Vashisht

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For the two Steve’s, the Kullu Valley was like a homecoming as they had spent 2 months here in 2000 with a couple of other friends.

As they did in 2000, we based ourselves at the gorgeous little village of Vashisht, a couple of kilometres further up the valley from the main town, Manali. The town of Kullu is further downstream, where the Beas River emerges from the mountains. Vashisht is quiet at this time of year before the rush of tourists and hippies in the late Spring, with great eating places and spectacular views of the lower Himalayas. Of course, the big attraction is the Hot Springs and the mens and womens bathing pools inside the main temple complex.

The small village has 3 temples. The main temple has lovely architecture, and public bathing areas, after you leave your shoes to be minded at the entrance for the princely sum of 1 rupee (3 cents). Inside the bathing area is a hot pool and a trench with spouts of hot spring water for washing. Underclothing stays on. Our hotels had showers and sometimes hot water but they were rarely used; the hot spring bathing became a pleasurable daily ritual. The area is primarily Hindu, but there is also a Buddhist presence in the valley especially more upstream, where there are many Tibetan refugees. There are also open air baths and spouts of hot spring water used for washing both dishes and clothing.

There is a lot of domestic Indian tourism here as well as westerners. Manali is a frequent base for Indian honeymooners, and they often visit the temple at Vashisht. Many Indians also visit to see the snow as a novelty. We were fortunate experience Vashisht in the quieter time for tourism.

The main street was just wide enough for cars, but the main transport for us was auto-rickshaws (known as tuk-tuks in other places). Past the blind ending main street with its various shops, restaurants and businesses, many dwellings had no vehicle access. At the edges of the village away from the main street, and scattered on the hills are more traditional village homes, often complete with chickens and animals.

Eating in Vashisht was a pleasure, with a wide variety of Indian food available along with some Tibetan items and western style food if you so desire. Northern Indian food generally has complex spiciness with mild to moderate heat. There is much vegetarian food, and meat dishes tend to be chicken or mutton (from sheep or goat, unspecified generally), so avoiding offending both Hindus and Muslims. Many places have rooftop table settings, and on a fine day lunch on the roof with the spectacular view all around is magnificent.

The outlook from Vashisht was a stunning mountain vista across and up and down the valley. Bhrigu Peak is steeply uphill from the village, but not visible from it. The valley of the Beas River was spread below, and everywhere were apple orchards, from the valley to terraces on the steep hill sides. Higher up were managed forests providing timber, and above that natural forests until the treeless alpine areas was reached. Mainly conifers with some Himalayan Oak. When we were there, the apple trees were bare of leaves, but were often underplanted over winter with mustard, giving a splash of yellow colour when in flower.

During our exploration, we found that the village water supply came from below a waterfall coming out of the forest, above any evident human activity (we supposed there would be goat herding in summer though). Henceforth, we happily drank the water and ate salads in Vashisht, without problems. There would not be many places in India where we would be game to do this.

After a huge downclimb with packs from camp below Bhrigu Peak to Vashisht, we all had sore legs to various degrees. Some of us engaged the services of a traditional masseur recommended by our host Sangeev, who visited our rooms. The somewhat elderly but spritely man was not happy with the lack of afternoon sun in our rooms. He decided that out on the unfinished balcony of Sangeev’s construction works was the place, reached by climbing up from a landing just outside. So began the surreal experience of ayurvedic massage in the sun with 180degrees of sublime mountain views and 180 degrees of gloom, building waste and concrete dust, lying on a blanket with a brick for a pillow. The legs might have still hurt but the body and mind were relaxed.