Prashar Lake Trek : My solo trek story to this hidden treasure in Himachal

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”

There are few people who take this saying of Saint Augustine dead seriously. 

I am one of those. 😊

So, here is my second solo trek story, this time I decided to go for Prashar Lake trek, a hidden treasure in Himachal near Mandi and to fulfil my long awaited desire to visit Prashar. 

This is a moderate trek and a must for every adventure enthusiast. I preferred to do in the month of March as I wanted to enjoy snow-covered lake surrounded by glittering white slopes.

Here is all about my travel story from Delhi to Prashar... 🚌🚞

mountaingirldhara

Traveller:  I, Me & myself

Destination:  Mandi- Prashar Lake

Duration: 3 nights & 2 Days

So, like most of my previous treks, this was also a sudden plan, though I wanted to visit the Prashar lake since long. The route is not well defined for Prashar and since I came across a few videos earlier in which the trekkers were lost midway, I thought it’s better to ask someone for company. But, as usual, because it was a sudden plan nobody could make it. I was in no mood to change my destination this time so I decided to go for it. Come what may!

Delhi to Mandi

It was 8^th March 2019, my all-time high spirit was on the peak as it was woman’s day and ultimately I was going to meet the snow beauty Prashar. I boarded the bus to Mandi from Ramakrishna Ashram, New Delhi at night 9 PM.

The bus left from Delhi near 10:30 after covering other pickup points and stopped at Haveli for dinner after one and half hour. The ambience of Haveli was actually mesmerising at night. Suitable for a long drive from Delhi with family, friends and special friends. You know na WHAT I MEAN!!!

Toh! AAO KABHI HAWELI PE... 😃

The bus moved again to reach Mandi after 30 min of halt at Haveli. In the last few treks, I have noticed one thing that I am calmer and more chilled out while going on a trek now. No butterflies, nothing. I feel like going home every time. Those who travel will agree that travelling or adventure brings revolutionary changes in your perspective to see people and life.

View from Mandi Bus Stand

   So, adoring the fearless night and beauty of mother nature,

   I reached Mandi at 9 AM the next day. 

What a morning it was! I could see the magnificent tricolour flying high in the sky right in front of me with the giant mountains in the background complementing to its beauty near Mandi bus station.

Just made my morning!



Day 1- Mandi to Prashar Base Camp

So, I reached Mandi about 9 AM and as obvious I missed the bus that leaves directly on the starting point of the trek, Bagi.  This direct bus leaves from Mandi at 8 o’clock in the morning. Now, I had to wait for the next bus which was at 10:15 AM, going to drop me at Katola, from where Bagi is about 8 km.

Oh! I forgot to tell you, my earlier plan was to do the trek from Kandlu, as the route from Kandlu, is a clear unmetalled road that takes us directly to the lake. But, a co-passenger who was a resident of Bagi suggested me to do it from Bagi itself as it is more adventurous & better views. This is how I landed Bagi.

On the way to Parashar

The bus charged Rs. 40 And dropped me at Katola, from where I took a shared cab which cost me Rs. 80 and dropped at Bagi. There are a few local shops that offer Maggie and tea etc. So, I had tea to reenergize myself after a 12+ hours journey.

I enquired a little from the locals & started to climb near 12 PM from Bagi along with two fellow trekkers, Amit and Tosh. Both were coming from Gurgaon to escape the city life, same as me.

The trek starts with jumping over a small river and then following the unmetalled road for approx. 1.5 Km. The villagers guided us to follow the river body till we reach the primary school, from where we entered the jungle.

View on the way ahead of  Bagi

The route seemed to be quite confusing to me from here so I decided to follow a local guide, who was taking a group of youngsters to the lake. Because the route is not well defined so I would suggest you to take a guide along if doing this trek solo from Bagi. That too when don’t have enough time and required food and tent to survive if lost. 😄

After climbing approx. 7 km I touched the snowline. Now, the owner of a local camping house Krishna Camps and I were climbing together to reach his campsite. My plan was to reach the lake by the evening. Krishna told me that it is approx. 2 km from his campsite. So, as per that, I was going good with the time.

