MANALI DIY
I opt for a shared taxi jeep, leaving Leh at 2.30, and which should arrive in the evening of the same day. We waste at least 4 hours in the middle of nowhere, near Upshi, when it is still dark, at 4100mt because of a car break. We have to wait for a new vehicle, which obviously has to come from Leh. I am now so accustomed to the altitude that the transit on Taglang La (5328 mt), does not cause me any suffering. The route passes through picturesque places, such as the gorges of Pang, then an impressive series of hairpin bends, until we get to Lachlung La (5060 mt). At about 17:30 we stop in Keylong because our jeep needs again maintenance. Keylong is a very pretty village.
Then we reach Manali around 23:00. Unfortunately it is already dark when we pass Rohtang La (3950 mt) which should be stunning.
I spend the first night at the Marlble Hotel, on Circuit Road, the road to Old Manali. A comfortable room costs 440 rupees. I just follow other passengers.
After a stroll at Old Manali, I move to Vashisht, a village which was recommended by people I met in the Nubra Valley group. A rickshaw from Manali to Vashisht costs 40 rupees one way. A taxi twice. Here, I settle at Brighu Hotel, in a panoramic room on the river, 350 rupees. The only flaw, dirty towels and sheets. I sleep in my sleeping bag, and claim reception to have decent towels. Vashisht is a village of stone houses, with the thermal hot springs. Honestly, though, I must say I preferred Old Manali, where I discovered a nice guest house at 150 rupees. Only thing, I had no more strength to move again! In any case, I talk about it because it is worth. The name is Anand, is located on the continuation of the Nest Road (mentioned on the Lonely Planet); you just have to follow the path that, after a few meters, continues in the middle of an apple trees field, in a quiet area with beautiful views. Practically, Old Manali, and Vashisht, halfway up, face each other from the opposite sides of the river Beas, Manali is at the bottom of the valley. It must be said that in Manali, more than in Leh (frequented mostly by Westerners) I have instead seen many wealthy Indian tourists, some with purebred dogs.
A trip by taxi to Naggar, a pleasant village in the Kullu Valley with a beautiful castle, it would cost 500 rupees, but there are local buses that depart more or less every hour from the bus terminal in the city, and the cost is 15 rupees each way.
The thing that strikes me, and that I had never seen in my life, is the industrial quantities of marijuana that grows along roadsides. Perhaps this is the reason why the area is so beloved by the Western people.
Manali is located at about 2100 meters above sea level, the climate is less dry than Leh, and no problems with altitude.
The restaurants in Vashisht have affordable prices, so the ones in Old Manali. In center Manali my friends always eat at Johnson’s Café, which for me is a bit expensive (but the Lonely Planet says it is the best in town). So I abandon them for a half hour, and head instead to Mission Road, where I find a very cheap and good one (Swamiji’s Café Madras). When in Vashisht instead I tried almost all the restaurants mentioned on the guide. They are excellent.
I stop here one day more than planned, unfortunately the bus I had booked did not leave, so I spend the last night at Johnson’s Lodge, which is truly amazing. Haggling I spend 1500 rupees for a huge room, spotlessly clean.
In Manali there is a Railways counter, where I would like to book my train from Amritsar to Agra and from Agra to Delhi, which are the last stops of my journey.
My next destination is not Mc Leod Ganj, as initially planned, because I have already seen the Dalai Lama. I skip Shimla, because unfortunately I trust what Lonely Planet says, ie Dalahousie is much more quiet and nice. To get there, I will take a bus to Pathankot, which is in Punjab. Cost 350 rupees. From there there is the connection to Dalahousie.
The transfer to Pathankot, on a crumbling wreck, lasts all night. Even paying for gold, I have never been able to find decent buses, despite pictures of so-called Volvo Buses displayed in all travel agencies. The bus trunk is full of mud, the backpack will be returned to me in very bad condition. This is because the terminal of long-distance bus in Manali is nothing but an immense dirt field. The bus station in Pathankot, however, deserves another type of reflections. Here, after almost three weeks, I realize that I have reached the real India, the one of the stifling heat, the beggars, the homeless who sleep in the traffic islands. I think they must be so tired, like the protagonist of “The City of Joy”, who can sleep anywhere. Nothing, however, compared to what I see in the next Indian trip in December. However, it shocks me