Thursday 26 May 2016

SAR Pass trek- May 7th to 22nd, 2016



Prologue:
"An Himalayan Dream called SAR Pass..." Yes, that's the caption for this trek and I have always been wondering what is so much special about this trek. However, I had been checking the YHAI website everyday since October, to grab the slots as soon as possible. In November last week, it was open, and after asking all my friends, 5 of them agreed to join. Bookings done, all pre-trek and post-trek plans done, now it was time to wait for the time to come :P Eagerness was too much, and the wait seemed never ending. The day however arrived, and we were all set for the 16 day long trip, to Chandigarh, Shimla, Manali, Kasol, Sar Pass trek, Delhi and Agra!


Day 1, May 7th: (Land in Chandigarh and travel to Shimla)


All assembled in the airport at 8:15 AM, and we boarded the flight. The sleep bee's Shreya and Gaurav also took a nap in the 2.5 hr flight and we landed at 12:20, 20 minutes prior to scheduled arrival. Felt lucky that we will be reaching Shimla early, only to get caught in the hands of the local cab guy, who made us wait for an hour! Saying 5 minutes, he managed for around 30 minutes, and when I was really pissed and about to blast the guy with whom I booked, he arrived. It was hot outside, and it was 2:30 when we left Chandigarh airport.

Our top priority was lunch now. We asked the driver to stop at a dhaba anywhere on the way, and preferably soon. He kept going and going and after many requests he finally stopped at 4 PM. Dead by hunger, we all ordered paratha and asked him to prepare it fast. He was very quick and served us the parathas, with a huge slice of butter on each one of them! And yes they were tasty too! We were now charged up, and continued the journey and stopped for tea cum photography break, since the scenery was good. Got some nice clicks with hot tea, and continued the journey and reach Shimla at 8. But searching the hotel that we had booked took a little time, and we checked in at 8:30 PM. We quickly freshened up and went to Mall road, which was a 5 minute walk and had our dinner in one of the hotels, and roamed the streets there for about an hour. Weather was cool and Shimla was nice. We came back to hotel at 12 midnight, and played Uno for a while and slept at 1 AM.

Tea break spot


At Mall Road


Day 2, May 8th: (In and around Shimla and depart to Manali by night bus)


We had hired a cab to roam around Kufri, Fagu Valley and Jakku Temple, which was supposed to come at 7:30. I woke up early at 4:45, in an attempt to witness sunrise in Shimla, and came to the ridge with Shreya at 5:15. The city was awakening slowly, and the view was serene. Raksha joined around 6, and we just roamed around the ridge taking some snaps. We were now hungry and without waiting for guys, had aloo paratha at a nearby shop and it was very tasty :-P Hot tea after that, we returned to hotel at 6:45. Guys were still not ready, and cab also was late. We finally started from our hotel at 8:30.

Early morning at Mall Road

Our first destination was Jakku mandir. This is a temple on the hilltop of Shimla, with a huge statue of Lord Hanuman, which is visible from Shimla city. We reached the temple at 9:15, and a monkey picked up one of Raksha's chappal and ran away. We then had to request the local guy there and after searching for 5 minutes, we got back the chappal. All the time she kept cursing the monkey, and while she was doing so, it snatched her stole! :-D This was a little funny because it was like a tug of war between the monkey and Raksha, although the monkey won :P Again with the help of the local guy, we spent about 10 minutes to get that back. We visited the temple and then left for our next destination.

At Jakku Mandir

The cab driver stopped us at Kufri fun world, where there was some mini bunjee jumping, water sport etc etc., but we were not interested in all that and we moved on. He then stopped us at Kufri. From here, we had to take a pony for 7 km, and there on the top, it was like a fish market with so many people! At one point of time, we regretted going there. We went to a couple of view spots, and headed towards a temple and then to Apple Orchid. On the way, there was a guy with telescope, who was saying that he will show China border, Some apple tree, a temple, palace etc. Me Suchith and Shreya escaped but Dev Gaurav and Raksha went to see. That guy showed a check post (supposed to be China border, god only knows if it was :P), and then a temple and palace, and a green tree. Well, may be he was focusing a tree in the apple orchid down there, and showed them. This was typical fun and later we made fun of them soo much. We were hungry and returned to the market area where we had lunch.

Horse ride till Kufri

We thought of leaving the place since there was nothing else to do. A guy was holding a Huge Himalayan rabbit and shouting "Photo keencho, Trip ki yaadein" We 3 girls took turn and took the pics. Meanwhile the phrase "Trip ki yaadein" became very memorable for us for the rest of the trip, for a reason that I shouldn't say here :P

At Kufri view point

The cute rabbit

We came back by pony again, and this time our horses were in race. Each one of them were eager to finish the journey first, and especially Raksha's horse was so jealous that it always wanted to be in front :-P We then made the return journey to Shimla, realizing there is nothing worth in Fagu valley as well. It was only 2 PM, and we stopped in between for a break near a view point to kill time. We again started and stopped for tea, and asked the driver to drop us at Shimla ISBT. We dumped all our luggage's in the Bus stand, and left for Mall road at 4:30, by bus.

While walking towards the mall road, we had Gol Gappa, and near the ridge, we had Jamoon that we had missed the previous day. We then visited one museum where they had exhibited items that were made of waste, and then came near the ridge and sat there. We were all tired and sleepy, and wanted to kill time until it was time to board the bus. We sat there for about 45 minutes, and started to walk to the bus stop. There was a lady police near the circle, and she was damn pretty. We thought of taking a selfie with her and started a conversation, and meanwhile I requested if we can take a pic with her, for which she readily agreed. Suchith also wanted one, and when he asked, she said "Noooo" :-P We started to laugh loudly right in front of her. We then had an ice cream, walked back quickly to bus stop, took the bus and went to ISBT. We picked up our luggages, and boarded the bus at 8. The bus left at 8:20 PM.

