Sep 3, 20214 min read

I left a piece of my ❤️in Asheville

There is a thing called addiction - it keeps you going and one of the many things that I enjoy from my heart is planning a trip. I love the rush that it gives me when I am looking for deals for flights, hotels, Airbnbs, sightseeing. The build-up is very exciting ... it’s almost like an addiction.

To nurture that feeling, we took a short but interesting trip for the spring break of 2021. After going through tons of options within a drivable distance(since Mr. Covid hasn’t departed yet and we weren’t ready to fly) Asheville, NC was picked. I had heard many good things about the Carolinas and always wanted to explore Asheville... the name itself is so whimsical. We enjoy our road trips and little detours to enjoy scenic points is my absolute favorite.

Asheville is beautifully located between the Blue Ridge mountains and offers plenty of hikes to the beautiful views and waterfalls. It’s also known for its vibrant arts scene and historic architecture, including the dome-topped Basilica of Saint Lawrence. Therefore to cover a few famous trails in Ashville was a perfect plan to kick off the hiking season for the year. The weather however was a bit colder with high winds during our days in Asheville but we made the most of it.

Where to stay !

Asheville offers plenty of hotel options as well as beautiful cabins in the woods. So depending on your choice finding accommodation is not hard but the harder part is booking well ahead of time. Since Asheville offers something for every age group it’s a perfect spot for reunions and family getaways. About the location, you may pick between Weaverville or downtown since they are the main centers and are about 20 mins from each other. The mountains are much closer to Weaverville but all the action happens near the downtown.

We decided to stay in a cute Airbnb in Weaverville with a hot tub cause why not :)

Things to do!

Ashville is for outdoors but it is also known for Biltmore Estates. They say that a trip to Asheville is incomplete without touring the Biltmore and they are right. Such a magnificent palace built by George Vanderbilt spread across 8000 acres with a beautiful history to go with. Biltmore Estate needs a ticket and reservation and that sells out fast. The ticket is expensive but you can spend between 4 to 6hrs of your day. The ticket includes the visit to the Biltmore Estate (tour of the home of the George Vanderbilt), winery region including wine tasting, access to the garden and village. It was an educative trip for the young travelers and they definitely got a kick out of the view of a hulk size house that was already on steroids. We learned that the family lived there till the 1950s and the house is currently appraised at $37 million, while the land on which it sits is valued at $64 million.

Moore Cove - waterfalls have a special place in my heart and it jumps like a kid in the candy store when I see one. So my first-day excursion was to check out the Moore Cove waterfall near Mt Pisgah national forest. You can reach the fall after a mile hike and a nice water stream flowing alongside through the entire hike was an absolute delight. It is one of the falls where you can go behind the flowing water from the edge of the mountain and makes it look like a veil to see through. It was a very beautiful and rewarding view.

Looking Glass waterfall - An easy hike and gives an excellent view of another waterfall called Looking Glass after taking 50 steps down to the foot of the falls.

Chimney Rock State Park - One of those must-visit attractions that are presented to you every time you drive on route 81S. CRSP is a cool natural formation of rocks that looks like a chimney hole and has been made easily accessible through elevators, stairs, and untouched hikes. It’s a good bucket list item to check off and allows to soak in the 320-degree view and take beautiful pictures from the top of the rock. There is a ticket needed per car to enter the state park.

Laurel Loop - This little hike allows the hikers to view the chimney rock from the bottom and ends in a small waterfall.

What surprised me!

IMPO the best thing that surprised me in Asheville was the FOOD. The city has an amazing food scene to enjoy at every meal but the vegetarian-friendly option was a very very pleasant surprise for me :) ( Clearly, you can tell that I don’t eat meat ) here is the list of the places to try -

Chai Pani - amazing Indian cuisine with limited but fusion options in the flat iron district, takeaway only, must try is - fried okra!

Sunny Point Cafe - This place had an amazing hipster vibe serving Bloody Mary’s and mimosas in the open seating garden-like arrangement. The food options were delicious and very appealing to the eyes.

White Duck taco shop - A warehouse of tacos. This taco place was huge and serving tacos and Margaritas. A variety of tacos inspired from every part of the world - Korean, Jamaican, Thai :) I think they need to have an Indian-inspired option .. just saying. Here is the menu to tempt you a little more.

Biscuit Head - Another highly recommend place which was worth the wait of 30-40 mins. A restaurant that specializes in biscuits, gravy, and 50 different types of jellies to go with it :) The vegetarian gravy was to die for and was an amazing find for me :)

Red Ginger Dimsum & Tapas - Must try with many many vegetarian friendly options to choose from.

Nani chicken - It’s a small fried chicken place. Cannot speak about the taste but I heard it was damn good.

Baba Nahm- Authentic Persian cuisine street food style, take away only.
Early girl eatery - Nice place in downtown to chill and enjoy a nice hot meal.

What made this trip interesting was a little accident while hiking on chimney rock and I had to cut short my hiking plans. Thankfully was not too bad but it gave me a reason to come back to Asheville to discover more hikes and relish more food ❤️ (and also to collect my missing piece of heart ... ) phew this FOMO is real 🤓