Hiking in the Himalayas have been popular since a very long time and there are very few who do not go back to the mountains once they have surrender to its immense beauty and the vastness of the massifs.
It is very hard to restrain the call of the inner self to explore the glories of Himalaya.
Hence we chalked out a plan to cross the Rupin pass which is in the central part of the Himalaya.
Rupin Pass is a high altitude pass in the Himachal Pradesh with an elevation of 4650 mts(15250 ft).
One can either start the trek from Himachal pradesh itself by going to Rohru via car from Shimla, or can take the traditional sheperd's trail from Dhaula which is in Uttarakhand. The trek ends in Sangla which is in Himachal Pradesh
The trail of this trek goes around the Rupin river and marked distinct by the three layer waterfall which lies just before the pass.
The trek can be done within a span of 7 to 6 days by covering moderate distance and gaining adequate height each day.
We were a team of two people and we chose the traditional route from Dhaula to Sangla. After chalking out the plan we contacted Ramlal Panwar and his brother Megraj. They are very well know for arranging treks in the Uttarakhand and Himachal region.
They provided us with guide, porters and cooks and also all the ration and utensils and the necessary equipment required to complete the trek.
There were two more people who contacted Ramlal before and they also joined us from Sankri for the trek.
Here is how it began:
THE TREK:
Day 0 Kolkata-Delhi: It was Nabami, the ninth day of Durga Puja. Our sacks were ready and we headed for our journey. We took a flight to Delhi and from there took Nanda Devi Express from New Delhi station to Dehradun.
Day 1 Dehradun-Sankri:
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| Dehradun Station in the morning. |
After reaching Dehradun in the morning we called Ramlal. He told us to meet him at Sankri cause the home stays at Dhaula were full. He also told us to collect our permit from the permit office at Naitwar which is on the way.
We waited for the bus which leave for Sankri from Dehradun in the morning at 8 A.M but since it was Dussehra ,the morning bus to Sankri was cancelled. The person who gives ticket for the buses told us to take the bus to Moari and from there we can get another vehicle to Sankri.
Quickly we had our breakfast and some hot tea from the bus depot and took the tickets for Moari.
We reached Moari at around 5 P.M.
On inquiring about cars to Sankri some local men told that there is a bus which will leave soon for Sankri and told us to go to the bazar quickly.
Picking up our sacks and all other belongings we ran towards the Maori bazar and caught the bus for Sankri.
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| Way to Sankri |
On the way two men got up from Naitwar. They are the men who work for Ramlal and his brother. They got in the bus looking for us. His name was Santosh, he was our cook in the trek. Ramlal told him to wait for us so that we do not face any trouble at the permit office and can reach Sankri from there.
At round 7:30 P.M we reached Sankri. There at Hotel Swargarohini we were welcomed by Ramlal. He was very relieved to see us as we were already late due to the bus.
We had tea and discussed about our plans for the trek which will begin from the next day.
He told us to get ready by 6 A.M in the morning and then have our breakfast and start the trek at the earliest time possible.We agreed to that and then went to the hotel.
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| Dinner at Sankri |
It was already a tiring day and we repacked our sack quickly and made it ready for the trek and had dinner and slept our way to glory..
Day 2 Sankri-Dhaula-Ali Gad : The Hike begins today.
Trek time: 45 mins -1hr by car followed by 5-6 hrs of Hike.
Trek Distance: 14.5 Kms
Gradient:Uphill climb for intial couple of hours followed by easy walk with short ups and down. On crossing Sewa it is mostly down towards the Rupin river.
We got ready in the morning having our breakfast we waited for the car which will take us and the entire team of Guide porter and cook along with all the necessity items for the trek. Ramlal introduced us to Tippan Ji ,our guide in the morning while having breakfast.
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| Ramlal and Tippan along with two other fellow trekkers at Sankri |
There were two more hikers who contacted Ramlal and will do the trek with us. They were also ready and we started for Dhaula.
It was a 45 mins drive from Sankri to Dhaula.
From Dhaula we began the trek. Our destination was Ali Gad on that day.
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| Dhaula |
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| Rupin River |
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| Treks starts after crossing the first bridge |
We crossed small villages on our way and followed the well defined trail.
There are many small shops in the villages selling tea and maggies. After walking for quite some time we had tea at one place and had our packed lunched too.
