Attraction · Manali
Vashisht
A village across the Beas where sulphur comes out of the hillside hot enough to bathe in, feeding stone tanks beside a temple of carved deodar — three kilometres and about two centuries from the Mall.
Time needed1 – 2 hours
Best timeEarly morning
Where3 km across the Beas
The springsNatural sulphur, hot
BathsSeparate for men and women
Named forThe sage Vashishtha
About
Vashisht
Vashisht sits on the far side of the Beas from Manali, a few hundred metres up the slope, and it is an old village rather than a resort — narrow lanes between stone-and-timber houses, slate roofs, and a temple of carved deodar at the middle of it. What brings almost everyone is underneath: natural sulphur springs that come out of the hillside hot enough to be uncomfortable, piped into stone bathing tanks beside the temple and free to use. The temple itself is dedicated to Vashishtha, one of the seven great sages, and there is a Rama temple beside it. The village has acquired cafés and guesthouses over the last few decades and the top of it is now a traveller quarter, but the lower lanes and the bathing tanks are unchanged and are used by the village rather than by visitors.
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What to See
What to see
A temple, a bathing tank and a village, in a space you can walk across in five minutes.
The temple and the springs
- The Vashishtha temple — deodar, heavily carved, in the same local idiom as Hadimba Devi though smaller and much less visited.
- The stone bathing tanks fed directly by the springs, in separate enclosures for men and women, open to anyone and free.
- The Rama temple beside it, and the small courtyard between them where most of the village passes through at some point in the day.
- The water itself, which is genuinely hot and unmistakably sulphurous. It is not a spa; it is a village bath house.
The village
- The lower lanes, which are still working village — stone-and-timber houses, slate roofs, wood stacked for winter.
- The upper lanes, which have become a traveller quarter of cafés and small guesthouses and are a different place entirely.
- The views back across the Beas to Manali and up the valley toward Solang.
Just beyond
- Jogini Falls, a walk of about forty-five minutes up from the village through orchards and pine, which most visitors never hear about.
- The path continues above the falls for anyone who wants a longer walk.
- The old Manali–Vashisht footbridge route, which is the way the village was reached before the road.
Getting There
Getting there
Three kilometres by road, or a short steep walk if you cross the river on foot.
From Manali
- About 3 km by road across the Beas and up — ten minutes by taxi from the Mall.
- It is almost always visited on the same half-day as Hadimba Devi and Solang, and usually on the way back down from Solang.
- Taxis drop at the village entrance; the lanes beyond are too narrow for vehicles.
On foot
- It can be walked from Manali in about forty-five minutes, crossing the river and climbing the far slope. It is steep at the end.
- The walk back down is easier and is a good way to finish an afternoon.
- The lanes inside the village are walked in every case; there is no other way through them.
The baths
- The public tanks are free and are entered directly from the temple courtyard.
- There are also paid private bath rooms nearby, run separately, if the public tank is not for you.
- Bring a towel and something to change into. Facilities at the public tanks are basic.
Best Time
When to visit
Early morning, in any season, and particularly in winter when the contrast between the air and the water is the point.
Time of day
- First thing, when the village is going about its morning and the tanks are used by the people who live here.
- Late afternoon works, with the light on the valley and the cafés open.
- The middle of the day in season is when the coaches come through, and the village is small enough to feel it.
Time of year
- Winter is the best time for the springs, when the air is near freezing and the water is not. It is also the quietest.
- April to June is the main season and the busiest; the village absorbs it less well than Solang does.
- The monsoon makes the walk to Jogini Falls slippery and the falls themselves much fuller.
How long
- An hour covers the temple, the tanks and a walk through the lanes.
- Two hours if you bathe, which most visitors do not and probably should.
- Add ninety minutes for Jogini Falls and back.
Visitor Intelligence
Visitor intelligence
A village bath house rather than a wellness facility, and the difference is the whole experience.
Using the baths
- The public tanks are free, communal and separated by sex. They are used by villagers all day and visitors are entirely welcome in them.
- Modest bathing dress is expected — most Indian bathers go in wearing shorts and a t-shirt, and following that is the easy choice.
- The water is hot enough to need easing into and strongly sulphurous. The smell stays on skin and hair for a while.
The temple
- Footwear off, shoulders and knees covered, and no photography inside the shrine.
- The carving on the exterior is the thing to look at and needs no permission at all.
- It is far quieter than Hadimba Devi and rewards a slower look for exactly that reason.
Practicalities
- Towel, a change of clothes and a bag you do not mind putting down on wet stone.
- Valuables are your own responsibility at the public tanks; take as little as possible.
- The lanes are stone, uneven and slippery when wet, which in Vashisht is often.
Access
- The village is built on a slope and every route through it involves steps and gradient. It is not an easy visit for anyone unsteady.
- The temple courtyard and the tanks are reached by a short but definite climb from where vehicles stop.
- There is no step-free route to any part of the site.
Nearby
Nearby
The rest of the standard Manali day, all within twenty minutes.
Hadimba Devi Temple
Across the river and up — the 1553 pagoda in its deodar grove.
Solang Valley
Ten kilometres further up the valley, and usually visited before this on the way back.
Manali
Three kilometres across the Beas — the town at the head of the Kullu valley.
Old Manali
On the same side of the valley — orchards, old houses and the quieter half of the town.
Good to Know
Frequently asked
Yes. The stone tanks beside the temple are public, free and open to everyone, with separate enclosures for men and women, and they are used continuously by the people who live in the village. Modest bathing dress is expected — most Indian bathers go in wearing shorts and a t-shirt and copying that is the simplest approach. Bring a towel and a change of clothes; the facilities are basic because it is a village bath house rather than a spa.
It is naturally heated sulphur water coming straight out of the hillside, and it is hot enough that most people ease in rather than step in. The sulphur is unmistakable by smell and it stays on skin and hair for some hours afterwards, which is worth knowing before you bathe on a day you are travelling. There are also paid private bath rooms run separately nearby if the communal tank is not for you.
It is three kilometres and about two centuries away. Manali is a hill-station town with a Mall road; Vashisht is an old village on a slope — narrow stone lanes, timber-and-stone houses, slate roofs, wood stacked for winter — with a carved deodar temple in the middle of it. The upper end of the village has become a traveller quarter of cafés and guesthouses over the last few decades, but the lower lanes and the bathing tanks are essentially unchanged.
An hour covers the temple, the tanks and a walk through the lanes without hurrying. Two hours if you actually bathe, which surprisingly few visitors do and which is the reason most people come. Add about ninety minutes if you want to walk up to Jogini Falls above the village, which takes roughly forty-five minutes each way through orchards and pine and which very few visitors have heard of.
Not really, and it is worth being straightforward about it. The village is built on a slope, vehicles stop at the entrance, and every route to the temple and the tanks involves a climb and a series of uneven stone steps. The lanes are narrow, frequently wet and slippery. There is no step-free route to any part of the site, so for anyone unsteady on their feet the honest answer is that Hadimba Devi is the better use of the same morning.
Early morning in any season, when the village is going about its own business and the tanks are in use by the people who live there. Winter is the best time for the springs themselves — near-freezing air and hot water is the whole point, and it is the quietest part of the year. April to June is the main season and the village, being small, feels the crowds more than Solang does. The monsoon makes the lanes slippery and the falls above much fuller.
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