He stopped for dinner at 9:30, and till he reached the destination, he gave many stops near tea shops. I never slept for the whole night, and I'm sure my friends also couldn't sleep properly.

Day 3, May 9th: (Manali- Solang Valley, Gulaba, Hadimba Temple)


The bus came to Manali at 4:30 AM - Such an odd timing! We went in search of the hotel that we had booked and waited outside until the staff woke up. At 5:15, we requested the hotel staff to provide us a room if there was any (since our booking was after 12 noon for that day). He gave us the same at 6 in the morning, in another hotel of his, which was a 5 minute walk. We went there, and took bath, until we got rooms in our hotel at 8:30. Meanwhile, we hired bullets with the help of the hotel guy, and we got ready and left at 11 for breakfast. Had parathas and started at 11:40 towards Solang Valley.

The bike ride was nice! Riding on Enfield on those curvy roads, sometimes up the hill, and sometimes down.. The view was also great, huge mountains far away, and a river alongside! We reached Solang Valley, only to find that even the Cable Car was not working, and no adventure activities as well. We did some photoshoot for a while since the view was good, and thought of going Gulaba.

Solang Valley

Shreya started to drive and I also started after a while when the traffic was a little less. Riding an Enfield is something very different when compared to other bikes. It gives a feeling of riding a beast, and yet so smooth and easy. The road started to ascend sharply, and the views were good. We started taking single pics on bikes, and yes we wasted lot of time :P We reached Gulaba, and there were too many people. But, there was nothing to do! We were said that if we trek for about 5 kms, we would find snow to play. But it was already 2:30, and we couldn't do that. We simply sat there and relaxed for half an hour, and started again. Driving down was a little scary than driving up, and we reached the bottom of the mountain, and there was a bridge from where we could get down to the river. We stopped there for a few minutes, and started again. It started raining and we were forced to stop near a hotel and we finished our lunch there. We started again at 5, and stopped near the river again, since there were a line of Pine trees behind, like a thick forest, and the scene was serene. We spent some time there and came back to hotel at 5:45.

Fun while Bike Ride

We didn't have anything to do, and were not interested to roam around as well. But then we thought of visiting Hadimba temple instead of wasting time in hotel. We started on on our bikes again around 7:15, and the road to the temple was crowded. And since it had rained, the riding became even more difficult. We also visited Gatotkach temple which was just beside Hadimba temple, and spent some time near a shop since it was raining. We started the conversation with the shop guy, trying to collect some info on Manali-Leh bike rides, Places in Manali, and about Para gliding and rafting, which we wanted to the day after. He gave us a contact and asked us to tell his name when we go there.

Road to Gulaba


Near the riverside

We thought of roaming around market area for a while. Shreya wanted to buy few things, and thus we stopped at market area. We first went near a hotel, where Momos and Jamoon looked attractive, and it was served hot and fresh. We ate them, it was very tasty. Raksha was a little tired, and we thought we will finish our dinner and entered that hotel. We ordered Dosa :-P which was not bad and then roamed for a few minutes in the market. We were sleepy, and we went back to hotel. Guys went to fill up the tanks of the bikes for next day, as it was decided that we will head to Prashar Lake in Mandi. We were too much tired for the day, and we slept.


Day 4, May 20th: (Visit Prashar Lake, Mandi)


We were supposed to wake up by 4:45 AM and get ready and leave by 6:30. Alarms rang, but no one was ready to get up. We were finally up at 7 AM, got ready quickly and managed to leave at 9 AM. We only had little Methi Paratha bought by Gaurav from his home, and some milk. We took the deviation from the normal route to Kullu, and went on the road that was on the other side of the river. On the way, Gaurav happened to notice a small waterfall, and there were dining tables put in the water. The place was just so perfect to have our breakfast and stopped there. We spent about 45 minutes there, taking some pics and having some fun, and we had Maggi, Tea and a special dish Siddu, which was tasty. We departed thinking that we are getting too late, and resumed the ride back towards Bhuntar.

Breakfast point

Fun near the waterfall


Maggi and Siddu


In between, there was some problem with Suchith's bike, and he got it repaired in 30 minutes. It was about 2:30 when we reached Bhuntar, and after 10 kms, we had to take a deviation at Bajaura towards Prashar lake. We picked up few bananas and resumed our ride, since no one was hungry to have lunch. The road now was narrow, and not that good. We were done with 50 kms on a nice highway, and the other 50 kms was going to be a bumpy ride.

On the way to Prashar Lake

Initially, the road for about 25 kms was tarred. It was smooth, but couldn't ride fast since the roads were too curvy. We stopped in 2 places for some photo sessions. And then came the last 25 kms to our destination, and it was pathetic. To our awesome luck, it even started raining :-P Roads were slippery at few places and we had to be careful. We were all so desperate to reach the place as soon as possible. We were also now skeptical about the petrol in the tank, if it is gonna get over before we could fill it in the next fuel station, The place was so deserted, that even the sight of a human was rare. (Many people visit Prashar early and leave, unlike us who came late) We finally reached.. It was 4 in the evening. We parked our bikes, and had to walk up a small hillock, and as soon as you reach the top, the view of the ever calm Prashar Lake, with a small island within it and a temple beside will welcome you. That sight is just beautiful, and that moment is worth all the struggle of the day!

Prashar Lake

Temple at Prashar lake

We walked down to the temple and got the darshan of Sage Prashar. I came out of the temple to enjoy that mesmerizing view. I sat at a suitable height, and was just trying to observe everything, so intensely, to get that view imprinted in my mind forever. The more I saw, the more mysterious and attractive it seemed. I soo wished we could have made it early to this place, so that we could have spent more time. Since it was already 5 PM, we had to leave now, since reaching the next town itself was about 30 kms to go.

