Parvati Valley - snow clad mountains and smoke

The Parvati Valley
Is one of the lesser known valleys near Kullu, however at the beginning there are prominent places like the hot water springs at Manikaran and Kasol, a smoky destination for the Great Indian Tourist.  The areas served by a road are perpetually full of tourists seeking easy reach and harder stuff.  On the other hand the places where one has to walk to are beautifully calm and isolated. 

A sketch of the Valley
A schematic sketch shows the Burshaini bowl, the road goes upto Tosh whereas the other villages are on foot tracks. If one wants solitude, then walk...  There is a large dam being constructed across the Parvati river at Burshaini, I wonder how this will affect the ecology when this is completed. 

Khalga under snow
I found just the village - Khalga which was off the beaten track. Early March offers a very different experience, it had snowed a day prior to my arrival and a carpet of white covered everything. It was cold, most often bitterly so, and some of the treks I did were in knee deep snow or ice. The head of the Parvati Valley is in a bowl surrounded by snow capped mountains. The bowl has Burshaini and Tosh, both served by roads; and Khalga, Pulga and Tulga, three villages on the mountainside are reached walking.

Every house a homestay or 'guest house'
This seems one of the main sources of income for local people.  In anticipation of the impending season, hectic work was on to clean, refresh or add a room or two to each home stay. The whine of power tools often pierced the tranquillity. A homestay can be a single room with a toilet outside in the snow, toilet down the corridor or an en suite toilet.  The rates for each varied as per the location and conveniences offered.  In the smaller places, like Khalga where I was staying expect to pay about Rs 500 for a very comfortable room and a toilet down the corridor. Homestay owners can get friendly and offer services far beyond what one pays for, and at many locations I saw long term associations where guests kept coming back year after year.

Fickle weather and Fresh Snow
It had snowed heavily just before I arrived and on the drive up the hillside was covered in snow. The weather was as fickle as the people were friendly. Of the six days I was there it rained or snowed on three. Generally the pattern was clear, bright, sunny mornings and wet evenings. The clouds would rise by mid afternoon and rain/snow by evening.

 

Cafes Everywhere
The season heralds a flurry of activity in preparing cafes, every trail, be it snow bound or the back of beyond, has a cafe. these are ubiquitous huts of wooden skeletons covered in brilliantly covered plastic; these served the mountain cafe staple of 'magi noodles', omelettes, chips and chai. A menu I have seen almost wherever I have trekked in the mountains. The food here and in homestays is basic but very tasty. In my homestay I made a deal with the host to provide me local food for lunch and dinner.  The menu usually was rajma-chawal, puri-sabji, dal-chappati, with egg bhurji thrown in sometimes to add flavour. Here we see a husband and wife carrying chairs and mattresses to their cafe and the Sun Flower cafe at the start of the Kheerganga climb. Many cafes offer more than food and drink.

Walking in the snow
In the mountains it is wise to spend the first day just getting used to the altitude, walking in the snow and braving the cold. It may not be high altitude, but from sea level (Mumbai) to 3000m in about 24 hours needs reasonable precautions. It had snowed heavily the day before my arrival, and the landscape was shrouded in snow.  The sun is far sharper at this altitude and the reflection from the snow adds to this. I took a guide who knew where to go and the alignment of paths; sometimes ponds and streams are covered in snow and the unwary hiker can end up having a swim at -5°C. 

Icicles on the rocks
It was cold in March, early morning temperature dipping to -5°C or colder.   Each morning when I went out for a walk, the frost would crunch underfoot and the puddles were frozen over. It is important to dress in layers as per dictates of the weather, on any given day I would start out bundled in my warmest wear, gradually removing layer by layer till I was in a single warm T-shirt at midday.  As evening approached I would be in rain gear and clad in my warmest again. The icicles on the way made interesting patterns on the rocks.

Track to the Waterfall
...and on to Kheerganga. There are two routes to Kheerganga, one Khalga-Waterfall-Cafe and Kheerganga and the other Dam-Nagthan village-Rudra Nag Temple-Bridge and on to Kheerganga. I did  not go to Kheerganga as due to the fresh snow and ice, the route was very slippery and I feel, dangerous. So I walked to cafe by one route and returned by another, a hike of about 12 km. The route to the waterfall was snow and ice covered, and the waterfall was frozen, with beautiful icicles suspended from the rocks around. 

Waterfall at Rudra Nag Temple.
I took the Rudra Nag- Nagthan way back from Cafe.  From the cafe the path drops down steeply to the bridge on the Parvati river, a slippery and icy track and shortly thereafter is the Rudra Nag temple with a gushing waterfall nearby. This side of the valley has much less snow and ice, probably due to the increased exposure to the sun.  This is also possibly the reason that it has more population. 

Children playing at a bonfire at Nagthan
This is a large village on my route back, this route has more ascent and descent than the route out. I had to descend twice to the river and climb up again.  Whereas the route from Khalga was more or less along the same height and more scenic. 

Lady soaking in the sun at Nagthan
as soon as the sun went low, it became cold and everywhere I saw people soaking in the warmth of the last few rays. Nagthan too had its share of homestays, most very basic. If one is to go to Kheerganga it might make sense to stay here the first night.

Mountains around Tosh

Tosh is served by a road and much more on the beaten track. It is a popular weekend destination for young kids from Delhi and Chandigarh, hence it is more touristy, more expensive and does not have much solitude. Booming trance music and smoke emanate from most homestays. It is also the start for the four or five hour Kutla trek, I am told that the high altitude Kutla meadows are tranquil and beautiful, alas I got to know too late and did not go.

Main street Tosh
the melting snow made most paths slushy and wet, particularly if a herd of sheep or cattle had used it. There was mud everywhere and sometimes ankle deep. The village paths everywhere were veritable streams and it was important to have water resistant boots  and carry a spare set of socks all the time.

Snow, solitude and bare trees
March in the Valley is beautiful, the Great indian Tourist is yet to descend in hordes, there is a lovely biting nip in the air, there is solitude to be found off the beaten track and the people are not so busy yet and have the time to be friendly.  Bare plum, apricot and apple trees strech their arms out to snow covered mountains over which huge Griffon and Golden eagles soar effortlessly.