Parashar Lake | Himachal Pradesh | Parashar Lake Winter Trek | Prashar Lake Story & History
Today I have come to Himachal and this is the abode of sage Parashar In winters, the snow-covered high peaks of Himachal give a feeling of unique beauty and to explore such a place, today I had reached Parashar lake Reaching here after trekking several kilometers through snow-filled roads and forests and spending some time camping in these beautiful valleys makes it a perfect winter destination I reached Panarsa at 7 am for Parashar Lake, which is 23 kms before Kullu above Panarsa, a road cuts into the mountain side which takes you to Parsahar Lake Parashar Lake is about 40 kms from Panarsa and I started seeing snow 5-6 kms before Parashar Lake At 10 am, I reached about 4 km before Parashar lake Due to heavy snow on the road, I had to trek further from here While going towards Parashar Lake, You pass through dense forests of Pine and Cedar The last 8-10 kilometer route of Parashar lake passes through a desolate jungle where you can see snowy mountains on one side and different types of trees on the other side Actually the road is built up to half a kilometer before Prashar lake, but If there is a lot of snow the vehicle drops you 3-4 kilometers before Then from there you have to go on foot This 3-4 kilometer trek in snowfall becomes the most beautiful part of your journey The snow glitters on the deserted road, and in the silence of the forest, only the chirping of birds is heard How can one have this much fun in reaching here by cab Parashar Lake is now 2 kilometers away, I didn't have tea or breakfast in the morning, I don't see any restaurants here either So I'm thinking of making some tea myself I have a team with me on long Himalayan treks, So I don't carry such stuff But today I had a small cooking kit available, So I thought of using it The temperature here was in minus so it was taking a lot of time for the tea to boil so I thought why not look at the surrounding views in between Finally after 20 minutes the tea was ready and this tea biscuit was going to be my breakfast and lunch today. So what then, I started enjoying a new view with every sip of tea. After half an hour of rest and tea break, I packed my stuff and was ready again for the further trek. Parashar lake was still some 2 kms away. Now the road ahead was mostly covered with snow And till now I haven't seen many people coming here. From here onwards the treeline has also ended.
In front of me, I could see mountains of mud and stones and small fields covered with snow As we moved ahead, the view of the background looked like someone had made a beautiful sketch on the canvas. There are two routes by cab to reach Parashar Lake, the first one is from Panarsa from where I have just come, the second route is via Mandi and Bagi. Both these routes meet here and from here this route goes up towards Parashar Lake. Although most people come to Parashar Lake via Mandi and Bagi, but the other route is 10-15 kilometers shorter, so I came from Panarsa only. I have almost reached Parashar Lake, the lake is just 500 meters away from here.
Now a small stall and a gate started appearing in front where you can see the signboard of Parashar Lake After crossing the gate and climbing in the snow for about 5 minutes, I reached the top of a small meadow. And from here on the other side I started to see Parashar Lake. Surrounded by small meadows on all sides, this lake looks very beautiful and a big temple is also visible near the lake.
There was some snow around this lake right now. After a little rest I went down towards the lake. There was a lot of snow here In many places the snow was so thick that the shoes would get stuck there. If we talk about the beliefs related to this place, it is said that sage Parashar had performed penance here for thousands of years Maharishi Ved Vyas, the author of Mahabharata, was the son of sage Parashar. Sage Parashar had written many ancient texts. There are stairs in the middle of the meadow, by going through these stairs you directly reach the temple.
Within a few minutes I reached the lake It is said that this lake was built by Parashar Rishi. It is said that water came out from here due to the strike of sage Parashar's stick and the water took the shape of a lake, hence this lake is called Parashar Lake. Now I came to visit the temple built near the lake which is dedicated to Maharishi Parashar. This is a three-storey temple which looks very unique. It is said that this temple was built from a huge Deodar tree and it took 12 years to build it.
Talking about the history related to this, It is said that King Ban Sen of Mandi renovated this temple in the 13th to 14th century. If you see the structure of this temple, it is built in pagoda style, you see most of the temples of Himachal built in this style. Pagoda style temples have multiple layers And the roofs get smaller as you go up, giving a pyramid like appearance In this lake you see something like an island which changes its place from here to there in the lake.
This floating island is called 'Tahla' in the local language. The people here call this island the 'Boat Of God" They believe that God sits on this small island and circumambulates this lake On the bank of the lake you can see tall fern like grass which is called 'barre'' in the local language And the small leaves are called 'Jarre' These grasses or leaves growing on the banks of the lake are considered to be the flowers of the God and hence these leaves are also given along with prashad in the temple. Now I went to the mountain on the other side of this lake. This whole area is like a big meadow which has many view points. So if you come to Parashar Lake then you can do long hiking around here.
By walking like this, when I reached another view point, I could just keep looking at the views from there. I could see many mountain ranges one after the other. And behind the temple, some houses built in hilly style were making this view even more beautiful. On the other side of this view point you can see beautiful snow peaks spread over 180 degrees.
This area is surrounded by Dhauladhar and Pir Panjal mountain ranges. There was no sunshine today, the weather was cloudy since morning but still seeing the beauty of this place, there was a sparkle in the eyes. In the month of June, a very big fair is organized here which is called 'Saranahuli fair' In this fair, people from Kullu, Mandi and the surrounding areas come to offer offerings to their deities and perform worship After 2-3 hours, I met a local Mr. Simba
and now I started exploring the rest of the place with him. This place is situated in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh. Mandi is also known as 'Kashi of Himachal Pradesh' Because there are many temples and places here which have historical and religious importance. The ancient name of Mandi was 'Mandav Nagar' It is said that a great saint Mandav did tapasya here and this district was named Mandav Nagar.
After him which later got changed to Mand.i If you are coming to Parshar Lake, you don't get many options to stay near the lake. On Panarsa road, 3-4 kms before the lake, you will see some camps where you can stay.
I also stayed in this camp. If you want to spend some time in peace away from the crowd, then you can stay here for a few days. This is a less crowded place in Himachal. Whether you want to do a nature walk while staying here or do bird watching, See the beautiful mountain range or experience spirituality This place is an ideal destination for every season.
2025-01-29 21:47