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| Following the undulating trail |
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| Rupin river follows us on our right |
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| Ligting up fire for cooking |
Day 3 Ali Gad- Jakha :
Trek time : 8- 9 hours of hike of which 5 KM we traveled by a car which saved 1 hour.
Trek Distance: 5 km by car and 13 Km walk.
Gradient: Steep climb uphill followed by a gradual uphill motor able road for 5 Kms and then hiking trail with ups and downs.
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| Breakfast at Ali gad where we met our new friend |
The started after a good night sleep and a delicious breakfast cooked by our cook Santosh. We started early and followed our guide Tippan and soon we reached the motorable road that falls in
Uttarakhand and connects Rohru. While walking we found a car passing us and agreed to drop us till the end of the road till where the car goes. We all jumped into it. There were already few locals sitting inside the car so some of us had to climb up to the roof.
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| Steep ascent for around 1 Hr. |
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| Reaching Himachal Pradesh which lies just after crossing the forest |
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| Our porters crossing the crossing the bridge. |
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| Walking until we got a car. |
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| Finally the car came and agreed to drop us |
The car took Rs 30 per person and we paid him and got down at the end of the motor able road. Again we started the walking towards our destination.
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| The walk starts again |
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| Meeting the kids on our way made us belief that there is a village nearby where we can stop for a hot cup of tea. |
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| Entering a small village just before Jiskoon |
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| Browsing through the pictures while waiting for the tea |
Soon we reached Jiskoon and from there we refilled our ration. We also had our packed lunch on the way.
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| At Jiskoon where we picked up some of the ration |
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| A narrow lane |
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| Reaching Jakha |
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| Jakha |
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| Entering Jakha |
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| Nair Singh's house at Jakha |
We reached Jakha at around 4 P.M in the evening and soon we were served hot tea and pakora.
We stayed at Nair Singh's house and he let us sleep in own room which was very warm and cozy.
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| Hot tea and pakora |
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| Nair Singh and his grandson |
After having the tea we took a stroll along the village and met few locals on the way.
Jakha is an old village where there is a beautiful temple but since it was close we could not take a peek in.
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| Temple at Jakha |
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| Happy Kids at Jakha |
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| Friends who came with us to show us around Jakha. |
We then went to a shop and talked to the shopkeeper and his friend and found that they were also guides of Himachal. They told us about few more details of Rupin and asked us to visit the small lake which is near Ratah Pheri.
Day 4 Jakha-Dhanderas Thatch :
Trek Time: 9-10 hours
Trek Distance: 15 Km.
Gradient: Uphill climb for couple of hour followed by steep ascent followed by gentle walk till Udaknal Thatch and then there is a boulder zone and a steep uphill climb.
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| Tippan, Our guide after having breakfast |
It was sunny day and we said our good bye to Nair Singh the owner of the house where we stayed. He told us to visit again and we promised him about coming back to this serene village.
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| Leaving Jakha |
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| Tippan searching for song in his mobile |
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| Entering the fir forest |
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| Going down towards the Rupin river and for the next few days we will walk along its bank. |
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| Refilling our bottles |
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| Going Uphill |
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| The greenery of the fir forest is gone the landscape changed drastically |
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| Resting for a while before reaching Udaknal |
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| Reaching Udaknal Thatch |
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| The team having tea and maggie |
We then had a long and tiring walk until we reached the fir forest. There we strolled lazily enjoying the calm and peaceful trail. Then we reached Udaknal Thatch where we stopped for a while at the last shop in the trail and had tea and Maggie.
Soon the weather changed and the dark cloud started hovering above us. Though Tippan assured us that we will reach soon but that day we were really late and the trail seemed never ending.
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| Walk towards Dhanderas Thatch |
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| Climbing up |
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| Rock Bed |
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| Towards Buras Kandi |
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| Walking towards Dhanderas Thatch keeping Rupin River to our left |
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| Going towards Burad Kandi |
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| Buras kandi |
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| Looks like three monks sitting |
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| A Gradual trail |
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| First view of Rupin Pass |
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| Boulder Zones |
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| Sun going down behind the mountain |
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| Snow fall began and still we have a quite some kilometers ahead of us |
On reaching the spot where we need to walk over the shallow bed of the Rupin river it started to snow. And the sun went down suddenly. I and my friend was walking all alone as Tippan was with the other two guys who were little behind us. After a while in the dark saw torch lights coming toward us. AAH!! what a relief..
Our porter came from the camp as they went way before us and they were worried as we were so late. Two of them went to help Tippan and one took us to the camp.