Krishna Camp Prashar

We reached his campsite near about 5 in the evening. The moment I reached there I was greeted with the beautiful snowfall. At a corner, pakoras were getting fried. Hmmm… Aren’t you lucky to have Pakoras on such a height amid thick forest that too while enjoying a lovely shower of snow?

The snow was already 3 feet high and due to snowfall, it was difficult for me to continue the trek to reach Prashar lake today. As I always say, take the risks but calculated one. So, I decided to stay at the campsite tonight. No, it was nowhere because of PAKORAS… 😋

enjoying bonfire and snowfall

Krishna arranged bonfire for us and we all were sitting there enjoying hot Pakoras with Tea while sharing our stories with each other. Here I met Ashu, Vivek (Dhuaandar), Jagga and Lovepreet(Secretary).

Left to right (Secretary, Dhuaadar, Dhara, Jagga, Ashu)

Each one was pro in their own way to give a tough competition to The Kapil Sharma Show.😁          It was an evening full of laughter and joy. I was no more regretting my decision to stay there!

DAY 2- Base Camp - Prashar Lake –Mandi 

Waking up with a clear sky, snow around, cooing of birds & sunshine. Such a blissful morning it was! I couldn’t resist practising my mountaineering skills to reach to the top of a hill nearby and feel the first kiss of sunshine. While recalling the moment I still can feel the joy!😇

Miss D (my backpack) resting inside the tent

Anyways, after a delicious breakfast including crispy poori and bhaji, I started the hike to hit my destination Prashar Lake. Another guide, Raju and I were leading from the front and rest of the people were following us at their own speed. Haha… It was very much like this as I was walking faster than others. Perhaps because I couldn’t wait to be at the lake and wanted to spend more time there. Though I made sure not to skip a single chance to relive my childhood. It was after so many years that I got a chance to slide on the snow. Wow! such a thrilling experience that was...😃

Dhauladar Himalayan Ranges 

Enjoying the awe-striking beauty of snow-capped mountains, both the one right in front of my eyes and the one we were crossing at the moment, I was finally there, at the gorgeous Prashar Lake.

So serene and captivating she was, shining gracefully in the mountains. Lake Prashar!!!!!!        My heart was totally mesmerised seeing her beauty to recall the much famous song by Westlife-    You look so beautiful in white...😍

I first went inside the Prashar Rishi Temple, offered prayers and then did meditation for 10-15 minutes. It was magical, you must do it before you leave this place!

Later, I went to a high point near the lake and spent some time there. Enjoying the peace and extreme beauty of mother nature, it was a feeling no less than offering some worship to God. Trust me, friends! You can actually feel your presence, your heart beating and dancing with the joy (singing in my case) to become an eye-witness of this divine place.

The Divine Lake Prashar

There were a few shops nearby the lake to offer food and accommodation. You can even opt these to stay. The temple also provides accommodation.

Though I was just not in the mood to leave this place but had to… We all started descending after having tea and snacks. The descend was equally thrilling for us due to 3 feet high snow covering us up to the knees. Following the criss-cross trails, we reached Bagi by 4 PM.


Then I asked a funny question just to tease as everyone finished the trek. – Who all have guts to do it again! And everyone was gazing me as if they will kill me. 😂 lol

This is the best part of a solo trek; you may start alone but you end up making friends. Cheers for the new friendships!!!

To reach Mandi I took a direct bus from Bagi that leaves at 5 PM. I had prebooked my bus ticket from there to Delhi. The departure time for the bus was 8 PM from Mandi, so I had enough time to explore the town. I, along with my four new Punjabi friends was roaming around in the market. We had dinner and left together to reach to our respective destinations.

This way! Another long-awaited trek to Prashar came to a happy ending. If there is something I can never get tired of, that is Adventure. And, from my experience, I can say that;

"Trekking is a kind of addiction. But, this one is good for your health. "

Isn't it!

So, keep wandering! Stay Traveloholic!!