Live YoUnG Live FrEe

Seldom does an opportunity arise to undertake an unbridled adventure into the unknown. The joys of an unplanned trip are galore with unimaginable surprises and unexpected offerings.

So began the plan of a journey, a 7 day voyage wherein we had compiled a list of places we would like to visit, but had no plan of how or when to reach, or stay there.

All this taken care then, we 5 started the tour: 4 human beings & 1 umm.. surprise tourist (whom you will get the privelage of being introduced to in a while).
And the best part,we had with us a luxury chariot, extremely desirable, the great n powerful XUV 500!!

Delhi to Manali (Day 1)

[Midnight] Outside the Delhi railway station, stood gleaming in the street light, our ride for the tour which we had rented for self drive: Mahindra XUV 500 (W6):

XUV parked outside Delhi railway station for us to take away

Legalities and payment done with, we grabbed the keys, and hit the highway to Manali at once.
As we had decided no one would be missing out on fun in any part of the trip, we all had to stay awake, and for that, chai was essential to keep our eyelids wide open all time, hence the trip commencement cheers:

Tea cheers!

After that, the journey flew like a breeze and we covered a lot of ground. Directly we stopped in the morning before the ghat section for some breakfast:

Tentative plan was to reach Kasol till afternoon. But the exquisite scenery and sexy weather made us stop every now and then to take in the awesome ambiance. Some clicks taken en route to Kasol:

Smokin' roads, Wonderful companionship, capable car and aswome mausam- what else can u hope for!

Midway, the fatigue had settled in after no night's sleep and the drive via Swargate (We had taken a longer offroad route, a much better way is through Bilaspur), but we continued on our path:

Beautiful (n super expensive) resort on the route to Kasol

Finally we reached Kasol at 8PM. We felt like foreigners in our own country. The place is inhabited largely by the Israelis, who come and settle here, with Indians forming only a minor part handling the business and local market. We were extremely tired after a long drive, hence had some food n drink and then dozed off.

Invigorated with fresh enthusiasm the next day, we headed out to explore the village. We found a nice spot near the Parvati river and had breakfast there:

Having a hearty breakfast riverside enveloped with lush greenery

On the rocks!

Thereafter, we moved forward to Manikaran. The road to Manikaran is lined lush greenery and picturesque landscape and we couldn't resist posing with our gorgeous SUV with such a fine backdrop:

Manikaran a religious place for Sikhs which has a magnificient Gurudwara built:

Manikaran Gurudwara

Ever seen us seeming so decent? Gurudwara has that effect on u :D

Prayers offered, we moved to our next destination: Solang.

Kasol to Solang (Day 2)

New day, new adventures! We were moving high in the hills towards snow capped mountains, vast fields and loopy roads. Some views enroute to Solang:

Twisty windy roads going up through the mountains to Solang

The earthy n Pastel hues in the backdrop painted an immaculate picture

Solang is known for adventure activities such as paragliding, mountain trekking, ATVs offroading etc. However we had even wilder ideas in our mind :D
We checked into a hotel, took out our tents and sleeping bags, and headed out into the jungle besides the river for camping!

What better than hot masala Maggi on a cold dark night-out camping

The tent was a huge relief from outside freezing cold and apparently wild animals!

Fun, beverage n celebration inside the tent

Hanging bridge : holding on for dear life on this delicate wooden log!

We slept on the bridge gazing at the starry sky feeling the cold breeze, listening to river water flowing beneath and the creaking wood of a very questionable-strength bridge

Solang to Gulaba(Rohtang) (Day3)

We began the ascent towards Rohtang early morning next day.The beauty of nature that we had witnessed yesterday was overshadowed in an instant with the perfect landscapes and sheer awesomeness of this place :

It's a surprise we didn't fall off any slopes when we had our eyes fixed to such hynotic scenery

Sun n snow : perfect conditions out at Gulaba

Finally we got red bull...Cheers to banta hai...!

We continued as far as we could go till Rohtang, but unfortunately, the snow had not yet been cleared, so we couldn't go beyond Marhi:

@Marhi, the last point till which roads were open enroute to Rohtang

Truly a GO ANYWHERE car, incredible indeed!

Time to meet our surprise tourist now, our diety, the one whose blessings fall upon us - Shaitani Gudiya!

Shaitaniya Gudiya exuberating with holy charm

Though we did our best to try and clear the snow, we couldnt move ahead of Marhi

So instead, we climbed the hills..

We had to have snow fights

And couldn't resist racing down the icy slopes!

Milestone achieved!

We stayed at Kothi, a place nearby Gulaba where we found accommodation for the night and decided to leave early next morning to Prashar and Shogi.

Rohtang to Prashar Lake (Day 4)

"We will reach the lake by 2 PM and then head to Shogi, its just 114 KM"
Little did we know how much time it would take to cover the 'mere' 114 KMs of roads that lay ahead of us.

Many obstructions on the already narrow roads slowed us down immensely


But we were happy to leisurely cuddle in the lap of nature

All up-board!

It was like we were on movie set, horses grazing, leaves falling and the calm breeze: simply magical!

A big thanks to XUV that we got to witness all this grandeur and exquisiteness

The SUV sailed across all kinds of terrains and abuses without a hiccup

And sitting inside, cocooned in lavish and comfortable interiors, we were isolated from any beating the car was taking

Accomodation Courtsey : the HP state forest Dept in Prashar

Prashar Lake

We spent the night laid-back on the field beneath the perfectly clear skies, besides the lake, gazing at the meteor shower:

Prashar to Rishikesh (Day 5)

Now into the final phase of our tour, we were damn excited about what the adventure capital of India had to offer. We left Prashar at 11am and proceeded to a full day of drive to reach Rishikesh by nightfall.

On the way we encountered a waterfall stream pouring across the road. So many days of lunatic adventures had left the car splattered with dirt all throughout. So we thought to give it a wash - buff street style:

Car wash is a quintessential part of enjoying the roadtrip


The Mighty beast sparkling in its glory after the bath

Riverside Camp @ Rishikesh

Finally we reached Rishikesh late night.

Next day (Day 6) we went for river rafting and bunjee jumping and also took part in some campsite activities: beach volley, canoeing and swimming.

Canoeing was fun...for those who were not in the Kayak

The return journey (Day 7)

It was evident that no matter how much we wanted to explore more, we had to move back to our boring, normal lives. With a heavy heart and even heavier luggage (god knows how much n what we had dumped in our bags throughout the journey!!), we left for Delhi where we had to say goodbye to our XUV and return back to Indore.

We departed with a promise to experience more thrills, next time with even greater magnitude and crazier fun.

Till then...so long...

** Special Thanks to **

Carzonerent (http://www.carzonrent.com/) which made this trip possible by providing us with the car on self-drive rent and hassle-free services.

Amish Jain : Our beloved Photographer who provided us with such magnificent images to remember this trip by.