Prashar is a small lake situated in the Himalayan foothills, about 49 km north of Mandi town in Himachal Pradesh. The lake lies in between the Dhauladhar and the Pir Panjal ranges and offers breathtaking views of both. Prashar is accessible by road most of the year except in the winter from late December to February. There is also a 7 km trail that starts from a village named Baagi that is accessible almost throughout the year.

Reaching there

My idea was to hitch-hike up the road from Baagi as there was little news about the trail conditions. Reaching Baagi proved to be much easier than expected. I took a bus from Delhi on Friday night and reached Mandi at 5:30 am next morning only to be jolted by the chilly morning air. After quickly adding layers of warm clothing, I asked about the buses to Baagi and Prashar. The only bus to Prashar leaves Mandi at 7:45 am but there was an earlier bus that could drop me about 4 kms from Baagi. I took this bus and got off at a fork in the road somewhere between the villages of Kataula and Baagi

Kataula

It was about 23 km to Prashar and I started walking along the empty road. On the way, I hitched a ride with a confident, young man on a scooter. He had quit a well paying job in a city because he wanted to serve his state and its people. To my surprise, he was following the road just to enjoy the ride and to watch the sunrise from a nice vantage point. We said our goodbyes after chatting for some time and I continued alone up the road.

First view of the Pir Panjal with Deo Tibba in the center First view of the Pir Panjal with Deo Tibba in the center

After about an hour’s walk, I was surprised to see a bus come up behind me. Glad to have some company, I got into it and was happy to be dropped at a point which was about 7 km from the lake. From that point, I had the caretaker of the Forest Rest House for company and we took a short cut through the woods to reach the top of a small hill. The road was pretty much straight after that and went along a ridge with fabulous views of the Dhauladhar and Pir Panjal ranges.

The environs

Having used all possible modes of transportation, I was surprised to find myself at the Forest Rest House by noon. The lake is about half a kilometre from the rest house. I dropped my stuff and had some hot tea before making a move towards it.

The lake and the temple complex The lake and the temple complex

The lake itself is situated in a bowl shaped depression which results in it getting lesser snow than its surroundings. In mid-December, only one side of it had snow whereas the other half was dry. With a clear blue sky and hardly any breeze, the lake was serene and reflections of the afternoon sun sparkled on its surface.

The three tier temple dedicated to Sage Prashar The three tier temple dedicated to Sage Prashar

The temple of sage Prashar adjoining the lake is believed to be from the 13th century and is made up mostly of wood and stone. It is an interesting three tier pagoda like structure having a conical top tier mounted on two pyramidal ones. On the inside, the woodwork is carved in medieval Indian tradition with figures of numerous deities as well as intricate geometric patterns. The doorway to the temple is framed in distinct patterns, of which the one depicting a couple of knotted snakes is almost lifelike. Inside the temple stands a statue of Sage Prashar.

Carvings on the temple facade Carvings on the temple facade

Getting back

On my way back, I decided to take the trail and started off at about 9:30 in the morning. The trail can be divided into two parts — the upper half that goes through a grassland and the lower half through a thick pine forest. The upper part was covered almost entirely under a few inches of snow and going down was great fun as the snow provided some good cushioning. The caretaker told me to follow the electricity lines till the start of the forested part. At that point, the lines run straight into the forest and you need to take the path that starts a few meters towards their right.

A Gujjar hut on the snow covered trail A Gujjar hut on the snow covered trail

Just before the start of the forest, a beautiful pool of water came into view just off the trail. The water in the pool had frozen into a thick sheet of ice and seemed to be a good place to try my ice skating skills. After making sure that the ice was solid and a few tries of slow skating, I ran onto the ice sheet in an attempt to skate over it. Alas!!! The next moment only made me remember what I had learnt in high school physics — that the coefficient of friction between anything and ice is very low. The result was an embarrassing crash into the ice sheet that literally broke the glass. That I survived the crash without any broken bones was the only comforting factor.

The latter half of the trek was completed in due silence and with an effort to minimize all risk. Half a kilometre from Baagi, a mini landslide had washed away the main trail and I had to figure out a detour. From Baagi, another good fellow dropped me to Kataula from where I took a bus to Mandi.

Overall, the trip was quite rewarding and besides the crash on the ice everything else played out really well. The majestic, almost 270° views of the Himalayas that the place offers along with the ease of reaching Prashar really makes it a great weekend escape. That said, I will leave you with a few more panoramic views of the mountains.

Pir Panjal The Pir Panjal

Dhauladhar Morning sun on the Dhauladhar