My first exploratory trek in Himalayas #1

I still remember those days, when I decided to go on my first Himalayan trek and to add on to that excitement it was an exploratory trek, meaning no other group ever did this before. I have always admired the beauty and mightiness of the Himalayas and wanted to be there amidst nature and peacefulness. The time had finally come, I did prepare for months back home running every day with my rucksack to reach the desired fitness level as it can be daunting due to lack of oxygen. But with all good preparation, enthusiasm I was ready and did set off for an adventurous journey to a lake called Bharaadsar Tal located approximately 4000 meters altitude somewhere in Himalayan ranges of Gharwal region in the state of Uttarakhand, India. As the trek length is more than a week and there are lots to share, I will write it in few articles. Keep following and it will be wonderful journey into the Himalayas. Stand with me till the end, as we go higher more beautiful it gets, I promise you! 😊

Day 1: Drive from Dehradun to Dhaula by jeep (approximately 12 hours)

The starting point for this trek was at Dehradun, a beautiful hill station located at the foot of Himalayan ranges. We as a group organized a jeep from Dehradun to drive to the village of Dhaula that takes around 12 hours of drive through winding mountain roads. Enroute will pass through many beautiful places like Mussoorie also small towns of Purola, Mori and Naitwar. We pass by large pine forests after Purola and the journey by the Tons River after Mori village. This is considered as one of the best mountain drives in India. Crossing Naitwar we drove along the Rupin River to reach the last point Dhaula. From here the hike starts. It was near dusk when we reached after 12 hours of tiring but scenic drive.

Passing through the village of Purola

Tons river on the way

As the night falls over the mountains

Our first day base camp for this exploratory trek is Himri that is around 3 to 4 kilometers from Dhaula village where we got off the jeep and can be reached only by foot. The campsite is nestled amidst the beautiful Himri and other coniferous trees. Hence the name Himri to campsite due to the abundance of trees found there. So we decided to camp at Himri on the banks of Rupin river. Rupin has clear blue water that rumbles down the hill. Certainly, it was a beautiful campsite and great place to start our trek. Himri is at an altitude of 1470 meters above the sea level.

Our beautiful campsite for day 1

To end the first day, we wrapped up by pitching our tents on the banks of river shown in above photos, cooked some food, enjoyed the night under stars with a campfire and getting to know fellow trekkers.

Day 2: Trek from campsite Himri to Saru Tal via the village of Bhitri

The second day started with a good warmup exercise and light breakfast at the campsite to set off towards the village of Bitri via dense pine forests. The campsite Himri lies at the base and village Bitri is on the mountain ridge.

Colorful flowers just after we left the campsite

Hike through pine forests

It was a steep climb through the forests and we had to ask nearly every passerby we met (we hardly met 4 to 5!) about the route as we were not clear which way to take. The people were so kind to help us regain our way towards the village of Bitri.

A Couple of hours later, we passed by this beautiful lone house. I could sense human habitat nearby and be happy as we couldn’t get any source of water in-between. What amazed me about this house is the way how it was built unlike what we see in towns or cities. They were made of wood with flat stones laid as the roof. Never seen something like that until then.

Lone Survivor!

As we move further, the landscape starts to get more beautiful. Time and time again we did pass by few beautiful mountain houses as the ones below, they are built on mountain slopes. Such a peaceful life in here!

Stone roof houses on the Mountain ridges. Aren’t they beautiful?

After a steady 4 hour uphill climb, we entered the village of Bitri. This little village houses a little more than 60 families. The people were so happy to see us and treated like we knew each other from ages, even if it was the first time we met them!

The village of Bitri

An old lady with her grandson. Look at those curious eyes!

I have experienced this many a times during my hike through the Himalayas. Every village I pass by was a great experience, people were so kind and caring. They will always be remembered. A quick walk through these beautiful houses, we were already at the center of town with a unique design temple that was carved charmingly with wood and stones.
The temple is built in a typical Kinnaur architecture. This is one of the major attractions in the village.

Temple of Bitri built on Kinnaur architecture

Wooden carvings on temple entrance and doors

Head of the village smoking Hookah sitting outside the temple

This is a tradition and it has been followed here from ages. Smoking is considered holy this part of the world! 😉 They say it helps them attain spiritual awakening and makes everyone happy 😊

Outside this temple is also their court where the heads of the village join along with other villagers and solve a case when requires an intervention. Another interesting point is that the village has an open school concept.

Open school of Bitri. Classroom with a breath taking view of mountains.

There is no classroom and the school is run on a small open play ground. There is one teacher for the whole village, kids sit on the ground and there is a small blackboard in the yard! Spending few hours with the villagers it was time to move on. We continued our journey further after having some light snacks and filling up enough water for the rest of our journey.

After hiking for around next two hours we finally reached a large meadow with a small lake right at the center. So hike for the second day is completed and we arrived at our campsite Saru Tal.

Campsite with our tents pitched in

Campsite Saru Tal at dusk

Early morning rays over the mountains

View of mountains from Campsite

Until now we are done with the second day and we have passed through various beautiful landscapes to reach our campsite, Saru Tal. We still have not crossed the tree line or have seen the first sight of snow-capped mountains, I will continue the rest in upcoming articles. Until then stay tuned, the best is yet to come! 😊

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Chaithra Bhat