Top 12 must visit offbeat places in himachal near delhi

Top 12 Must Visit Offbeat Places in Himachal Near Delhi

Now a day there is too much demand of offbeat places in Himachal near Delhi and many of these

already known or talked about in the recent past are running full during vacations. So, there seems to be

dearth of such offbeat places and I can see that it is leaving many of my friends or relative or readers of

DoW blog in cancellation of their vacation or moving to some other direction, may be by flight or

extending the leaves. So, in case if the answer to any of the below queries is YES, then this article is for

you only.

“Are you tired of visiting the same old commercialized, tourist flocked, complete hustle-bustle like Shimla,

Manali, Dalhousie, Dharamshalaetc? Do you feel like going to some quite, secluded and peaceful place

where you can spend quality time with your family, friends and nature? Do you believe in off the beaten

track travel and love to explore new or offbeat places near Delhi? “

Top 12 Must Visit Offbeat Places in Himachal near Delhi

Now a days, every other person who travel frequently, is looking out for some quiet, peaceful, less

commercialized and non-touristy place in order to spend their valuable vacations in Himalayas. Today, in

this article we will talk about Himachal Pradesh, which itself offers variety of such offbeat places but many

of them take at least two days to reach from Delhi/NCR. However, I will enlist below my top 12 favourite

offbeat places in Himachal Pradesh that can be reached in a day from Delhi/NCR. Having said that, you

should be OK with traveling about 12-14 Hrs a day (usual time for Manali / Dharamshala / Dalhousie).

I have already detailed out 5 places out of these 12 offbeat places in Himachal in my previous article: 5

Must Visit Off-beat Places in Himachal Pradesh. As I said, many of these budding offbeat places in

Himachal which we have talked about in previous article are already running full mostly in season time, it

is time to introduce you all to "7 More Must Visit Offbeat Places in Himachal near Delhi" in addition to

them. Here they are…

7 More Must Visit Offbeat Places in Himachal near Delhi

1. Prashar Lake

Prashar Lake, which is located about 49 odd KMs north of Mandi at an altitude of 2730 Mtrs, is one of the

top most offbeat places in Himachal Pradesh and has a depth unknown to anyone so far. People hardly

know about it and those who know, they just can’t stop going there again and again due to the extreme

solitude and peace it offers to you. However, I only like Prashar Lake in two states, one, when it is

surrounded by green colours topped with varied variety of flowers in the monsoon months of July –

August. And, the other state is when the white carpet of snow surrounds this surreal lake and give it a

feeling like a jewel studded & shining midst white gold around it, in the month of January – March. You

can read my travel tales or snow trek to Prashar at the link: Prashar Lake – A Jewel Midst White Gold We

Call Snow

Prashar Lake, frozen in time

2. Bir – Billing

I have talked quite a lot about Barot (read Barot Travel Guide) in my previous article of offbeat places in

Himachal Pradesh linked above. Just about 70 odd KMs from Barot, there lies India’s favourite

destination for Paragliding by the name of Bir – Billing. While Bir is more of a conventional

Buddhist/Tibetan town having quite nice monasteries and a stupa, while 14 KMs north of Bir lies Billing

which is the hotspot of paragliding in India. The stay options are available at Chowgan village. Best time

to visit Bir – Billing is from April – May or September to mid of November. You may not be aware but it is

true that Bir – Billing will be hosting the Paragliding World Cup by the Paragliding World Cup Association,

France in 2015 … You can learn more in detail about Bir – Billing paragliding at the link of DoW

Community: Paragliding in Himalayas

Bir – Billing, an aerial view…

Photo Credits: TarunGoel | Loop-Whole

3. Kasol – Malana – Tosh – Kheerganga

Let’s talk about one of most beautiful hamlets of Himachal Pradesh, Kasol. Kasol, 75kms away from

Manali and about 34 KMs from Bhunter, lies in the Parvati Valley of Himachal Pradesh, nestled between

Pin Parvati ranges on one side and the mighty Beas river on the other. Parvatiriver, a tributary to Beas,

also passes through Kasol town. For years we have learnt that Kasol is a mini Israel for its cannabis

production and foreigner settlement. But that is not what Kasol is all about. A calm little Himalayan town,

Kasol gets its unique selling point from towering hills covering this town, the ferocious yet forgiving Parvati

river and abundance of multi-cuisine restaurants. On an average day in Kasol, you will find numerous

German bakery and cafes serving multi cuisines, shops selling innovative caps, jewellery and tshirts,

firangs and hippies strolling about around the streets and much much more. You can read this lovely

travel tale on Kasol in DoW Community at Swift 2 Days Mesmerizing Trip ToParvati Valley July ‘2014

