First Manali road trip: Sethan

Aman, Kashish and an unexpected friendship at the start of the mountains.

In late April 2026, Aman and Kashish took me towards Sethan and the beginning of the Hampta route. Kashish, a CA who first entered the story as our ride to Manali, quickly became a friend and helped turn the journey into something much larger.

It came one day after the minus-ten cold of Shinku La. A stranger made one of the portraits and pointed out another route towards Bijli Mahadev, adding one more possibility to an already expansive first trip.