About Keylong – Naggar – Manikiran : Situated at an altitude of 3350 m, Keylong is the headquarters of Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh. The region is strange, exciting, primitive mountainous and delightful. Rudyard Kipling said of the region "Surely the God live here this no place for men." The route to Lahaul takes a traveler over Rohtang Pass (3980 ml), Koksar (1st village of Lahaul) Sissu, Gondla and crossing the river Chandra Bhaga at Tandi. Keylong is also a night halt for people having road trip to Leh from Manali.
On the left bank of the Beas, Naggar (1760 m) is delightfully situated on a wooded slope and commands an extensive view. It was the capital of erstwhile Kullu state for about 1400 years. There are large number of famous temples notably Vishnu, Tripura Sundari & Lord Krishana. Cars and jeeps easily go upto the Naggar castle. Roerich art gallery which houses the paintings of Nicholas Roerich as well as his sculptures is less than a km from the Castle. Naggar is also a base for undertaking treks to Chanderkhani Pass and to remote valley of Malana.
Manikaran (1700 m), 45km from Kullu and just 3km from Kasol, is famous for its hot springs. Thousands of people take a holy dip in hot waters here. The water is so hot that dal, rice & vegetables etc. can be cooked in it. It is also a well-known pilgrimage place for both Hindus & Sikhs. Ramchandra and Shivaji temples besides a Gurudwara are there. According to an old legend, Manikaran is connected with Lord Shiva and his divine consort, Parvati, who lost her ear rings here, which gave birth to hot waters on the bank of Parvati River.

Duration of the Trip: We had a trip of 8 days and 8 nights from Bangalore and we visited Manali - Rohtang Pass – Keylong - Naggar - Manikaran – Dharamshala. However,Keylong – Naggar – Manikiran can be covered within 3 days and 3 nights including the travel time from Manali.

Transportation: Though buses are available from Manali to Keylong, but not frequent and uncomfortable too. To enjoy the scenic beauty on the way to Keylong, having a personal vehicle is the best option. We had booked a car at Rs 7000/- for Manali local sight-seeing, next day Rohtang-Pass sight-seeing and reaching to Keylong. On the third day Keylong sight-seeing and finally drop to Naggar.
We didn’t need a car for Naggar local sight-seeing as everything was at a walking distance. However booked a car to drop at Dharamshala from Naggar visiting Manikaran en route at a cost of Rs 4500/-
Both the cars were booked from Prakash (Mobile – 9816115973), the cheapest cab service provider we found during our visit at Manali.

Details of The Trip:
Day 1: We started from Manali at around 8:30 in the morning visiting Rohtang Pass en route. On the way, we passed multiple villages; though there were not much visiting places in those villages, however the journey itself through them was thrilling enough. Sometimes we crossed some picture-perfect valley while some times the roads were just like an extension of the hills.

Roads to Keylong

Roads to Keylong

Valley on the way to Keylong

Chandrabhaga at Khoksar

Restrooms at Khoksar

As we headed away from Khokshar, we saw an under construction tunnel. Our driver informed that tunnel will connect Keylong directly from Manali and work will be continuing during winters as well. He said, “Ab yeh rasta bhi aap logo ke sahar jaisa ban jayega aur aglibaar itna dikkat nehi hoga.” He could never understand that the people from cities rush down to those places just to get rid of from the traffic, artificially constructed roads, it’s pollution and dense populations of so called cities. We basked that rawness of nature.

Under construction Tunnel

We continued our journey witnessing Chandrabhaga’s playful activity parallel to our traversing road and headed towards the next village Sisu, on the way we saw vivid colors of trees in their glorious autumn hues. It was a splendid treat for our eyes to see that riot of colors as they are grown accustomed to drab grays and browns.
Sisu had a heliport which is used for emergency evacuations during winters as the area gets disconnected from rest of the world during winters due to snow on surrounding high passes. There was an ancient, almost falling down, kali mata temple with a unique style to this region. And since the valley is slightly broad here there are picturesque step-farms and orchards.

Helipad at Sisu

Gondla is the most beautiful village on the way to Keylong. The village is a popular tourist destination for its scenic landscape and the royal houses. The eight storied building which was the royal home of the Gonda’s Thakur is unique in its architecture and visited for its magnificence. There was a fair that takes place in Gonda every year in the month of July which attracts many tourists coming into the village.

