Niraj is there anything less travelled in Himachal pradesh ? Himachal has so much to offer than the usual suspects of Shimla , Manali , Dharamshala and Dalhousie. Offbeat Jibhi & Tirthan Valley are such less frequented jewels mostly planned together. Tirthan valley is centered around the peaceful quaint Gushaini village which is the gateway to Great Himalayan National Park. While Jibhi is the beautiful valley near Jalori pass offering lots of untouched nature and tree houses overseeing green valleys. My plan was to reach Jibhi Tirthan valley from Shimla side crossing Narkanda & Jalori pass on a rented bike. In this Jibhi Tirthan valley guide blog you would find all the details to plan this beautiful Himachal trip yourself. More such beautiful places at the end of this post.

🔷 This is a complete travel guide to plan Jibhi Tirthan valley trip yourself. Read it when you have atleast 15minutes of free time & preferably with a hot mug of coffee 🍵

Things to do in Jibhi Tirthan Valley & Jalori pass

Jibhi Tirthan valley is a place to slow travel. With ample time each of the famous spots can easily take up a day to explore or to just take in the vibes. Here are the list of best things to do in Jibhi Tirthan valley.

Things to do in Jalori pass 3200m

• 🔹Raghunathpur fort – 3km hike from Jalori pass provides spectacular sunrise & sunsets
• 🔹Serolsar lake – 5 km trail from Jalori pass is a very peaceful place with Goddess Budhi Nagin temple

Things to do in Jibhi

• 🔹Jibhi waterfall – quite famous with stone pathway
• 🔹Kulhi Katandi – cove between two massive rocks with a turquoise water pool
• 🔹Tandi village – a secluded village which has turned into home of many tree houses
• 🔹Balu Naag mandir – one of the most peaceful places on the entire trip
• 🔹Shringa rishi temple – Chief deity of Kullu with beautiful views
• 🔹Chehni Kothi- the 350 year old 7floor wooden fort with Kath kuni architecture
• 🔹Neighbouring villages of Shoja, Ghiyagi are also soothing spots to stay & ponder about life

Things to do in Tirthan Valley

• 🔹TIrthan valley is centered around Gushaini and is the gateway to Great Himalayan nation park. Gushaini has its old world charm which is more prominent in the even further villages like Pekhri, Sarchi, Bathad, Tinder etc which you can visit & stay at to experience the culture
• 🔹Trout fishing in the Tirthan river is worth it. Eating your catch is a must
• 🔹Chhoie waterfall 3km trek from Nagini village is worth the 1hr climb
• 🔹GHNP park entrance gate waterfall called Hippo waterfall again some 5-6kms is a good trek
• 🔹For hard core trekkers there are atleast 20 treks from 1 day -10 days in the GHNP which we will see later in the blog
• 🔹Visit to apple , apricot orchards is a must

How long should be the trip to Jibhi Tirthan valley?

Niraj, how many days should you plan here ? This place is a true bliss and an ideal contender for slow travel where you get to know the place , its people , its culture rather than just tick off as some place travelled. Ideally each of the place is such a gem that you would atleast want to spend 2days at Jibhi & Gushaini and even more time at those obscure hamlets with just home stays. There are many small hamlets like Tandi, Shoja, Pekhri, Tinder, Sharchi, Bathad and so on where you can just admire the local culture , the food , people for days together or just sit in your tree house reading a book. The possibilities are endless . I tried to wrap my journey in 5 days which i feel was very rushed and didn’t do enough justice to the place, I would definitely be back for a more immersive experience.

Jibhi Tirthan Valley : Khane me kya hai ?

When in Himachal eat as Himachali do. As a written rule one has to eat local food delicacies to really enjoy the place. The first thing which comes to my mind for the entire trip is Siddu. Its a steamed bun filled with potato, walnuts, cashews , legumes, seeds & spices for the spicy one and rarely filled with dry fruits & fruits for the sweet one. It is served steaming hot with melted hot ghee & it tests superb. The himachali thali – Kangri dham a vegetarian meal was also on my list. Also Gushaini – heart of Tirthan valley is known as Trout country as it’s home to Himalayan Trout fish. Fishing for trout & eating it was on my list. Also high on my to do list was to pluck apples, peaches , apricots from orchards. The list goes on from Rhododendron flower ( Buransh) juice to savoring chha gosht made form lamb. This was a perfect foodie trip !

