Kullu valley itinerary will be extremely helpful for those looking to explore the true beauty of Kullu. General perception of Kullu is that its just a mainstream place with nothing much to do. But that is far from reality.
Kullu as a district is quite huge and there a lot of rustic villages, ancient temples, pristine rivers, wonderful hikes, snow-capped peaks. And with this Kullu valley itinerary I intend to change the perception.
Being a frequent traveler to Kullu, I have just come up with an epic Kullu valley itinerary that will truly get you acquainted with the true beauty and culture of Kullu. So lets get started.
Kullu Valley Itinerary – Experience The True Beauty Of Upper Kullu
So, for this Kullu valley itinerary the focus will be mostly on the hidden gems of Upper Kullu or Ujji known is local language. Although Kullu valley and district as whole is very big with sub valleys including Parvati, Tirthan, Sainj, Banjar, Outer Saraj, Lug, Gadsa.
But my focus will be on the actual Kullu valley which is Upper Kullu that starts from Kullu town and ends at Rohtang La. By the way here is detailed blog about 2 epic Sainj valley itineraries.
Trust me you’ll end falling in love with these places due to their unspoiled beauty which also happens to give an actual glimpse into the true culture of Kullu valley. Such experiences I am sure you would not get in Manali or Kasol town of the most commercialized places in Kullu and overrated places in Kullu.
The places you’ll be covering when exploring Upper Kullu. Raison is one of the best places to explore as it is nearby all the places and quite accessible as it is located on the main Manali-Chandigarh highway itself.
Here is the brief itinerary of Kullu.
| Day 1
Board an overnight bus to from Delhi to Raison. |
| Day 2
Reach raison early morning and explore the nearby places in Raison. |
| Day 3
Head to the pretty village of Beasar today. |
| Day 4
Today head to the ancient capital of Kullu which Naggar. Also visit ancient Jana village one of the biggest villages in Kullu district. |
| Day 5
Today hike to Mahling via Kufri Meadow one of the most offbeat locations in Kullu valley. |
| Day 6
Today hike and explore the beautiful Kaisdhar and Chambagarh in Kullu. |
| Day 7
Today head to the pretty village of Rumsu on the left bank of Beas. If you love to hike the you can head to Chaklani, one of the viewpoints on Chanderkhani trek. |
| Day 8
Today hike and explore the pretty meadows in Fojal valley. |
| Day 9
Today head to one of the prettiest and popular places in Kullu valley which is Bijli Mahadev. |
| Day 10
Today head to one of the remotest villages in Upper which is Himbri and Rakhani. |
| Day 11
Today head to one of the most beautiful locations in Upper Kullu which is Hallan 2 near Patlikhul. |
These scenic vistas of Kullu really stole my heart.
Day 1
Take an overnight bus to Raison on Chandigarh Manali highway from Delhi. You get a lot of buses both private and HRTC from Kashmiri gate Majnu ka tilla going towards Aut. They usually start around 5 pm in the evening.
If you want to go by HRTC which is the state transport corporation of Himachal here is the link to book the tickets online or you can also book via Redbus (includes both HRTC and private)
Day 2
Reach Raison in Upper Kullu early in the morning. Check into the beautiful Yuthok Homestay (+91 7018369494) in the Baga village of Raison. Yuthok Homestay is a wonderful place hosted by Rajeshwar Thakur and Family who are the locals with Lahauli roots.
After relaxing for a while, you can head for the village tour with huge orchards around the village. Hiking through the orchards you can visit the pretty temple of Birnath and also hike up to Galdedn Targeyling Monastery, one of the most ancient monasteries in Kullu which is quite near to Yuthok Homestay.
Also, the host Rajeshwar Thakur will take you to all the places mentioned in the Itinerary, So you can just leave it all to him. Spend the night at Yuthok Homestay.
Day 3
Today you’ll be heading to one of the most pretty villages of Upper Kullu which is the Beasar village. If you interested in visiting the rustic villages and want to truly understand the culture of Upper Kullu villages like Beasar are just perfect.
The village is just incredibly with most of the houses being traditionally styled surrounded with insanely scenic pine forest. There is also small hike that you can undertake from the village which leads upto a beautiful clearing.
There are 3 beautiful temples in the pretty village of Beasar. One dedicated to Birnath which seems to be quite an old one. The other dedicated Kumbar Dhan which depicts expectational wood carvings and the last one dedicated to Fugni Mata.
By the way, Beasar is one of the 47 hidden places in Kullu. So, feel free to check it out.
Day 4
Today you’ll be again heading to the left bank of Beas. First explore the famous and ancient capital of Naggar. Places of interests in Naggar include Tripura Sundri Temple, Gauri Shankar Temple. Roerich Art Gallery. You can also head Krishna temple at Thawa which is bit away from Naggar.
