Bear and charas on Fungani Top trek in Manali

A view of Kullu valley from a meadow along the Fungani Top

Missing bumping into a bear by few minutes and stumbling upon secret cannabis fields while trekking up the Fungani mountain near Manali….

If you want to do an unexplored trek near Manali then you should do the Fungani Top trek.

The trek starts near Raison village and ends at the sacred place of Fungani deity, located at an altitude of around 3700 meters.

Many surprises were in store for us when we went up the Fungani mountain last month in September, 2024.

Kufri meadow

On the first day, we first reached Jalhora village, the trek starting point. Jalhora is around 15 kms from Raison, which is situated along the Beas river on the Kullu-Manali highway. From Jalhora, we did a trek of an hour in a pine forest to reach Kufri. Kufri is a beautiful meadow where you can set your base camp. We stayed here for the night in an old house.

Maleeng Top

A view of the mountains from the Maleeng mountain top near Manali.

Next morning we started early.

It was all misty even in the last week of September as we crossed an enchanting forest. On our way, we saw so many rocks scattered at one place in the misty forest and trees struck by lightning. Almost gave us that other-worldly feeling.

After trekking for around two hours, we reached this beautiful meadow called Maleeng. From here, you get awesome views of the mountains including Deo Tibba peak and the adjoining Indrasan peak.

After crossing the Maleeng meadows, we entered another forest. Here we found something I had actually not expected. A black bear poo. It was a sign that a bear was here just before us. We kept walking, hoping we don’t meet our friend.

A bear poo on the route to Fungani Top trek.

A little ahead, we saw something else that proved beyond any doubt that a bear is wandering along our route.

A freshly looted beehive. I had heard about bears stealing honey in the forests. But this was the first time I was witnessing it.

This put us on alert. Our grizzly friend was relishing the stolen honey nearby.

A freshly-looted bee hive by a bear on way to Fungani Tilla.

As we moved up, we stumbled upon a secret cannabis field. The crop was ripe and charas season about to begin. Soon, folks would come here and extract charas from these plants.

A secret cannabis field, hidden away from the eyes of the cops.

Fungani Top

At the top of the misty Fungani mountain in Kullu

After leaving the secret fields and crossing this forest, we came upon large meadows, as if stacked upon each other till the mountain top. From here onwards, the climb was quite steep. Another couple of hours and we would be there.

We were about to reach the top and guess who we met here? A couple of goats. They surely were surprised to see the strangers here.

We kept climbing in the mist. The views of the surrounding mountains from here are amazing but today the mist had blocked everything. As we moved up, we came upon an amazing site. Tens of rocks buried on the side of the mountain at such an altitude. “Looks like, work of the aliens,” quipped my friend, walking ahead of me.

Finally, we could see the sacred site of Fungani deity. At last, we were here, after a climb of almost seven hours.

We spent some time here, waiting for the mist to clear up. But that didn’t happen. And it was time to go back. On our way down, we were in a hurry and wanted to cross the forests and reach the basecamp in Kufri before sundown. You know why.