What is the best time to visit Jibhi Tirthan valley ?

If you are tired of hot summers at home make sure to be here. The climate is pleasant throughout the year but rains can be a bit of hassle , hence monsoon can be skipped. For monsoon you can plan treks in Maharashtra. If you want to enjoy snow be here in winter just remember Jalori pass would be closed during winter hence only open route would be from Aut. I would prefer to visit here just after the rains so that it it lush green throughout and the waterfalls have the perfect flow with crystal clear water.

How to reach Jibhi Tirthan Valley ?

Where is Jibhi Tirthan valley located? Jibhi & Tirthan valley lie near the Banjar town in Kullu region of Himachal Pradesh. Tirthan valley gets its name from the Tirthan river which flows through the entire valley. Tirthan river originates from the Hanskund peak 4800m in the Great Himalayan national park and is a tributary of the Beas river. Jibhi & Tirthan valley are separated by just 20 kms hence are mostly planned together

Nearest airport is Bhuntar ( Kullu) but has only domestic flights with lesser frequency. Hence either Delhi or Chandigarh airports are preferred with better connectivity & using public transport as described above.

Nearest preferred railway station are Delhi or Chandigarh as against smaller stations with lesser connectivity.

Jibhi Tirthan valley can be reached from Delhi > Chandigarh > Mandi > Aut > Gushaini side as well as from Shimla > Jalori pass > Jibhi side.

• 🔹Jibhi is 145km from Shimla and has to be reached by crossing Jalori pass which is on top of one of the highest mountain in the area at 3200m. To make the journey more memorable the 145km from Shimla can done as a cut journey with halts as Shimla > 60kms > Narkanda > 75km > Jalori pass >10kms > Jibhi . This route passes through some scenic, less crowded places but has no direct public transport connectivity, hence preferred by personal transport. Also Jalori pass being a high altitude pass receives large snowfall and remains closed during winter, making the other route from Mandi the only option in winters.
• 🔹If taking personal vehicle or public transport from Delhi/ Chandigarh/ Mandi, Aut-side route is more straightforward option to reach Tirthan valley. Lots of overnight buses ply from Delhi & Chandigarh towards Bhuntar, Kullu & Manali which can drop you at Aut. If direct bus is not available take a bus to Mandi and change to another bus going towards Bhuntar, Kullu & Manali and get down at Aut. Gushaini is 30kms from Aut. There are regular buses from Aut to Banjar. From Banjar you can get a cab or another bus (available from 7am to 5pm) towards Gushaini

Jibhi Tirthan valley blog: TheFreeBird’s story from Shimla via Jalori pass

With about weeks planning & a huge 60L backpack , I started towards Tirthan valley. As usual the planning was rushed as a I booked a costly flight to Delhi. Plan was to reach Shimla and rent a bike for the next 6 days in Jibhi Tirthan valley. Buses from Delhi>Shimla or Delhi>Chandigarh>Shimla start from ISBT Kashmere gate Delhi. This ISBT gate can be reached from Delhi airport by taking 2 metros in about 40minutes. From the Delhi airport I took the ORANGE metro line to NewDelhi station(4th station) and from there changed to YELLOW metro line to reach Kahsmere gate station(3rd station). Outside of the metro is ISBT i.e. Inter state bus transport for buses to Chandigarh & Shimla, i.e. gateway to North India

Make sure to pre book HRTC bus online for Shimla or you will get a “Bus is full” remark like I did. I had to unwillingly take a Chandigarh bus & then take a Shimla one to finally reach early morning at Shimla’s long distance bus stop at ISBT Tutikandi which is Shimla’s new bus stand. From there take a local bus to Shimla old bus stand to reach in 20minutes. Viola you have reached Shimla.

