Top 12 must visit offbeat places in himachal near delhi
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Transcript of Top 12 must visit offbeat places in himachal near delhi
Top 12 Must Visit Offbeat Places in Himachal Near Delhi
Now a day there is too much demand of offbeat places in Himachal near Delhi and many of these
already known or talked about in the recent past are running full during vacations. So, there seems to be
dearth of such offbeat places and I can see that it is leaving many of my friends or relative or readers of
DoW blog in cancellation of their vacation or moving to some other direction, may be by flight or
extending the leaves. So, in case if the answer to any of the below queries is YES, then this article is for
you only.
“Are you tired of visiting the same old commercialized, tourist flocked, complete hustle-bustle like Shimla,
Manali, Dalhousie, Dharamshalaetc? Do you feel like going to some quite, secluded and peaceful place
where you can spend quality time with your family, friends and nature? Do you believe in off the beaten
track travel and love to explore new or offbeat places near Delhi? “
Top 12 Must Visit Offbeat Places in Himachal near Delhi
Now a days, every other person who travel frequently, is looking out for some quiet, peaceful, less
commercialized and non-touristy place in order to spend their valuable vacations in Himalayas. Today, in
this article we will talk about Himachal Pradesh, which itself offers variety of such offbeat places but many
of them take at least two days to reach from Delhi/NCR. However, I will enlist below my top 12 favourite
offbeat places in Himachal Pradesh that can be reached in a day from Delhi/NCR. Having said that, you
should be OK with traveling about 12-14 Hrs a day (usual time for Manali / Dharamshala / Dalhousie).
I have already detailed out 5 places out of these 12 offbeat places in Himachal in my previous article: 5
Must Visit Off-beat Places in Himachal Pradesh. As I said, many of these budding offbeat places in
Himachal which we have talked about in previous article are already running full mostly in season time, it
is time to introduce you all to "7 More Must Visit Offbeat Places in Himachal near Delhi" in addition to
them. Here they are…
7 More Must Visit Offbeat Places in Himachal near Delhi
1. Prashar Lake
Prashar Lake, which is located about 49 odd KMs north of Mandi at an altitude of 2730 Mtrs, is one of the
top most offbeat places in Himachal Pradesh and has a depth unknown to anyone so far. People hardly
know about it and those who know, they just can’t stop going there again and again due to the extreme
solitude and peace it offers to you. However, I only like Prashar Lake in two states, one, when it is
surrounded by green colours topped with varied variety of flowers in the monsoon months of July –
August. And, the other state is when the white carpet of snow surrounds this surreal lake and give it a
feeling like a jewel studded & shining midst white gold around it, in the month of January – March. You
can read my travel tales or snow trek to Prashar at the link: Prashar Lake – A Jewel Midst White Gold We
Call Snow
Prashar Lake, frozen in time
2. Bir – Billing
I have talked quite a lot about Barot (read Barot Travel Guide) in my previous article of offbeat places in
Himachal Pradesh linked above. Just about 70 odd KMs from Barot, there lies India’s favourite
destination for Paragliding by the name of Bir – Billing. While Bir is more of a conventional
Buddhist/Tibetan town having quite nice monasteries and a stupa, while 14 KMs north of Bir lies Billing
which is the hotspot of paragliding in India. The stay options are available at Chowgan village. Best time
to visit Bir – Billing is from April – May or September to mid of November. You may not be aware but it is
true that Bir – Billing will be hosting the Paragliding World Cup by the Paragliding World Cup Association,
France in 2015 … You can learn more in detail about Bir – Billing paragliding at the link of DoW
Community: Paragliding in Himalayas
Bir – Billing, an aerial view…
Photo Credits: TarunGoel | Loop-Whole
3. Kasol – Malana – Tosh – Kheerganga
Let’s talk about one of most beautiful hamlets of Himachal Pradesh, Kasol. Kasol, 75kms away from
Manali and about 34 KMs from Bhunter, lies in the Parvati Valley of Himachal Pradesh, nestled between
Pin Parvati ranges on one side and the mighty Beas river on the other. Parvatiriver, a tributary to Beas,
also passes through Kasol town. For years we have learnt that Kasol is a mini Israel for its cannabis
production and foreigner settlement. But that is not what Kasol is all about. A calm little Himalayan town,
Kasol gets its unique selling point from towering hills covering this town, the ferocious yet forgiving Parvati
river and abundance of multi-cuisine restaurants. On an average day in Kasol, you will find numerous
German bakery and cafes serving multi cuisines, shops selling innovative caps, jewellery and tshirts,
firangs and hippies strolling about around the streets and much much more. You can read this lovely
travel tale on Kasol in DoW Community at Swift 2 Days Mesmerizing Trip ToParvati Valley July ‘2014
Apart from Kasol, there are numerous hikes or treks or walks one can undertake from Kasol to reach
various tranquil places in around Parvati Valley. You can go up to Tosh village, where a bumpy yet
motorable road goes. Tosh offers some really majestic views in Parvati Valley. Then there is a 3-4 Hrs
trek to Kheerganga running through quaint villages of Kalga – Pulga having a hot spring up there. It is one