Near Prashar Lake

We decided we shall go to Mandi and then go via highway to Manali, since the road was really bad and was very unsafe once it gets dark. We also had to somehow reach the petrol bunk withour running out of fuel. We stopped in between near a wheat field, and pulled out few tender ones and had them. We kept asking people about the fuel station, and they kept saying 2 kms more for about 10-15 kms :-P Finally we were relieved to find one and we filled up the tank to a required level. We then reached Mandi at about 7:30 PM and stopped at a hotel for dinner.

After 4 days, we were delighted to hear that the hotel guy had Bhindi in his menu! We were bugged up of aloo everywhere, and the food here at this hotel was pretty good. We had lassi, and then started again towards Manali. 100 kms to go!

We drove at different speeds, and we met at Kullu at about 10 PM in a roadside hotel and had tea. We had to drive for another 40 kms, and we started again at around 10:30. Me and Dev sped fast, and the other two bikes were no where seen. When we were just 15 kms for Manali, we ran out of fuel! It was 11:30 and we couldn't even reach the other guys on phone. Finally Gaurav picked up the call and we said him we were waiting on the highway. After about 10 minutes, the two bikes came, and we transferred some fuel to our bike from theirs. We then started, and I rode this time till our hotel in Manali. Shreya and Raksha had already started in between to ride, and continued with me. We reached at 11:45 to the hotel finally, and Suchith and Raksha were yet to come. Meanwhile, I took a round in both Enfield and Avenger from hotel to Bus stand and back.

Once Suchith also arrived, we had to drop off the bikes. Shreya and Raksha went into rooms, and I went with the guys to drop the bike. We had to argue with him regarding the scratches that had happened on one of the bikes and regarding the repair that was done by us. We had also lost one of the helmets on the way to Prashar, and altogether he made us pay some 1000 bucks extra.

We then came back to our rooms, only to find that Raksha had lost her wallet! She had all her cards, ID Proof, Medical Certificate and money. She said she had left it in the hotel during dinner, in Mandi. She wanted that wallet back badly, only because it was gifted to her by someone. She was only hoping that someone would call her about it or send it to the address in that ID proof. We also thought we will once visit that hotel and ask him, before reporting to Kasol the next day, if time permits. By now we were too tired and laid down and slept at 1 AM.

Day 5: (Rafting and Paragliding in Kullu, and reporting to Base Camp Kasol)


A relaxing day we thought, as we had to go to Kullu, do river rafting and paragliding, and go report in Kasol. We thought we will reach Kasol by evening 4, but that never happened :P
We woke up at 7:30 and got ready. We had to checkout and packed everything, and Suchith and Raksha went to get medical certificate done for the trek, Shreya left to market for shopping, and the remaining 3 of us finished all the formalities and went to Bus Stand. We all had shopping plans, and even I got some yarn for myslef. At last, we boarded a bus to Kullu which left at 11:30 AM, realising we are late, actually too late since the rafting guy had said us to be there in Kullu by 11 :-P Suchith had got Aloo Paratha packed for all of us, and some of us had had it in bus stand, and some had in bus.

Apart from we being late, the bus driver was making another effort to delay us even further. Yes the roads are such that you cannot drive more than 40 kmph speed, but he never even seemed to cross 20. Finally he dropped us at our destination 1:15.
We got ready for rafting, after bargaining for a deal with the rafting guy. We left all our bags at the starting point, and we went with our rafter. We were too excited, and the river was gushing with great force, even though the water was not deeper than 5 or 6 feet. It was damn cold though. The weather was already cloudy, and we started. We took turns in sitting front, and we shifted in between. The Go pro was on on the rafter's head, and we rode along the river for about 10 km. It was a good experience. Not just the splash of water, but also the scenery of the valley that was unfolding with every turn of the river was very pleasant.

Rafting


We were completely wet by the time we finished rafting, and those 20 minutes just passed like a minute. We wanted even more. We had a hot chocolate from the nearby store, since the cold was a little intolerable. We were then transported to the starting point in the cab. We picked up our bags, and we were taken up the hill for paragliding. We went to the starting point, a step by step patch of land, where the paragliders were busy making their arrangements for us. We changed into dry clothes, and got ready for it. Raksha went first, followed by Shreya, me Gaurav and Suchith. Dev was denied of this activity :-P It was already 4:30 PM, and we realized that we hadn't had our lunch.

We walked down amidst houses and bushes to reach the road, where Dev was waiting for us. It was a hotel and we had lunch- Chole bathure. It tasted nice, and we now was getting to a deal with the same rafting guy to get a drop to Kasol. He was busy with some other fight/discussion, and he finally pulled up his car at 6:30 PM. It was about 1.5 hour journey.

The driver had insane skills in driving :-P He was just too rash, and he stopped us in front of our base camp at 8:45. We thanked god for having us reached safely :-P and picked up our bags and went into the camp. Campfire was already going on, and it took another half an hour to get all the reporting formalities done. We met my colleague Chetan and his gang, who was due to start the trek the following day. We shared all our experiences of what we had done for the past 5 days. It was about 10:45, and one of the camp leaders had to force us inside the tents to sleep, and we went in.

Day 6: (Day 2 in Camp, Acclimatization Walk)


We woke up to a very loud sound.. Wait, a song actually. "Itni shakti hamein dena daata...." The speaker was just next to our tent, and we couldn't sleep anymore, even though we wanted to sleep for some more time. Annoyed, we came out, freshened up for morning exercise. the Field Director was already angry that we were not on time, and he started his daily lecture for all groups- "I have never seen a group like this" :-P We then walked along the road for about 2 km to reach a ground, big enough to accommodate about 110 people for exercise.

We were made to stand in circle, and the excercises started. For about 45 minutes, he wouldn't allow us to take a break. It feels good once the exercises are over, but doing it, well takes a lot of effort :-P Our lazy bodies would deny, but no other way. We then walked back to base camp and reached by 7. Breakfast was ready by 7.30, and we were still having it and the FD called out again to cheer up the group leaving that day for the trek. We were also due to be ready and assemble at 8:30 for Acclimatization walk. Hurrying up, we made it sharp on time for again another lecture by FD, that was already going on.

