Manu, the first man to inhabit the planet according to Hindu mythology, settled in Kulu. He had tried to progress further north after the Great Flood, but the Rohtang Hill seemed inaccessible, so he stopped in a valley blessed with flowers and forests which he called Kulant Peeth (the end of the habitable world). ).
Today, Manali (“city of Manu”) is the capital of this graceful valley of the Indian Himachal Pradesh, a town where those who are thinking of taking the step to the northern territories of Tibetan culture, which require crossing hills, must stop. like the one that Manu himself found himself unable to save, and thus access mythical places like Ladakh, Lahaul or Spiti.
Anyone who does not use the Manali Valley only as a place to change transport will discover a world of wonders. The city of Manali itself, spread along the banks of the Beas River, which there is a crazy mountain torrent that kilometers further down becomes a powerful channel. It is the easternmost point where Alexander the Great’s troops stopped. From there they decided that they had already conquered enough and that home was too far away.
The Kulu Valley is on the southern slope of the Himalayas, which means that in the monsoon months – our summer – it receives abundant rains that explain the magnificent cedar forests that surround the most important towns. In the small fields of cultivation, apples are obtained that are appreciated throughout India.
In addition to its impressive wooden Hindu temples – another rarity in a religion that has always relied on stone to eternalize itself – such as the Hidimba Devi, from the mid-16th century, there are thermal springs that are usually a reparation for hikers returning from a prolonged and dusty effort in the Tibetan valleys to the north.
Going down the spine of the valley is the town of Naggar, once inhabited by the rajah of the area. The palace he lived in is magnificent. No one explains how he could exchange it to a British officer for a dagger that he liked.
Also in Naggar is located what was the villa for decades of Nicolas Roerich, eccentric painter, philosopher, archaeologist, diplomat and explorer. He was the ideologist of the international pact that bears his name and which served as the foundation for the Hague International Convention on the Protection of Cultural Values ??in the Event of Armed Conflicts.
Roerich’s house is as if he had opened the door the day before, although he died in 1947. The garden is proclaimed silent, and only the chirping of birds can be heard, which in a permanently noisy place like India is a priceless treasure.
Manali was once a mecca for marijuana smokers, due to the high wild production that occurs in the valley (the herb grows on the edges of the roads), and this attracted a type of tourism that bothered the authorities. Today, travelers of this nature have noticeably declined, although it continues to attract globetrotters who want to experience weed.
Getting to the Kulu Valley is not easy or fast. By road, you start from Simla, where you have to cover a nine-hour journey. The closest airport is Bunthar, just 50 kilometers away, but very subject to weather conditions being suitable for flying.