Best Winter hikes around Dharamsala #4

The trail from Indrunag to Khaniyara is a lesser known trail but packed with thrills. Indrunag is a temple devoted to Shiva and his sons (Ganesh and Karthik) and has a mish mosh of stories surrounding its dubious 'Babas' in charge. It has a road going to it now and any taxi guy can take you there.

Once at Indrunag, you can take the trail going West and North which now criss crosses with the new road coming up. This trail leads to Bhanglotu village where the trail splits. You can ask any local and take the one going to Thatharna, a huge slate mining centre in Khaniyara. The trail goes past a famous Temple, now walled in and has a big school. Past this point the trail is literally cut into the mountainside. The trail itself is precariously cut into the mountainside. It can be steep at times but all in all an excellent day out.

The Thatarna slate mines are old school quarries all done by hand. These mines were huge money makers in the '50s but due to the severe environmental degradation, the Government shut them down in 1997. There is a river at Thatarna where you can chill, eat some food and then descend into the village and catch a taxi or bus back home.

Note: Pack your food and water, there are no shops on the trail. You might want to book a taxi to pick you up at the Thatarna Hydro Project as phone signals are not good there. Take water, extra money, your first aid kit, tell at least two people where you are going and be safe!

Best winter hikes around Dharamsala #3

Dharamskot to Triund is the most travelled trail in these parts. From Indian families to trail runners, they are all on that trail every weekend. Even weekdays are never free of the odd hiker or two. The proximity of Triund to McLeodganj makes it so doable.

The trail is easy to find and there are enough tea shops on the trail and in Triund itself to sustain the most unprepared traveller. But we are talking about winter hiking on this trail.

Things to prepare for:

1. The tea shops close during the severe months of cold and there are no tea shops at Triund itself. Ask at Dharamkot itself if there is anyone up at Triund or Magic View.
2. The trail itself remains over 2000m/6600 Ft ASL hence, you are walking in High Altitude - that means faster dehydration, more calories burnt and chances of AMS are high.
3. Cold or not, you will dehydrate fast, don't forget your water. You will need 6 Litres total of water for ideal hydration.
4. Carry a small stove, some food/snacks. While hiking the mountains with a small back pack, you can burn 600 Calories in an hour.
5. Carry warm clothes, wool hat and gloves. Don't forget, as it gets closer to the evening it gets very cold.
6. There will be no help if you have an accident or a medical emergency
7. Do not drink alcohol or smoke up in the mountains!! Being stupid never pays.
8. By law, all guides need a license, make sure your guide has one if you hire someone.

The trail is 12 Kms long from Dharamkot, so don't underestimate the mountain. It can do some serious damage to you. Tell someone where you are going and when you expect to be back. Also tell them when to get alarmed.
If you take a guide, please make sure the guide has a valid license. By law, mountain guides are required to register and carry their license with them at all time.

Best short hikes around Dharamshala #2

Day Hike to Kareri Village

Our range of the Himalayas is the Dhauldhar range. This range is split in the middle by Indrahar Pass, which is dead North of us. The Western side is a thickly wooded wall of mountains that rise from the Kangra Valley straight up to 5000+ meters. The trails on this side of the range are great for camping and hiking. There is a lot of water, access to food and roads, making it ideal for all ages and families.

West of McLeodganj lies the small village of Stobari, you can access this place by taking an autorickshaw, taxi or by walking it from Dal Lake. From Stobari, this hike is a total of 12 Kms (7.5 Mi) one way.

The first 4 Kms are down hill and the rest is all uphill. You head to your first destination called Ghera. It is all the way down on the banks of the river. This river has a big hydro project on it and is easy to find, just ask the locals. Here, take a break at Panditji's chai shop, recover, hydrate and start the long climb towards Kareri Village. Because of the new road being built, the old trails are unused now. Take the trail from the Ghera main town. There is a bridge to cross the river here, take that and head up the trail that will take you through villages and forests. Remember to keep asking as there are many trails forking off going to other habitations.

