Kasol
More actions
| Kasol | |
|---|---|
| Hierarchy | |
| Growing Region | Western Himalayas |
| Growing Area | Parvati Valley |
| Geography | |
| Country | India |
| Province/State | Himachal Pradesh |
| District | Kullu District |
| Tehsil | Bhuntar Tehsil |
| Coordinates | 32.0104, 77.3166 |
| Settlement | |
| Type | Village |
| Access | By road |
| Landscape | |
| Elevation | 1,570 m |
| Terrain | Valley floor on the Parvati |
| Documentation | |
| Accessions | 0 |
Kasol is a village on the Parvati River in the Parvati Valley, Kullu District, Himachal Pradesh, India, at the mouth of the side valley that leads to Grahan. The press counts it among the valley's villages with hotels and guest houses for visitors, and links it with the cannabis trade. A gram panchayat bears its name.[1]
Geography
Kasol lies about 3.4 km south-west of Manikaran, on the road up the valley, at about 1,570 m. Hot springs rise at Kasol as at Manikaran; the hottest of them reaches 76 °C.[2]
North of the village a side valley climbs to Grahan, Pulgi and Thunja. A road runs partway up it "to the trailheads for Thunja, Grahan, and Pulgi",[3] and Grahan is reached by a footpath of 8 to 9 km from Kasol.[4][5] The trekking route to the Sar Pass starts at Kasol and passes through Grahan.[6] Katagla lies about 2 km to the west and Choj about 1.3 km to the north-east, with Rasol and Gohar on the slopes to the north-west and north.
Tourism
A Tribune report of 2018 on foreigners missing in Kullu district counted Kasol among "the most picturesque villages" of the valley, with Tosh, Rasol, Malana and Manikaran, "offering hotels, guest houses and lodges". It reported that a Russian national who disappeared from Kasol in May 2011 was found dead six days later, in a gorge that the report places between Rasol and Chalal.[7] An Israeli hiker who went missing on a trek out of Kasol in December 2017 was found dead a month later at the foot of Grahan.[8]
Reporting on rave parties in 2026, The Tribune wrote that they "mostly happen in and around Kasol, in Grahan, Chalal, Katagla, and Pulga villages". The case that prompted it concerned a ticketed event held from 7 to 11 June 2026 in forest at Grahan "near Kasol".[9]
Cannabis
Kasol was one of the five villages of a survey of the uses of wild hemp in the Manikaran valley, carried out in 2015 to 2017 with Rasol, Pulga, Kalga and Tosh.[10] A news-agency report of 2026 quoted a former superintendent of the Narcotics Control Bureau, who had led destruction operations at Kasol and elsewhere in the valley between 2002 and 2006, as calling Kasol "the mother of all drug dens in the state"; the report put the cultivation of cannabis there down to "Poverty and lack of infrastructure, coupled with ideal climate and topography".[9] The collection documentation of the Zomia Collective links the repeated police crackdowns at Rasol to that village's "relative proximity to Kasol and the main road".[11] In September 2026, after cannabis had been destroyed on about 15 hectares at Malana, the range forest officer at Kasol said the drive would continue.[12]
The accessions of Grahan, Pulgi and Thunja come from the side valley above the village.
See also
References
- ↑ "Gram Panchayats". District Kullu. Government of Himachal Pradesh. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
- ↑ Chandrasekharam, D.; Alam, M.A.; Minissale, A. (2005). Thermal Discharges at Manikaran, Himachal Pradesh, India (PDF) (Report). International Geothermal Association. Proceedings, World Geothermal Congress 2005, Antalya, Turkey, 24–29 April 2005, pp. 1–4.
- ↑ "Grahan Valley". Zomia Collective. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
- ↑ "Grahan, Parvati Valley". Holidify. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
- ↑ "Trekking to Grahan Village from Kasol: A Hidden Gem in Parvati Valley". Travel Shoe Bum. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
- ↑ "Sar Pass Trek - An ideal Himalayan trek for beginners". Indiahikes. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
- ↑ Manta, Dipender (1 December 2018). "The curious case of missing foreigners". The Tribune.
- ↑ ToI Staff (3 January 2018). "Israeli missing for a month found dead on hiking trail in India". The Times of Israel.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Why is Parvati valley in Kullu considered safe haven for rave parties". The Tribune. PTI. 30 June 2026. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
- ↑ Rathore, S.; Shashni, S.; Samant, S.S.; Sundriyal, R.C. (2018). "Indigenous uses of wild hemp (Cannabis sativa) by the local inhabitants in Manikaran Valley of Himachal Pradesh, North Western Himalaya". Journal of Non-Timber Forest Products. 25 (3): 127–130. doi:10.54207/bsmps2000-2018-7393KF.
- ↑ "Rasol". Zomia Collective. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
- ↑ Kullu: तोष और मलाणा में NCB, ITBP व STF की बड़ी कार्रवाई, 25 हैक्टेयर भूमि पर अवैध भांग की खेती नष्ट [Kullu: major action by the NCB, ITBP and STF at Tosh and Malana; illegal cannabis cultivation destroyed on 25 hectares]. Punjab Kesari (in हिन्दी). 27 September 2026. Retrieved 27 September 2026.