We started inside the jungle and followed the group. We had already met and had got introduced to a few people, and we walked talking to them. We finally reached the destination, a small patch of plain ground, and everyone settled down. The CL who had come along with us, was giving some general guidelines about trekking. After that, we all had to discuss on what to do for Campfire session, since it was our turn today to entertain the group that was leaving the next day for higher camps. They decided some performances, picked out the comparer and participants, and made a list.

Inside the forest

We were then given a drink, made of Litchi concentrate. We had got a bucket for that purpose, and we mixed it with water and distributed. After that, we started again towards the camp. It was 12:30 PM by the time we reached the camp, and the lunch was ready.

Temple on the way in the jungle

At 3, we had orientation by FD. We assembled in dining area, and there was a formal introduction of all the group members, followed by Group leader selection. Prateek was the Group Leader, Gaurav was the Deputy Group Leader and Naman was elected as the Environment leader, and one leader from ladies, Kanchan it was. We were then briefed about the trek, about the camps and some other general info. We were too sleepy by the time it ended at 4:45- tea time :-P We had tea, and we left for market to do some shopping.

We had momos in one of the road side vendors and it was good. We roamed around the market and came back by evening 7:30. We had our dinner and gathered for camp fire. Shreya danced for a song, and there were many other performances. At around 10 PM, we were forced to stop the campfire and were asked to sleep.

Day 7: (Day 3, Rock Climbing and Rappelling)


Same routine! The song starts at 5 in the morning, we wake up with a grumpy face, getting ready for exercises hurriedly, too much exercise, coming back to camp and breakfast, sending off the previous batch for higher camps, and at 8:30 depart base camp for Rock Climbing. The rock climbing spot was beside the river, and was about 1 km walk from camp. First we were given instructions about Rappelling, and then rock climbing. Jayesh went first for Rock climbing, and just like we had named him - 'the mountain man' - he climbed it very quickly! After him, people found it little difficult, and few of them couldn't complete it. I first went for Rappelling, and did it easily. Rappelling was a cake walk! But Rock climbing was not that easy- it was evident from seeing people struggling. Among the last few, I went for climbing, right after Raksha. Both of us were able to complete it. The last to do it was Suchith, and he also climbed in like in just 50 secs, surprising everyone.

Rock Climbing

River next to Rock Climbing spot

We then went near the riverside, spent some time and started walking to the camp. On the way, we picked up the waste and dumped in the base camp. We had our lunch, and we now had to re pack our bags, deciding what to take and what not to. Our bags were supposed to be as light as possible, we were instructed! We did it, and since most of the eatables were in my bag, and also the 3 power banks that I had, made my bag weigh 8 kgs! (Adding water to the bottles would have made it close to 10)

Mountains behind the base camp in Kasol

I thought I will be asked to repack my bag during Bag inspection. I couldn't leave anything, I had to take it all. I went to wash my hair, and I found that the camp leaders were playing Badminton. I joined them and while playing, they called for bag inspection and extra luggage deposit. I went and kept my bags in the queue and went to play again. I was called for and when I went, I was surprised that Saurabh, the one who was inspecting the bag said that I need not repack. I felt glad and went and kept my bag in the tent, and resumed playing again. After playing for like an hour, I was sweating so badly, that I wanted to take bath again, considering the fact that I can't take bath for next 7 days. But my lazy mind decided not to take bath again.

Inside the jungle, near rock climbing spot

We then went to market to buy stuffs and simply roam around. We went to one of the Israili restaurant to try out Falafal- a dish which was famous and was coming out from everyone's mouth. Out of curiosity, we went and tried, and it was indeed good. We then went out roaming and went back to camp after buying a souvenir for our friend Anusha.

We skipped dinner since we had had Falafal and momos in the market. We were called for campfire and we gathered. It was now SP8 group's turn to entertain us. It was good though, but we were not interested. We were instead chatting among ourselves and were having fun. Once it ended, we did some night photography in Shreya's cam, and when we were forced to get inside our tents by CL, we went and slept.

Day 8: (Day 1 of trek, Kasol to Grahan, 9 kms)


We were glad that we we do not have to wake up for exercise today :-P and we woke up at 6:30. Freshening up, we had breakfast and took packed lunch. We had to start at 8 AM sharp, and due to some problem with food may be, most of our batch mates were not well enough. Few had fever, few vomiting, and few lose motion. We made a request to the FD that we will leave by 8:30 or later, considering the situation of these people, only to get him mad at us. He literally was shouting on us, saying things like 'You people are trekkers and if you are saying that you can't go for such a reason, how will you even complete the trek?....' We were pissed by his reaction, and anyway gathered at 8 to leave. We got a brief encouragement and wishes of luck, and after saying National Anthem and Ganapathi stotra, we took a groupfie and left.

Base Camp 

SP-7 group, ready to start the trek

The trek was for 9 kms today, gaining an altitude of about 2400 feet. We had to go beside the river, the same path we took for the rock climbing the previous day. We walked across the rock we climbed on, and found there were too many sheeps, and they were also trekking up! We were walking amidst them, and sometimes were even blocked by them. After about 45 minutes, we reached a resting point, and that's where we got rid of them. It was a little annoying to hear hundreds of sheep at once, and for a long time. We had climbed up continuously till this rest point, and from here on, it was a little flat and the walk was easy. We stopped again at the river side to fill up bottles. We started again and we reached the lunch point at around 1. We didn't wannted to have the packed lunch, but we didn't even wanted to waste it. We finished it somehow and ordered for Maggi as well. Shreya, Raksha, Dev, Suchith, Het, Jois and myself sat together and were chatting about various topics while we had our lunch. Raksha and Shreya even took a short nap meanwhile, since they were a little tired. We started again, and we came out of the jungle and the view was seen. We were on the ridges of one of the hills in the valley. We had to climb the hills to reach our destination. There were kids on the way who belonged to that village, and when asked how far, they said its just 30 minutes. We were all very tired, and my body was aching very, very badly. Was it because of the brisk exercises that we did for last 2 days, or because I played badminton on the previous day, I didn't know. All I knew was that I had to take a pain killer, or else it would be very difficult. Wondering how much more to walk, we finally reached our destination, Grahan village. We now had to find the camp, which we thought will be very near, but then we literally had to cross the village, and on the other end of the village was the camp. It had started to drizzle as well, and the camp was no where to be seen.