SHIMLA

I took the Shimla lift to reach the top of Shimla @ Mall road which is the main market place with fancy shops. I had booked this HOTEL near Mall road where I got fresh and started my one day Shimla exploration. Shimla is crowded but the pleasantly cold weather makes up for the cacophony of people

Mall road stretches from a church on west side to the Kali Bari Temple on the Eastern end. While the walking road was flanked on the sides by British era buildings, shops and hotels. I walked the entire stretch in an hour and figured out all the famous eateries. I was feeling hungry and headed to a famous coffee place.

With so much food and sleepless previous night I relaxed in my room and contacted rentals for an Xpulse bike which I finally found after hours of searching for 1000Rs/ Day. Instead of travelling directly to Jibhi in one go on the next day , I decided to stay at Narkanda 60kms away. People planning just Shimla can also add trips to nearby places like Kufri, Chail, Masshobra, Naldhera etc. I skipped them all as I would enjoy even more offbeat places on my trip. Before getting on my bike I had one last thing to do in Shimla , to climb / rope way to the Jhaku temple at the top most point of Shimla where there is a huge Hanuman statue. After enjoying the superb sunset & the overall ambience I headed to Narkanda for the night on “My Bike”.

NARKANDA

I started after sunset and it got dark real soon. The 60kms to Narkanda felt like a lot more as it got very cold to drive. I stopped after every now and then to warm my self, but after a while my hands just felt frozen and I could not drive anymore. Thankfully I reached a cozy looking HOTEL in a village called Nanni some 15kms before Narkanda. Having ridden 45kms in extreme cold I was happy beyond words to get accommodation here. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise as when I woke up I saw this beautiful orchard just outside my room. Everything happens for a reason !

The top things to do in Narkanda are Hatu peak , Hatu Mata temple , Tannu Jubar lake & Stokes Apple farm. Since I would be seeing Serolsar lake at Jalori pass I decided to skip the Tannu Jubbar lake & since I was already stayed in an orchard decided to skip the Stokes farm as well. Just decided to see Hatu peak and move towards Jalori pass. Thus the cold weather yesterday luckily saved me some time in my packed schedule.

I had reached Hatu peak and saw the beautiful Hatu mata temple. The entire temple is wooden with beautiful carvings. The glass seems to have been added later on to preserve the temple. The temple is dedicated to Mandodari , wife of Ravana and Kali mata is the presiding deity here. The beautiful wooden carvings and the backdrop of beautiful mountains is what made the place special for me.

After taking in enough fresh air and eating the walnut pie I bought from Shimla, I was off to the steepest & longest leg of my journey towards Jalori pass (75kms)

JALORI PASS 3200m

I started off from Narkanda towards Jalori pass with my sweaters on but to my utter shock after a while it started to get real hot. The jacket was off. For the first 30kms all downhill towards Luhri where I crossed the Sutlej river the temperature just kept of rising . And from Luhri the flat road started till Anni which is some 20kms away where it was even hotter. I felt like I had some how lost my road and was back in Mumbai- it was hot. At Anni I had some cold drinks. Form here the road started climbing towards Jalori pass getting colder with every turn. At one place I took a shortcut road shown by local which I felt like was a dead end but turned out to be prettiest road out there.

It took me some 3 hours to reach Jalori pass from Narkanda and I had my long awaited lunch at 4pm. Jalori pass was built by British to gain access to Kullu valley. Jalori pass receives heavy snowfall in winter hence remains closed from December to about second week of March. On one side of Jalori pass is a simple trail to the holy Serolsar lake and on other side is a small trek to Raghupur fort which I had plans for. From there started a race against time to complete the Raghupur fort hike to enjoy the sunset from top. Had to gain height from 3100m to 3500m at Raghupur fort top which was going to take me atleast an hour at full steam and 20kg backpack.

