I visited more than 12 Himalayan villages and heard their stories, a wonderful experience that further refined me

Spending two whole weeks in the Solang Valley was a unique experience. While before I would only visit tourist spots and then head back home, now I travel in a much more detailed way. During these two weeks, I explored the surrounding mountains through hiking, and I also noticed the villages I crossed during my journey. These Himalayan villages still preserve their old environment and culture while simultaneously embracing modernity and moving forward with their lives.

Including Solang Valley itself, I visited more than 20 villages in the surrounding area. I wanted to take pictures of the people living there, but getting their consent felt like a daunting task – perhaps that's a drawback of being an introvert. All the villages are located above an altitude of 2200 meters. The people in the villages live in houses made of wood, stone, and mud, although with the advent of cement, locals are now rapidly building cement houses as well.

The first village you reach walking from Solang is Barua, which is about 6 km away. A friend of ours, Heera, lives there. He was having a great time showing me around his village, and I was enjoying exploring with him even more. Meeting the elders in the village, talking to them, entering the temple to receive blessings from the deities, and asking the school children, "Don't you also dislike going to school like me?"

While Manali is the most famous village here, it is only 600 years old, whereas several villages much older than Manali are located around Solang. For example, Kothi village is 800 years old, and Palchan and Bhahang villages are said to be 1000 years old. The age of these villages is mentioned in ancient texts, which describe how the people from all these villages would take their village deities to the Kullu Dussehra festival.

Regarding religion, Hindus are in the majority here, while a small percentage are Buddhists. The main temples here are Hindu temples, such as the Hadimba Temple, Ghatotkacha Temple, Nag Temple, Vashisht Temple, and Anjani Mahadev Temple. Just as there's an ancient story behind the Solang Valley, which recounts how the locals initially couldn't survive the harsh weather, and how saints who came here to meditate taught them ways to live in harmony with the environment, leading to the peaceful existence of the people there to this day.

Similarly, there's a story about Kothi village: Kothi village, said to be the oldest village in this valley, has a legend that the mountain tests any outsider who comes here. If you behave arrogantly, the mountain will make you fall, get lost in the forests, or disappear in the fog. Therefore, it is said that one should remember the local deities and the mountains with a pure heart, without any malice, and then the mountain will be benevolent.

Now, regarding the tourists who visit these villages, more than 3.5 million tourists visit this area every year, and many of them also visit these villages. Initially, the entry of outsiders into the villages was strictly prohibited, but with time, the locals have become more liberal and have given tourists the opportunity to experience the village environment. Now, outsiders can even participate in village weddings and local deity festivals.

During my trip, I visited Solang village, Barua, Kothi, Gaushal, Vashisht, Palchan, Bhahung, Old Manali village, Nasogi, Shanag, Gulaba, Sethan, and Parini village. This journey was a memorable one for me. Hearing ancient stories, legends, spiritual narratives, tales of the mountains, the teachings of the saints, the way of life of the people, the methods of building houses, and the importance of animals in their lives—all of this from the villagers themselves—made me feel like I was hearing it all for the first time. My respect for the people living in the Himalayan villages has increased even more.

Disclaimer: This post is originally written in Hindi and I have used Google Translator to translate the Hindi text in English. All the photos have been clicked by me from One Plus 13R, and post thumbnail created in adobe photoshop.

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