Hiking

Awesome weekend trek and kojagiri celebration at Rajgad fort. This time we had trek with friends as well as spouses and kids.

This is the first time, we were taking our kids for the trekking with overnight camping. Hence selected the easier route (than the one we take regularly) to climb i.e. from Pali darwaja. All the 4 kids managed to hike it well without any trouble to their parents.

Kids (Mrunmayee Masurkar - 7 yrs, Atharva Kolhe - 6 yrs, Siddhiksha Nimbalkar - 5 yrs and Shlok Kolhe - 3 yrs) enjoyed the trek, camping in tents, morning fun and food as well.

Dinner menu (Veg sweet corn soup with papad, methi paratha and khichadi) was awesome and we let Viraj and Bhagyashree handle the cooking fortress while we remain in supporting role. Post dinner, kids (except Mru) went to sleep quickly. We played card games for an hour and then enjoyed the badam keshar milk, special menu for Kojagiri Pournima

Har Ki Dun Valley is a cradle shaped hanging valley in the Garhwal Himalayas. It is surrounded by snow-covered peaks and alpine vegetation. It is connected to Baspa Valley by the Borasu Pass This valley is at an altitude of approx 3500 m above mean sea level and is snow-covered during October to March.

The valley is around 25 km from Taluka. The trek to the valley starts from Taluka village and passes through Gangaad, Osala, and Seema. It is a 2-day trek usually done in two stages. First stage is from Taluka to Seema/Osla, and second stage is from Seema/Osla to Har Ki Dun. Return route is the same. It is also possible to complete return journey in a single day, however it can physically demanding. There is a shop and a small restaurant at Taluka, where trekkers can buy eatables like biscuits and wafers etc.

Authors Take:

Har ki Dun also refereed as Tons valley by British who discovered its route back in the 19th century was my first Himalayan Trek. It is a popular Beginners trek for the Himalayan trekkers. The valley of Har-Ki-Dun falls in the Western Garwal Himalayas bordering Himachal Pradesh. The trek is a wonder in itself with lust greenery, ice caped legendry peaks, vibrancy of colors all around with flowers blooming and serenity of the mind, glancing at the views, snowy mountains, peaks, dense forest, waterfalls, bugyals (high altitude meadows), wildlife and rare Himalayan birds.

You can view the majestic peaks of Swargarohni, Bandarpoonch and Kala Nag from a close range. For ages, the land has been known for temples and shrines with sacred mythological attachments, Duryodhna, the eldest of Kaurvas, is worshipped here, This trek route is virtually a paradise for the botanists, bird watchers, photographers, nature lovers, foot loose trekkers and anyone interested in exploring and learning in an unconventional way, in short, the more you trek in this area, the more curious you get to know more which has not yet been written and only found in tales and lories.

A single route trek, you go up and come down from the same trail and an all year round trek too…U can hop on for an adventure anytime of the year …Summers or winters always open for you to visit. The purpose of the trek is to expose the great adventure and to rough out the rigors of plodding through snow with a sense of love for nature and outdoor recreational activity. So trek, explore, learn and excite others who listen to your pep talk.

I have learned a lot on this journey of Himalayan Trek…there is still lots to learn & explore in life….These following lines by Edmond Hillary which he wrote after failing twice (looking at Mt. Everest.) inspires me:

“I’ll come again & conquer you… because, as a mountain you cannot grow… But as a Human I can…”

Thank you Mountains for teaching the best lessons of life…be bold, be thoughtful yet beautiful….!!

About Author:

Hi I am Shila Kunji, Architect by profession. I am passionate about Traveling, photography, gardening, reading. I love doing it. I am very passionate about trekking too… I am a life member of youth hostel association of India & I most go trekking with them.

Hampta Pass is a beginners delight in every possible way, be it easy accessibility, mystical pine forest, mesmerizing meadows, adrenaline pumping river crossings and a high altitude mountain pass. It is named after the Hampta village situated in there; shepherds and villagers used the pass to enter in Lahaul Spiti valley of Himachal. This has been traditionally the alternate route between Lahaul and Kullu Valley before the road was built over Rohtang Pass.

Day1: The trail for the trek began once we crossed the hydel power project buildings. We started walking through the magical pine forest. After some time, with a mild gradient we ascended a wooden bridge to cross a beautiful sparkling fresh water stream. It was a beautiful location for photography. We had a Photography / Lunch break on the banks of the stream. We could not wait to grab the opportunity to capture the beauty of the location in our camera. We walked further along the banks of the river for about couple hours to reach Chikka (Camp site). The location of the camp site was right at the middle of a riverbed of two streams flowing along side. We could hear the burble of stream the whole night. I would like to introduce our team here. We are independent small group of people from different parts of the country; began as strangers and befriended by end of the trek. Day2: The weather was pleasantly cold since it was summer (June end). Moreover, we got acclimatized during the base camp too. After a nice nap in the lap of Mother Nature, we began to ascend to our next destination Balu Ka Gera (Balu ka Gera means heap of sand) which is about 4-5 hours gradual ascent from Chikka. We played dump charades and had good fun; almost everyone was known to each other on this day. Day3: I must confess that this is the D(difficult)-day since our ascent to Hampta Pass (4100m) in extreme climatic conditions. The day started with rain and cold breeze and then started snowing. The entire day’s ascent continued under the snow. It was a daunting task for us to make our way through. Some of the members got terribly exhausted. We are thankful to our trek lead and the porters for their support to help us cross the snow laden pass. The ascent was getting harder and more difficult since it was getting steeper and slippery due to snow fall. After descending for an hour, the humongous snow laden valley appeared in front us. We were all awestruck by the sight and realized that our snow sliding dream will come true here. The day was full of twists and turns☺ and finally came to an end. We reached our camp site named Shiagoru which is in spiti valley.

Day 4: The fourth day was a great Himalayan blessing. Almighty was kind. There was no drizzle and the sky was bright and clear. We moved towards Chatru. We had to cross the Chandra River. This river starts from the high altitude lake called "Chandrataal".

Day 5 [End of Trek]: This was the last day of our journey towards the crescent lake chandrataal also called Moon Lake. This is one of the motorable lakes in the Himachal region.

About Author: Author is an engineer by profession and a hardcore traveler. Being an outdoor person, his hobbies are trekking, Photography, Playing games and reading books. Apart from this, he does spent some time for social causes like Tree plantation, Cleanup activities etc.