Kullu Valley

We crossed the divide south of Ladakh and dropped into Manali at the head of the Kullu Valley. At the toe of treacherous Rohtang Pass the town was considered the 'end of the habitable world’ in ancient times, prophesized as the site where Manu (the Hindu counterpart to Noah) built an ark to save life during the Great Flood. The high mountains tax northbound storms most of their moisture upon passage creating a dramatically lusher landscape than arid Ladakh,  somewhat reminiscent to the Pacific Northwest of America.

After a few days in Manali a local bus took us down valley to the far less touristy town of Naggar, whose laidback charm seduced us for a week.  

Manali

River View Room

Heading up river offers a quick escape from town.

Apple Country

(click to enlarge)

Nick and Adam soaking it up.

Looking down on Naggar and the valley, in past times this was the premier corridor north from the sub-continent, a modest castle (from which this picture was taken) ruled the of the region, taxing and controlling traffic for 1400 years.   

Temple

Beehive: hollowed log sealed with mud set on the sunny side of the roof.  

This is the primary road into several mountain villages that boarder Naggar. Students and many other residents commute the steep kilometers to town daily, always in part on foot. Obesity is rare.

Village Homes

Over a meal this man privileged us with his simple yet insightful observations of the imbalances in the world--cross-cultural pollination, musing on change and solutions.      

Slate is the locally sourced roofing material. 

There is a village on low swath to the left of the rocks.

(click to enlarge)

This is the homeland of the infamous cannabis sativa and it grows EVERYWHERE.

This time of year locals rub their hands on the buds of this regional weed, a lot of them, and the charas builds up as this man so proudly displays. Smoking the resin is common and has ancient roots in the culture supported by the teaching of the deity Lord Shiva.      

Apples are the regions biggest crop, fenced in by miles of stacked rock walls.

Broskies

The Beas River, of which this is only a small part, lines the valley.

Knees in the Beas!