Trek inside the forest

River stream along the way

Finally at 3:45 we reached the camp. We settled down in tents, and came for tea at 4:30. Everyone were tired to even hear the instructions given by the camp leader. After tea, we went and settled on the slope next to the camp, enjoying the view,  while the guys went to our guide Ramlal's house. It was a very beautiful village, and the weather was also perfect. I was kind of not in a good mood, for some reason, and was just staring at the green field that was just behind our camp. In a while guys returned and they were telling about the guide, how good a person he was, and about his family. Ramlal ji was very talented. He composed his own songs, and even thought us a couple songs. His wife was involved in making Shawls and other such productive and creative work.

Grahan Camp

View behind the tents


It was dinner time, and we had our dinner. While eating, Mr.Wikipedia - Het was along with us and he was talking about some technology/current affair topic, which I don't really recall. We got so involved in it that everyone finished dinner and went into their tents and we were still sitting and talking there. After that, Suchith offered a massage on our shoulders and hands, since it was paining like hell. We then went to sleep.

Day 9: (Day 2 of trek: Grahan to Padri, 9 km)


It was time to leave Grahan now, a beautiful village amidst Himalayas. And where our guide Ramlal and his family stayed. We got ready to start our day's trek again. Today's trek was again a 9 km trek, gaining an altitude of about 1200 feet. We started at 9:15 AM.

Even today, most of the people seemed very tired. Still haven't recovered by the illness that was caused even before starting the trek, we were a little slow. The trek was not that steep compared to previous day. Our guides accompanied us, carrying the bags of few of our trek-mates. Upon request, he started singing songs, which he himself had composed. He sung very well, and most of us were trying to walk next to him so that we can hear his song. We kept chatting with him on the way, till we reached the river.


On the way to Minh Tatch

The water of this river had a blue tinge, and it looked like those waters of some foreign country. Though we had come across river streams and bridges, the water here was very different, atleast in the looks. We couldn't get to the river, and we crossed the bridge and moved on, and we noticed that the sky was getting cloudy. It might rain anytime. We stopped for a couple breaks, and we reached the lunch point at around 12:45.

The blue waters

It started to rain. The lunch point location was filled with green grass and trees around, and the rainy weather caused the entire scene to look even more beautiful, adding those dew drops on the sharp edges of those grass blades. Ramlal ji was assisting the guy who was preparing Maggi and Omlet. While most of them had their lunch packed, we never took our packed lunch, since the chapatis that they used to give, would become a little cold and thick due to the weather. And also, the idea of hot Maggi amidst cool jungle sounded better than chapatis :-P

Hiking towards Padri Camp

We had our lunch - two plate Maggi's. We were said that our camp Padri is very nearby from that point on, barely 10 minute walk. We all started again, only to realize that whatever 10 minute walk was for them, was a 30 minute walk for us. We reached the camp at 2:15 PM. This camp was even better than the previous camp. It was located on a patch of empty land filled with short grass, a Waterfall behind which barely had any water, and a small uphill, which was perfect for clicking pics, and a small hut nearby with some fire on all the time.

We were greeted by our camp leader, who turned out to be a person named Anand, form our very own city. It was good to find a person who spoke Kannada :-P We were asked to gather when everyone reached the camp. We freshened up, got the instructions from our CL, and then spent our time lazily around the camp. The weather got a little clear. Though it stopped raining, it was still cloudy. the mountains were seen on the background, and it was a perfect place for taking pictures. We spent about an hour clicking pics and having fun.

At Padri Camp

View at Padri Camp

We then gathered near the small hut, since it got colder as the sun went down. We thought of having a campfire session at 5:30 in the evening, since it would be difficult to have it at night without lights. We started with singing, individually, and then with some flute of Tejus, and then we played logic game, which went on for about 20 minutes, getting everyone to break their heads to crack the logic :-P

We then retired to our dining area for dinner. It was almost 7:30 and it was dark. We were tired as well, and simply went and slept as soon as we had our dinner.

Day 10: (Day 3 of trek: Padri to Minh Tatch, 12 km)


Today also, we would be gaining an altitude of 1200 feet, but the distance was 12 km. Though our CL said that today's trek was easier, we didn't believe him. We freshenned up and gathered at 8 AM, ready to leave. Kanchan Aunty and Manva said prayers as usual, followed by National Anthem. We then bid goodbye to our CL and started the trek at 8:15 PM.

We initially descended, a lot. We all dreaded this fact, as we had to again gain an equal amount of altitude, apart form the 1200 feet ascent. We also wondered how our CL felt it was a easy trek after all, when compared to previous day. We finally reached the river stream, the bottom of the valley, also the lowest altitude of the day, since from here it is all ascending. We had covered only about a km. We rested at this point, since it was a beautiful place. We also played for a while by throwing stones in the water, which caused splashing of water on people nearby.

After 10 minutes, we filled up our bottles and started our trek. It was all ascend, and we started climbing. I was with our guide, Suchith, Naman and Jois, at the end behind everyone. People started asking if I was getting too tired or if my bag was heavy, I kept saying no, and then I realised something fishy. After about 10 minutes of enquiry, I was said that someone had kept something in my bag. I opened it up to find a huge stone, which weighed more than a kg, and I hadn't even realized it! I threw the stone out and kept asking who did it, but no one revealed the name. I doubted 3 people, and they never accepted the blame anyway.

