The Youth Hostel Association of India (YHAI) (http://www.yhaindia.org) organised 'Saurkundi Pass' trek near Kullu-Manali. The trek route is shown in the figure.
The Paschim express deposited us at the Chandigarh railway station; end of the first leg of journey from Mumbai/Mangaluru.
In the night, we boarded a HRTC A/c bus (booked online) from ISBT Chandigarh on the way to Manali. Near kullu, we saw a jeep loaded with an inflated white water raft. At Manali, we bought some winter cloths, in preparation for the trek and then reached the YHAI base camp at Babeli.
A lot of colourful flags increase the sense of cheer at the YHAI base camp at Babeli. Behind the camp is the hill that we have to climb tomorrow morning; on the right side of the road is the Beas river. The Indra couple pose.
The author of the picture story. Note the casual attitude of the 'lazy trekker' : wearing a piddly sweater just good enough for the winter of Mumbai and hawai slippers. Soon he will learn what a real Himalayan trek will do to a city dweller :-)
A lot of white water rafting units 'crowded' the Beas river shore, not far from the YHAI base camp. Unfortunately, we cannot enjoy a ride after checking into YHAI camp (and before checking out at the end of trek).
The colourful temple of Babeli. The Babeli village is defined by this temple and a couple of shops opposite the temple.
Sajeel with 'doddappa' (Mr. K Parshwanatha Indra) in front of the row of tents for men.
The SK_11 group (that reported on 05-MAY-09) starts the acclimatization walk. With two blankets inside the haversack, the team has to climb the hill on the leftside to get used to high altitude walk.
A view of the valley from midway to the destination - a temple in the hill
A close up view of the houses of Babeli village; the Beas river is seen flowing at the top of the photo.
As we climb higher, the visible universe expands.
The kiddo at the temple. Seems happy to have arrived without problems! Notice the layers of wood (painted in various colours) and stones that constitute the wall of the temple. Also, the roof of the temple is paved with slate sheets.
A group photo of the team. Can't remember all the names. Top row: *, *, *, Dr. *, *, Dr.Arvind Apte, 'Anna', Indra. Middle row: Pavan, Sajeel, chief, Badde 'kaka', Pranav, *, *, Mrs. Badde. Bottom row: Sudhir, *, *, campLeader, *,*,*,Sumangala Indra.
The Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) had a large campsite near the shore of Beas river. The stadium of the camp is visible in the centre.
Having reached the 'summit', the trekers climb down the stone steps, back to the camp.
A cactus in bloom.
Cactus flowers in different colours.
Cactus flower: a rare sight
Soon, we reached a road and started walking downwards toward the camp. Halfway down, the group rested and the orientation program began. The camp leader gave info about the trek and answered queries. We chose a team leader (Swarup), who is seen sitting along with the camp leader on the rock (top left).
The Indra family on the edge, intently listening to the camp leader.
By the side of the road was a shrine; on the door was written: "Please keep your shoes outside".
The shrine was built on a platform above two water channels! From a similar water channel, the group leader collected water and prepared 'sharbat' and distributed to the participants.
The place where we took rest was a U-turn of the road. A water channel, running parallel to the road took a short cut via two cement pipes. Two locals too used these pipes as a short cut road, balancing themselves on the circular pipes.
Aha, finally made it!
A trekking group (SK_2) just now returned to the base camp after completing the trek. Note the mode of transport; many trekkers sat on the roof of the bus and enjoyed the ride.
Sajeel felt that there were not many youngsters in the our group (SK_11) and struck friendship with 3 Delhiites in the previous group (SK_10). So, he took special permission to advance his trek (leaving his pappa and others behind!) He is ready to leave the base camp for higher camps. The baby face will soon know how playing computer game differs from real game nature plays with trekkers at 13,000ft. Mr. Indra (extreme left) looks on.
The goats block National highway!
In the afternoon, the trekkers went for rapelling. The trekkers are waiting for the physical training teacher to set up ropes.
Time pass
That's the rock one has to rapel down. Mr. Indra is all set.
Well, that's a good start. Don't look down :-)
Mrs. Sumangala Indra is waiting her turn. 'Anna' is getting ready (centre). Others are impatiently waiting for their turn.
It was easy upto here! Well, to give the due credit, she did well in her first attempt at rapelling.
At the end, the team came down the hill and rested on the shore of Beas river. The Indra couple pose for a photo.
The Kullu-Manali road (NH) skirts the Beas river.
The team leader (Swarup) is explaining a point to a member. The fast food corner (background) is enticing. The Indra family did have a cup (Rs. 15 per cup) there later.
