Desire - a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen.
It is this desire to experience and walk through blankets of snow that enticed most of us to select the Chandrakhani Pass Trek. And how difficult would an ‘easy to moderate’ trek be? – Easy to moderate, of course, duh! Well! There have been fewer times when I have seen one’s desire, like the weather and temperature changes on the trek, drop and change so fast and steeply from an excited ‘I want to see and trek in snow’ to an exhausted ‘I’ve had enough of snow’ simply over a period of two days. Let me not race ahead, though.
This would be the first national YHAI trek for me to be going with known people from previous treks – from the Har Ki Doon and Valley of Flower treks. So, the fun started on the train to Chandigarh itself with RK preparing some wonderful fresh bhel, with our UNO hands passing from the top to lower berths and not to forget the clash with the obnoxious uncle who was throwing his weight and our luggage around to fit his.
Our base camp was at ‘15 Miles’ or ‘Pandra Mil’ on the road to Manali. One can travel to Delhi or Chandigarh and then take a bus or private vehicle to travel to Manali; there are HP state buses as well. The roads being really good, from Delhi it takes about 11 hours to travel the 510 kms and it is nearer to Chandigarh, a distance of 280 kms – about 7 hours. Our bus was late in the night, so we explored whatever we could of the city – went to Sukhna Lake, the Rock Garden and had dinner at Pal Dhaba. The Rock Garden was an interesting visit; it’s a huge place and very aesthetically and interestingly done. Chandigarh, by the way, truly is a rich man’s city – what with coconut water being sold at 80 and cloak room charges per bag being 100 at the station. It is a clean city though, well planned with cycling tracks and enough place for pedestrians. Is there any city other than Mumbai where rickshaws ply on meter?? Travelling alone would soon empty the pockets of an economical traveler with the money the rickshawallahs demand for. Tired and sleepy, while we were waiting eagerly for our bus, Bharat got a notification on his app that we were already on the bus and on our way – funny! Finally, it arrived and in no time, most of us dozed off and woke up to the first glimpse of the snow capped mountains as we were nearing our destination. It felt exciting as I passed the Aut tunnel and Dobhi camps reminding me of the Jalori Pass and Deo Tibba treks.
The base camp was abuzz with people. A large batch of girls from the Scindia Kanya Vidyalay had come for the Nature Study Camp. This enthusiastic and chirpy group made the campsite a lively place with their presence. They rocked at the camp fire too as they sang and danced without any inhibitions. More schools and parents should send students for such nature study activities. The weather, not wanting to be left behind, made its presence felt too – it rained on both days at the base camp. We were informed that the first three batches for the trek couldn’t complete the trek as it was snowing excessively at the top. We crossed our fingers. A few of us went for a nice and peaceful forest walk on the other side of the 15 Mil bridge dangling over the ebulliently flowing Beas river. The pine trees are a delight to walk under. In the polluted cities, people become jubilant if they find a rose sprouted in their pots, and here the size, shape, colour and number of flowers are just incredible; they were rose plants, and not bushes. Irises and other flowers were everywhere – well nourished with the clean air and unpolluted water, just like the huge furry dogs. Over the days of the trek, we also spotted a few colourful birds like the Magpie, Hoopoe, and the Asian Paradise Flycatcher among others.
Day
1 – Acclimatization walk
Following the morning exercise which we did facing snow capped mountains, we hiked to Badgran village and back post breakfast as part of the acclimatization walk. It started raining at the beginning of the walk and everyone got their ponchos out and soon later it started getting hot and everyone started undressing, one layer after another. It was a good walk but hardly trying. Later at the camp, it rained again as we went through a boring and exhausting trek briefing.
Day
2 – Trek to Bijli Mahadev and then to Sola Tanki
He – What do
you seek?We – Snow.
He – Look on the peaks of the mountains.
We – Yes, it’s beautiful, but …
He – Shhh! Just look!
