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Author :Urvi Gupta
ESCAPE
When I hear the word “ESACPE”, an image of mountains with a sky filled with stars pops up in my head. The alluring beauty mountains hold in my life cannot be expressed in mere words.
We all have travel goals, mine include finding peace in the sound of sudden gusts of wind, sight of snow-capped mountains, sunrise and sunsets, a cup of hot chai with pahado wali maggi and irreplaceable love for sky full of stars- something I can’t get enough of. It still gives me chills when I think of that perfect December cold night: bonfire, warm and mellow music, piercing cold winds but still so soothing at the same time, company of good friends and beautiful blinking fairy lights in the night sky.
I never knew I would be writing a blog about about this short trip someday or else I would have definitely captured more beautiful pictures to post here, haha! I was working in a corporate back then and due to busy schedule it was difficult to take out time to travel, hence, weekend getaways came to the rescue!
This blog is about my trip to Prashar Lake, Himachal Pradesh, India. The lake is located at a height of 2730m above sea level. With deep blue waters, the lake is held sacred to the sage Prashar and he is regarded to have meditated there.
The temple was built in the thirteenth century, legend has it was built by a baby from a single tree. The lake has a floating island and is said to be unclear how deep it is.
We took a bus from Majnu ka Tila, Delhi on a cold Friday night and reached Mandi, Himachal Pradesh in the morning. Mandi is well connected to rest of the Northern India by bus network and hence is easily accessible. We later shared a taxi (with 2 men from Kerela, who were also going for the same trek), from Mandi till Bagi village from where the trek starts. It was approximately 8 kms trek.
The air was rich with fragrance of leaves and loam. It seemed as we were encountered with unruffled serenity!
The background of the view contained icy overlapping mountains; some of whose snow was yet to melt.
Although it is advisable to book camps or guesthouse for an overnight stay in advance to avoid end moment ruckus but due to our spontaneous plan, we couldn’t! But, meeting some amazing locals on our way who helped us find comfortable guesthouse was pure luck. Though the guesthouse was not providing any stays, they gave us tents, sleeping bags and on top of that bonfire with unlimited supply of wood to spend the night at the back side of the guesthouse. It was one of the perfect nights and the soothing music of nature is what I wanted to listen that night.
It couldn’t have been a better morning! Waking up to the sun, watching it rise from the snow-capped mountains. We got ready and had our breakfast at the hill top (there are only 2-3 stalls on the hill top that sell Rajma Chawal, Maggi, Chai and basic necessity stuff). Consequently, we went to the lake, explored the temple and spent some time clicked pictures, met few locals and indulged in some chit chat sessions. It was filled with great positive vibes. Also, while waiting for our bus to Mandi, we met a Dancer from Bangalore who was exploring Himachal from past one month and Prashar was his 7th trek, so cool right?
You can take a bus from Prashar lake to Mandi instead of trekking down (there is only one bus in the morning that take people to and from Prashar lake), as we did. On reaching Mandi in the evening, we went to an amazing cafe to have some food. You can also visit the local market, there is a lot to shop from and other good stuff that can be checked out.
We took an overnight bus to Delhi.
These treks in the mountains are like a trip out of my life, a visit to places where time is measured by the rising and setting of the sun.
I am going on a very fun trip next month and looking forward to tell you guys about it too! Feel free to let me know if you liked it.
Until next time,
Love.