The sun has set; the moon is rising - a view from the camp.
Today, the trek started. A bus dropped us a couple of kilometres after patalikuhal town. We started climbing up on an unpaved road. On the way, we saw a microhydel project. We had to climb the hill on the right. The snow clad peaks are visible on top left.
badangra (naylagi?) village school
Temple in Badangra village
Temporary tea stall (set up by the guide's family); Trekkers had two hours time. Cricket at 6000ft!
View of the mountains from the 'cricket ground'. Note the contrast between the wrapped up up city dweller and the carefree village kids
Who's that grinning lady?
Village belle (and the city slickers)
Rural and cosmopolitan beauties
A view of the Kullu valley from the tea stall.
The welcome banner; the makeshift toilet can be seen at the lower left corner of the photo.
Canteen (yellow sheet) adjacent to the camp site at the first camp near segli village
Menu is on display. I had two cups of coffee (Rs. 10 each), sat on the bench close to the edge and enjoyed the scenery till sunset.
A closeup of the inventory
The tents were pitched at the edge of the hills. A peek at the peaks on the other side of the valley
The clouds are threatening
The rays of sun getting reflected from Himalayan peaks, just before sun set.
Apple shoots rise above the tents.
An apple tree is blooming
The trek continued on the next day morning. The Segli school just before the Segli village; classes will start a few minutes later. Kids use the playground to play cricket
The troupe is trudging up the trail close to the school
Last night, a wedding took place in this house (of the bride; the groom belongs to a village down). The house has seen a fresh coat of paint. Some close relatives linger around and stare at the city folks out of curiosity.
A photo session is in progress
A kid walks down the narrow foot path
A tree is the victim of lightning.
A rhododendron tree in full bloom
A group photo of the SK11 batch (22 trekkers)
The lady with the saffron dress.
Both tops (of the human and the mountain) are shining :-)
We reached Mailee thatch - the next camp. The tenacity of living beings, the urge to survive is apparent in this photo. These two trees are just hanging at the edge of a granite rock - see the next photo
The trees are not well rooted; fungui thrive on them. Yet, the tree flourishes. That's life
The shepherd's hut near the 2nd camp (mailee). These folks just sleep under an yellow plastic sheet that just ensure that rain/snow does not fall directly on them. The rain water does seep through the earth. They just survive on the heat of a fire at the centre of the tent!
Mother and child
The 3rd day: During the steep climb, it started raining. As we moved to higher altitudes, rain gave way to snow fall - fresh snow. It was a sight to behold. However, due to steep climb, all were very tired by the time they reach the camp site. The camp leader's tent (that also serves as the store room) crashed due to storm the previous day night (the tent in the foreground). The leader narrates: ”tent was OK the previous night. When I woke up at 3am, I felt that something is not right with the tent. ...“. The middle pole had broken down. It means one fewer tent for the trekkers. Fortunately, ours was a small batch (14 males + 8 females) ; so, there was no accomodation crisis. The youngsters occupied the leftmost tent, leaving the middle tent to elders. Snow was melting and was threatening to enter the middle tent. Mr. Badde started vigourously removing snow near the tent entrance using a plate as a shovel! I was too tired to help him or others in the process.
Reflection from snow surfaces, lit as well as unlit by full moon. The hill surface was covered with fresh snow that was just transforming into ice due falling temperature. Everyone was weary of walking on ice and and falling down. Fall they did, of course!
Some trekkers are standing in front of the tent; they are afraid to move lest they fall! A lady (in the forefront) is warily moving towards the tent. The loo is 100 metres below the tent!
The leader's tent is at the centre; other tents are on the right. The whistle for hot coffee has been blown. Some energetic trekkers are moving up towards the kitchen. Most were so tired of the drizzle and then snow fall, compounded by the weakness resulting from the steep climb that they decided to skip coffee and rest inside the tents.
While trees have moderated the accumulation of snow on the floor of a nearby woods, a trunk of a dead tree was not so lucky
Residual snow on wood trunk; note the foot print near top left of the photo
The Indra couple; the tent of the guides (that sometimes function as a canteen) can be seen at the top left corner.
Hey, lemme in :-)
The 4th day of trekking: the couple rests near a tea stall. The dark glasses are out; without them, the glare is too much to see clearly; the lady is squinting :(
Snow, snow everywhere
Resting for a while
A lone trekker is plodding on following a caravan of foot prints
Sedimentary rocks (centre left) make a fine sight. The youngsters have already reached the temporary canteen (centre right).
The trails (dotted lines) near the left edge of the photos were the result of snow blobs rolling down the hill
A crow, on the rocks, in anticipation of food (at this height of 11000ft!). The humans have arrived; they WILL waste food.