We were seventeen (fifteen of us along with our two highly efficient guides). The trek started from Chansari village and we reached there on a bus which took us about 2 hours from the base camp. The initial walk of about a kilometer is on a tarred road and then you sweep left to come across the cemented steps. The steeply rising and meandering steps lead all the way to the Bijli Mahadev temple through a beautiful pine forest and they actually start from even before Chansari village. It is a steep 4 kilometer climb to the forest and the guides informed us that during Shrawan, it becomes a crowded thoroughfare with thousands of villagers thronging the path to the temple. A huffing and puffing lady couldn’t help asking as she saw our huge backpacks, “kyu karte ho ye sab, kya majaa aata hai?” I’m still thinking of the right answer. The last steps lead you to a plateau which is the top of the mountain. A few shops selling offerings line the steps at the top. The view of the snow clad peaks against the conically shaped fluorescence of the washed pines is a mesmerizing contrast. The layers of shades on the mountains are a treat. The ancient temple at 7913 feet is perched at the edge of the mountain overlooking the Parvati valley.
Legend has it that a demon named Kulant took the form of a serpent and stopped the flow of the Beas River. He wanted all life forms around the river to drown and die. Lord Shiva on seeing this came forward to save the place and its inhabitants. He lit the serpent’s tail on fire and asked him to turn back and look. Just when the demon did that, Lord Shiva pierced the serpent’s head with his trident. As the demon died, its massive body turned into rock which is the mountain on which the Bijli Mahadev Temple today stands. It is near the confluence of the Beas and Parvati rivers. Apparently, the name Kullu is derived from the name of the demon. It is said that Lord Shiva requested Lord Indra, the God of Rain to strike lightning on the mountain once every twelve years and in order to not hurt the local inhabitants, the lightning strikes on the shivling itself. When this happens, the shivling shatters completely into pieces and the priest then collects all the pieces together and applies salted butter and sattu to them and miraculously, in months, the shivling joins back to take its earlier natural form.
Just as we were finishing our lunch, the Drummer in the skies sounded his first warning. Like a child who wasn’t happy with the blueness of the sky, an angry murky grey was forced in and scribbled in quick succession. By the time we had our rainwear out, it started drizzling. The path to Sola Tanki is on the left of where the steps end and was almost flat land all the way till the camp. As we entered the deodhar forests, we were welcomed by a hail shower. In no time, we were at the Sola Tanki campsite (7930 feet). We stole moments when it wasn’t raining to play antakshari and chat by a fire lit by some villagers. Ashwini, dressed in traditional pahadi attire, was the muse and singing and dancing followed. All through the evening and night it rained and there was a strong wind leading to a quick drop in the temperature. Heartfelt gratitude to the camp leader and the staff who served us our dinner in the freezing rain and allowed us to eat in our tents. Water was welling up at the sides of our tents and RamK, Shubhro and Bharat made way for the water to pass and ensured us a peaceful sleep. A few of our trek mates spotted two foxes in the morning around the campsite which the camp leader confirmed was a regular sighting.
Day
3 – Sola Tanki to Mahuti Nag
Clear skies and the chirping of birds greeted us in the
morning. It was sunny when we started from Sola Tanki. We were told it’ll be a
gradual incline till the next campsite in Mahuti Nag but I guess the definition
of ‘gradual’ is perceptive. Most of today’s trek was through the dense deodhar
forest. Every now and then the towering trees would give way to an opening for
us to have glimpses of the snow clad ranges, the Parvati valley on one side and
the Kullu valley on the other. We spotted the Bijli Mahadev Temple too in the
distance.
We – Snow.
He – Didn’t I give you a hail shower yesterday!
We – Yes, but you know what, what we want is …
He (with a smirk) – And who are you!
The incline was such that you could only see the nearest peak and when you reached there, it gave way to the next. Clouds started gathering and our ponchos were out. It started getting very windy and then all of a sudden there was another shower of hail from the skies. Only this time the hail seemed to have gone crazy, attacking us from all directions. Walking became very difficult with the torrent of hail in our faces. Thankfully, the hail wasn’t hard. We reached a plateau called Bringta top (7273 feet) and broke for lunch. The sun was out again. It felt like being in a video game with someone trying out different weather options every ten minutes and subjecting us to different difficulty modes. A few locals were making omelette, maggi and tea over a makeshift fire. As I was having my yummy omelette, looking at the next peak we were to traverse, a flock of sheep appeared on a curve of the mountains out of thin air, they came from the edge of the mountain as if descending straight from the skies. The Player changed the weather mode yet again and it started hailing as we covered one peak after another to enter into the forest again. Our guides pointed us to a massive rock structure at the edge of the mountain and said that it was sacred as Gods and Goddesses meditate there. In the forests and on the mountains, don’t touch or go near trees or rock surfaces where you see a red cloth tied in a knot – the place is revered by the locals. A steep descent of about ten minutes brought us to our next campsite (9187 feet) but we were not welcome in spite of the severe weather as we had arrived much early.
