Jogni Falls: A Magical Waterfall and Endless Apple Orchards
I must’ve slept for 10 or 11 hours straight – fully deserved if you ask me. Since there was only a rather short hike of maybe 12-14 km to Jogni falls on my agenda, I felt that I had all the time in the world.
Around 10 am, my phone rang and the hotel guy asked if I wanted breakfast. Ok fiiiine, one reason to finally get up. After getting ready and just locking my door, one of the hotel guys randomly came up and unexpectedly brought my order – great! Breakfast on the balcony it was then 🙂
I left around 11 am and went down to Manali’s Mall Road where there was a bridge to the other side of the river. On one corner, I randomly stepped into another travel agency’s office to ask for the kind of treks they offered. The guy there told me right away that all my plans were crappy and that I should rather go to some completely different place altogether.
My original plan was to do a day hike to Solang Valley the day after and then leave for Kasol the next day to maybe do the Kheerganga trek or something else. “NO, don’t go to Kasol! Only Marihuana and rave parties! They offer it to you on every corner! It’s really not nice, I stopped taking any treks there. And the way to Solang Valley is only via roads, it’s not that great. Rather check in at some guesthouse there and do treks from there itself but then again, there’s snow everywhere. The snow line is too low this year, and it’s all wet/soft snow! Bad to walk in”.
Huh… Thanks for shattering my plans. He recommended to go Gushaini in Tirthan Valley instead, close to Banjar. Rather untouched but only very simple cafes, nothing like here in Manali or Kasol. That did sound like my kind of place. (In fact, years later some friends told me about Tirthan Valley and how it’s an absolute must-visit for not being so commercialised. But again, that was in 2018…)
This conversation left me fully confused. Now what? I remembered that one of my dearest pothead friends AKA Bhaiya ji recently went to Kasol, so I called him up for advice. According to him, these rave parties were not happening for the past couple of years and it’s not at all like that, that dealers would be bothering me on every corner. “You should definitely go there! And get me something from there!” NO! 😀 Good then, my plan could remain as it was.
Off to Jogni Falls!
The way from Manali to Jogni Falls was horrible, along the dusty and busy main road. I’m not sure if there’s a better way, but whoever I asked on the way told me to stay on the main road, and I didn’t see any other option. I regret not taking a guide…
I walked around 5 km like this, on the way making friends with yet another dog I randomly called Spike (my go-to doggo name). He kept following me despite being attacked by many other strays whom I fought off. Unfortunately, he stopped after a certain point. I had somehow hoped he’d accompany me all the way through.
Once I got off the main road, a cotton candy seller who went to the waterfall himself unknowingly guided me along the way.
I had imagined it like the ones in Rishikesh and McLeod Ganj, with many Maggi stalls along the way, but nope! The only place to eat was Food Plaza around 5 min before. If I had only known that in advance… But ignorant of this fact, I went up to the lower part of the waterfall, wondering if there was any way up there.
I sat there for a bit on a stone, looking up at the mountain, fascinated by how the big rock must’ve crashed down ages ago. Thinking this was it, I already wanted to go back being a bit disappointed (although I found it extremely beautiful down here as well), when I realised that there was indeed a way up, just not where I had expected it! Some Russians just came down whom I asked whether there were some stalls with food and water – nope!
Where to get water from? Everyone just pointed at the waterfall. Well then, let’s take that risk for once 🙂 I was way too hungry to go all the way up, so I went back to Food Plaza for lunch. To my surprise, they didn’t have the otherwise omnipresent Maggi so I settled for a proper lunch with Rajma and even Halwa for dessert. Was okay types, nothing special. But a nice place otherwise, with tables outside in the garden and a terrace on top as well.
After all that food, I was hardly able to make it back up to the beginning of the waterfall trek… And it got worse: the next part consisted of only steps… no one who saw me climbing up there would’ve believed me that I did the 3000 steps in Palitana or the 10,000 at Mount Girnar in the past… I had to take breaks after every 2 min. The Rajma was to blame – at least that’s what I told myself.
After some time, the steps finally ended and it turned into a normal path. Once up there, the view over the valley was amazing! But nothing compared to what awaited me at the waterfall.
