Why Your Himalayan Trip Should Begin at a Hostel
Five reasons the common room beats the hotel lobby — every time. The people, the price, the place knowledge, the parties, and the philosophy.
June 15, 2023 · 6 min read
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Stories from the Mountains
Dispatches, guides & tales from the Himalayas
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Field Notes from the Himalayas
Staying in a Geodesic Dome at Jispa: A Himalayan Escape Like No Other
Experience the last frontier of Lahaul under the Milky Way. Our geodesic domes in Jispa offer a blend of raw adventure and luxury comfort at 10,500 feet — the Bhaga River as your white noise.
May 22, 2023 · 7 min read
Travel Smarter: How Technology is Changing the Backpacking Experience
The way we wander is evolving. Discover how digital tools are making long-term mountain stays more seamless and accessible for the modern traveler who refuses to choose between connectivity and altitude.
April 10, 2023 · 6 min read
The Old Manali Neighborhood Guide: Where to Eat, Stay & Wander
Old Manali is a different world from the main town. Cafe-lined lanes, apple orchards, and the kind of easy mornings that make three-day trips stretch into three weeks.
March 5, 2023 · 8 min read
First Timer's Guide to Kasol and Kheerganga
The Parvati Valley trail network starts in Kasol and goes as deep as you're willing to walk. Here's how to approach your first time — and why it will not be your last.
February 18, 2023 · 5 min read
Winter in Lahaul: What Jispa Looks Like When the Pass Closes
When the Rohtang closes in November, Lahaul enters a different season. The road empties, the snow arrives, and Jispa becomes one of the most beautiful places in the subcontinent.
January 8, 2023 · 6 min read
Exploring Malana: The Village That Lives by Its Own Rules
Tucked into a side valley above the Parvati, Malana is unlike any village in India. Ancient laws, an autonomous democracy older than Athens, and a landscape that stops you mid-sentence — this is the Himalaya at its most unfiltered.
February 15, 2024 · 9 min read
We've Accepted Cryptocurrency Since 2020 — Here's Why It Changed Everything
When the world locked down in 2020, we made a quiet decision that turned out to be a loud statement: The YOLO Collective would accept cryptocurrency for all bookings. Four years on, it's one of the best calls we've ever made.
January 20, 2024 · 7 min read
When Should You Go? The Complete Himalayan Season Guide
Every season in the Indian Himalayas offers something different — and something irreplaceable. Snow domes in January, wildflower meadows in June, golden trails in October. The wrong time doesn't exist. Only the right reason.
December 10, 2023 · 8 min read
The Slow Traveler's Guide to Spiti Valley
Spiti is not a destination you visit quickly. The altitude alone demands patience. But the valley rewards the unhurried — fossil beds, sky-high monasteries, and the particular silence of a place that has resisted the modern world without trying.
November 5, 2023 · 10 min read
Working from the Mountains: An Honest Digital Nomad Review of Old Manali
The fantasy is real — but only if you set it up properly. Old Manali in 2024 is a functioning remote work destination, not just an Instagram backdrop. Here is what actually works, what doesn't, and how YOLO Social fits into the picture.
October 12, 2023 · 7 min read
What the Himalayan Forest Taught Us About Food: A Forager's Journal
The Indian Himalayas are not just a landscape — they are a larder. Nettles that make better soup than anything in a supermarket, wild garlic that perfumes entire hillsides, herbs that Ayurvedic traditions have relied on for three thousand years.
September 8, 2023 · 6 min read
The Dark Sky Index: A Complete Guide to Stargazing in Jispa and Lahaul
At 10,500 feet, the atmosphere is thinner, the light pollution is effectively zero, and the Milky Way is not a smudge on the horizon — it is an arch of cold fire that spans the entire sky. Lahaul is one of the finest dark sky destinations in Asia.
August 22, 2023 · 8 min read
Storm the Peaks
Crossing Khardung La, riding into the Nubra Valley, and finding Bactrian camels where the Silk Road used to run. A dispatch from the highest motorable road on Earth.
March 9, 2025 · 7 min read
No Filter: What the Sky Looks Like From Jispa at 3,200m
No city glow. No Instagram preset needed. At YOLO Outdoors in Jispa, Lahaul, the Milky Way is visible with the naked eye — and it's more overwhelming than any photo you've seen.
March 10, 2026 · 6 min read
Jispa After Dark (and Before): Everything to Do Around YOLO Outdoors
From Shinku La Pass to Ranglung Gompa to falling asleep under 8,000 stars — here's the honest guide to what you can actually do around Jispa, Lahaul.
March 5, 2026 · 7 min read
We Turned Our Phones Off at 9pm and the Sky Did the Rest
A night at YOLO Outdoors Jispa, 3,200m in Lahaul, with no screens, no schedules, and more stars than you've ever seen. An honest account of what happens when the light pollution ends.
February 28, 2026 · 6 min read
Himachal Pradesh Travel Guide 2025 – Best Places to Visit, Hidden Gems & Adventures
From colonial Shimla to the cold desert of Spiti, from backpacker Kasol to the silent valleys of Jispa — the complete guide to Himachal Pradesh's best destinations, adventures, and practical travel tips.
March 28, 2026 · 15 min read