Kullu Valley- Malana-Kashol- etc..

Aloha,
I have never been to India and would like some opinions.

I am planning on touring India without obligations or purpose for atleast 3 months. Maybe longer if the universe makes way! ($500US a month budget) I would love to do some Moderate hiking, but mostly stay at Guest Houses or Hotels each day. I would love to do one of the 3-7 day trails in that area aswell. I want to come to Kullu valley region first becasue it was my original ispiration, and I hear the best times to travel to Kullu are between August-October... Not only becasue it is harvest season, but less tourists than summer, and not as much rain? Is this correct?

My plan is to travel from village to village, day by day, and alawys have a roof over my head, while getting to enduldge in nature aswell, so perhaps SOME camping.

Well I am from Hawaii and used to Tropical weather. I dont work well with the cold. Nor do I know what to expect in terms of comfert.

However, Although I would love to be there August-October...
I will probably not be able to get there until late november-December..

My questions are,
Is it too late for me to go to Kullu Valley during the months of November-December, considering its my first time in India, and I am used to WARM weather?
ShouldI really try to get a ticket out there ASAP and shoot for late october-November?
And are there readily availible places to stay in that area, during these months?

But mainly, I would jus tlove to visit Kullu Valley first,
then make my way down south along the coast, and travel the whole country perhaps. Day by day, village to village.

Any comments or help greatly appreciated

Hi, I imagine nov/dec will feel very cold to someone from Hawaii but oct should be o.k.ish oct is harvest time i was there in aug/sept this year I walked to malana from jari you should definitely do this but it's at 9000ft & gets quite cold at night & the 3 guesthouses there all have fleas there is a three day walk from naggar to malana over the chanderkani pass naggar is definitely worth a day or two's visit where you can see the roerich museum & gallery etc. The parvati is the ideal place to do village by village you could go kashol/manikaran- pulga/ kalga - khir ganga- tosh nullah you could use kashol as your base i found a really nice guest house just outside kashol in a apple orchard it is called bahadur family guest house they charge rs70 p/night it is very clean & very quiet with wonderful views again most places in kashol have fleas but not this one! Also if you cross over the bridge down the side of the rainbow hotel & the german bakery you can walk along the river to challal & from there you can walk tp rashol from rashol you can also walk to malana this is the longer route. I have not been yet but just lower down the kullu valley past Bhuntar at a place called aut you can bear left into the himalayan national park & go over the jalori pass to tirthan & goshaini this area is fairly untouched by tourists & from what i have heard is beautiful. As for accomodation at this time you should not have any problems. You can buy warm clothes very cheap in kashol i think you may find it colder than me i'm from the uk so i'm use to cold weather. kk

Now it is getting cold in that valley. I would suggest try something else if you are not for DRUGS and OPEN SEX.

Sorry if words are harsh...but this what this valley offers these days...drugs and drugs and sex...check out what you are looking for.
KULLUKID: best route and safe area....scenic and not polluted by hippies and drug mafia.

FROM KULLUKID: AUT you can bear left into the himalayan national park & go over the jalori pass to tirthan & goshaini this area is fairly untouched by tourists & from what i have heard is beautiful. As for accomodation at this time you should not have any problems. You can buy warm clothes very cheap in kashol i think you may find it colder than me i'm from the uk so i'm use to cold weather.

CORRECTION: Avoid KASOL if you think you do not want THIS TYPE OF TOURISM...you can buy warm cloths in DELHI ( JANPATH and PAHARGANJ) or in CHANDIGARH or In MANALI.

Hi Him,I know you're a senior member but what's wrong with sex & drugs & rock'n roll? you partypooper! if you read wazens post in detail you will see he his asking about the harvest season & i'm sure he will find something up there to give him a warm glow. But saying that i do agree the valley is not what it was when i first went there in '97, mainly due to the new road to burshani & the fact that the "power people" are blowing the valley up on a daily basis oh yes and nearly forgot there are a few israeli's but i find them ok if you make the effort to talk to them. That's if you can talk after all the drugs! kk

hey im heading up north to manali around the 3rd week of november. is it going to be snowing in malana??? is kasol going to be very cold?? wht kinda warm clothes would i need?