Find bliss amidst lush
hills
How often have you felt the need to get out of
your city and be in the lap of the mighty Himalayas for a fabulous trek that
you've heard about many times before? Perhaps many times already and now is the
time to push yourself physically and mentally to pursue a guided group trek and
find your spot in the glossy picture albums.
We salute the adventurous spirit of our
ET-Travel readers who relentlessly send in their mountain trek experiences and
splash amazing pictures with it. Tempting and truly admirable as many urban
corporates do their good samaritan work by lighting up far-off villages with
solar lamps and help in eco initiatives up in the hills. Way to go!
HAMPTA PASS & CHANDRATAL
Region: Lahaul Valley
The trek begins from Manali and perhaps that's
another reason to holiday in this scenic valley. Plan a guided group trek and
let the fun begin. The group is driven to the outskirts of Manali town where
the trek actually starts from. The first two days offer a green feel with lush
meadows welcoming the hiking group. The camp sites are gorgeous with flora all
around. It's a photographer's dream come true. Waterfalls flow in full fury as
raindrops beat down during the trek. Listen to the birdsong amidst the
Chestnut, Deodar, Oak and Pine trees. Close-by, spot sheep grazing and trees
swaying with the pleasant breeze. In the next stage, make way to the Hampta
Pass through a challenging terrain of slopes and boulder-ridden path ahead.
Sometimes, the route to the top is covered with snow and that tends to pose
some difficulties in trekking. As you ascend, you can take to the views of
Deotibba and Indrasan. Now, you can begin to cross over the Pass and descend to
the grass lands of Shea Gahru. For the entire group, this activity takes close
to about 8 hrs or so. The last stage of the trek is in the beautiful Lahaul
Valley and will take us to Chatru from Shea Gahru.
Breathe easy as this path is comfortable with a
few tricky curves. Once the entire group assembles after the descend, from
Chatru, you can drive back in the vehicle that will take you to the beautiful
Chandratal Lake.
Most groups have a campsite here and you must
take lots of pictures around this water body.
Chandratal is truly a jewel of the mountains
being one of the finest high altitude lakes in the country.
Next day, hike up from the lake to Kunzum La
(4,600m) passing by scenic landscape. Once here, the group then moves back to
Manali as the trek concludes.
By Nimisha Tiwari
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ETTR2JUL15
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