A beautiful waterfall that I reached by coincidence. It happened when I was on a solo trip to the Himalayas. Yes, a pure coincidence, things happen by mistake and you later realize it has become a beautiful memory of your life. Oops Rather than jumping straight to the location let me start first with the location.
Location
It is located near the Vashisht temple in Manali. From Vashisht temple it’s a short beautiful trek of 4km that passes through a beautiful forest section of deodar, pine, and maple trees. Those tall trees you always see when passing any mountain region. I always love tall trees, the beautiful canopy which surrounds the whole mountainous region just makes me feel good.
History of Vashisht Temple
Vashisht temple is located 3.5 km from Manali. You can either take autos or come by walk. I have taken the option later because I don’t want to pay the hefty 100 rupees, the same middle-class mentality. When you are solo and unemployed, the money-saving instinct always takes your mind to money-saving mode, I wonder. After Vashisht temple You have to cover the rest of the distance by walking because the road ends here. It generally takes 2 hours to cover the rest of the distance from the Vashisht temple.
One thing that I think knocks your mind is the Vashist temple. So let me dive into this, Vashisht Temple is situated in the center of Vashist village. Yes, you got it right the village has got its name from the temple. The temple is home to three main temples dedicated to Lord Vashisht, Lord Shiva, and Lord Rama and it is believed to be more than 4,000 years old.
Lord Vashisht was one of the Saptarishi who stayed here for some time. According to the legend, Vashist was saddened after knowing that his children were killed by Vishwamitra and he tried to commit suicide, but the river refused to kill him. The same river Vipasha means “free from bondage” which was later shortened to Beas river, which we know today. Wow, all these Himalayan rivers always have such interesting mythical stories behind them. You feel, from how old they are shaping our civilization.
About Jogini waterfall
Jogini waterfall is also one of the streams which fall from a height of 150 feet in some places falling directly into the Beas river. Jogini Mata Temple is situated at the base of the water. It’s a holy place for the neighboring village. Once I reached the base of the waterfall I didn’t know which direction to move forward. There is no signage in the direction of the waterfall and you start believing where you stand is the main viewpoint of the waterfall but actually is the base of the waterfall. You need to move in the right-hand direction once you come from the Vashist side. It becomes steep in the last section and you can take a breath and rest while climbing.
While I was climbing the sound of people coming from the waterfall guided me in the right direction. Thanks to them, the craze of taking photos and videos at such scenic places can come to the rescue, I wonder hehe.
Explore on the way
The entire path is picturesque, the steep forest section gives multiple photo opportunities to your photography skill. It’s a short trek so you can find multiple tourists around the trek. Once you reach the viewpoint you will get the prize of your hardship. A big waterfall will splash your face with tiny droplets and as you get closer you will feel the intensity with which it’s falling. The thing that fascinates me the most is the rainbow formation. Sunlight in the front and boom the beautiful rainbow in your front.
Conclusion
I know if you have reached this part after reading above all, You love to visit and capture the Jogini waterfall but one thing always to keep in mind. Please don’t litter such places even if you see waste around. Because the Himalayas blessed us with water, landscape, food everything but returning is what we need to think about.
