Parvati Valley is a Himalayan valley situated in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. From the confluence of the Parvati River with the River Beas, the valley runs eastwards, through a steep-sided valley from the town of Bhuntar, in the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh in Northern India.

Overview

thumb|Nakthan Village on the Parvati valley

thumb|Rudra-Nag waterfall – the sacred and spiritual site

thumb|Tunda Bhuj village (3285m) has this beautiful and open meadow

thumb|Thakur Kuan village (3560m) – a wire bridge crossing the Parvati River

thumb|Pandupul natural rock bridge

The precipitous valley road climbs past a side valley leading to the village of Malana near the famous tourist spot Kasol. From here, the road passes through the Sikh and Hindu pilgrimage town of Manikaran and terminates at Pulga, where the construction of the Parvati Hydel Project, a hydroelectric dam, dominates the landscape. From Pulga, the footpath climbs to a temple and small dhaba at Rudra-Nag waterfall, apparently after its resemblance of a water snake. Beyond Rudra-Nag waterfall, the trail ascends further through thick pine forests to the spiritual site of Kheerganga where Shiva is said to have meditated for 3000 years. The hot springs at Kheerganga are extremely important for Hindu and Sikh pilgrims as well as many others who believe the waters have sacred healing properties.

From Kheerganga to the site of Tunda Bhuj village (3285m) the Parvati Valley cuts a steep-sided gorge through the mountains and as the altitude increases, the thick, coniferous forest gradually makes way for patches of meadowland scattered with boulders. dozens of tourists have mysteriously disappeared in the Parvati Valley.

As Rustad writes "...the Parvati Valley has earned its own nicknames: the Valley of shadows, the Valley of Death. It is a place where every movement exists on a knife edge, where a wrong turn tips a vehicle over an unbarriered cliff edge, a wrong step pitches a traveler into the churning maelstrom of the river, a wrong turn sends a hiker to ranges unknown. Since the early 1990s, dozens of international backpackers have vanished without a trace while traveling in and around the Parvati Valley, an average of one every year, earning this tiny, remote sliver of the subcontinent a dark reputation as India's backpacker Bermuda Triangle. Though the circumstances of each disappearance are different—the tourist's country of origin; villages visited or paths walked; last known location—yet eerily similar. All feature a spirited backpacker seeking an off-the-beaten-track adventure, a collection of anecdotes from fellow travelers relating the backpacker's final days, a family's anguished search, and thousands of unanswered questions."

Some of the high-profile disappearances include 2016's Justin Shetler of the United States, 2015's Bruno Muschalik of Poland, 2000's disappearance of Alexei Ivanov, 1999's Maarten de Bruijn of Rotterdam, 1997's Ardavan Taherzadeh of Canada, 1996's Ian Mogford of Britain, and 1992's disappearance of Odette Houghton of Australia and Marianne Heer of Switzerland. In July 2000, months after Alexei Ivanov's disappearance, two German backpackers — Jorge Weihrauch and Adrian Mayer-Tasch — were shot as they slept in their tents; Jorge was killed while Adrian escaped with 4 shotgun wounds to the leg. One month later, British civil engineer, Martin Young, his Spanish girlfriend, Maria Girones, and her son, Cristobal, were beaten while they slept in their tent with only Martin surviving. Roughly a year later, a skeleton wrapped in its sleeping bag was identified as a missing Israeli military pilot, Nadav Mintzer, whose passport had quietly been offered for sale in the markets of Manali. A 1998 article from The Tribune reported that 33 foreigners had died between 1991 and 1998 in the Kulu district.

Also John Dignam, a 27 year old Londoner, disappeared in May 1982, never to be found.

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Upper Parvati Valley.jpg|The upper Parvati Valley

The Majestically beautiful Parvati Valley, Himachal Pradesh.jpg| A view of Parvati River from the Kasol Town with the Mighty Himalayas in the vicinity

<!-- File:South Parvati Peak.jpg.JPG|The South Parvati Peak from the base camp of the Pin-Parvati Pass -->

Water stream in Kasol Parvati Valley.jpg|Parvati valley at Kasol

Parvati Valley.jpg|View of Parvati Valley

Human vs nature.jpg|Wheat cultivation at Pulga village

The Fast Flowing Parvati River on the banks of Kasol, Himachal Pradesh.jpg| The waters can be freezing even during the early summer and only near a hot spring do the locals take baths

Kasol village.jpg|View of Parvati Valley

Kheer Ganga.jpg|Forests of Kheer Ganga

</gallery>

References

  • (second edition)