Gondla

Gondla

Next and last village on the way to Keylong was Thandi. River Chandra and Bhaga meet at Thandi. After Thandi, till Keylong the road was horribly bad due to the construction work in progress every here and there. The road was garbled and dusty.

Sangam of River Chandra and Bhaga

Finally we reached Keylong at 4:30 PM. We boarded at the Hotel New Gyespa at a tariff of Rs- 1200/- per day. Earlier we had planned to go for a local sight-seeing post getting freshen up but after seeing the view from our hotel room and balcony we dropped the plan and decided to enjoy the scenic beauty.

View from Hotel Balcony

Kardang Monastery from Balcony

View From Balcony

We were hungry as we had only maggi for lunch. Hence we ordered for some rice, daal and paneer. It was so delicious that made us felt like heaven. While we sat at our balcony and visualized an awasome rainbow, originated from Shishur Monastery, I just fall in love with the place all over once again. The glittering monastery under the vivid bright rainbow path rooted a believe in God's majestic presence in our hear. We spent entire evening sitting at balcony.

View of rainbow starting at Sisur Monastery from Balcone

Later in the evening, we went for a stroll in the nearby market as we needed to withdraw some cash. After Marhi, there was no ATM and none of the shops/hotels accept cards.
The town had slept very early, by 8:30 when we went out none of the shops were open, even the care taker in Hotel New Gyespa asked us to return for dinner soon as kitchen will be closed by 9:00PM.
One thing I shouldn't miss to mention that we went there by car with an agreement of staying a night over there and drop us to Naggar next day. Hence, we needed accommodation for the driver as well. Hotel New Gyespa provided free lodging and food for drivers of the guests and we didn't have to pay a single penny for him.
After having delicious dinner we called it a day.
Day 2: Next morning we woke up with the first ray of sun to see an awesome view from our room’s window.

Early morning view from Room

Early morning view from Balcony

We relished the early morning nature’s beauty sitting at balcony over a cup of smoking-hot tea and some homemade cookies. I am kind of a person who likes to roam like a vagabond, than sitting at a place. But this was a place, which I never felt like leaving and wanted to spend my entire life by sitting and enjoying the beauty. But our driver brought me back to the reality that we had to start for visiting the local places and then towards Manali. Else, it will be too late to reach Naggar and as everyone says hilly roads are dangerous at night.
We checked out from the hotel by 8’O clock after having delicious alu-paratha as breakfast and headed for visiting local attractions.
Kardang Monastery or Gompa is a famous Drukpa Lineage monastery, and is the most important monastery the Lahaul valley. This monestory is situated at the left bank of Bhaga River; however, as some road construction work was going on, we couldn’t visit that monastery.
Shashur or Sashur Monastery is located 3 kms from Keylong. Sha-shur means "blue pines" in the local dialect, as patches of blue pine can be seen around the monastery. This monastery was built in the 17th century by Lama Deva Gyatsho of Zanskar who was a missionary of Nawang Namgyal, the king of Bhutan. However, a smaller gompa had existed previous to the current building.
Inside the monastery thangka paintings, some of them over fifteen feet and wall paintings were depicting all the 84 siddhas of Buddhism.

Shashur Monastery

Shashur Monastery

Shashur Monastery

Abir claimed to be his look alike :)

Triloknath temple is situated in a village at about 4 km short of Udaipur on the left bank of Chenab River. Devotees from far off places including Nepal and Bhutan come to pay their respects at this unique temple. This Shiva temple was given a look of Budhist shrine by Guru Padmasambhava by installing the 6 armed image of Avalokiteshvar. It is now sacred both to Hindus and Buddhists alike and attracts many pilgrims from both these communities.
Devotees follow a strange believe here. There were two pillars in front of the main idol inside temple both were at a distance of less than a ft from the both sides’ walls. It’s a belief, if one goes to God by passing between the wall and pillar gains more blessings and virtue than who goes passing between the two pillars.
The temple is maintained under high security and photography is strictly prohibited.

Triloknath Temple

In earlier days Udaipur was known as Markul and named after the local Goddess Markula Devi. The temple here is unique and famous for its wooden carving on its roof and ceiling. Its name was changed by Raja Udai Singh of Chamba. This place is situated near the confluence of Chenab and Mayar Nallah. This place is therefore a starting point for Mayar valley and further on to Zanskar and other peaks. This is a green area rather the whole Chenab valley is greener than the Lahaul valley. It has a rest house and some hotels and is a good resting place.