River side break spot

After about 40 minutes of ascent, we reached a peak like place, form where we had to climb another mountain. Without delaying much, we started again, for we were the last ones in the line. Our guide constanntly kept our company. After some more time, we stopped for a break near the snack point. Everyone were enjoying a sip of Slice or a packet of Lays, while we just sat, taking some selfies. After some 10 minutes, we started our trek again.

On the way to Minh tatch

On the way to Minh tatch


Shreya went ahead, and it was only me, Suchith, Dev , Gaurav and Jois who had left out. We kept walking, and we reached the lunch point. The view was breathtaking, and I joined my friends, who were taking pics. We were least bothered about lunch, and spent a lot of time taking pics, though other trek-mates kept calling us to have lunch.

Viewspot near lunch point

We went to the small tent which was the lunch area, where 2 guys were busy taking orders and cooking. We ordered our same lunch item Maggi and ate it with all joy. We were never bored of it somehow. From here, it was still a long distance to go to reach our next camp. We started soon, and we found ourselves after a while, in a plain open patch of land, where there  were many tents put up by some private trek organizations. From here, we had to now ascend a final stretch, which looked small, thought it took about 30 minutes. All the way till that ascent, me and Shreya sung some songs happily, and then we shut our mouths as we started breathing heavily as we ascended that hillock.

It was about to rain anytime, and we were hoping we need not have to remove our raincoats. We were only about 10 minutes short of our camp, and it did start raining :( We took out our raincoats, and made the final stretch. We finally reached at 3:15 PM.

Minh Tatch camp

We were greated by the CL, who looked like Vijay Mallya. He himself said a few instances where people compared him to Mallya :-P He seemed very cool and friendly. We dumped our bags, got freshened and went for tea and bajjis. CL kept saying his stories about his trek experiences, and we all gathered around him. The camp was also indeed beautiful, and it was at an edge of a mountain. Thus there was a view of mountains on one side, and valley on other. The next day we would continue on the steep hill that was just next to the camp.

View from Minh tatch

We sat on a rock, enjoying the view, but it started raining. Wait, it was not rain, it was hailstorm! We were excited to stay out, but our CL shouted at us to get in strictly, since there was a high chance of getting sick. We sneaked in to out tents, and watched the snowfall through the narrow opening. Sadly it lasted only for a few minutes, and once it stopped completely, we all came out again. We gathered at the center, and danced for a few songs. Our CL was the one who started it and we all had fun. We even got Ramlal to sing a few songs and entertain us.

We then took some pics of the sunset, and went for dinner. We were more interested about the star photography that the CL was telling about. After dinner, he assisted Shreya and few others to get some good pics of night sky. While the camera was kept on long exposures, we put on the song and danced :-P It was 9 PM, and it started to get very cold, and everyone went inside to sleep. However Suchith, Shreya, Jois, myself and a couple other guys sat there on one of the stones, singing some songs, while Suchith massaged our shoulders, since it were paining a lot. We then went inside our tents at 11 PM and slept.

Day 11: (Day 4 of trek: Minh Tatch to Nagaru, 4 km)


We were said the previous day, that our trek is gonna start at 11 AM. After a week's getting-up-early routine, we were glad that we can sleep a little while longer. Also, only 4 km today, we were glad hearing that. But, this day's was the most steepest of all.

4 kms took us 4 hours! We got up late, around 8, and got ready. After the usual National Anthem and prayer, we started at 10:45. It was sunny as well, and it did its best to drain out our energy. Today it was said strictly that girls will move first, and no guy will cross them and go ahead. Thus the whole group moved slow. Giving too many breaks, we finally made it to lunch point around 1:15.

View from Lunch point

The small shack type in which the guy was preparing lunch was also on a steep surface. It was no plane land, and we all had our lunch - Maggi as usual. After about half an hour, we started again, reluctantly. The way ahead was too steep. It looked small, but we knew it was a long way.

With much efforts, we reached the so called or something that looked to be the end- a cliff.  From there, there was another hill to be climbed, and that's the destination- promised our guide! This one looked better, steep but not like the one we had climbed. So we made our journey. We could see the camp, and we were getting cellphone networks here. I did not bothered to even go to the camp, I just dropped my bags and sat there to call up my parents and talk to them. It was a relief to do so after 4 days.

Shreya cried the moment she reached the camp. It was a difficult trek for her, and she had little breathing problems too because of the altitude. Suchith consoled her, and then came to me to console me, who was also crying after talking to my parents :-P We were then asked to assemble for instructions. After that, we had tea, and sat for a chit chat and for a few pics with Ramlal ji.

We then went to that slope which we had climbed to reach the camp. The view from here was amazing, and of all, relaxing. All the trek and tiredness to get this view - it was completely worth it. We sat and spoke, moved around, took pics, and also sat alone for sometime. It was the best view of this trek.

At Nagaru camp

At Nagaru Camp

Sunset


Last rays of sun

Next day, we were instructed to leave by 4 AM, and thus get up by 2:30 AM! Hearing that, our faces fell. We thus were asked to sleep by 8 PM. Dinner was served at 7, and the menu was made special by the sweet of the day - Jamoon. Everyone were fighting for it, and while Suchith and Dev took mine, I got Camp leader's share of Jamoon after complaining him that my friends stole mine :-P We finished our dinner and we went to sleep, since it was very cold outside to spend some time looking at the wonderful sky.


Day 12: (Day 5 of trek: Nagaru to Biskeri Tatch via SAR Pass, 14 km)


The day was here. The day to cross Sar pass!!!

