No more stoners: Malana restricts tourist entry and sale of cannabis

A trip to Kasol makes a lot of travellers feel excited as the idea of trekking in Himachal to Malana and scoring some hash has been a top agenda for many, not confessed of course. After all, chilling in this quaint village after a couple of smokes, and enjoying stunning views of the Parvati Valley comes across as the perfect holiday idea for many. But there might be a probable end to it now.

According to the reports, an oracle chosen by the villagers to communicate with the local deity, Jamlu, has ordered the residents of Malana to shut down all the guest houses and restaurants in the village as a move to restrict the entry of travellers.

The village receives hundreds of travellers every year who come here from all parts of the world in order to lose themselves to the mystery of Malana’s folklore and for the pleasures of Malana Cream, a name given to the locally-produced cannabis in the village, which has also earned its fame for being among the finest qualities in the world.
But now, after their recent communion with the local deity, Malana’s residents have decided to stop hosting travellers and also ban the sale of the said of cannabis. The villagers believe that by doing this, they will protect the local culture and traditions. As far as Malana’s age old beliefs are concerned, the villagers abstain from eating, staying, or marrying outside their own community.


As per the media reports, Malana panchayat head Bhagi Ram told, “The deity did not want any of the villagers to rent out their property for running guest houses and restaurants. Those violating his orders will have to bear the brunt of his curse”.

Although the restriction on holidaying in Malana village has come across as a shocker, the some of the villagers have been doing things over the last few months that can also be called a build-up. Some time back, the village parliament implemented a ban on photography within the village premises. This is because they believe that these photographs have been portraying Malana as a narco-tourism hub.


Often referred to as ‘mini-Israel’ due to the influx of tourists from the country to this place every year, Malana has as much as 593 acres of land where cannabis is cultivated. In the last year alone, the village is said to have produced a total of 12,000 kg!

Seems like your love for Malana would be limited to just that, nothing less nothing more.