Kasol Kheerganga Tosh Backpacking Trip 5 Nights 6 Days

Arrive and Settle: Reach Kasol late morning and check in to riverside camps. The Parvati runs loud enough that you hear it constantly, which most people end up liking.

Chalal: A forty-minute walk across the footbridge and up the far bank through pine. Chalal is a small village that grew into a traveller stop and is a good first stretch of the legs.

Evening: Bonfire at camp where local rules permit, and the Kasol main street - a row of cafes serving Israeli food, which is here because of a long-standing Israeli backpacker presence in the valley.

• Top Places to Cover: Kasol main street, Parvati riverbank, Chalal village, the footbridge.
• Importance of Each Place: Kasol sits at about 5,000 ft and functions as the base for the whole valley. Its Israeli connection dates to the 1990s and has shaped the food, signage and cafe culture entirely.
• Things to Know: ATMs in Kasol are unreliable and often empty - draw cash at Bhuntar. Network is patchy and drops entirely further up the valley.

Meals: Lunch, Dinner | Overnight: Kasol camp

Manikaran: Five kilometres up the valley, where a Sikh gurudwara and Hindu temples stand over natural hot springs. The water emerges near boiling, and the langar kitchen cooks rice and dal by lowering cloth bundles directly into it.

The Legend: The name comes from a story in which Parvati lost an earring here and Shesh Nag, angered, sent boiling water up through the ground to return it.

Up to Tosh: Continue to Barshaini and then a short walk up to Tosh, the last village on this arm of the valley, with slate roofs and views straight up to the snow line.

• Top Places to Cover: Manikaran gurudwara, hot spring baths, Ram temple, Barshaini, Tosh village.
• Importance of Each Place: Manikaran is one of very few places where a gurudwara and Hindu temple share a site and a pilgrimage. The springs are genuinely near boiling and are used for cooking, not just bathing.
• Things to Know: Cover your head and remove shoes at the gurudwara; free cloth is available. The bathing tanks are separated by gender. Tosh has no vehicle access for the final stretch, so pack light for the night.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner | Overnight: Tosh

The Climb: From Barshaini the trail runs about 6 km each way through Rudranag and Nakthan, gaining roughly 4,000 ft to a meadow at 9,700 ft. Four to five hours up, three down, on a rocky path that is slippery in places.

At the Top: A natural hot spring pool sits at the edge of the meadow with the Parvati peaks behind it. Tradition holds Shiva meditated here for three thousand years.

The Night: Camps on the meadow, basic and cold, with no electricity beyond a generator hour.

• Top Places to Cover: Rudranag waterfall, Nakthan village, Kheerganga meadow, the hot spring pool, Parvati Kund.
• Importance of Each Place: Kheerganga is the single most walked trail in Parvati valley and the hot spring at the top is the reason. The name means milky Ganga, after the pale colour of the water.
• Things to Know: Carry your own pack - there is no porter service on this route. Two litres of water minimum. The pool is separated by gender by convention rather than structure, so bring appropriate swimwear.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner | Overnight: Kheerganga camp

Down: Descend to Barshaini through the morning. The descent is harder on knees than the climb was on lungs.

Kasol Afternoon: Transfer back and take the afternoon on the main street - shakshuka, banana pancakes, a hot shower.

Departure: Board the overnight Volvo to Delhi in the evening.

• Top Places to Cover: Barshaini, Kasol main street, Parvati riverbank.
• Things to Know: Trekking poles help enormously on the descent. Leave time for a shower before the bus - fourteen hours is a long ride otherwise.

Meals: Breakfast | Overnight: Overnight in transit

Morning Arrival: The Volvo reaches Delhi in the morning and the trip ends on arrival.

• Top Places to Cover: Delhi drop point.
• Things to Know: Book onward travel for the afternoon. Arrival times vary by an hour or more depending on traffic through Chandigarh.

Meals: None | Overnight: Journey ends