With much hesitation, we woke up by 3 and hurried to get ready. It was dark, and we missed breakfast coz we were late. We only got packed lunch- Palav and cheese slice packet. We took packed lunch (Because Palav looked yumm) and we left at 4 AM. We were instructed that we should be careful and quick, that we should cross Sar Pass by 10 or 11 AM, since it would get difficult once the ice starts melting as the sun goes up. We started, with torches in our hand, and like yesterday, girls in the front. We could see the hill from our camp, and we started our climb. Though it looked smooth, the climb was tiring.

Morning hike

We were give 2 breaks before we reached the topmost point at 6AM. Finally, snow snow everywhere!! We were given half an hour break now, and from here, Sar pass journey starts! We clicked pics, posed stupidly, threw ice on each other, clicked lot of selfies, and fun and fun and fun. Half an hour passed like a minute. We were forced to start, since we were busy playing. We picked our bag, and started walking  in the snow. Walking in snow was also great, and Shreya was falling down again and again :-P The view was getting better and better. At 9 AM, we reached the Tea point. Here also, we played in snow, and laughed a lot, until our stomach started to ache more than our legs!

First snow point, somewhere at 6:30  AM

Fun with snow at Tea point

Crossing Sar Pass

We then started again around 9.30, making a continuous walk in the snow for the next 2 hours, except for a short 10 minute break. It was plain for an hour, and then it was an ascent. At 11.30, we reached the highest point of the whole trek. No more ascents, only descending now for the remaining 2 days. We had a break here, and waited till everyone arrived. At 12, We started again, oh wait, not trek down, but slide!!! Slide for about 250 mts in snow. Our guide taught us the techniques of slowing down while sliding, though most of us didn't use it, and ended up speeding :-P The only worst part was, the ice against your bare back when you shirt goes up while sliding - It went numb for a few minutes but still it was an awesome experience.

We all slided first, and took joy when others were doing it. When everyone arrived, we started to trek. There was still some snow, and we could see that in some distance the snow ended, and it was the grassy land again. After walking for about 200 mts, our guide showed us another path to slide, for about 150-200 mts, and we did that too. We finally came to the plains, and here we were on the tip of a valley, that slided gradually to a bottom, and on the opposite side, we could see the mountains, that were higher than the ones we were on. Realizing we won't get anymore snow, I made a small ball of it, and put the Tang Lemon flavor powder and tried to make something similar to gola, though didn't succeed in it.

View from Lunch point

We reached the lunch point by 1:30 PM. We filled our bottles, and ordered Maggi- as usual. Most of them were done with lunch now, and were planning to leave for the next camp. We decided to stay here for a while since the view was good here. But rains had a different plan and it started drizzling. We also started walking towards our next camp, which was about 2-3 kms. We could see the camp from a certain distance, down there, and it looked very near, though it took us another 45 minutes from there. Finally after 12 hours of trek of about 14 km total, we reached the camp at 4 PM.

Biskeri Tatch

The view was nice here, and we were told about a few peaks visible from that camp. They explained us the meaning of  Nagaar (Where the tree line stops after a certain altitude), Tatch (a small patch of plain land in between forests on the mountains) and also gave some information about the mountains and the glaciers. All those facts were quiet interesting. We then dispersed, and sat with our friends for a chat.

We were tired, and we wanted the dinner to be served soon, so that we can sleep. We were very sleepy, since we had woke up very early that day. We were called for dinner at 7, and then we went into our tents and slept.

Day 13: (Day 6 of trek: Biskeri Tatch to Bandak Tatch, 8 km)


We woke up at the usual time of 6:30 AM and got ready to leave by 8:30. The fact that we need not climb anymore was a great relief. Not more than 100 mts since we left the camp and I twisted my leg. For the next few days, I was limping everywhere.

We were given 2-3 breaks before we reached the lunch spot by 1. There was even a place near the river stream where we had to rappel down for about 20 feet, and this was a little difficult for my leg. Despite of all the crape bandage and volini sprayed, the pain never seemed to come down even a bit. And then our guide Ramlal ji offered some treatment on my leg, tying my ankle with a stick, using ropes and he did something. I felt a little relieved and I was now able to rotate my leg completely, but the pain was still the same. He said the pain will be there for the next few days, and I have to bear with it :-(

Rappelling down

On the way to Bandak tatch


Since it was trekking down everywhere, I didn't have much issues. But when we reached Bandak Tatch camp, we had to climb for about 100 mts, and the trouble started. Almost everyone there offered to carry me, for which I had been too stubborn and said a No. And finally after some scoldings from Suchith, I had to give in and he carried me till the camp! (Very embarrassing moment, but I had no option.. And I'm very thankful to him that he did it for me)

The location of this camp was just the best. There can be no word suitable to describe the beauty of this place. The tents were in the middle of a grassland patch, of about roughly 200 mts in radius, surrounded by tall pine trees and a few rocks, and then the ice capped mountains in the background!! A perfect place to camp with an awesome view.

Badak tatch camp

We reached the camp at 4:30, and our camp leader was too much enthusiastic to talk to all of us. Apart from the intro session, he was trying to have other conversations and it was funny. Once the cook called us for tea, we all dispersed and never gathered again near the camping area :-P

We went around exploring and then settled on one of the rocks. Few people had asked the local people to get the local drink lugdi and few of them took it. They were now high and it was fun. After a while we went and joined the rest of the group, for the last campfire session of our group. Most of them would depart the next day evening from the base camp.

Fun on the rock edge

SP-7 at Bandak Tatch camp


This campfire was particularly good than any other.  Few sung songs, some performed skits, and Jois's skit of imitating our group members was awesome and everyone enjoyed it. We were called for dinner, and after having dinner we gathered again. Few of them went to sleep, and it was now time to close our camp fire session, but we requested our CL that we would be there for some more time without making any noise. He said yes, and we put on some music and started to dance. The CL came out and started shouting on us, and we promised him that we won't make anymore noise, not even soft music. Unwillingly he said OK and went back to sleep. We were just talking now, sharing some stories of their lives, since we couldn't dance anymore. At one point someone laughed out loud, and the torch inside the CL's tent went on. We all ran into our tents before he came out. Thankfully no one was caught, and we never came out of tents again and we slept. It was 11 PM.