Anyway, go to our tents, we did and it was still hailing. The toilets as usual, especially for the gents, were thought of and placed to impart the maximum inconvenience. As it stopped raining, we gathered and played dumb charades. We saw the small Mahuti Nag Temple, made of wood and stone, from a distance and right in front of us, in the distance was a peak naturally cut in the shape of Om which would be visible for the all the remaining days.
Day
4 – Mahuti Nag to Ubla Thach
We – (Quiet – Pondering after yesterday’s hail attack and freezing wind).
He – (Laughing) No snow?
We – (apprehensively) Yes
He – Hmm
It could’ve easily been combined with the previous day’s trek. After singing the national anthem and chants of enthusiastic you can, we can, we started our ascent. After walking through the pine forest, in no time we reached a meadow. You never leave sight of the majestic layers of interspersed white prisms as they keep peeking through the foliage of the towering pine; nature creates windows to access the views. The path is through a shepherd’s trail and it was a sight to see hundreds of sheep grazing on the slopes and their loud comical bleating combined with the raucous call of the ravens. As we were having lunch, we saw a circular rainbow around the sun. I had never seen one before and looked it up on the internet and now know that it's called a glory. Every day had its highlights and today’s was - as we emerged from the forests - to be welcomed by the clear blue skies and the aimlessly drifting languid clouds in all their grandeur forming a backdrop to the red and orange leaved maple trees.
The Ubla Thach (meadow/flatland) campsite (9793 feet) had the best location of the entire Chandrakhani Trek. The depth of the layered mountains as the rays of the sun caressed the slopes of the valleys created shades no artist would’ve been able to resist. A horse grazing, ravens calling, the occasional song of another bird, sheep bleating in the distance, the sweet gurgling of a brook, sleepy clouds in the sky, the pines and others dressed up in differentiating shades of green, the tallest and formidable of the lot shrouded in white towering at the back, a blanket of blue spreading its transluscent wings over the entire panorama – what a sight; the serenity and the heavenly scenery leaves an indelible mark in the mind of the onlooker. They say the Pandavas walked through these paths during their time of exile, but where have they not passed through, I ask; almost every trek has them being mentioned. Among the peaks, our camp leader pointed out the highest peak Hanuman Tibba, shaped like a tent, Surkundi Pass, and indicated the Sar Pass too. The campsite, probably being in the middle of grazing grounds, was full of sheep baaaing to their heart's content and they continued their music almost into the night. Not 50 meters away from our campsite, we could see a patch of snow on a slope. Everyone gathered to watch the sun set, dipping the sky in an orange tinge and seemed excited about the next day.
Day
5 – Ubla Thatch to Dohra Nala
He – Snow?We – (Quiet)
He – (Teasing) Snow?
We – (Quiet)
With every passing day, we were getting closer to the mountains. Today and the next we were to have our fill of snow. The six hour trek to Dohra Nala is initially through the forest and then one walks mostly across the mountain ridges in the open. There was snow in abundance as after every few minutes, we walked across huge patches, and there were meadows and slopes covered in it. A few attempted sliding in the snow over a small slope. Going up and down the forest path, we reached a huge meadow called Futta Saur where we were to have lunch. You will get the basics here like tea, coffee, chocolates, biscuits, maggi, eggs at a makeshift shop here. There is a small glacial pond formed at the back of the meadow. The pond against the backdrop of the white sheets on the slopes looked really heavenly. Our guide told us folklore of the Nags, of Mahuti Nag and its brothers and Shubhro let his drone fly (we are yet to see the footage!).