RAGHUPUR FORT 3500m

Raghupur fort is supposed to be build by Mandi rulers to protect from attacks. However not much remains of its old glory apart from fallen rocky walls and some caricature of buildings. It is about a 3kms trek from Jalori pass with the trail being steep initially and at the end. Since the trail passes though the canopy of oak trees its takes away from the climbing efforts as one tends to go in photo frenzy. As we gain height, more mountains become visible as the climb becomes worthwhile.

I was chasing sunset hence was climbing hastily but the beautiful views meant I had to stop every now and then to record. I tried to climb faster but the last part is more tiring especially with a 20kg backpack. The sunset was happening as I reached the top. I had to book a tent for the night which costs me some 1.5K with food but it also cost me some precious sunset time . As I rushed to the edge of Raghupur fort the sun had already vanished.

I had a chappati hot subji dinner on that cold night. It was superb. All that travel, trek had taken a toll on me as I was lulled to sleep by the cold weather. Having missed the sunset I was up early to not meet sunrise & it was spectacular would be an understatement.

After enjoying sunrise I had set my eyes to the big day with the first part being a small trek to Panduropa followed by a walk to Serolsar lake.

PANDUROPA , SEROLSAR LAKE & DRAMA

A 90minute trek from Raghupur fort leads to Panduropa which has a weirdly unique phenomenon where the plants over the lake have grown such that you can walk on it without going down. The land appears for lack of better words squishy, mushy , spongy. It is said that Pandavas during there exile used to grow rice here giving the place its name. The paddy fields here remain green throughout the year which is again a weird stat to fathom. With all this hype I was very eager to reach here early.

Lost Chance: The tent guy was leading the way to Panduropa for me and another couple. Half way through there was a bull mooing loudly which is a normal thing but the lady from the couple got very scared . Three of us tried to convince her that there is nothing to be afraid of but she refused to budge for an hour. After which she some how became ready but within few steps started screaming that she had a sudden pain in her ankle and refused to move again. Everyone could see through here fake injury but could not tell her. Because of that we all had to turn back. I had just wasted 3 precious hours without any outcome because of that stupid lady. In hindsight I should have gone solo but I was too irritated by this morning non sense. All I have of Panduropa is photo from far away with pain in my eyes for the missed opportunity.

When I got back to the tent it was already late and I descended to Jalori pass for Serolsar lake. Serolsar lake is some 5kms from Jalori pass on a flat trail. Besides the lake is a temple of Goddess Budhi Nagin who is the mother of all Nag deities. Serolsar lake is considered to be her sacred abode and has the cleanest water you will ever see. It is said that even if a leaf falls in the lake it is quickly removed by the birds to keep it pristine. From Serolsar lake various mountain ranges like Pir Pinjal, Shivalik & Dhauladhars are visible. But that morning drama had cost me dearly as I reached down to Jalori pass by 1pm delayed some 4 hours by that stupid liar. The sun had come out and the crowd had increased and I had to cancel Serolsar lake visit. That stupid liar !

JIBHI

Nothing cures bad mood like a bike ride. I got on my bike riding on the dangerously curvy steep road towards Jibhi. Though risky the route is one of the most beautiful drives in Himachal with tall trees everywhere echoing with the river water from valley. Firstly I reached Shoja which is a very beautiful village with huge oak trees, small river flowing by & fascinating wooden houses. I could have easily decided to stay here for days taking in the nature if I had the bandwidth to do so.

KULHI KATANDI

Just before reaching Jibhi there is a famous spot called Kulhi Katandi in the Pushpa bhadra/ Jibhi river which has turquoise water. What makes it unique is that two huge rocks rocks touch each other to form a triangle where we can see the blue pond and it looks terrific. Coming down from Jalori pass some 300m before reaching Jibhi there is a sign board for Kulhi Katandi where you must descend down to the river for some 15 minutes to enjoy this peaceful place.

This place is also referred as Mini- some Asiatic country which I feel is derogatory for both places and would refuse to participate in promoting the comparative name. After chilling here for some time the coldness of water became too much for me and I headed towards Jibhi where I could see many hotels , hostels , home stays making it too touristy for me. Glad I had booked a tree house in Tandi for the day away from this touristy hustle and bustle of Jibhi.

