By Vinati Bhola:
Untouched roads, mystic Tirthan River and its white foaming rush, blooming wildflowers, hidden waterfall, chilling on a hammock, witnessing a shooting star on starry nights, chasing fireflies, pleasant weather, majestic mountains all around and a private home stay on the river bed. At Tirthan Valley, many such heart-warming pleasures are concocted together in a perfect bow to be untied by a traveller.
Tirthan Valley is an unexplored, off-beat place situated in Kullu district. It has an altitude of approximately 1600 Mts. One of the most common ways to reach here is by car or by bus. If coming by bus, you can get your tickets booked form the office of Himachal Pradesh Tourism. The bus will drop you at Aut. From there you can book a taxi. The distance from Aut to Tirthan Valley is around 30kms. I visited this place with my friends in mid-June. The weather was perfect. In fact, you can visit this place anytime between February to October or November. During our stay, the valley offered us happy sunny mornings and cold rainy evenings which added up to a lovely experience.
Tirthan Valley is like a village lowly populated with warm, polite and friendly people. For someone coming from Delhi, it is a sheer surprise to receive so much respect and honour from others. Old ladies sitting on the porch, sharing a smile and waving goodbyes as you walk past their home is a common sight. This place is a dream land for a nature lover. One can sit by the river, breathe in the ethereal ambience and be a part of the whole picturesque scenery. Every moment of life is accentuated here. It is a perfect getaway from the fast and monotonous life of big cities.
Other attractions here are trekking and camping in the Great Himalayan National Park and Trout fishing. You can visit the two hidden waterfalls and drive to Jalori Pass or even to Manikaran. We stayed at a home stay as no hotels are permitted in this area. The owner, Khem Bharti did everything to make us feel at home. There are other famous home stays like Raju Bharti’s Guest House, Himalayan Trout House, Riverside Resort etc. but their booking starts months before due to high demand.
All photos are copyright of the author, Vinati Bhola