Kareri Village itself is spread out over 3-4 Kms East - West and is a Gaddi village. On the Eastern end is the Forest rest House and on the Western End is Harnala camp grounds. In between are houses and farms of the local people. The Forest Rest House has a few rooms you can book in Dharamsala (through the District Forest Office) or you can camp anywhere along the river at Harnala. 

Carry water, some food, shelter, rain gear and emergency money with you at all times. The people are hospitable and it is easy to find shelter, but it is always good to be prepared for any circumstance.

Navigation on our trails is done by asking and reaching the destination. There are no markings on these trails and maps are vague at best. If in doubt, you can hire a guide for the day to show you the way.

Best Short Hikes around Dharamsala #1

It is November and the weather is awesome in Dharamsala and the upper areas of the Dhauladhar Range in the Himalayas. There are numerous trails around McLeodganj and one of the best is the trip to Guna Mata Temple. West of the tourist town of McLeodganj, head out in a taxi or an autorickshaw or just walk to, the small village of Naddi.

From Naddi there is an easy trail that goes North West via a pine forest to the river Bathed. When your each the river, there is small snack shop at the bridge abnd the road bifurcates - one heads West to Birlai Village and one heads North to the Guna Mata Temple.

A short and steep climb will take you to another crossroads. You take the road that turns North (on your right) and head on to the temple.The minute you reach the temple, you feel rested. The views of the Kangra valley are amazing!! Also looking North, you can see the massive Bhimghasutri Pass (14,500 ft) that connects to the Chamba Valley.
This hike is doable in 4-5 Hrs and is open most of the year. The trail gets difficult to negotiate after the first snows in January all the way to end of March.

Seven Days and Seven lakes

I live in Dharamsala and outside my windows, I can see the Dhauladhar Mountains very well. Dead North is the Indrahar Pass and the distinct Mun Peak. The walk to Indrahar is not far from my house and it would be the shortest way to get to Chamba and it is the most used trail to get to Manimahesh for the holy dip. As we cross Indrahar pass, there is a holy lake situated right under the peak called Nag Dal (Snake Lake, dedicated to the Nag Devta or Snake God that lives in the hair of Lord Shiva). The interesting thing is that this lake is situated in a narrow valley formed by the twin range of peaks facing North and South, separating Kangra and Chamba Valleys. This narrow valley, slopes downwards towards the West and hence the water from Nag Dal flows West, making more lakes.
Now i had heard about these lakes a lot and locals go to these lakes every year but somehow we never got around to visiting the Lam Dal (Shiva's Lake). This i the holiest lake after Manimahesh and attracts a lot of pilgrims during Shivratri. So around Shivratri, my friends and I decided to visit these lakes and see them all if possible.
During the course of these seven days, we got to cross unnamed passes, got rained upon endlessly and had to do two river crossings. But the reward of seeing the lakes was immense. As you enter this narrow valley over a pass, you see Lake #6, Nagara. There is a camp site here and the local Gaddis are always here to assist and to guide travelers in any way they can. The Gaddis believe that on this holy ground, Shivji comes to assist travelers and test the locals in the form of a human being. So either the traveler could get assistance from him in times of need or the locals could get tested by him as a traveler in need.
When you are climbing the Gag pass to get into this valley, there is a water fall that is gushing out of the mountain. It is literally a hole in the stone and the water comes out at great force. The story is the the Pandavas were in these mountains and Draupadi was thirsty and tired and could not walk any further. Bhim used the tip of his mace and struck the rock to get water for her. Now in reality, this hole in the mountain is connected to Lam Dal on top. The lake bed has a hole which leads to this spot!!!
Anyway, The floor of this valley between the peaks is very shallow, around 3900m at Nagara. This valley floor rises to the East and drops down towards the West. As you follow the Lake going East, it is a good 4 Km hike to the main lake of Lam Dal. Lam Dal being holy, you have to take off your shoes and walk barefoot towards it. There is a high probability of loosing your shoes as it is difficult to tell where you took them off! Anyway, our guides made sure we would find them, but the bitter cold and the fresh morning dew didn't help the feet. The lake itself is magnificent. the little temple at its bank is perfect and yes, it does overwhelm you enough to believe in God, at least for that visit.
We walked back following the Lam Dal flow downwards and saw all the little and big water bodies it was forming. The one that stood out most was Kali Kund. It is a dark green still lake where no one is allowed to bathe as it will kill you. I just feel bad as we didn't have the energy to see Chandrakoop (Moon Lake), the lake above Lam Dal.
So, in design, the lakes are named after the physical form of Lord Shiva. First there is Nag Dal, then comes Chandrakoop, then we have Lam Dal, then Kali Kund and so on until the Nagara lake at the bottom.
This area is full of stories of the Pandavas and a lot of it has to do with Bhim. When we cross over Minkiani Pass and go back into Kangra Valley, we stay on the banks of another lake, Kareri Lake which was formed due to depression formed by Bhim's knee when he knelt there as he was tired.
whatever the reasons and the stories, these lakes are an amazing feature to be seen at least once in your lifetime. The beauty of the place is indescribable. It has all the hallmarks of becoming a great trekking route - ease of access, water, adventure, beautiful camp sites and the destination itself is spectacular.

