The day of walking 20km.: Jogini falls & Hadimba Devi temple 

(27th December, 2020) 

It was a Sunday, which inherently is a lazy day. But the joy of arriving at a hill station got us up early. Actually only "I" got up - my roomie continued being lazy :P

In the BaseCamp lounge, I talked to a guy who happened to be a startup (Skillbox) co-founder. He told me there's a certain Jogini waterfall which has 2 trek routes - one is Old manali - Manali - Vashisht - forest - waterfall. Another one is the road that goes beyond Rocky's and somehow reaches the waterfall.

I had heard about Vashisht and decided to take this longer route. 

While coming downtown, we chanced upon Mahima Fast food corner that looked good. Indian breakfast costs INR 180 per person and was just the apt quantity needed for us not to feel tardy on the trek route.

The Indian Breakfast at Mall Road

Pitstop - breakfast

We relied on policemen and local shopkeepers for the route. Upon reaching downtown Manali, there's an open amphitheater styled arena where the Indian flag flutters high and proud. We crossed that area and followed sign boards.


 We continued being Johnny Walker (kept walking, that is), and crossed a river bridge to proceed toward Vashisht village. On this road, toward left, one can see helicopters taking tourists up for a ride. 

The heli service

I overheard that it costs INR 3500 per person, and was anyway not interested. This is the same road which leads to Rohtang and is heavily traffucked in evening hours. 

A shopkeeper pointed us to stairs that would lead to Vashisht. These stairs are toward right side of the road adjacent to a cloth shop. Upon climbing them, I realized that I had done it again - forgot to carry water during a trek. Looks like it's becoming a good omen now. I forgot the same during GNHP trek and it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable treks !

I saw a structure perched on the hillside that looked like a hotel, so I entered it to buy some water. The housekeeper (who came out after persistent knocking) told me that it was a hotel where specifically Japanese stay. I was surprised but didn't bother to ask the reason upon getting the water bottle. He didn't charge me a dime for the water - that's the beauty. I remember being super thirsty at the Wagah border in 2012 and people denying me drinking water for free.

We somehow reached Vashisht market that sells everything from breakfast to daily use items.

The market road in Vashisht

The roads are narrow and despite being slim people we had to stop and give side to vehicles to pass through. Vashisht temple and hot water springs are famous. You can also hold a rabbit for INR 20, just for clicking a picture.

Vashisht temple area



Happy birthday rabbit (that's a dialogue from Andaz Apna Apna :P)

Without much ado we continued the walk. Vashisht is an amazingly quiet place filled with yoga, reiki and meditation centers. The road is clean and nicely built without any potholes.

Walking through lanes of Vashisht

We kept knocking doors and asking for routes. Gradually the waterfall signboards started coming up and we increased pace. A really tranquil forest with clear trail is the last region to cross before the waterfall actually appears. 

The first clear waterfall signboard


The forest trail

A forest signboard

Watching that signboard, I thought when in my life I'll have to time to just sit in this calm jungle and let my thoughts go into oblivion. That itself would be a form of meditation. 

Somewhere between, there's a small nullah bridge with a big blue arrow marked to show the path to the falls. People often get confused here whether to follow the arrow or not as the route gets bifurcated here. 

A small rock bridge with blue arrows

It's here that the gushing sound of the Jogini waterfall announces that O dear trekker, you've reached your destination. There are a lot of shops here to cater to hunger. For thirst, well, you can drink the waterfall water. Yes, we filled our bottles from the waterfall and drank it through the day.

As I've mentioned in my previous posts, it's my habit to pick stones from whatever water body I visit in India or abroad. After clicking some pictures and filling water bottle, I collected a couple of stones that now occupy a position of pride in my home, along with other stones.

The Jogini falls with a view of snow-clad mountains

The Jogini falls





I've included a short video here for you to experience how ecstatic we felt while sitting besides the Jogini falls.
We knew it was going to be a long way back to Old Manali ( ~ 7kms.), so we hurried up to return. On the way had some delicious Rajma Rice and apple juice. Such shops with good-hearted shop owners are aplenty on the trek route and you'll never go hungry/thirsty. 

Evening was still alive when we reached Old Manali, and with gradually increasing leg strength it was decided to go for the Hadimba Temple as well.

A signboard showing Hadimba temple


The Hadimba temple

You can find a lot about Hadimba Temple online. It's a famous holy place that attracts lot of crowd. Saffron sellers will try to coax you into buying saffron all along. There's also a place where kids can sit on Yaks for INR 50. My roomie chose to get clicked sitting on the Yak and while clicking his picture I had a tough time deciding which one was heavier - the yak or him !

The wooden architecture of Hadimba Temple attracted me. I felt a vibe that caused my eyes to shut, head to bow and lips to pray. I felt a strong urge to go inside but as per the policeman there, the temple is partially open for darshan due to corona. The police managed the queue skillfully.

Ladies can opt to wear traditional Himachali dress and get pictures clicked. There's a cool forest surrounding the temple where everyone seemed to be unusually happy.


I think we walked 20kms. that day. It was enough for our stomachs to rumble & roar for dinner. We were not inclined toward paying any more entry fee, so we decided to try the Chill Lounge this time.

The Chill Lounge, Old Manali

Sonu runs The Chill Lounge with some help from his friends. The name might sound chilling but the warmth Sonu shares with everyone of his guests is amazing. If I had to give a "best attitude" award to a person in Manali, it'd be Sonu. It was him due to whom we made this place our daily dinner destination.
We ordered a variety of main course & starters from here. If you're a non-vegetarian, the roasted trout is worth having.
The BYOB place has a mattress seating arrangement (similar to Kasol), and heaters. The orders take some time if it's crowded but the food is tasty & worth waiting for. Also, the washrooms are very clean.

The treks give exercise, the cafes, food to feast ;
After a long time, I ate like a beast,

Climbing uphill to our beloved hostel, we saw two rights and a wrong,
And the speakers we brought, put us to sleep, with a beautiful song!

~End of day 2