Manali is a base camp for so many renowned treks, a few of them we already did like Bhrigu lake, Beas Kund and Hampta pass, if you are planning to do it on your own then you find our blogs informative.
But this blog isn’t about those moderate or difficult level treks, here we want to share with you a few, day hikes that you can do even if you are a beginner and had no prior trekking experience.
We planned our last trip to Manali as a kind of leisure vacation and that’s why we didn’t carry our camping gears which we usually do on our overnight treks.
But when you are in Manali and hiking is your love then you can’t resist yourself, the same thing happened with us too. After three days of luxe stay, we got bored and decided to stretch our legs.
There are a lot of trails from which you can choose your path to walk in nature and give an adventurous experience to yourself.
We chose the Jogini waterfall hike from Vashisht temple and then the next day we went for the Lamadugh trek.
1. Vashisht Temple To Jogini Waterfall
Overview
It is believed that this temple has a history of 4000 years, named after Rishi Vashisht Kul guru of Lord Rama.
Temple is completely built with woods and designed with beautiful and symmetrical patterns.
Another thing you can enjoy there is a hot water spring which is one of the famous attractions. But due to covid restrictions, we couldn’t take the dip so can’t share the actual experience with you.
Visiting Vashisht Temple
We started our day with a nice breakfast after that we had to reach the Vashisht temple so we took the auto from the Hadimba temple which costs us Rs.250.
Vashishtha temple is a tourist place so you may find rush there, also depend on the season in which you are travelling.
After witnessing such an ancient history and receiving the blessings of the Holy Sage, we headed to Jogini Falls. The way is just adjacent to the temple and goes from the village where you may see many old Himachali houses built in a very old traditional way using woods and mud.
The complete hike is of around 2 hours, and that too is not very steep, if you are with your kids then also it is doable just keep your pace gradual. The trail is marked all on the way, moreover, you can ask any local. There are few cafes on the way from where you can easily get the water, chocolates or if you want you can enjoy the Maggi too, so if you are not carrying any day hike backpack then also it is fine, you will find this hike very accommodating.
As we started, after crossing the village there was a government school from there trail got diverged one is going straight which seems to be the correct one, but it’s not, we had to take the right just with the boundary wall of the school, few steps ahead and there was a cafe. From there we could see the Beas River and a few mountains, we clicked some pictures there and headed our way, after walking for around 20 minutes we entered the tall pine and deodar forest, that was the walk which we were missing, close to the nature peaceful and calm.
Moving ahead, we were at the Jogini waterfall, we tried to reach a little closer but in December the water was frozen and the rocks were slippery so we just stood on the rock quite far from the fall, after soaking the view and clicking a lot of pictures we decided to have tea. Many seasonal small eateries were there, as we were sipping the tea a dog came and sat by our side, I played with him and gave him some biscuits, after this little fun we started our way back.
Now there are two ways which you can take to get back, if you are staying at Vashisht itself then it would be better if you take the same route by which you came and if you are staying somewhere in new or old Manali then you must take the shorter route. You can ask and also it is preferred to ask the route from any of the locals for surety. With the second route, you can reach Manali-Leh Road within 15 to 20 minutes and from there you can easily find any convenience to your accommodation.
2. Lamadugh Trek
Introduction
Lamadugh is a moderate trek that might challenge you with its few steep sections. But from the beginning, it will give you the real adventurous experience, so don’t bother about the destination just enjoy the hike. The total hike is around 7-8 hours so, you have to plan your day’s itinerary accordingly.
Trek starts from Dhungri village and if you are coming from mall road then Hadimba temple will be your landmark, or you can ask the auto driver to drop you at DPS school, a Km ahead of Hadimba temple.
Just from the right side of the school, a paved road is going and after approximately 800 metres on the left side, you can see a water tank, not like we have very big and high in urban areas, it is an old underground water storage tank with just a dome on the top, also there is a board showing birds you might see on your hike. From there the actual trek starts.
We were staying at Ram cottage which is just a few steps from the DPS school so that was one of the advantages we had, we saved an hour which we gave to our sleep though.
We woke up at around 8:30 am, got freshened up packed our day hike backpack in which we were carrying chocolates and water bottles with a few other essentials.
We decided to have breakfast outside, so we walked to the Ghatotkach temple where we could find a variety of options but it all opens after 10 or 10:30, luckily we found an open shop, we had tea and Maggi there.
Just to be sure we asked a local shopkeeper the way of Lamadugh, he told us the same way which we were about to take, he also advised us not to go as it snowed there last day and might fall today as well. Instead of worrying it thrilled us as till now, we didn’t experience the snowfall together, so we thanked him and headed on our way.
Hitting The Trail
From the beginning, we were walking under the tall pine, oak and cedar trees, the trail was not marked. Being located near to the villages, it must be used by various locals to commute as a shortcut so there we found many trails made by regular walks.
As we started, there we saw a few temporary tents or kind of huts, might be of some shepherd’s, also some mules were tied around it. We saw a guy there and asked him the way he told us we just need to go straight and then take right.
The whole trail is so confusing so make sure wherever you are in doubt just wait for a while and ask someone for the right direction, otherwise you would be lost too as we did.
There were no markings nor any landmark to take the correct right turn and as I mentioned earlier with so many trails anyone can easily get on the wrong path.
With our strong guts and intuition, we were walking, whenever there was a division we just took the right one which leads us on the wrong trail, we realised it after wasting almost an hour or two.
Our First Snowfall Together
We were at planes and there we saw a big rock too, we thought it must be Lion’s rock which is the first milestone of the Lamadugh trek. We enjoyed it there and soon we saw some snowflakes were started falling, we got so enthralled, took a lot of pictures. Till now we were not aware that we are not on the trail on which we should be, so without any hustle, we were just enjoying our snowfall together, that too was a different experience we had there.
Then, later on, we reached the end of the trail, there we realised that for a very long time we were on the wrong path. We tried to navigate from there, but couldn’t figure out the way so we decided to take a break and had some chocolates and water, after that, we decided to come back where the trail got diverged, from there we climb up the steep mountain where there was no trail specified and after gaining a little height we could see the real Lion’s rock so, we continued on the same path and finally, we were at the first milestone. From there we could see the birds-eye view of the Manali.
Even if we were on the wrong trail from the beginning, we didn’t miss out to enjoy the hike, as every path leads to somewhere and sometimes it is not about the destination it’s all about the journey.
In the next few minutes, it started snow falling again and this time in abundance than before, we enjoyed a lot, clicked so many pictures and just tried to be a part of the aura.
Moving ahead, we reached the lover’s point it is a hut with green tin shade we sat there for a while then decided to descend, as the weather was changing and also it was around 5 pm. By the time we reached the paved road snow was falling heavily, we had Maggi at the shop just before the DPS school and enjoyed the canvas of nature. Altogether that was a well-spent day.
3. Walk towards nature in Manali nature park / Van Vihar
One more small walk we did from old Manali to mall road and that could be a perfect trail for families with kids and to someone who wants a quiet place to relax or think. We spent almost 3 hours there, just chitchatting, walking and relishing the peacefulness.
*Entry fee is applicable (very minimal Rs. 20 or 30 only)
One More Option: You can do a day hike in Hampta valley which is Jobri to Chikka.
It is actually the day one’s hike of the complete Hampta pass trek you can read more about it in our Hampta Pass trek blog. Do check that out.
Soon we will add more walks here as we explore them in our next journey.
**To be continued…