Day 14: (Day 7 of trek: Bandak Tatch to Barshani Road, 8 km, and then to base camp by bus)


The last day of the most beautiful and awesome trek! No hurry to leave, we all got ready by 8:15 and left the base camp to finish the last part of trek. Today's distance was 10 km, and it was an easy one. We all reached the road, from where the actual finish point was about 500 km uphill. So I took a cab till there since my leg was paining a lot, while all others walked. We reached the bus stop at 12 noon.

We had some snacks there and took the bus towards Kasol. We all planned to get down for a visit to Manikaran, where we could also get hot water to take bath. It was 7 days since we had taken bath and it was a disgusting feeling. We went to Manikaran, and took our time to clean our bodies in the hot waters of kund there. The water was very hot and the bath was very relaxing. We then went to the Gurudwara, and then to the temple. We went to lungar and had our lunch there. Though they served simple food, it was tasty. We ate till our stomachs couldn't take anymore and we left for base camp. It was another 30 minute journey till we reached the base camp.

Manikaran

We took our languages that we had deposited and started packing. We had to start by 7 or 7:30 PM from the base camp since we had a bus from Kullu at 10:30 PM. We packed our bags, and were making last day goodbye conversations with all our trek mates. We then kept our bags in the camp and went to visit an Italian restaurant for dinner. We had Pizza and other few stuffs and it tasted good. I don't remember the name of the restaurant though, but it was a nice one.

We then came back to the base camp, and bidding bye to all, we took a cab to Kullu. We were only 6 of us again now. We reached Kullu around 9:30 and we had an hour to wait. It was cold outside and we were only wanting to board the bus and sleep. The bus arrived at 11 PM and we boarded it. All of us were tired, and we slept.

Altitude of all the camps (in feet) 

Kasol: 5400
Grahan: 7700
Padri: 8900
Minh Tatch: 10700
Nagaru: 12500
Sar Pass: 13800
Biskeri Tatch: 11000
Bandak Tatch: 8000

Day 15: (Delhi to Agra, Stay in Agra)


We were suppose to reach Delhi by 10:30 AM, but we were late by an hour. It was very hot also, and the journey seemed never ending. We had to go to Airport metro to pick up our Zoomcar that we had booked well before. We got down near Kashmere gate and then took another cab to airport metro station. Before starting, we also had some lime juice since the heat of Delhi was making us tired.

We reached the metro station and freshened up. After staying in tents for 10 days, this looked like a luxurious washroom :-P Our car also arrived, and we all settled down and turned on the AC. This was a very good feeling in that scorching heat!

We drove to Agra. Midway, we stopped in Subway for lunch, and without anymore breaks, we reached Agra by 5:30 PM. Before going to our hotel, we went near Agra fort which was almost closing, and thought we will visit it next day. We went to our hotel, which was very near to Taj East gate.

We parked our car some 200 mts away since the road was very narrow. We went and checked in, and took bath. We were too tired just because of the heat. We had to visit Taj Mahal in the night for a full moon day view, but the hotel guy couldn't get us the tickets. So we decided to go to the city market and have some chats. We drove to the market, and roamed around a few streets. Nothing interesting though, we had Gol Gappa, Lassi, Rabdi and Faluda and we returned to hotel.

Day 16: (Visit Taj Mahal, Mathura and Vrindavan, and then Back to Delhi)


We woke up lazily by 8, and got ready to visit Taj at 10 AM. It was too hot and the place was also very much crowded. We didn't find that place to be special, and thus we returned to our rooms very soon, having some lime juice and soda. After we returned to hotel, we ordered for chapati's, curd and plain rice, since we were bored of any other food now, and we had chatnipudi that Raksha and Suchith had got. We had too much, and we were satisfied with that simple yet delicious breakfast.

At Taj Mahal

We then packed up and checked out the of the hotel. Deciding not to visit anything else in Agra, we drove to Mathura. We visited the temple there and then we headed to Gokul. We were accompanied by a small boy as a guide, and the priest at Gokul successfully managed to trick Raksha and Gaurav for some seva which costed them 600 each :P We have teased both of them for this, for the rest of the day.

On highway, way back to Delhi

We reached the airport metro at 7 PM and we returned the car. We then came to airport by shuttle, thinking how the trip was now coming to an end. Raksha, Shreya and I had to depart for our flight at 9 PM, while the guys would take a flight at 4 AM. They decided to roam around Delhi in car for the rest of the night, and we said our goodbyes. The trip was now over!! :-( We reached Bengaluru around 12 AM and then took a cab to home.

It was both a sad and exciting feeling to get back to your city. The sense of familiarity of our place and our lives were back. I do miss those days badly, but life has to move on.. And yes, this was the best trip of all till now! :)



Epilogue:
I will sole heartedly now agree the saying "An Himalayan dream called Sar Pass"!!! Yes, it is indeed one of the most beautiful treks. Though I have been to only one Himalayan trek before this, I am sure that it is one of the best and beautiful treks of this region. In a matter of 7 days, you get to experience all types of terrain. Plain Grassland, Deep Forest, Dry and Snow clad mountains and paths.. and those beautiful campsites - Just fell in love with them. You simply don't want to leave that place, and I'm sure you make a silent promise to yourself to visit them again. I have got this feeling of visiting a place again and again for very few times till now, and this trip has given me 2 such places for that list: Prashar Lake and Sar pass. And I have been recommending these places to everyone who asks me about places or treks around Manali. I also hope that I can make it to those lovely places once again. I have also promised myself to do this trek again after some years <3


P.S:
All Pic Credits: Shreya Bongale, Suchith R, Raksha Kodangal, Devendran Kumar