JIBHI WATERFALL

On the way to Tandi I took a small detour to reach Jibhi waterfall which had stone pavement right till the waterfall. To say the least I didnt like the waterfall , though it may not have had that flow, it just seemed to be a touristy thing to name any random stream of water and market it to make it famous.

TANDI

Since my childhood I had always wanted to stay in a wooden tree house and that dream was now going to be fulfilled now. After exploring Jibhi I took the steep road to the top of the hill to reach Tandi which seems to have become a breeding ground for newer tree houses. Being situated on top of the hill, the village still had that rawness which tourism seems to kill pretty often. I reached the sleepy village by afternoon.

From the main road I could see many apple , plum , peach plantations which I decided to checkout tomorrow. The houses here had that Kath-kuni architecture meaning usage of wood & stone to build the walls with mostly stone tiles at top. The village was indeed asleep and I had plans to visit it in evening when I could meet some locals. Now my search for my treehouse continued till I reached the very end of the village. And there was my tree house standing alone in front of unending mountain ranges.

This was everything I dreamed about an ideal tree house to be. The views were terrific with greenery till every corner my eyes could see. And as I realised later many birds came to sit in front of the glass making it a hidden bird observatory. I saw birds which I had never seen before in colours & sizes I had never imagined before. The tree house used to shake a bit when I walked and I still was not used to it even by the time of leaving. I just sat here with all the curtains open admiring nature. All my tiredness had vanished as I reached this wonderland.

Even after 2 hours I was still amused by this tree house. Finally I decided to explore the village before the daylight died on me. The people in the village were very reserved. Many women just plain refused to come out of their homes. Older guys spoke with no inhibitions. Tandi had huge plantations which locals called “Bagicha” i.e. flower park as the plantations turn colorful during the blooming season. I roamed their farms with hope to meet someone to request an apple 😁 . I dint meet any and decided to try my luck tomorrow morning. Headed back to my tree house.

Next morning I woke up early to a spectacular morning with birds chirping in the window and cool wind flowing up the valley. I roamed the breadth and width of Tandi and met locals working in farms. Spoke with them and realised in June I was too late for the blooming season and too early for fruits to be ripe. Nonetheless I got raw apples and raw pears which though tasted funny became my breakfast. Unwilling to leave the stay, I requested an extension but I had to give up as the next customers had already arrived. I headed to the Balu naga temple.

BALU NAG TEMPLE

The trip to Jibhi Tirthan valley has been everything spectacular with each place trying to get an upper hand in some way and the trip keeps on getting better & better. Balu Nag temple has to be the most beautiful & peaceful temple set up I have ever seen.

Balu Nag temple is a bit ahead of bahu village. Bahu is some 6kms from jibhi and takes 30minutes since its a hilly climb. Near Bahu village is a pond with Shesh Nag Temple where vehicles are parked and remaining distance of 3 kms to the Balu Nag temple can be walked in about 30min. Since I had my bike I drove all the way to the temple on the rough road. Passing through this Deodar forest I could definitely feel the good vibes here. You can feel a surge in positivity when you actually reach this heavenly place. There are 3 old wooden temples which are well preserved. The main temple is the biggest surrounded by a small meadow and then bordered by the tall trees – a sight out of dreams. With grazing cows and the music created by the bells tied to their necks it all looked surreal. A local playing flute added to the ambience.

CHEHNI KOTHI & SHRINGA RISHI TEMPLE

Chehni kothi & Shringa Rishi temple are on the same trail / road. The climbing road to these places start from somewhere between Jibhi & Banjar. Half the climb happens on a good road , and then some 10minutes walk on a rough road can lead you to Shringa rishi temple in Bagi village. From the temple you also have a trail to Chehni kothi which will take about 45minutes of climb. The road is rough for others but that’s the exact reason I bought an adventure bike which I drove all the way to the top. Also spotted 2 fox on the road.