Markula Devi Temple at Udaipur

Some years back the road was only up to this point and from here the trekking expeditions to different areas used to start. Now the road is under construction beyond this place and the bus goes up to Tindi. This road has now been connected up to Killar which is the meeting point of another roads; one from Kishtwar(J&K) and from Chamba over the Sach pass. The under construction roads of this area can scare you to death and were worst and dustier than any other road we travelled during this entire journey. We had to pull our car window up and trust me after that what we could see was just a light brown smoke of dust.

Road Condition on the way from Udaipur

Road Condition on the way from Udaipur

While we were struggling with the dust sitting inside a car; to our surprise we saw an aged foreigner couple trekking the place on a bi-cycle. Before I could even digest the fact and get a snap with them, they went outside of our vicinity.
Soon enough, we reached back to Gondla the beautiful vally; the more I saw, the more I had awed by the beauty of this place. We reached Khoksar by 3:30 PM; here we had to again visit the check post to inform them that we were leaving Lahul. We also had our lunch in a Dhaba there.

Dhaba at Khoksar

Finally we reached Naggar by 7:30 PM. It was almost night by then. Our main purpose of visiting Naggar was to spent time in the Royal Naggar Castle and we had already booked a room for us from HPTDC website. All the prices are mentioned in the website and all the rents are inclusive of breakfast and taxes are extra.
Naggar Castle is a magnificent historical edifice, made of stone and wood, this palace served as the residence of Raja Sidh Singh of Kullu. It was built in AD 1460 in an impressive amalgamation of European and Himalayan architecture. Fireplaces, fitting staircases, and magnificent stone and wood works grace the castle's interiors. There are three small shrines within the premises, each holding immense religious importance.
In the year 1978, the castle was converted into a rest house, and more recently into a heritage hotel that is run by Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC). The holy Beas River flows close to the castle, adding beauty and sanctity to it. Your trip to Manali is actually incomplete if you don't pay a visit to this attraction.
Though the place is turned into a heritage hotel and a pretty expensive kind to stay, one can also go to this place just for visiting with an entry fee of Rs 15/-.

Manali at night from Naggar Castle

Castle at night

Castle at night

From our experience of Manali and Keylong, we had already learnt that people in this part of the country sleeps early and all the kitchens are closed by 9:15 PM. We too might have been accustomed with their timings or might be the 11 hours travel made us too tired to drive to bed by 10:00PM.
Day 3: Next morning we woke up early and roamed around inside the castle. All the places seem ed to change the gorgeous they had prior day to a divine avatar.

Restaurant at Castle

Corridor at Castle

Balcony of Castle

Backyard of Castle

Rooms at Corridor

This castle in-house a Temple of Jagati Patt, a slab of stone called the “Jagatipatt” measuring 5' in length, 8' in breadth, and 6" in height. Since early morning local residents of Naggar started visiting to offer their morning prayer in this temple. According to folklore, gods and goddess transformed themselves into honey bees and cut a slab of stone from the Bhrigu Tung Peak and brought it to the temple in order to make Naggar a divine place. Another belief associated with the temple is that the slab of stone, which is placed within the temple now, was cut from Deotiba, the highest peak in the Kullu District. Locals also believe that the deities gather here to protect the people from calamities.

Jagat- Patt Temple inside Castle

There was a beautiful handicraft showroom inside the castle which displays and sells local Kullu special handicrafts including Kullu shawls.

Handicraft Shop at the Left Side

For art lovers, Naggar Castle has incredible art pieces on display. As souvenirs, you can take home traditional items like wall hangings, coasters and artifacts bearing imprints of Roerich's paintings from here.
Though it was still quite early in the morning, we decided to go for a walk outside the castle before having our breakfast.
As soon as we came out of the main entrance of Castle, there was another temple, which read Prachin Mandir Devta Narsingh – ancient temple of deity Vishnu. This temple is also very popular among the devotees.

Narsingh Dev Temple

We came across lots of apple trees on the way fully loaded with green or red apples. I have never seen even half of mango or guavas together in my lifetime in compare to the apples were there on the road side.

Apple Trees

Apple Trees

From every place of the road we traveled, the Castle was visible with royal grace.

Castle from a neighbouring building  roof

We came back to hotel by 9:00 AM to get freshened and have breakfast. Post having our breakfast we decided to visit the other places before we formally check out at 12:00 AM. We enquired about any available vehicle to visit local attractions but came to know no vehicle was needed as everything was at a walking distance.
First place came on our way was, Tripura Sundari Temple, a pagoda shaped wooden temple, situated in the upper part of the village. This is also a rare example of architecture.

