A solo expedition to Tosh

Hi, Reader. The pictures you see are from my very recent solo trip to Tosh — a remote village in Himachal Pradesh, tucked away at the far end of the Parvati Valley.

The village was so remote that you couldn’t trace as much as a cycle there. It was too peaceful. Too calm. Unrushed. Life moved differently. Everyone worked at their own pace, in their own way. Porters walked up and down the mountains so effortlessly, while I had to stop every five minutes just to catch my breath. The kids ran around like little Sherpas, playing with tyres and handkerchiefs, completely unbothered by the –6°C outside, while I stood there freezing like a popsicle.

It was a small village, and I kept roaming around, soaking in the scenic, almost dreamlike views. My days were spent eating aloo parathas and Maggi at tiny, cosy cafes filled with the warmth of locals and tourists alike. At the accommodation, I met a lot of people. We brewed conversations, had pancakes and the famous lemon-ginger-honey tea, played games in the common room, and shared stories without knowing each other’s last names.

I also went trekking to a waterfall and sat there for a long time — listening to music, painting, doing absolutely nothing and everything at once. Time slipped by while I played with the cutest mountain dogs (I’m a die-hard dog person). I felt absolutely no restriction or obligation to anything or anyone.

But what struck me the most, towards the end of the trip, was that I did everything at my own pace. No one rushing me. No one influencing my choices. No need to adjust, accommodate, or explain. Just me, deciding what the day would look like.

I enjoyed being by myself. I felt free. I felt closer to myself than I had in a long time.

Somewhere in the rhythm of everyday work — doing one thing after another, ticking tasks off to-do lists, following up and implementing — we forget to pause. We forget to stop and sit with ourselves for a while. To introspect and reflect. To see how far we’ve come.

Being with myself helped me recalibrate. It made me feel closer to life and its experiences.

If you’ve come this far reading this, I just want to tell you one thing: do something for yourself. Treat yourself. Give yourself the leeway to retreat and deliberately step away from the constant rushing.

Sometimes, slowing down is exactly what brings us back home.