Trek Himachal

Silhabdhani

District Mandi, Himachal Pradesh

Position – N31 56.628 E76 56.835

Altitude – 2110 metres

Part of Treks:

1. The Bhang Trek

If I was allowed to rename Silhabdhani, I would rename it as The Silhabdhani Bhang & Charas Producers Co-operative society. The sheer amount of Bhang cultivation in the area is mind boggling. There are times you will see a few plants whichever way you turn. The only direction you can stare at and be sure you wont see a Bhang plant would be skywards. And if you happen to see the bhang plants on a sunny morning, you will see human forms rubbing the leaves to extract the much wanted Charas.

Bhang was such an overpowering dimension of Silhabdhani when I visited that it is easy to forget to talk about anything else. Silhabdhani, strangely, is not a village. It is a collection of villages which have individual names, of which I am not aware. The first of these is connected to a road, which branches from the Ghatasani – Barot road. The road has been cut out from the erstwhile mule trail to Kullu. Apart from Bhang, there is plenty of good radish, potato and rajmah cultivated in the area. There is an old Forest Rest House here as well, again from the British times.

The forest around the village is also supposed to be rich in wild life since it is a protected area. However, it is difficult to see any wild life or traces of any at all. Rumour has it that the people of the area are every-tarians and have feasted on most of the wildlife. I would guess whatever remains would be too scared to come in the way of humans.

Located at the higher end of Chohar valley, the villages offer a beautiful view of the valley on a clear day. You can see range after range of hills with the stream snaking between them to infinity. Sitting on a higher plane from the village, the orange hues of the sunsets are a must watch. While I do not have a concrete reason to say so, I have reason to believe the area is not completely safe for outsiders. So, if you are travelling in the area, better travel in a small group and do not reveal information about your camping sites etc. The idea is not to bias you against visiting this area for that will mean missing a lot. Do not in any way miss any interaction with locals but do not get too trusty.

You wont find any guest houses in the area except the Forest Rest House. So either stay there or camp in the open. I would suggest the latter to enjoy the surroundings. If you want to see the Bhang economy at work, visit the villages between September and October. Be sensitive to the Bhang rubbing activity, it is not legal and any obvious intervention, observation or photography is not appreciated by the locals.

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