Tosh is the last village in Parvati valley and a famous international tourist spot in Kasol. I couldn’t visit Tosh last time since my legs gave up and I was determined to go back before leaving Himachal. This time, I went with my friend who has lived in Himachal for more than 2 years.
The main activities here include Kheerganga trek and other nature walks. Other than that, Tosh used to be a hub for Israeli tourists. So, there are many cafes that serve Israeli food. My plan was to spend a day in Tosh and just explore and come back. My friend had friends there so she wanted to meet them as well.
Road to Tosh was in really bad shape after the floods. So, it was a scary trip till the main point of transportation which is Barsheni dam. From there we took a taxi that went uphill through the muddy road. It was a windy rocky road with the backdrop of snow topped mountains all around. I would say if you have real back ache or spine problems you better trek this way slowly because the taxi drive is really bumpy.
Taxi left us at the entrance which is the last stop for all vehicles. From there, we need to hike all the way till wherever we were going. Our plan was to find a place to stay after coming here.
Mistake no. 1 - Not booking an accommodation
I usually feel excited when I know where I’m going and keeping my luggage. It feels safe that way to go around freely. Even though I love spontaneous plans, when I carry a lot of gadgets, I always looks for safe places to keep them.
Now, we were there during an off season and the whole place was empty. So, we decided to see the place and check in at places we found with nice view. It worked most of the time in this trip. However, we reached Tosh around 12ish and we were getting hungry as well. Most of the cafes were closed or not functional since it was off season and most of the chefs were gone home.
We walked around a lot hiking and going on and on to find a place. There were many places to stay but most of them were under renovation or empty. We didn’t feel safe to stay the night seeing workers with hammers and other tools. (these crime thriller movies and series are taking over my mind!)
So, it was till evening we found a place to stay and kept our bags even though they were really small.
Food
When we reached most of the places seemed sleepy. It was cold but the sun was shining in some parts. The famous cafes on internet like Shalom cafe didn’t have their chef at place so we decided to hike more.
We finally found a cafe attached to a hotel open and settled for aloo paratha. It was so good.
We were about to order another round but then my friend suggested this tiny place that served Indian, Nepalese and Tibetian food. So, we went there to have some more food. With all the walking and hiking we were really tired and hungry.
However, I might have ordered a little too much since their quantity was huge. I saw crispy potato after a long time and was really excited to try that. They used to be my favourite snack in college and I missed it in Bangalore.
We also ordered a plate of Thanduk and noodles. black tea and coffee were a given in this cold. So, we used to order them as soon as one glass gets finished. The food was really spicy hot and with large portions. We had more than enough energy to walk around after the meal.
Tosh Village
Tosh is a hill top village that gets sunshine to every part of it during the day. It is a huge deal considering the extreme cold weather here. When we reached, it was around -4 or so but the sun made it easier during the day.
We found this spot in the cafe where we could get all the heat from the sun and enjoy the views. The mornings were particularly beautiful. The village wakes up slowly with kids going to school and people going for work and everyone slowly comes out to do their chores.
The houses here are very colourful and made of wood mostly. It is so cute to see the smoke from the Tandoors and chimneys coming out of these colourful houses.
There are different livestocks like cattle, donkeys and sheep. They are all tied next to the houses and there are no compound walls in between the houses.
One of the houses we visited to meet a friend also had an additional tandoor space outside of the house for get togethers with friends. I’m not sure if it is common for all houses but I have seen them for many houses. This is where they usually entertain smoking up. Chillum is pretty common here and you also get locally sourced cream.
Talking about marijuana creams, the names are also interesting. The marijuana sourced from different places and villages have different names which is similar to how it looks. For example, malana cream is a fine cream whereas you can buy Tosh balls from Tosh. I found it interesting.
There is also locally brewed alcohol called grapha. It is a mild flavoured alcohol made of jaggery or flowers. They drink it to cope with the extreme cold but it is also scary to see the old men walking all high through the thin trails. One missed step and they would be rolling through the hills.
Since Tosh sees a lot of tourists, there are many home stays and cafes as well. The trippy styled cafes always have great artwork.
We explored the village till where we could go. That meant, crossing a waterfall through stone paved ways and till the farm land starts on another terrace. Here’s a tip: never underestimate the flow of waterfalls here. It might seem like a narrow stream but can be dangerous if you try to cross it. The stones are slippery and the water flows pretty violently.
We found a bridge made of wood and clay and that was the best option. Since there were not many people, it took a bit of looking around to find the way. There are also sacred places where we are not supposed to enter.
The temple complexes have sign boards that clearly say not to enter the place and the fine amount if you do so. We also saw another place with the same sign board which seemed like a house. I’m not sure what it was but it seemed pretty old.
We spent the night at a homestay we found and it was so cold I couldn’t sleep. Even with all the thick blankets, I just couldn’t sleep. So, the next day morning, we went to the same cafe and spent some time in the sun and decided to leave by noon.
The morning was really pleasant with the sun hitting each parts of the houses and moves around casting shadows. The kids on the way to the school and the school looks like this. With the wooden pillars and a small ground, it seems like the kids would go away for higher education.
We also met these women knitting while they walk till the taxi stand. Things were getting alive slowly and we saw a state transport bus doing a trial run through the windy uphill road.
We reached Kasol market and did our routine of food from Panjtara and Mutton soup.
(that's a sleep deprived cold me planning the trip back home in Tosh)
I was leaving the next day so I couldn’t think of anything else other than reaching home and hugging my nephews. The whole cold and chilly weather made me crave for my tropical home even though it gets dangerously hot now.
That’s about Tosh. This is also the last blog from my Himachal trip. I wish to go back there some other time. I went mainly to see snow but I didn’t really get to see that. Also, there is a fern that locals cook for meals which was not available in the fall season. I wish to visit again during different seasons. With that, I left Kasol on 20th and booked a flight home to reach before Christmas. That was the end of the trip :)
Before ending the blog, here are a few more pics from Tosh I liked and wanted to share with you. Ok, bye!
on the map: [//]:# (!worldmappin 32.01549 lat 77.45194 long Tosh d3scr)