TIRTHAN VALLEY

Tirthan valley is named after the Tirthan river which flows through its length. This river originates from Hanskund peak in Great Himalayan National park (GHNP) and flows to join the river Beas near Larji, Aut. Tirthan valley is collection of obscure hamlets where people come to enjoy slow life and destress from the regular hustle and bustle. I just had one day to explore here and had to make some hard choices to select things to do.

Things to do in Tirthan valley

• Gushaini is the heart of Tirthan valley & is surrounded by many smaller villages situated on top of the mountains bordering the valley. There are many villages like Pekhri, Tindar, Sharchi, Nagini, Bathad and even more obscure ones without even rough roads but just trails to reach them.
• To experience the culture you can talk to the old people , see the Kath-Kuni architecture homes, see people actually work in their orchards or just strike a conversation with people fishing.
• Fishing: Tirthan river is home to Himalayan Trout as known as Trout country. So try your hand at fishing , fishing poles are easily available . I didnt have time for fishing and focused on eating Trout.
• Visit a apple, apricot orchard to experience fruit plantations yourself.
• Visit Chhoie waterfall which is a short 3km climb from Nagini village .P.S: It is much better than Jibhi waterfall. The waterfall gets its name from Chhoie Mata temple near waterfall
• Trek to GHNP to see unique plants , birds & animals. There are so many treks I dont even know all.

Treks in Tirthan valley

GHNP is UNESCO world heritage site with hundreds of endemic species of medicinal plants, birds & animals. A vast area from 4 valleys of Tirthan, Jwar Nala, Parvati & Sainj with dense forests was reserved to create this national park. The deeper parts of GHNP is accessible only by permits available at Sai Ropa. Gushaini is at the gateway to this GHNP, hence favorite among trekkers, travelers & researchers. There are many treks here from single day to long range treks. Few are

• GHNP gate trek called as Hippo waterfall trek with about 5-6km trek requiring 2hrs one side. This is is the most preferred since its one day trek not needing any permits.
• Chhoie waterfall trek – 3km one side from Nagini village (not in GHNP)
• Bashleo park trek starting from Batahad village for a day trek
• Ranghtar top trek from Pekhri which cab be extended further to higher grounds.
• Lambhari top from Sarchi
• Apart from the above smaller treks there are multi day treks like Shrikhand Mahadev, rakhundi trek, nada thach trek, bakahadi treks and many many more.

Since I had already experienced offbeat villages, temples and seen orchards on my trip I decided to just do a day trek and try fishing. Since I was interested in visiting GHNP i decided against the Chhoie waterfall trek and decided to go for the GHNP gate / Hippo waterfall trek to experience the trek by the river. Raju Homestay is the preferred location in Gushaini but it needs to booked in advance as against my instinctive plans. After Chehni Kothi I reached Gushaini late night and decided to stay at this HOTEL near Pekhri and then changed to Laxmi homestay in Tindar on the next day, because I love homestays.

I wanted to complete the GHNP gate trek early and plan something for the evening, but as it rained heavily that day I started the trek late and didnt have any spare time in the evening. I took my bike to the starting point of the trek which is some 3kms from Gushaini towards Tindar road. Hence staying at Tindar was more comfortable for me. I took the trail which passes through dense forest besides the Tirthan river.

The hippo shaped stone under the waterfall gives the waterfall its name. After taking many photos & videos I started my return to Gushaini. I reached Laxmi homestay where I inquired if I could get Trout fish for dinner the answer was “NO” . I was devastated. Next morning I had 160kms ride to Shimla.

NALDHERA > MASHOBRA > SHIMLA > DELHI > MUMBAI

This Mashobra temple was a quiet peaceful place and I was shocked to see such a offbeat place so near to Shimla. This was my last stop as I hurried to Shimla to return the bike and get on the overnight bus to Delhi, from where I took the flight to Mumbai. It was one heaven of a trip to be remembered for ages.

That’s it for the Jibhi Tirthan Valley blog.

Bye !!!