Traveling is the best therapy to heal from any sort of pain and sorrow. It is believed that the road has the answer to every question. So travel as much as you can find your answer. I am sharing an amazing experience of our Manimahesh Trek. I hope that this will help you to plan your next trip to this wonderland for your next weekend getaway.
Manimahesh is a high altitude lake of Himachal Pradesh. The lake is located at an elevation of 4,080 meters (13,390 ft).
Details Of Our Trek To Manimahesh
Manimahesh Trek Cost: INR 5000-/ person
Trek Duration: 2 Nights 3 Days
Best Time to Visit Manimahesh Trek
Best time to visit the Manimahesh Lake at any time during April to mid-November. It remains frozen during the rest of the year.
Our Manimahesh Trek Route
Delhi/Chandigarh to Chamba (578 km) – Chamba to Bharmaur (65 km) – Bharmaur to Hadsar (13 km) – Hadsar to Dhancho (6 km) – Dhancho to Gaurikund (6 km) – Gauri Kund to Manimahesh Lake ( 1 km).
We were only two people that went on this trip – me and my best friend. It was a last-minute plan due to which we couldn’t get the Volvo bus booked, so we planned to go by the Ordinary Himachal Roadways Bus.
It was Friday so I left the office early. I took a sharing cab and started my journey toward Chandigarh around 4:00 PM, where my friend (Abhinav) was waiting for me.
The bus coming from Shimla was already fully loaded. Our last hope was now a 10:30 o’clock bus, for which there were number of peoples. We only got one seat, so we decided to share the seat until we got another one. Finally, after a 3-4 hour journey, we got another seat. After the overnight journey, we reached Chamba Bus stand at around 8:30 am. The weather was pretty clear there.
After reaching there we took a shower in the public washroom and after that we had breakfast. We ate mix paratha and curd, after that, we drank tea. We started our journey once again toward Bharmaur. Around 9:30 am, we took a bus towards Bharmaur. Bharmaur is situated at a distance of 60 km from Chamba. It takes around 2 hours to reach Bharmaur from Chamba.
Bharmaur to Bharmani Devi Temple & back to Bharmaur: After reaching Bharmaur, we went to Bharmani Devi Temple. The pilgrimage starts when you take a dip in the holy waters of the Bharmani temple kund. This is a small cemented pool filled with bone-chilling cold water. It is believed that this pilgrimage is incomplete without visiting the Bharmani Devi temple and the cold bath. One can either take a hike up to the temple which is around 5 km from Bharmaur town. Or you can take a sharing taxi available at Bharmaur, which would usually cost around Rs 100 per person and will take you to the temple in around half-hour. It will also drop you back to Bharmaur. We went there by sharing taxi and came back around 2 o’clock.
After that, we went to Chaurasi Temple, the architecture of these temples is mind-blowing. Chaurasi temple complex comprises 84 big and small Shivlinga-style temples. The temple complex is said to have been built approximately in the 7th century.
Bharmaur to Hadsar: Once you have reached Bharmaur, now you need to reach Hadsar which is 12 km from Bharmaur. You can either take a sharing taxi to Hadsar or take a bus from Bharmaur to Hadsar. We took a sharing taxi, which cost us INR 50-/ per person. After reaching there we ate Maggi and drank tea. Around 5:30 pm, we started our trek to Manimahesh.
It was raining when we got there. Although there are many tents/camps available on the way. Dhancho is 6 km from Hadsar. We started the journey in the rain. Those who were returning from the trek gave us their raincoats. Take your raincoat with you if possible. We continued the journey slowly in the moonlight. The journey to the Manimahesh Kailash is one of the most beautiful treks in Himachal Pradesh. It is one of the easiest treks in the Himachal Himalayan region but this is a long trek to complete in one night.
There are a lot of Bhandara’s/ Langars on the way. We took a halt and ate langar. After a tea break, we were again energized. It was raining a lot, we got a group from there who traveled with us to Gauri Kund. It was 3 o’clock in the night and we were very tired now. We decided to stay the night at Gauri Kund. There are a lot of camps and tents available for stay near Gauri Kund. We decided to stay in a tent that cost us INR 100-/ person. The next morning we got up around 6 o’clock. Gauri Kund is the place where Goddess Parvati used to take bath. Only women can take a dip in its holy waters.
After being fresh around 6:30 am, we started the journey of the last 1 km. We already missed seeing the morning scene, when the moon’s rays reflected on the Manimahesh peak on a clear, full moon night, it shines. It’s called Mani – the gem on Shiva’s crown. Once you reach near the holy Manimahesh Lake, you’ll see the clear view of the Manimahesh peak. We were witness to the first sunray on the Manimahesh peak. Everyone was chanting “Om Namah Shivay” with joy.
After taking a dip in this beautiful, shallow circular lake, we worshipped at a roofless temple, conspicuous with many iron trinkets, on the opposite side of the lake. We rested for a while and took lots of pictures.
Around 10 o’clock we started the journey for Hadsar. We ate Langar in Dhancho and reached Hadsar around at 3:30 pm. We took a sharing cab to Bharmaur. From Bharmour to Chamba we took a lift from the car. For which he took INR 500 from us. Luckily we reached the bus stand on time. And We returned to Chandigarh/Delhi by a 5:40 pm Volvo bus.
One of the interesting facts about Manimahesh Peak is that no one has ever been able to climb the summit. The height of the Manimahesh peak is around 18,556 feet or 5656 meters. People have been able to climb the various 8000-meter peaks multiple times. Therefore, the fact that the Manimahesh peak is still un-climbed is very much surprising.
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