Then head to one of the biggest villages and one of the ancient villages of Kullu which is the Jana village. Jana village has road connectivity.
After exploring the rustic Jana village you can continue beyond Jana falls. There is one road from Jana village which goes all the way to Bijli Mahadev and other remote villages.
While one of the road goes to Kais wildlife sanctuary from which you head back to Raison village. Overnight at Yuthok homestay. By the way left bank of River Beas is one of the 16 best valleys to explore in Kullu
Day 5
Today you’ll be hiking to Mahling one of the most offbeat and scenic treks in the Upper Kullu valley. The trek starts from a village called Shajuni. The hike will take around 5 hours to reach via pretty meadow called Kufri.
If you are not a serious trekker or hiker, then you can just enjoy the scenic vistas and snow-capped peaks from Kufri meadows which is comparatively at a less distance and easier to reach from Mahling.
The wonderful Kufri meadow has a colonial connection. As this pretty meadow was discovered by Captain Lee who was a sort of pioneer in bringing apple to the Kullu valley.
You can camp in the wild or you can head back to Yuthok homestay. By the way do you also feel that offbeat places are a myth in himachal ? Read my blog on the same and let me know your thoughts.
Day 6
Today you’ll be heading one of the best easy day hikes you can go on near Manali which is Kaisdhar. The hike starts from the rustic village of Lot. The hike to Kaisdhar is around 12 km total from lot and back.
If you are serious hiker, then you can also head to a place Chambgarh which 2-3 Km steep climb beyond Kaisdhar.
Picturesque places like Kaisdhar is one of the reasons why Himachal attracts solo travelers from across the globe to Himachal. Do let me know your thoughts on it.
Day 7
Today you’ll be heading to the rustic village of Rumsu from where you get incredible views of the mountains of Kalichang which is basically Dhauladhar range. There is beautiful wooden temple dedicated to Shubh Narayan in Rumsu village.
Visiting and witnessing the beautiful architecture and temples like these is one of 31 promising reasons to visit the Himachal Pradesh which is also known as Dev Bhumi.
If you love hiking than you can also head to a beautiful viewpoint on the Chanderkhani trek which is called Chaklani. Start early if you are interested in this day hike. Overnight at Yuthok Homestay.
Day 8
Today you’ll be embarking on of the best hikes in Upper Kullu region. You’ll be crossing over to Fojal valley from Raison on foot. Now there are several trails you can choose.
One of them is via Parvi village, one of the most remote villages in Kullu which is still stuck back in time. But there are several restrictions if you are outsider especially women as they are not allowed in the village due to strong folk beliefs of the people.
So I’ll highly advise to check with Rajeshwar Ji first and not go without any locals. Overnight at Yuthok Homestay.
I love traveling to unexplored places in Himachal, but its not always easy to travel to such offbeat places. Here is a blog on some of the challenges that I face when traveling to such hidden places in Himachal.
Day 9
Today you’ll be heading to the famous Bijli Mahadev temple in Kharal Valley, Kullu. The view from the meadow at Bijli Mahadev is just insane. You get to witness the snow-capped peaks of Kalichang, Pir Panjal, Parvati valley, Dhauldhars from here on a clear day.
There are two ways you can reach here one is from the road via Jana village. And other the one is by hiking for 1.5 km above the village of Chansari in Kharal valley. Overnight at Yuthok Homestay.
Day 10
Today you’ll be visiting another one of the offbeat gems of Upper Kullu which is Himbri village. Located around Raison area, this village is less frequented and quite rustic to say the least.
You can also visit Rakhani village which located further beyond Himbri village
Day 11
The last day of your trip is going surely to end on a high as today you’ll be heading to extremely picturesque valley of Hallan 2. Do not confuse Hallan 2 with Hallan 1 on the left bank near Naggar.
To reach here you have to take the link road going towards the valley from Patlikhul. You can just hike on the road itself to witness some insane landscapes.
Also, if you manage to visit this place in Autumn, the colors will surely blow your mind. I happen to visit during Autumn and literally never seen such vibrant Autumn colors before.
Finally, bid your goodbye to Kullu valley and head by to Delhi by taking overnight buses to Delhi from Patlikhul itself.
To conclude, I hope you now plan that perfect trip to Himachal and Kullu valley with the help of this epic Itinerary which I have curated keeping in mind the the several trips I have had to Kullu. I personally feel that this is the best itinerary for Kullu if you love solitude.
From ancient temples to pristine meadows, from rustic villages to incredible snow-capped I have included everything in this Itinerary for Kullu for you to witness the true beauty and culture of Kullu valley. In case you have any queries on the same, feel free to reach out to me.