The perfect water filtration plant

On the 14th of June, we had a family of four go with us on  trek to Kareri Lake. Drs Arti and Hemant Trehan and theri two kids Tanvi and Angad. I have to mention here that those two are the most well spoken, thoughtful and lovable kids I have met. Credit to the parents and to the children.

The Trehans are Doctors in the Air Force, the same Government Organisation my father served in. I have a soft spot for the services as My grandfather and father served in the Army and Air Force, respectively, and I have been the direct beneficiary of their service - good schools, excellent people, so much respect. It is huge leg up in India when your parents belong to the forces.

I was very keen on having a family on a trek as I was curious to see how my guides would respond to having kids on a trek. I was even more curious to see how the kids would do.

The weather was perfect (maybe a little on the hot side) and we set off towards our first day's destination all happy and smiling. We were all still happy and smiling when we reached! Excellent so far and I noticed the kids were so good at walking, making friends and being kids. We played cricket til Hemant and I could not run any more and thankfully, were saved by the rain. Had a bit of a hailstorm, nothing serious. The rest of the trek went off well. Good weather while trekking, a good heavy hail storm when we had camped. Lots of good food, no emergencies and no whining kids!

On the subject of potable water, I know by experience, no one gets sick drinking water from the river after  we cross the last habitation. On the way to our camp site on day 3, we walk along this river flowing over these big boulders. Hemant pointed out at how perfectly water filtration was taking place in front of our eyes. The rocks, fine shale and sand were perfectly, naturally proportioned, there was sun and air for the process and the water is perfectly potable. These kind of things are awe inspiring and just hearing of the actual process described made us love what we do even more.

In the course of the 5 day trek, the kids made friends with all of us. I would find them deeply involved in fun and games in the guides' tents, washing dishes, cooking food or just exploring the area we were in. I definitely want to get more families to treks and have an outdoors experience. I can' forget Hemant's face while walking, it had pure bliss written all over it, or the kids playing games with the guides, their enthusiasm for everything, or just the happiness the mountains gave the family. It was a treat for us as guides. If your clients can appreciate every thing they are experiencing without slotting them as good or bad, then you feel fulfilled. You feel happy that you chose this as your profession and you are doing something right.

Himalayan Explorers AND Silver Stripe Outdoors

Triund 2010 - A fun overnight trek to Triund, a meadow situated at 2800m, 8 Kms north of McLeodganj. Let the pictures do the talking

Mun Peak with Clouds

Sanjeet Mangat, Raja Sahota, Prateek Khurana

L-R: Tushar Singh, Raja Sahota, Amit, Ishan, Ranjan

Dhaba at Triund

Mun Peak, clear skies

Tushar Singh and my Quechua 4.1 Tent

"My future's so bright, I gotta wear shades"

Fantastic Trek fellows,

Cheers!!