Apart from Kasol, there are numerous hikes or treks or walks one can undertake from Kasol to reach

various tranquil places in around Parvati Valley. You can go up to Tosh village, where a bumpy yet

motorable road goes. Tosh offers some really majestic views in Parvati Valley. Then there is a 3-4 Hrs

trek to Kheerganga running through quaint villages of Kalga – Pulga having a hot spring up there. It is one

of the most favourite spot for most people traveling to Kasol. Finally, there is a Tabooed village

of Malana which is quite an unusual yet very picturesque hamlet having its one unique culture, laws/rules

which amuses many people in to visit this place. All these places are nearby Kasol only and you can club

a 3-4 day trip to visit these places or make these villages as a base to explore rest of them around. Check

out the rough map below:

Kasol – Parvati Valley Map…

Kasol – Parvati Valley, an amazing view

4. Naggar Castle – Jagatsukh

Naggar Village, about 22 KMs away from Manali, is a quiet little village to enjoy peace and calmness of

Himalayas in Himachal. I have always believed that staying at Naggar Palace, a premium heritage hotel,

run by HPTDC is one of the most romantic experiences of Himachal with some amazingly beautiful views

on offer from its front row rooms and balcony based restaurant. Best will be that you book rooms in the

first row offering valley view. On the relaxing day, you can hike to Old Krishna Temple, visit Shiv Temple

or Roerich Art Gallery and Museum at Naggar. As soon as you reach bus stand (I feel it was a bust stand

:)) of Naggar just lift your eyes upwards and you can get the glimpse of a castle like structure made of

wood and rocks at a cliff point. It’s approx. 800 Mtrs from the bus stand. You can read all about it at the

link Naggar Castle

On the way to Naggar from Manali, there comes another quiet, calm and small village by the

name Jagatsukh. There is a well known temple there as "Gayatri Temple" which is known to be one of the

oldest temples of all time with relevance to "Mahabharata". Now a days Jagatsukh is also gaining quite

popularity in terms of staying away from hustle bustle of the Manali town at a peaceful location.

The valley view from Naggar Castle

Gayatri temple at Jagatsukh

5. Jibhi – Shringipur – Shoja – Jalori Pass

We have already talked much about Tirthan Valley (read tirthan valley travel guide) in the last article of

offbeat places in Himachal Pradesh. However, if you move from Tirthan Valley or Gushaini towards

Banjar and takes the road to Jalori Pass, you will come across some more peaceful yet not so known

villages for stay in Himachal by the names Jibhi, Ghiyaji / Shringipur / ShringiVatika, Shoja and Jalori

Pass. In order to beat the crowd and have a tranquil time with your loved ones, staying at any of these

villages will not disappoint you a bit. All these places now have small guest houses or home stays run by

mostly local families where you can enjoy besides the flowing waters of tributary to Tirthanriver especially

at ShringiVatika and enjoy local cuisines while living in complete calmness. ShringiVatika is basically a

homestay/guest house run by an old couple which now they call it Shringipur. HPTDC have put up camps

right at Jalori Pass in complete solitude with no one to be spotted around apart from majestic valley views

and that makes it a perfect place to live away from civilization yet very close to it

ShringiVatika

On top of clouds at Jalori Pass

6. Rajgarh – Nohradhar – Haripurdhar

Located in Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh, Rajgarh – Nohradhar – Haripurdhar are one of the most

unknown and real offbeat places where you can really enjoy in complete peace, away from any kind of

hustle bustle. Only handful of people know about it and one can enjoy the drive of about 11-12 hrs from

Delhi ahead of Solan to reach up there and witness pure serenity around the place.These places lies on

one of the well known treks by the name Churdhar Trek. You can read the entire travel tale in DoW

Community at the link Trip to Rajgarh (Sirmour)

Beautiful views at Rajgarh – Nohradhar – Haripurdhar

7. Chamba – Bharmour – Hadsar – Bairagarh

Many tourists visit Dalhousie – Khajjiar every year and some of them make a day trip to Chamba as well.

However, the entire region ahead of Dalhousie – Banikhet is very untouched and quite less explored

apart from the days of ManimaheshYatra. There are plenty of options of peaceful places in entire

Bharmour Valley ranging from Chamba to Bairagarh, the base of Sach Pass or entrance to Pangi Valley.

The places around Bharmour which only remain rushed during the days of Manimaheshyatra but rest of

the season mostly have less tourist footfalls. However, you can always visit these places to enjoy a quiet

holiday with your loved ones or family without much outside disturbance and rather make a day trip to

tourist places of Dalhousie – Khajjiar from these places in order to have a balance of touristy plus offbeat

experience.

A beautiful view in Bharmour

A rainy day on the way to Banikhet

Conclusion

All these offbeat places in Himachal near Delhi/NCR can be visited in a day and you can enjoy a

complete vacation of 3 to 4 days at any of these places in a relaxed manner over any extended weekend.

In case of any queries or doubts, you can always leave a comment below under this article or open a

thread in Itinerary Advice section of DoW community to sort out an itinerary and other details to travel to

these lovely off the beaten track places in Himachal Pradesh.

So, after going through the complete list these amazing 12 offbeat places in Himachal, which one will you

place in your next travel plan? Any other offbeat place in Himachal you know about? Please share your

thoughts, reviews, suggestions and experiences too, if possible. I would be looking for to them and till

then Happy Traveling…

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