As we moved towards Dohra Nala, our craving for a snow trek soon changed emotions as we comprehended how difficult a terrain it was to walk on. The sun was out and the snow was melting in a few places which made it slippery. None of us were wearing snow shoes and walking on a few of the ridges was a really scary affair, especially where the snow had hardened; the feet skidded without control. I fell badly and almost damaged my camera but that was to be only the first of many falls I was to have. Like a turtle, I was overturned on my shell as I clumsily fell multiple times as I was finding it difficult to grip the surface. The sheer drop we could see as we walked on the ridges made it even scarier. I was already scared about the next day which was to be the most challenging part of the trek. And I was not the only one who fell! It was the first snow trek for the majority of us. Hats off to Vinod who was carrying two bags with a weight of about 17 kgs but deftly and confidently remained ahead for most of the trek.
The campsite at Dohra Nala (10,692) was just by the flowing river and couldn’t be called a comfortable one but the location was such that one couldn’t complain about. As I was discussing with one of my trek mates, trekking is not just about the walk but much more. Campsites like the one at Dohra Nala teach you how basics like going to the toilet can be a horrendous task, especially in the night. The severity of the weather, the eeriness of the dark forest, the caution of not falling in the flowing stream, the iciness of the glacial water making your fingers numb are just some of the things that make up the gamut of trekking. We were to start before the sun rose, so we retired early.
Day 6 – Dohra Nalla to Naya Tapru through Rungta top and Chanderkhani Pass
Frankly, I was quite low on confidence and had somehow fit it in my head from the previous day’s experience that snow trekking was not for me. Anilji got me a stick and that helped me ahead in the snow. We had started at five in the morning so as to cover as much ground before the snow started melting. It was really scary to walk over some of the ridges as the sheer drop could be seen with each step. If not for our guides and our snow guides, it would have been quite difficult for a few of us to complete the trek. More than physically, they helped mentally by just being there, giving a hand when needed and goading us to keep going. We fell, most of us but we carried on. At a few spots where we slipped, and fall badly we did, unable to balance and get back to our feet, if not for the guides, we would have just been like bouncing rocks shattered at the bottom of the valley. The snow, at places was about 3-4 feet deep and where it was soft, our legs sank in till our thighs and hips. Every step seemed a herculean task as our feet disappeared in the snow. It’s absolutely necessary to follow your guides’ directions and everything they say.
We reached Rungta top and what a mesmerizing delight it was. The 360 degree view of the peaks we had experienced so long from a distance was so enthrallingly close now – the Hanuman Tibba, the Dhauladhar and Pir Panjar range. The top was like a giant ski slope. I had never experienced snow in such abundance before. We were a part of the mountains, a part of the scenery. It felt like being in one of those documentaries you watch when you are searching for snow treks on the internet. Not for nothing are these mountains called heavenly abodes. Legend has it that Lord Jamlu who is the presiding God of Malana – a village notorious for its stringent culture and weed plantations considered the best in the world - was carrying Gods in a pot on this path. While he was traversing the Chandrakhani pass, a strong gust of wind blew the Gods away to different locations in the peaks and valleys and there’s where they now reside.
We were promised a long slide on the Chandrakhani Pass (12,190 feet). Unfortunately though we could slide only for about 200 metres but it was real fun. The walk after that was tedious and tiring. Your foot disappeared with every step in the snow; people fell, skidded, slid no matter how calculatedly they planted their feet. I smile as I type this but most people had their fill of snow by then and their expressions said it all as they were promising themselves to never go on a snow trek again.
We reached the last campsite at Naya Tapru (9970 feet) after struggling through more slopes and patches of snow. It was at a picturesque location, surrounded by more snow slopes and peaks in the distance. Not far, a village could be seen which we would walk across the next day to get to Naggar and then get to our base camp in a vehicle.
We – Noooooooo
An eventful trek came to an end. We were a good small group, our guides were fabulous. In the absence of snow, it would’ve been an easy trek; the treading on snow made it moderate to a bit difficult. We only think we’ve had our fill of a snow trek but I’m sure quite a few of us are already looking forward to the next one.
I am!
15 Mil