Trekking with old friends

This IPL weekend in Dharamsala, it was crazy! Lots of cricket fans, traffic jams, important people with big cars, not so important people in bigger cars, Deccan Chargers, Chennai Super Kings and a brief visit from Punjab Kings XI. We took this time to take a small group of people to Triund.
The walk to Triund is an 8 Km trek over mostly easy terrain (gets a little steep towards the end) but the trail being over 2000m throughout, it can get tough for weekend warriors.
Anyway, I was incharge of a group of 4 people from Silver Stripe Outdoors and two of my best friends - Prateek Khurana and Sanjeet Mangat. The former is a young smart ass who almost ran most of the way and latter is my friend for the last 29 years!! A long time for friendships to last so I figured I must be doing things right :)
The weather is great, it is trying to rain hard and keeps the heat down, nights are mostly clear and it is not uncomfortably cold anymore.
It was also nice to see the efforts being made to keep Triund clean was actually working! Trash was segregated, the shop keepers were spouting newly learned facts about garbage and they were genuinely involved in cleaning the place up. Too good to be true? It is up to us now to encourage this change and support it.
All in all great weekend - good friends, clean trails and great weather...

To Kareri Lake!!

Fantastic trek!! The weather is just amazing!! We ALSO took a 6 month old baby all the way to the lake (3000m) and back.

To start at the beginning, we took one of our favorite guests to Kareri lake. Now this favorite guest (Ewa) has a friend (Katrin) visiting Dharamsala and she has a 6 month old baby (Kaya). Since Ewa wanted to see the lake, we decided to carry the baby all the way to the lake. Kaya, turned out to be a gem and better behaved than 90% of our clients!! :)

The group consisted of 1) Ewa 2) Katrin 3) Kaya the baby 4) Bridget 5,6,7,8) Raja, Sachin, Kapil, Vinay (The Himalayan Explorers Team). Sachin was the designated baby carrier.

We set up camp at the Forest Rest House ( a big four room affair) at Kareri Village (1800m) and 9 Kms out of McLeodganj.

The rest house has attached bathrooms and a beautiful premises that makes it really fun. But, be prepared for leaking pipes, mouldy linen, faulty wiring, etc. The caretaker is very generous and you can have the place to yourselves for a simple 500 rupees a night.

It is unseasonally hot,  almost pushing 27 Degrees and gets very hot as we go higher. The heat was debilitating and the short 9 Kms trek seemed like an expedition.

On the 10th of April, Day 2, we decided to start early (as possible) and make it to the Kareri lake, around 14 Kms away through a steep terrain. We would be ascending 1200m in a short time!! Plus, we had to make sure that Kaya would have no side effects from the altitude.

Then came the windy climb towards Trekkers Junction (Lioti). This place is an excellent camping ground 10 Kms away from Kareri Village and ususally we camp here and rest. We reached this point by 1230 and had a huddle to decide if we all wanted to push for the lake.

The dilemmas were 1) Baby's condition 2) We will be late for dinner 3) We can get late and might have to trek through the dark. Having, in a democratic process, come to no decision whatsoever, Ewa decided for us, being the benevolent and beautiful dictator. From Lioti (2400m) it is a 4 Km walk to the Lake and a 600m ascent. At this elevation, the sun and the terrain gets tough even for the best of trekkers. As I was walking I realised that the group was not flagging in any way and were all loving it.

We reached the lake around 2 PM and after a quick lunch, were sufficiently refreshed to make the return.
The lake itself is diminishing every year I visit it. Lack of snow, hot weather, someone somewhere using more aerosols, factories, planes, green house gases, cow farts, affluents, and what have you could be to blame. Who knows anymore. We have so many theories and every person that can read and click a mouse has a theory now. In the interim period the rest of the world's future is still being decided by the few who have brought us on the brink of extinction.

All I brought away from this trek is the haphazard way outdoor activities are planned in the region, the way large tracts of pristine forests have been marked for clearing to build roads, the gross neglect of the Forest Conservation department OF the forest, the way people are selling their lands to developers, it might be the last time I see the tree lined trails, I am happy to be here, I hope I can show my kids these places, hopefully I can help fix something, write a letter, yell at someone...