Tripura Sundari Temple

Nicholas Roerich Art Gallery is an unusual experience of the amazing skills of the artist and his uncommon imaginations. It has the legendary infrastructure which attracts the tourists from all across the world. This gallery displays a collection of private paintings of the Russian painter Nikolai Reorich. He settled in the beautiful hills of Himachal Pradesh after the revolution of 1947. The ground floor of the gallery is dedicated to the paintings of Spiti, Kullu and Lahaul created by the printer. The upper floor consists of the artist’s private room.
The Gallery not only contains his paintings but also preserves the paintings of his son. The charming and the calm environment of the gallery makes you feel as if the structure has adopted its beauty and substance from the Himalayas.





Nicholas Roerich Art Gallery is open between Tuesday to Sunday is 10am to 1pm, evening- Tuesday to Sunday is 1:30pm to 6pm, winters- 10am to 1pm and 1:30pm to 5pm, keeping Mondays off. The entry fee is Rs 50/- per head Rs 30/- extra for the camera.
We came back to Castle for packing up our stuffs after visiting Art Gallery, by the time tourist started visiting castle and upon finding us in one room, they might have thought we are also some visiting element :) and they started peep inside our room as the door was left open. That was really a funny moment; who doesn’t like unexpected attention :)
By 11:30 AM, our hired car had arrived and we started for Manikaran.
As I already told, manikaran is a famous pilgrimage for both hindu and shikhs. There is a bridge on Parvati River which needs to be crossed to reach the Gurdwara and Temple.

Bridge on Parvati River, Gurdwara at Left Side of bridge and temple at right side

According to Sikhs, during third Udasi, Guru Nanak Dev ji came to this place in 1574 Bikrami with his disciples Bhai Bala & Bhai Mardana. Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji was with Bhai Bala and Bhai Mardana in Manikaran region and Bhai Mardana felt hungry and they had no food. Guru Nanak sent his good Friend Bhai Mardana to collect food for langar. Many people donated flour to make Roti. The one problem was that there was no fire to cook the food. Guru Nanak Asked Mardana to lift a stone and Bhai Mardana then lifted a rock and a hot spring appeared. As directed by Guru Nanak Dev ji, Mardana put the rolled chappatis in the spring to his despair the chappatis sank. Guru Nanak then told him to pray to god saying that if his chappatis float back then he would donate one chappati in the name of God. When he prayed all the chappatis started floating duly baked. Guru Nanak Dev Ji said that anyone who donates in the name of God, his or her drowned items float back.

Inside Gurdwara

Hot Rock

As per Hindu mythology, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, once chanced upon a place that was surrounded by mountains and was lush green. Enamored by the beauty of the place, they decided to spend some time there. It is believed that they actually spent eleven hundred years here. During their stay here, Goddess Parvati lost her mani in the waters of a stream. Upset over the loss, she asked Shiva to retrieve it. Lord Shiva commanded his attendant to find out the mani for Parvati, however, when they failed, he was extremely angry. He opened his third eye, a tremendously inauspicious event which led to disturbances in the universe. An appeal was made before the serpent god, Shesha-Nag, to pacify Lord Shiva. Shesha-Nag hissed thereby giving rise to a flow of boiling water. The water spread over the entire area resulting in the emergence of precious stones of the type Goddess Parvati had lost. Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati were happy at the outcome.

Shiva Temple

Shiva Sculpture outside Temple

Once we finished visiting Manikaran, we headed out. On the way, we saw an awesome resort, The Himalayan Village and decided to have lunch at their restaurant called Sanjha Chulha. The ambiance was extra-ordinary however food they served was little overpriced.

The Himalayan Village

Sanjha Chulha Resturant

After having a stomach full of food, we finally started for Dharamshala by 3:30 PM.

Note: While visiting any of the above places there are few things which needs to be kept in mind
            • Most off the hotels, restaurant, travel agencies and shops doesn’t accept debit/credit card. Also, the ATM availability is also not very frequent. So make sure to carry ample amount of cash.
             • Rain is very frequent in these areas. So carry umbrella during all seasons. Also, temperature can fluctuate during any season; make sure to carry ample amount woolens.

Disclaimer: We went for this trip in August’2013. So the rates and timing might have changed by the time. Please check with hotel and travel agents about current timings and rates. I tried to provide as much as details is possible for the trip. For any further clarification please feel free to contact me @ dutshilpi@gmail.com.