of the most favourite spot for most people traveling to Kasol. Finally, there is a Tabooed village
of Malana which is quite an unusual yet very picturesque hamlet having its one unique culture, laws/rules
which amuses many people in to visit this place. All these places are nearby Kasol only and you can club
a 3-4 day trip to visit these places or make these villages as a base to explore rest of them around. Check
out the rough map below:
Kasol – Parvati Valley Map…
Kasol – Parvati Valley, an amazing view
4. Naggar Castle – Jagatsukh
Naggar Village, about 22 KMs away from Manali, is a quiet little village to enjoy peace and calmness of
Himalayas in Himachal. I have always believed that staying at Naggar Palace, a premium heritage hotel,
run by HPTDC is one of the most romantic experiences of Himachal with some amazingly beautiful views
on offer from its front row rooms and balcony based restaurant. Best will be that you book rooms in the
first row offering valley view. On the relaxing day, you can hike to Old Krishna Temple, visit Shiv Temple
or Roerich Art Gallery and Museum at Naggar. As soon as you reach bus stand (I feel it was a bust stand
:)) of Naggar just lift your eyes upwards and you can get the glimpse of a castle like structure made of
wood and rocks at a cliff point. It’s approx. 800 Mtrs from the bus stand. You can read all about it at the
link Naggar Castle
On the way to Naggar from Manali, there comes another quiet, calm and small village by the
name Jagatsukh. There is a well known temple there as "Gayatri Temple" which is known to be one of the
oldest temples of all time with relevance to "Mahabharata". Now a days Jagatsukh is also gaining quite
popularity in terms of staying away from hustle bustle of the Manali town at a peaceful location.
The valley view from Naggar Castle
Gayatri temple at Jagatsukh
5. Jibhi – Shringipur – Shoja – Jalori Pass
We have already talked much about Tirthan Valley (read tirthan valley travel guide) in the last article of
offbeat places in Himachal Pradesh. However, if you move from Tirthan Valley or Gushaini towards
Banjar and takes the road to Jalori Pass, you will come across some more peaceful yet not so known
villages for stay in Himachal by the names Jibhi, Ghiyaji / Shringipur / ShringiVatika, Shoja and Jalori
Pass. In order to beat the crowd and have a tranquil time with your loved ones, staying at any of these
villages will not disappoint you a bit. All these places now have small guest houses or home stays run by
mostly local families where you can enjoy besides the flowing waters of tributary to Tirthanriver especially
at ShringiVatika and enjoy local cuisines while living in complete calmness. ShringiVatika is basically a
homestay/guest house run by an old couple which now they call it Shringipur. HPTDC have put up camps
right at Jalori Pass in complete solitude with no one to be spotted around apart from majestic valley views
and that makes it a perfect place to live away from civilization yet very close to it
ShringiVatika
On top of clouds at Jalori Pass
6. Rajgarh – Nohradhar – Haripurdhar
Located in Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh, Rajgarh – Nohradhar – Haripurdhar are one of the most
unknown and real offbeat places where you can really enjoy in complete peace, away from any kind of
hustle bustle. Only handful of people know about it and one can enjoy the drive of about 11-12 hrs from
Delhi ahead of Solan to reach up there and witness pure serenity around the place.These places lies on
one of the well known treks by the name Churdhar Trek. You can read the entire travel tale in DoW
Community at the link Trip to Rajgarh (Sirmour)
Beautiful views at Rajgarh – Nohradhar – Haripurdhar
7. Chamba – Bharmour – Hadsar – Bairagarh
Many tourists visit Dalhousie – Khajjiar every year and some of them make a day trip to Chamba as well.
However, the entire region ahead of Dalhousie – Banikhet is very untouched and quite less explored
apart from the days of ManimaheshYatra. There are plenty of options of peaceful places in entire
Bharmour Valley ranging from Chamba to Bairagarh, the base of Sach Pass or entrance to Pangi Valley.
The places around Bharmour which only remain rushed during the days of Manimaheshyatra but rest of
the season mostly have less tourist footfalls. However, you can always visit these places to enjoy a quiet
holiday with your loved ones or family without much outside disturbance and rather make a day trip to
tourist places of Dalhousie – Khajjiar from these places in order to have a balance of touristy plus offbeat
experience.
A beautiful view in Bharmour
A rainy day on the way to Banikhet
Conclusion
All these offbeat places in Himachal near Delhi/NCR can be visited in a day and you can enjoy a
complete vacation of 3 to 4 days at any of these places in a relaxed manner over any extended weekend.
In case of any queries or doubts, you can always leave a comment below under this article or open a
thread in Itinerary Advice section of DoW community to sort out an itinerary and other details to travel to
these lovely off the beaten track places in Himachal Pradesh.
So, after going through the complete list these amazing 12 offbeat places in Himachal, which one will you
place in your next travel plan? Any other offbeat place in Himachal you know about? Please share your
thoughts, reviews, suggestions and experiences too, if possible. I would be looking for to them and till
then Happy Traveling…
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