A great Summer to all and big hugs to Ewa, Bridget, Katrin and Kaya.

Himalayan Explorers

First trek of the season

Always magical, the year ahead seems full of promise and business is the last thing on your mind. Your clients are Gods as the euphoria of waking up from hibernation makes you a little too grateful.


The trek itself is an easy one and is a 12 Km round trip from Naddi. The weather is perfect and the trail climbs slowly to just above 2000m for a good practice run. In fact, I am seriously thinking of making it part of our routine conditioning.


Back to the point, I just wanted to wish all my fellow adventurers a great season ahead and hope some of us will cross paths


Good wishes and warm regards,
The team at Himalayan Explorers

2010 with a bang!!

A happy 2010 to all, be healthy and stay happy...

Himalayan Explorers will be the new sensation in outdoor business for the year 2010. Why is that? After spending a lot of effort (and sleepless nights) getting feedback from friends, colleagues, customers and business partners (anyone with a brain) we have tweaked the business and are ready to perform. The website got tweaked for easier crawling, we are linked to every social network possible, we have a designer, a business consultant, a CA and new equipment. I even have the urge to, of my own volition, go and meet travel agents to sell my products!!

Seriously, it has been a long time coming. The boys and Elise and I need a break after two years of hard work. How can you help? Promote our website on your networks, tell more friends about the company, just word of mouth and goodwill can lead to business for us.

Warm regards from all of us at Himalayan Explorers

Trek through Minkiani Pass

Finally A camp site!!

Looking Back at the Pass

At the top of Minkiani!!

View of Kareri Lake from Minkiani Pass

Start of the climb

Temple at Kareri Lake

View of Lake and the Pass

Close to trekkers Junction, 3200m

Campsite at Kareri Village

Starting the trek at Stobari

This pass located at roughly 4300m, is in the Western section of the Dhauladhars. The trail head is around 4 Kms from McLeodganj from a place called Stobari.

We took bare necessities on this trip as well. This year weather is very wrong! It is hot and stormy below the 200m mark and still snowing in the passes!! Added to that, this year is slated to see the record melting of Glaciers in Himachal Pradesh. Very, very woerd and sad.

This trek is a very popular passage for the locals to visit the holy Lam Dal (Second largest lake in HImachal) and to cross over into Chamba.

We did this trek in a total of 4 days as there was so mauch snow on the Chamba side, we had to keep walking to find a decent camp site and ended up walking for ten hours and hence we had to skip one camp site altogether.

Trek to Sari Pass

Fantastic trek!! We set out to be the first to cross this pass this year and I think we truly were!!

The pass is totally snowed in and at the top, after a harrowing 3 hours of climbing straight up to avoid the snow, we found that all the routes down into Kullu were indeed heavily snowed in. The executive decision taken by yours truly was - Lets go straight down towards the glacier and take this glacier down until it meets the Sarbari River. Did I mention we had no equipment for snow - even crampons.
Well 10 and a half hours later, a lot of consulting on the map and using the compass as a magic wand, we actually did the trek without injury to body or ego. Check the photos

On the bus to Barot

At Campsite Barot

Above Andarli Malan

First sight of our destination

Camp at Lahes

Just climbed that

In sight of Sari Pass

Final walk to the col


5 Hrs on the glacier


At the Kullu bus stand, alive and well

Trek to Guna Temple

The Guna Devi trek is a great day hike as well as anovernight trek. It is a two hour walk from a place called Naddi, 3 Kms from McLeodganj. The views from the temple of the Bhimghasutri Pass and the valley below are spectacular. During Festivals, the temple is bustling with pilgrims and is a great opportunity to see Indian culture. This destination is used by us on three routes as a stop over point.

Rooms at the temple

From the Temple

The Temple

Crossroads at Bal village

View of the Bhimghasutri Pass

THe Bhated river

The shack at Bhated river