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| Snow all around the tent |
It was a really cold night and within an hour the entire place was white washed with snow.
That was a full moon night and when the snow stopped we were awestruck by the beauty of that place.
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| Night at Dhanderas Thatch after snow fall |
Day 5 Dhanderas Thatch- Ratha Pheri : Day where we have to cross the waterfalls.
Trek Time: 6 Hours
Trek Distance : 7.1 Kms.
Trek Gradient: Steep Uphill Climb with snow patches and waterfalls which need cautious walk around them.
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| The Three Layer Waterfall |
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| Our sacks are ready |
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| Ready to leave for the next destination |
As it snowed last night hence Tippan hurried us to start the trek early the next morning as the melting snow will make the trail more difficult to hike and since there are only boulders so there are chances of slipping if the snow melts.
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| Three step waterfall |
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| First Waterfall |
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| Two more waterfalls to cross |
We got ready and it was a very chilly morning. We waited for the sun to touch us while walking as we were frozen by the chilled up night. The climate changed drastically. We were missing the warm room of Jakha and we on our way to Ratah Pheri.
That day we all walked together and then we had to cross three waterfalls and I drowned my leg in one of it while crossing.
Soon I had to change my socks and got our self going.
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| Waterfall Crossing |
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| A tricky patch |
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| Going towards Upper Waterfall |
On reaching the upper waterfall Tippan told us to have our packed lunch and he asked Santosh to set the camp there but Santosh who were little ahead of us told the porters have already gone to Ratah Pheri and started setting up the kitchen. Tippan then asked 2 porters to come and take our sack so that we can reach the camp early. It was a steep ascent and the porters helped us with our bags.
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| Upper Waterfall camp |
Right after reaching the camp the snow fall began. Once again we had to quickly rush to our tent so that we don't get wet by the snow like the day before.
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| View of the Upper waterfall from Ratah Pheri |
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| The Porter helped us with our bag as we moved towards Ratah pheri |
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| Camp Site at Ratah Pheri |
Santosh made some soup and tea and we had it all to keep our self warm and hydrated.
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| Snowfall at Ratah Pheri |
Once again a very cold night with continuous snow fall. The temperature was below -1 degree.
Day 6 Ratah Pheri- Ronti Gad: The Pass crossing day.
Trek time: 5 hours
Trek Distance : 10.1 Km Hike and around 400 mts of sliding down in the snow.
Gradient: Gradual walk followed by steep climb till the pass and then sliding down in the snow followed by downhill descent till Ronti Gad.
We woke up with snow falling over our face inside the tent. The moisture gathered inside the tent and fell as snow over the face. Not just the water in our bottle were frozen even my lens became fossilized in the lens case.
I was not in a mood to have any food as I was all frozen by the snow and chilli wind.
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| Our Camp Site at Ratah Pheri |
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| Rupin pass visible.. but still a long way before we reach there |
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| Way to Rupin Pass |
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| First view of the road that leads to the Pass |
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| The pass is just in the vicinity |
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| Snow Trail |
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| Finally we were there. |
We were little late while starting the trek but soon we were near the trail which goes up right to the Pass. Tippan helped us all while we walked up. It wasn't a walk any more we have to even use our hands for balancing on the rock which was also slippery from the melting snow. Within 20 mins we reached the top of the pass.
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| A very steep climb |
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| Looking back everything seemed very small |
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| Happiness for getting us all to the pass securely |
Finally when we reached the top and the entire surrounding felt surreal.
Surrounded by the massifs, the beauty of the view engulfed us. All the pains of the trail ,the cold chili nights and the tricky trails were soon forgotten and we were all mesmerized by the view of the peaks of Shivalik range standing right in front of us. It was moment of great joy and we all felt happy for having achieved our target of reaching the pass healthy and safely.
All around the pass it was surrounded by Dhauladhar range.
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| The happiness when you reach the destination |
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| Making plan for the next trek |
The top of the pass have many colour flags and also a Flag of India over a stone stacked platform which is worshiped by the locals. Our guide Santosh did a little puja on reaching the top and gave us the prasad.
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| Teammates |
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| Worshiping |
I then put my crampons and walked down for few meters and then it was a slide on the freshly smeared snow. We slided in two stages and then it was a walk down the snow patch. followed by a muddy trail that resulted from the melting snow.
