Enchanting Kasol & Magical Malana

There are places and then there are Places! Nestled in the magical Parvati valley of the Himachal is the beautiful village of Kasol. Kasol can be reached by a twelve hour bus ride from Delhi to Bhuntar (on the road to Manali) from where one needs to either take a taxi or a local bus for another journey of around 2 hours to reach the village. Foreigners abound the place and accommodation is available at pretty cheap rates in the many guest houses that sprawl the hills and the conifer woods.

The white waters of the Parvati river flow in an eternal effort against the huge boulders through the meandering valley, where sunlight finds it hard to warm the chilling ice cold winds blowing to reach the mountains. No wonder people come here and stay back many making this mystical land their home for years.

I am not talking about Indians. Most of the Indian tourists find the neighbouring Manikaran (a Sikh pilgrimage) more appealing famous for its natural hot water springs.

Kasol is known to be the home of backpackers from the West, a lot of them being from Israel. They do come here for the beauty of the place, but there is one more thing that draws them to this far corner of the Himalayas. Kasol and the neighboring villages of Tosh, Malana and Jari are the home to supposedly the best Hashish in the world – “The Malana Cream”.

Infact, if we would remove the Hash out of the equation, probably the village wouldn’t remain as appealing to the Westerners as it does now. The entire businesses of Kasol, right from the taxis, the guest houses, the cafes and restaurants and the scores of handicraft and clothes shops depend indirectly on the steady supply of the Hashish to the Chillums and joints of the visiting tourists. Yes, this is one place in India where people do smoke pot freely, without any inhibitions.

This is one of the last Hippie settlements of the country with a culture similar to that of Old Manali and parts of Goa. Its not that Indians don’t come here. But to the average Indian family Kasol might be more of a culture shock than a tourist destination. Yet the so called Chilled Out crowd does come here, spending whatever they can from the savings of their mundane city lives.

Kasol has recently transformed into a base for trekkers to Sar Pass, Yanker Pass, Pin Parbati Pass and Khiriganga. Foreigners are attracted to the scenic valley, untouched hills, low population, and great climate throughout the year.

The night skies here high up in the Himalayas are some of the clearest in the world with zillions of stars adorning the darkness till as far as the naked eye can see. And if you are lucky you can spot the occasional meteor shower too. Sitting outside braving the spine chilling cold late at night one is taken into a different world altogether, a world of constellations and distant sparkling stars that talk to you in their own magical language. Its an experience which cannot be described. You have to see it to believe it, late into the night when the worldly lights give way to the lights from above.

A twenty five odd kilometer taxi ride from Kasol takes you to the mysterious village of Malana, from where the Malana cream originates. From the last stop Nirang, one has to endeavor on a two hour trek to the village, the inhabitants of which claim to be the descendants of Alexander The Great.

Legend says that when Alexander came to India, he got defeated, and returned. His soldiers who were very tired, did not want to get back. They found Himachal Pradesh, cool like most of us do, and decided to stay back. And, they inhabit Malana now. Malanis believe they are superior, and that the rest of the people are untouchables. Infact, if you by chance happen to touch them or any of their temples, you would have to pay a heavy fine as penalty. Till recently the village was completely cut off from the outside world. It is amazing to think how these people have survived in their own self sustaining way over centuries so high up in the Himalayas. Maybe the Cream helped them with it.

However the recent construction of the Malana Hydropower Project has spoilt the serenity and beauty of this virgin land. The village itself which suffered a fire a couple of years back has concrete structures now, replacing the beautiful wood carved houses of the past. DTH services and even a computer education institute are now present in the village premises. Villagers who looked at outsiders with a kind of loathing in the past now don’t mind interacting with them, most being youth, who want to sell Stuff to them or bartering the odd gadgets in return. There is even a guest house at the village now. With the outside influence cropping up Malana might slowly lose its enchanting charm it was once famous for.

Things are slowly changing in the Parvati valley with commercialization creeping in. But to the freedom and nature loving traveler it will still remain a mystical haven. A place where one can forget all of the outside and become one with snow capped mountains, virgin forests and white waters.