Snow Camping Parashar Lake-Thrilling Weekend Gateway

Parashar

Where is Parashar lake ?

Parashar lake lies 49 km north of Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, India, with a three storied pagoda-like temple dedicated to the sage Prashar.

Weather at Parashar Lake

Lake has unpredictable weather from snow laiden mountains to bright sunshine filled days.You can trek throughout the year .Weather at parashar will be same as Mandi. Highest parashar temperature is 21C and lowest -8C.

Why Parashar?

1.The lake is located at a height of 2730 m above sea level.
2.Although lake freezes completely during winters ,it gives an breathtaking view.
3.Parashar Rishi temple is right on the bank of lake. Temple resembles Hadimba Temple in Manali.
4.You get to walk over frozen snow inside Parashar Rishi temple .

Best time to visit

1.After all during winters trek is in around 3 ft snow. If you are a snow lover person then this is the trek for you, its not less than a winter wonderland
2.Summers is also a good time to visit in addition to winters.
3.Post monsoon also makes good time to visit after all entire valley would be lush green.

Route

Delhi->Mandi->Baggi->Parashar Lake->Baggi->Mandi->Delhi
Mandi lies 430 km from Delhi and 187 km from chandigarh.

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1-Delhi–>Mandi–>Baggi->Krishna Camps

Take evening HRTC AC Volvo from Kashmere gate at 6:30 PM. Reach Mandi next morning 7 AM.

Mandi to Baggi – Bus timing and Fare

From Mandi, either take taxi till Baggi . It will cost approx 800-1000 rs.
Another option is local bus .First bus leaves from Mandi at 6 am. I got next bus at 7:45 AM , it takes 1.5 hr for baggi. Costs 56 Rs for Male and 42 Rs for Females.
Entire route has some of the most amazing views with clouds covering the entire valley.

Baggi to Parashar Camp

Reached Baggi by 9.30 am.We had booked camp and guide from Krishna camps.Bus leaves exactly in front of Krishna cafe.After reaching there we had to freshen up and leave for the trek.I rented gum boots and stick from the near by shop
Gum boots-350 rs pp
Stick –50 rs pp

We started our trek around 11 am. Our guide was carrying the packed lunch for us. This is the trek in the hills and amongst the trails. You will not come across any commercialization on entire trek. Before starting trek make sure to fill water bottles and keep extra ones.

How much time it takes to reach camp?

Entire journey will take approx 4 hours depending on your fitness level. During winters it takes more time since at some places snow is bit slippery and you have to walk with utmost care.At some points climb is steep also, moreover snow makes it more hard to walk upon. Fresh snow is soft but old frozen snow is too slippery.

Its advisable to wear gum boots since during January and Feb there is heavy snow up to 3 ft

How is the trail?

Along the way you will cross beautiful rivers and densely forested Himalayan hills.Trek starts along the river basin and 15 mins into the trek, is a water point so you can fill up the bottles.

Trail diverts from there and uphill climb starts. At some points trail opens up to some of the most beautiful meadows and you get to experience beautiful vistas of snow covered peaks.After trekking for approx one hour, you are in mid of snow everywhere. Believe me its no less than a winter wonderland.

Trail crosses some of the villages and you get to experience Himalayan way of life. We passed through the snow covered trails, it was snow everywhere up to our camps.

How was the camps?

We reached camp site by evening 4 PM. Entire camp site was covered with snow, tents were pitched on the snow itself.

1 Campsite was inside a barricade for safety from wild animals. In winters its less risky but during summers wild animals are seen sometimes. Temperature dipped to -3 during night that day.
2 Camp workers were really helpful.They arranged bonfire in the covered area on our request.
3 They have 2 rooms also, for emergency situations such as if it snows heavily.
4 Most important, they have concrete washrooms with water facilities also.

Day 2: Camp to Parashar Lake

How is trail from Camp to Parashar Lake?

We woke up by 6 am in the morning and had a beautiful site right outside our camp site covered with snow. After having heavy breakfast it was now time to leave for parashar lake. From campsite to lake its 2 km distance.

Entire trail is through the snow, as deep as 3 ft.Starting part of the trek is easier as you leave the campsite. However as you keep moving further, snow keeps on increasing and there is hardly any pathway.Its not possible to walk and cross,only easiest way to pass through is to slide .

You will definitely gonna love this part of the trek. I mention it again don’t forget to wear gum boots.

How much time it takes to reach the lake?

We took 2 hours to reach the lake.

What makes lake so special?

Lake is famous for parashar rishi temple situated right at the bank of lake.You can read more about the history of this temple but for your curiosity let me tell you it was built during pandavas time.Since then it is standing tall but yes its been renovated few times.

Completely frozen during winters.

What is more breathtaking is, entire temple surrounded with ice not just outside but even inside. We walked barefoot over ice to go inside the temple.Met pandit and spent some quiet time there talking to the pandit ji. We stayed at the lake for around 1 hour which included clicking some of the amazing pictures of my life and having some food.

How was the descend?

It was now time to start descending ,we had to catch 6:30 bus from Mandi.

We passed through approx 3 ft snow,not to mention gum boots turned out to be life savior.At some places it was really difficult to cross through,since the path was too narrow to walk.But most of the descend we did was by sliding and believe me it was too much fun

Baggi to Mandi- Bus timing

We reached Baggi,the base village by 4 PM. Although it was bit late,we had evening snacks ,changed clothes and returned our rented gumboots and stick.From Baggi we left at 4:45 by cab since the only bus of route Mandi-Baggi didn’t showed up that day due to some issue.

Camp owner Krishna dropped us in his taxi and charged 1100 bucks.
It took us one hour to reach Mandi . Despite bus delay of 1 hour,we reached Delhi next day 7 AM

**Don’t believe what they say, go and see it**

Weekend Gateway from Delhi https://travelchecklistt.com/nag-tibba-trek-camping/

Check camp cost and booking details here https://parasharlakekishnacamp.com/