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| Ready to walk on the snow patches |
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| The view of the Kinner Kailash range |
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| Sliding Down |
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| Having Fun in the snow |
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| Snow patches on Rupin pass |
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| After the slide |
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| Amphitheater of snow covered peaks |
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| The amphitheater of snow and mountain peaks like guards witnessing the entire show |
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| Going back leaving our foot prints behind and taking a lot of memories within us |
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| Steep descent down |
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| Going down towards Ronti Gad |
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| The view of the snow covered peaks from Rupin Pass |
Soon we spotted our camping ground at Ronti Gad which was marked by trenches and kitchen remnants of the previous camp. Santosh collected some stove pins that were smeared on the ground. Ronti gad as we saw in the picture was not green any more. It was all yellow and white from the snow . We enjoyed the sun and gave our shoes and mat for drying in the sun.
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| Towards Ronti Gad |
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| The huge bugyal of Ronti Gad lies ahead |
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| The Kinner Kailash range welcomes us |
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| Hydrating ourself at the water source |
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| Reached the campsite. |
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| Drying the mat which was wet from the snow last night. |
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| Lovely sun outside |
We had hot maggie and soup which our cook made and then strolled around but soon the cold air started blowing and we moved inside our tent.
The beauty of the pass still remained intact but the cold was unbearable even at that altitude the night temperature dropped below zero and once again the water in our bottle froze.
We were waiting for the sun to appear and waited for the night to get over soon.
Day 7 Ronti Gad-Sangla : Trek ends today.
Trek Time : 6 hrs.
Trek Distance : 17 Kms.
Gradient: Steep descent followed by gradual walk and then on reaching Sangla its a steep walk till Sangla bazar and ends with climbing up stairs which I felt is the difficult part of the trek 😝
It was lazy morning we felt little sad that the trek would end soon and then we had to go back to work again!!
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| Leaving our camp at Ronti Gad behind we started towards Sangla |
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Crossing the frozen waterfalls
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| Mountain Yaks |
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| Another campsite little ahead of Ronti Gad |
But then I have already started missing my home and it was the cold mostly that i dont want to bear any more. We packed and had our breakfast. We started walking slowly and it was mostly a gradual patch and we enjoyed the view of the peaks that surrounded us. Looking back the Rupin pass looked very small like a patch of snow on the mountain.
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| The Kinner Kailash ranges |
The Rupin river which was no more our companion. But the soon view of the Kinner Kailash range and the blue alpine meadows gave us company. We started walking in the Baspa valley leaving Rupin pass like a small line on the ridge at our back.
To our right it was Nalgan pass which Tippan showed the trail pointing down at the meadows.
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| Shepherd's Hut on our Left |
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| Sangla Kanda |
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| Entering the village |
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| A hut with a view |
Soon after walking downhill we reached Sangla Kanda and there a car filled with apple cartons waited. The men who were putting the cartons gave each one of us Green apple which they call as Golden apples.
It tasted like fruit from the Eden... I became eager to reach Sangla and take a hot cup of coffee there which I missed badly during the trek.
Sangla Kanda to Sangla was a gradual road and then Tippan, our guide took us through the short cuts and finally we reached Sangla.
But then the nightmare began. For 1KM we have to walk up a steep road which leads to Sangla Bazar. It was ready tiring and I felt that was the most difficult part of the entire trek.
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| Sangla |
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| Apple trees all through the road filled with apples. |
Tippan took us to the Baspa Hotel which is right in the middle of the bazar.
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| Sangla Bazar |
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| Our Hotel at Sangla |
After the entire team reached we had to wish Tippan and his team of cook and porter good bye. But it was not a final one cause we are suppose to meet soon for our next trek in the coming few months.
They had to catch the bus at 5 P.M and so they left us in the hotel and went to the bus stand. I finally had my cup of coffee and then went to had some food at a Tibetan joint which turned out to be a really good decision after the long and tiring day.
Next day we had to reach Shimla and finally leave for our hometown.
The trek ended well and did not face any difficulties in completing it. Tippan and his team were excellent and their service during the trek were beyond any words.
Next day morning we woke up to the beautiful morning of Sangla and Left for Shimla where we stayed for the night and then went to Delhi to take our flight to Kolkata.
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| Shimla City |
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| The Shimla Mall |
I used to wonder why the name Rupin but if I think in bengali Rupin is really the name which stand justified.
Picture Courtesy: Most of the picture used in this blog were taken by Jeet Mukherjee
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