I don’t know what it was but it just felt different. Special. Almost magical. A signboard declared it a holy place and I understood why. Maybe the constant wind created by the waterfall carrying the water which made it feel like a light drizzle. And the mountain itself seemed so… fascinating.
If it hadn’t felt so cold due to the constant wind and water in my face, I’d stayed for even longer. As horrible as the main road had been, this experience fully made up for it.
I’m not sure if I had just been lucky with my timing or if it’s always like this, but there was hardly anyone up there. A family had followed after me but didn’t come as close. It wasn’t the typical Indian touristy waterfall feeling where everyone would jump in the water only in their boxers, being super noisy, and taking a hundred selfies. (Do I even need to mention how much I despise that…?) In fact, there is a signboard when entering the area before even getting close to the waterfall, declaring the area a meditation place and asking people to respect the silence. And another two boards up there demanding people to treat this holy place with respect. It actually worked! 🙂
Discovering an Apple Orchard Paradise
Dreading to return to Manali the same way I came from, I wondered if I could reach the other side of the river somehow. It seemed much nicer from the distance than this side. And indeed, Google Maps showed a bridge only 1 km away at a place called Nehru Kund. From there, a smaller road leads all the way back to Old Manali – and directly to my hotel! I suppose this was the way I would have to walk to Solang Valley about which the agency guy said it’s only along roads and not so nice. At least I could see for myself now.
The bridge at Nehru Kund caused a huge traffic jam – how happy I was to NOT have to be stuck in a car! Same on the bridge in Manali by the way, a huge jam from both sides.
The bridge was super shaky and there was hardly any space for me besides the cars. There was only space for one car at a time, hence the jam. I hate shaky bridges… Indiana Jones, Temple of Doom playing in my head on repeat.
The other side turned out to be as nice as expected! Apple orchards wherever you go, from Manali for another 10 km! The smell of the blossoms in combination with the view over the mountains from all sides didn’t cease to amaze me throughout. Although the way was indeed on roads, it wasn’t a main road and cars would only pass by every 5 minutes.
I fell so much in love with this place, that I decided to do the Solang Valley trek nevertheless the next day and without a guide. I was sure, we would anyways come on the same way. Another reason for it was that finally, the sky turned half blue and I really wanted to see these mountains with a blue sky 🙂
I also spontaneously decided to stay a day longer in Kasol, which extended my trip to 6 days. I had originally planned to return on Sunday night to have Monday to relax at home. But since the busses reach in the morning and I managed to sleep rather well on the way here… why waste a day? 🙂
After a short break at the hotel, I went to Cafe 1987, one of the most recommended places in Manali. There are two branches, the original one in Old Manali at the stream, and the newer one on the main road on the way to Jogni Falls. The latter apparently has live music now and then. It was true what they wrote online, the ambiance was really nice, especially outside.
I got a seat outside in a lonely corner, next to the river. Perfect 🙂 The waiter recommended the pizza so I went for that again. A margarita with Jalapenos and bacon. It was nice but not comparable to the one at Il Forno. I think it was the type of cheese they used. Nevertheless, it was still good. And their Nirvana tea was great: ginger, lemon, cloves, green cardamom, honey, and black tea. Gotta copy this at home 🙂
Let’s see what day three has in store for me!
The Summary
Distance covered
By foot: 18 km
Accommodation
Treebo Trend Celebriti
Cost: 1800 INR/~26 $ (via Booking.com)
Rating: 4/5 (awesome view, clean and spacious room. Breakfast buffet is OK)
Food
Food plaza
Lunch: Rajma Chawal (Rice with kidney beans in gravy)
Cost: 330 INR/~5 $
Rating: 3/5 (very nice ambiance, seating in garden and roof terrace; the good was good but rather average)
Cafe 1987
Dinner: Pizza Margherita with jalapenos and bacon, Nirvana tea with ginger, lemon, honey, cloves and green cardamom
Cost: 623 INR/~9 $
Rating: 4.5/5 (great ambiance, directly at the river, nice music, good service; the pizza was good but the cheese could’ve been better (most likely the basic and tasteless Amul cheese); I loved the Nirvana tea!)
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