Quick Links: My first hand experience in sethan How to reach Sethan from Delhi Where to stay in Sethan What to do while in Sethan Video : Around Sethan Video : SnowBoarding
I used to locate tranquil villages in Himachal, with extremely less settlement and complying local cultures. Every single time, the motivation was – wisdom of peace and a laid-back life. No pictures were clicked, no videos were recorded and there was no mention on social media. This lasted for many years before i got involved into the enthusiastic job of travel blogging, which required me to explore more places and write about them. With this assignment now, i earn comparatively fewer opportunities to visit a few places which i truly adored once. Sethan is one such place. Most of us visit manali after spending almost 15 hours on the road (from delhi). If you devote 40 more minutes to your journey, the road will lead you to this exquisite village – Sethan, which is almost 15 kms uphill from manali and locates at a whooping height of 2600 metres above sea level, while manali is at 2050 metres. Some people also recognize this village by the name of ‘Hampta Village’ as the famous Hampta pass trek starts from here.
My first hand experince in Sethan
Back in the scorching summers of 2018, i was keen to visit a place accomplishing my choices, and where i have never been before. After a little reading, probing & inquiring, i came to know about Sethan. I packed my rucksack and boarded the bus to manali, the same day. After reaching manali and hitch-hiking for about 2 hours, i finally reached sethan at around noon. It did not feel like it was amidst summer season. The air still had that chilling factor and sense of purity.
I was astonished to see that I was the only tourist in the village at that time, other than some foreigners who were residing there since a long time and practicing rock bouldering. There was no mobile network, except Jio, that too at specific points only. NOTE : THE CONDITION IS NOT THE EXACTLY SAME NOW. SETHAN NOW ATTRACTS MANY MORE TOURISTS (STILL, EXTREMELY LESS THAN THE OTHER TOURISTY PLACES). I stayed at the Himalayan Lounge and my livelihood was dependent on their cook. He(Sonu) did not have any other customer to attend to and i did not have any other companion, so we used to trek during the day, cook during the evening and drink local wine during the night, listening to some himachali music while the bonfire kept us warm. I, blissfully, spent 5 days there before heading back to delhi.
After spending a weekend in Delhi, i could not resist and again went back to Sethan. This time there were 3 more guys staying at the himalayan lounge, which resulted in more trekking during the day and more bonfire chattering during the nights. This fantastic cycle of visiting sethan, once or sometimes twice a month, advanced for more than a year, after which i started blogging and exploring new places.
What attracts me to Sethan everytime
After visiting the same place for more than 15 times in a span of 15 months, i am certainly confident that i adore this place so much so, that i can settle for life there. For me, the major non-materialistic attractions in sethan are : Utter Peace, Laid back Life, Camping and trekking, Bonfire and Tandoori nights, Snowfall – Snowboarding, Igloo stay, etc.
CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO FOR A VIDEO TOUR AROUND SETHAN IN 2 MIN
How to Reach Sethan from Delhi
You can reach Manali from Delhi by Local or Volvo bus. The buses generally ply from Delhi at 5 PM, till 11 PM everyday and take around 14-15 hours to reach Manali ( You can also opt for self drive.) From Manali there are 3 options to reach sethan :
- You can hire a taxi which will charge you INR 1500. If not travelling solo, this sounds like a favorable option, as you can always dutch. You can find a taxi very easily in manali or else you can contact me and i can arrange it for you.
- I prefer Hitch-Hiking, as i mostly travel solo and i am a budget traveler. Also, hitch hiking gets you an opportunity to interact with locals, while on the way and acquire more knowledge about that place. Adjacent to the mall road at manali, cross the river bridge towards prini and walk for about 3 kms and start trekking uphill towards hydro power damn which is in Sethan.
- If you are self driving, it is mandatory to get a permission for your vehicle from a local government office which is located 200 meters from the place where you start uphill after prini( Detour is not required). A nominal fee of 100 INR is charged.
Where to Stay in Sethan
As the tourism in sethan has boosted recently, stay options have also increased in number accordingly. Not plenty, but a limited number of stay options are available. The place where i predominantly stay is a home stay which has the mind boggling view of kullu valley visible from its porch and campsite. Also, this place is run by an amazing host. You can contact me and i can connect you with him for valuable stay options and other adventure activities like trekking, camping, igloo stay, snowboarding, etc. A few hostel options are also available in Sethan now.
What to do while in Sethan
In-spite of being small and quiet in terms of area and population, this village offers a wide variety of adventure activities.
- Trekking – There are 2 popular treks originating from Sethan. Both of them are summer treks and should be averted/avoided during snowfall.
- Sethan is the base camp or the start point of the famous trek of Hampta Pass. Hampta Pass is a 4-5 day trek. For people who just want to do a day-trek for enjoyment, can go till chikka and come back. Majestic mountains and sparkling river on the way adds to the grace of beautiful views.
- Trek of Lamadugh also starts from Sethan. It is a 3-4 hour trek which leads you to some very appealing meadows.
Chikka
Trek of Lamadugh
- Camping – I love to camp in forests and mountain areas and I assure you that i have seen some of the best suited terrains for camping around sethan. There are campsites already available, but you can always carry your own tent and relatable stuff for camping.
- Igloo stay – Due to its advantage of good height, sethan receives favorable amount of snowfall every winter season. Locals have made the best of it and started to build Igloos for tourists to stay. It is an offbeat experience to spend a night inside an igloo. Guests are provided with all the basic amenities.
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- SnowBoarding – In India, Auli (in uttarakhand) and Gulmarg (in kashmir) are the two well known skiing and snowboarding destinations. But imagine the extent of tourists at these 2 places during peak snow season. Also, for people staying near delhi, both of these places are very far off to reach. Sethan, on the other hand, does not attract that great bunch of tourists. Snowboarding season here extends from December till mid of April. For easy goers and children, there is also an option of Snowtubing, which is amusing in its own terms.
- Explore the village, take evening strolls, etc. I am very fond of evening strolls and this village is a splendid place for that. After every few metres you will witness extremely fascinating views. Also, there is a place of religious significance in sethan. Just ahead of main village lies Pandu ropa, where it is believed that Pandavas once stayed for years and meditated. This place also has a lake which gets frozen during winters.
view from Himalayan Lounge
Pandu Ropa
- Rock Bouldering – This is another sport which sethan is acclaimed for. It has enormous rocky mountains of granite and gneiss which makes the place much apt and popular for Bouldering. I have seen some foreigners staying there for a long time now and creating maps of different locations suitable for bouldering.
For any help, assistance or inquiries regarding sethan, you can directly reach me on my e-mail(nitingambhir88@yahoo.com) or instagram(nomadicnitin).
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