How to Get There
Sethan is just a 45-minute drive from Manali, tucked away past Prini and Hamta. You’ll need your own car or a local cab, no buses come here. The road winds up and gets narrower toward the end, but it’s motorable all the way, even in winter if the snow isn’t too wild.

What to Expect
This tiny Himalayan village surprised me. I came expecting calm, which I got, but there was also a whole lot more happening, kids throwing snowballs, families posing mid-zipline, and people genuinely losing it over their first snowfall. There are proper winter activities here now, snowboarding, skiing, tubing, snow trekking, and even gear rentals, which I didn’t expect from such a quiet place. You’ll find cozy wooden cabins, cafés with bukhari heaters, and snow thick enough to swallow your ankles if you step off-trail.

For the Curious
It’s a Buddhist hamlet, the people here are originally from Tibet and Lahaul. Some of them still speak a dialect that’s nearly faded out. I tried asking an old man about it, but he just smiled, pointed to the mountains, and said something I didn’t understand, but felt anyway.

Good to Know
No ATMs. No networks that work reliably. In winter, the village can be cut off for days. But that’s kind of the point. If you're into snowboarding or skiing, Sethan’s backcountry slopes are slowly becoming a secret among people who don’t like lift passes and queues.