Prashar Lake Day Tour

Prashar Lake trek is one of the most beautiful weekend treks. Since it provides breath-taking panoramic views of various Himalayan ranges, it makes this trek stand out from the rest. One can clearly see Dhauladhar range, mountain ranges of Kinnaur and Shimla from the top. Prashar Lake is named after the sage Prashar who meditated here in ancient times.

Dedicated to sage Prashar, there is also a temple besides the oval shaped lake. Temple is a great example of brilliant architectural design. Prashar Lake is also famous for a small circular island on its surface, which keeps on changing location from time to time. According to locals, sometimes they have seen same location of island for months in a row and sometimes it suddenly changes many times within a month. Therefore, there is a mystery surrounded with movement of island. In addition, depth of the lake is unknown. As per belief of locals, there have been many attempts to gauge the depth since ancient times but to no avail. Post 2000, temple committee has put fencing around the periphery of the lake.

Short description of Prashar Lake Day Tour

Day 1: Mandi – Baggi – Kandalu by shared cabs (1.5 hours) and trek from Kandalu to Prashar Lake (7 kms or 5 hours)
We arrange pickup from Mandi bus stand at 8 AM. From Mandi, it is a 1.5 hours’ drive until Kandalu village. It is located at 45 kms from Mandi. On the way we pass besides IIT Mandi at Kamand, then Baggi, which is another starting point for this trek and finally to Kandalu.

Kandalu at an altitude of 1900 metres is a small point with couple of cafes. Trek starts by 10 AM and it generally takes around 4-6 hours to reach lake. First half of the trek is a bit steep and moves through the forest, which is rich with Pine, Oaks, Rhododendrons trees and few shurbs. During winters i.e. from January to mid of March, Rhododendrons are in full bloom with red coloured flowers.

After walking through forest trail of four kms, trail inclination turns gradual. Post that, views start to open up and one starts to get the sight of snow-capped Himalayan ranges with Shimla towards the east, Kinnaur and Rohtang Pass to the north and Dhauladhar range towards the west. We ascend until an altitude of 2700 metres after which it is mostly flat. Last 2 kms of the trek until Prashar Lake is the easiest.

Sight of awe-inspiring Prashar Lake with mysterious island surely removes all the tiredness of trek. Prashar Lake is located at an altitude of 2750 metres above sea level.

Interested people can visit the temple or stroll near the lake. As per belief of locals, one must take a walk around the lake in clockwise manner.
Prashar Rishi temple during winters

We provide stay in tents on twin/triple sharing basis.
Please note that if you reach late at Mandi on Day 1, i.e. beyond buffer time of 1 hour, you will have to reach base on your own expenses. However, we will assist you fully in booking of cabs.

Day 2: Jaun to Taacharu (11318 ft) Trek from Prashar Lake to Kandalu (7 kms or 4 hours) and drive of 45 kms from Kandalu to Mandi (1.5 hours)
Day starts with tea at 6:30 AM. It is worth the efforts to wake up during dawn time at Prashar as it generally provides beautiful views of all the peaks. If time and weather permits, our trek lead provides a brief session of Yoga and meditation with majestic views in backdrop.

After that, Trek Lead gives a demo on tent pitching, choosing a campsite in case one needs to trek solo in future, packing and unpacking the tents, how to pack sleeping bags etc. Trek starts by 10:30 AM from Prashar Lake towards Kandalu village. We choose the same route as we used on previous day while ascending. This is a comparatively easier day as we descend 975 metres through dense forest. It is hike of 7 kms that can take 3-4 hours.

Post the trek, we move in pre-arranged cabs from Kandalu village towards Mandi bus stand. A final briefing, and thanks note mark the end of this 2-days refreshing journey.