shri Krishna had inspired Hadimba Devi for the welfare of the people and she became goddess.
Whatever the original place of Hidimba may have been, the place where it has been divinely inspired is Old Manali. Local people consider Hedimba as their supreme deity. Rituals and rituals organized in the temple are different from those who are in other Hindu temples. This worship is jointly fierce, wild and often terrible with animal sacrifice. During personal, family and social problems in distress, natural disasters and nature, people go to the temple and consult the deity and pray for their favors. The central deity Hadimba is considered the patron of the rulers and it is viewed very important to seek her blessings before their coronation. Dussehra of Kullu does not start till Hidimba Devi arrives there.

People visit this temple not only to worship, but also to marvel at the incredibly superb kind of construction it features. The temple is very beautiful and very good in terms of art. Within the temple there is a natural Chattan, Which considered as the place of goddess.Chattan is called 'Dhung' in the local dialect, hence it is called 'Dhungri Devi' also worshiped as a village goddess.


Ghatotkach was the son of Pandava Bhim and Hidimba Devi.He was an important fighter from the Pandavaside in the Kurukshetra war, and caused a great deal of destruction to the Kaurava army on the fourteenth night. He is killed by Karnawith Indra's missile.There is a temple built to honor Ghatotkacha in old Manali,The distance of the Ghatokkach Temple from Hadimba Devi Temple was about 200 meters.

Just a few km away is another small village that has the famous hot mineral springs. It is named after the local sage Vashisth. This village is famous for its hot natural sulfur springs and the Vashisth Temple. A bath in these springs is something that should definitely be not missed out upon

Final Words : Old Manali is a wonderful place and party culture is awesome, but please travel responsibly. Respect local people and don't shout loud after being drunk. If you go to this beautiful place, please do not mess with mother nature.


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Kheerganga - New Year Destination

The Story Behind Kheerganga
Eons ago,Kartikeya, the younger son of Shiv and Parvati, meditated here for a thousand years. Legends say that when he was here, Shiv and Parvati occasionally came to see him and Parvati used to make kheer for them (rice pudding) and hence the greyish colour of the Parvati River is because of this fact.


Four day before the New Year 2019, I decided to venture out into the wild and enjoy some time on my own, well, life! Wanting to get away from the hustles of the city life, I realized it was now or never and since there were a bunch of holidays for me to avail, I went for it. All I knew was that I had to travel, but where, I had no idea. But that soon got sorted when I saw  some post on instagram the location was kheerganga.  Without thinking much about it, I went for it and finalized everything regarding the Kheerganga.  In the next  day received a golden ticket to the mountains. 

Kheerganga is perfect getaway from our hectic city life and is a highly recommended trek for people who like to get lost in nature.

Itinerary for Kheerganga :

Day 1 : We started from Chandigarh at around 2:30 Am on Saturday, 29th of December, Took a bus to Bhunter from ISBT Chandigarh. Bhuntar is a town in Kullu district in the state of Himachal Pradesh. Bhuntar Airport also known as Kullu airport, serves the town along with Kullu and Manali, Kasol and Manikaran.It took us 7-8 hours to reach Bhunter, We are reach late night in bhuntar around 11 o clock. Then we decide one night stay in the Shamshi. The distance  from the bhuntar to shamshi are  2-3 km , here we stop the over first day journey also over 29th night stay was Shamshi. We plan everything about over next day and decide wake up early and the breakfast On kasol and lunch plan on Manikarn Sahib this is just plan and plan maker was a PHP developer  also my good friend Mohit Sharma.
Day 2 : And the next Morning we get up on royal time because i am a engineer and engineers have on specific time to sleep and wake. The Engineer's famous dialogue " Bhaad Mein Jaaye Duniyadari Bawe Neend Hai Pyari " ( laugh is required here.)
Now back on the trip. We have really woken up around 10 o'clock. We left Shamshi at 11:30 and got bus from Bhuntar to Manikarna Sahib. This distance was about 35-37 km and normal time was 2-3 hours but we reached Manikarn Sahib at around 5:20.Due to Christmas and New Year many people came to visit Kasol and Manikarn. f of them arrived with us at Kheerganga.
And around 6 o'clock,we hire a private taxi for barsenie. After few hours of travel, we rech barshaini, after arrive at barshaini i checked that the temperature of barsanei was less than 5 degrees.
Here we decide to stay the night at the cafe and start the trek next morning. we were served tea and maggie in a cozy cafeteria that also had blankets to keep us warm. Saw the whole scenario amazingly and welcoming us .
Everthing was trippy here, the people, the music, and me too!

Day 3 : We woke up for a completely different view in the morning, our morning breakfast was parathas and tea its amazing.After that we packed the bag and got ready for a journey from Barsanei  8:30 pm for Kherganga.The journey was 12 km and it took 5-6 hours. The trek was indeed mesmerizing and there are so many pristine waterfalls and eternal viewpoints on the way that you do not feel tired at all. The first few kilometers of the trek are very easy and our trail went through lush farms, small hills and villages along the Parvati River. It is only after we crossed the first dhabba that the trek began to seem challenging but our enthusiasm helped us go on.

Here we saw the local people climbing hills with heavy load on their back. I talked to them and they were very friendly, there is something about the people living in the hills who warm them and welcome them.


We stopped at Rudranaga village for a short break,before making the final push to Kheerganga.The cool breeze felt relaxing and we were told that the path becomes steeper after Rudranaga.


The last part of the trek was very demanding and grueling but we continued despite being extremely tired and exhausted.  We covered the 12-13km trek in 4-5 hours and our eyes opened up as we reached Kheerganga. Kheerganga is more beautiful than anyone can describe, it is a place with spirituality, beauty and serenity. 

After that our first priority was to find a place to set up our tent, And take 15-20 minutes to set up the tent. On the left side of the picture, it was our tent, which covered with snow. Here we spent the last night of our 2018.


A blissful feeling of being immersed in warm water with mountains around that were covered with snow! I’m not sure how many hours we spent in that pool but it was enough to suck out the tiredness of the trek.
 The last night of 2018 was good because location, camp, music, wildlife were wonderful, here we welcome 2019.

Day 4 : Next morning, we went back to the pool for another dip before starting our trek back to barshaini. After a big breakfast, it was time to say goodbye to Kheerganga. While the climb up took between 4 – 5 hours, the way back was only 3 hours. As always, there was a sense of achievement after finishing this trek.
Respect nature and keep the surroundings clean for everybody to enjoy the freshness of Kheerganga.


A dreamlike natural pool surrounded by snow but warmed by hot springs.


Final Words Kheerganga taught me a lot of things! Some about life, some not so much. In the end, as a wise man once said and I learned, “danger is real but fear is a choice”. And that is true for everything in life!Make that once in lifetime Yatra to Kheerganga!

After Reaching Home : We are back home but the memories of adventurous trek, beautiful sights , nature’s nurture, fun in the camp and amazing foods are still alive and fresh.


Additional Information :
  • Cost: INR 5500 per person 
  • Duration: 3N/4D (29th December to 2nd January)
  • Inclusions: 3 breakfasts, 4 dinners,  camping (both in Kasol and Kheerganga), transport, and taxes
  • Exclusions: Lunch and other personal expenses that were not part of the itinerary
  • Trip Type : Adventure