Part 11: Manikaran..

Our lovely holiday at Shimla and Manali was coming to an end. Only two days were remaining. Some type of sadness filled in my heart as we prepared to visit Manikaran.
It is a pilgrimage place situated in Parbati valley near kulu. There is a hot water spring at Manikaran & is said to have medicinal value and is a cure for an number of chronic ailments. Manikaran is also known for temple of 'Lord Shiva' who remained in 'Samadhi' for eleven thousand year in 'Treta Yug' . Temple of 'Maryada Parshotam Ram' Naina Mata and Gurdwara are also there.
From Manali it is some 82 KM far. We started on one fine morning. The weather during march was fine, the sky was clear with a gentle warmth in the atmosphere. Our car drove on the zigzag road of the mountains. River "Satluch" was looking awsome as we drove by its side.
The route is from Manali to Kulu and from there to Manikaran. After approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes we reached Kulu and had tea by the side of the road. Local tea stalls are always good in such places as tea from there gives relief from the cold and refresh the mind.
As we left Kulu the road became narrower. We were driving up the mountain and beneath we could see the entire Kulu valley. It was an awesome view. The entire valley looked splendid with houses paddy fields appeared part of a huge picture from the ultimate creator. Some where the road was too narrow and hardly one car could pass by. Some where the green pine trees huddled beside the road. We could also see some apple trees here and there with blossoms appearing on the top. We could not prevent ourselves but stooped several times in between to grasp the beauty of nature. It all ways feel good to be in places like this for those  people who hail from busy  metros.

                                                                              road to manikaran

                                        view of the distant mountains--on the way to Manikaran

After driving for couple of hours we reached our place.
Manikaran is a very small place surrounded by hills and from far we could see a Gurdwara and the Ram temple. The place was calm with lots of pilgrimage visiting during that time. As we visited both the holy places a strange type of joy filled our heart. We forget the tiredness of the long travel.

 

A view of "Gurudwara"

                                                             In side of the "Ram" temple

Other than these temples there was nothing in Manikaran so we decided to leave. It was the last day of our tour. I was busy in thinking about the next day travel to delhi and from there back to home. Time spent without my knowledge as suddenly i noticed we were near Manali.


For Fellow Travellers:
Manikaran is not far from Kulu. From there a cab can be hired to visit the place. Typical cost will near about INR 500. There are plenty of hotels available in Kulu. These can be found from the private web sites as well as from Himachal Pradesh Govt tourism web site also. For help I have put down some of them here.
Clear Trip: Kulu hotels
Make My Trip: Kulu hotels
Yatra.com : Kulu hotels
Hotels in Kullu: Via.com
Himachal Pradesh Tourism. India
For more information about Kulu or Manikaran the following sites can be use ful.
                                                                                                                             to be continued....