Malana

What it is

A village on a shelf high up its own side gorge, reached by a road of hairpins from Jari and then an hour's climb on foot. Malana has kept its own council, its own customs and its own distance from the valley below for as long as anyone has written about it. The temple at the centre may be looked at and not touched; the houses are not entered; the path is where a visitor stays. A fine is charged for breaking the rules, and it is collected. It is a day out for people who can accept those terms, and not for anyone who cannot.

Getting there

From Kasol, 19 minutes down the valley to Jari, then up the Malana road — hairpins cut into the gorge, a dam below — to the road-end about 43 minutes and 20 km from Kasol. A taxi is typically ₹1,200–2,000 one way as of September 2026 and waits; there is no bus beyond Jari. From the road-end the path climbs for about an hour, steep with steps, to the arch at the village edge.

The day

Up in the morning, an hour in the village on the path and at the places you are shown, tea at one of the stalls the village runs for visitors, and down by early afternoon. The Malana day plan has the timings. Say nothing about what the village is famous for outside the valley; it is not why we send anyone here, and the police act on it.

When to go

March to June and September to November; the path is steep in mud and dangerous in snow. The village holds its own festivals and closes to visitors for them without notice — the taxi drivers at Kasol know the dates.

Around it

Jari at the bottom of the road; Kasol and Chalal down the valley; Rasol over the ridge by a high path that is a guided day. The Chandrakhani pass above the village is the trekkers' way over to Naggar, on our treks pages.

Plans that include this

All 1 plans that stop here →

Day plan · First visitTemples & heritage

Malana from Kasol — a day out to the village with its own rules, and how to behave there

A one-day plan from Kasol to Malana: taxi via Jari to the road-end, an hour's climb to the village, how to behave there, and back to the river by afternoon.

Best Mar–Jun · Sep–Nov

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