People are just amazed - the terrific view, the fear of sliding down the canyon
A closer look at the sedimentary rocks, surrounded by snow
Note the flying crow (lower left) at the boundary between the snow and the valley.
A lone, adventurous crow is crawling towards a piece of puri a trekker has thrown.
We reached Doura Thatch; about 3 feet of snow had to be cleared to put some some tents. This is a view from our tent. The tents seen in the photo are the kitchen tents. One has to walk 100 metres down the snowy path to get our dinner. Fortunately, the camp leader arranged hot coffee and soup right at the door of our tents - a small mercy in that cold; a thoughtful gesture.
Note the white plume of smoke (nay, that's cloud) behind the hilltop.
Finally, some trekkers (left) have made to the edge of saurkund (to the left of the photo [but not in the phot]); others are still climbing up.
That's saurkund (frozen)
Trekkers at the edge of the frozen lake. The peak (top of the photo) is the pass that we need to cross.
There is the Kullu valley between the hill that we are standing on and the mountain ranges in which Rohtang pass lies.
The tracks of snow globules can be seen.
The steep edge of the lake.
The 'honeymoon' (Indra) couple in the front. The group is seen celebrating the successful conquer of the Saurkundi pass.
Trekkers are moving away from saurkund towards the summit (the pass)
Still climbing up from Saurkund.
The view of the mountains on the other side of Kullu valley
A zoomed view of the Kullu/Manali valley.
Beas river flows from Manali towards Kullu
A snow ball gathers more snow and rolls over the edge, leaving a trail
A closer look at the civilizaton at the start of the zig zag road towards the Rohtang pass
The first phase of the zig zag road
Even after a climb of about 1000ft, the snowline is still another 1000ft higher.
The road continuous towards Marhi village (to the left, and not seen here)
This is the view from our tent at Longa thatch
The Manali town
Moving from Longa thatch camp to Lekhni : a path involving fun filled snow slides.
The zig zag road continues to be visible throughout the day, and fascinates the man behind the camera
That was the incline over which we slid to reach the current co-ordinates.
Aha, finally a patch of snow free land!
A mild climb up in an otherwise downhill path throughout the day.
The U shaped break in the mountain range (centre of the photo) is the Rohtang pass. Hints of road leading upto to the pass are barely visible (left centre, just below the snow line)
The depression in the hill range (at the centre of the photo) is the Rohtang pass: a closeup view. At the left edge of the photo, one can see traces of the national highway from Manali to Rohtang pass.
A natural stone structure
A trekker checking the degree of wetness [you know where; -) the rain sheet has helped only partially] just after a snow slide and before commencing the next slide
”No, this slide is dangerous; some rocks on the way“ so tell the guides. So, walk down steep inclines, instead.
Trekkers, tired of walking and filled with fear, walk using all four limbs. At some places, elders used the G-technique (that uses the the body part whose name begins with g [g***]).
Hey, don't leave me here and go far; gimme a lending hand; the stick is not sufficient
natural sculptures
At the end of this climb down, people were so fed up with walking that they were ready to risk hitting the granite stone along the slide path, but slide down. Isn't it fun to just slide down, like a free bird in the sky?!
The kannadigas
Swarup and ?
The Indra couple on Himalayas
Now, you reader, are you convinced that the trekkers really had to go through a lot of hardship to loose altitude (no less difficult than loosing weight in a gym).
The manali town (spread in the shape of the map of India)
The road to Rohtang La deviates (by turning right) from the road to Manali town
The road to the next camp is not yet over; a last slide (top right) is pending
Trekkers have gathered (centre of the picture) near the top of the last slide before reaching the next camp (longa thatch)
Note the contrast: the thorney bush, the lifeless snow and the green pine trees at a distance.
Lifeless and lively
What a location for a tent camp! Hats off to YHAI
the mudabidrikars (with stubble)
View from the tent.
A photo of the evening sun (cooling glass was kept in front of the lens). An eerie feeling
Trekkers utilize solar power to dry their clothes
Manali town (spread in the shape of the map of India!) - a view from our tents
The old Manali own is on the left.
A zig zag path along a nallah just before the highway to Rohtang pass forks from the road to Manali. Probably, this is the town of jagatsukh.
A snap on the next day morning, just before we left the longa thatch camp.
The final descent begins. It is, again, a steep and slippery descent due to melting snow.
The contours of the Manali town appears like the map of India
Lot more to go; all the way down
The honeymoon couple debate on some silly thing at a rest point
The trekker appears to be shy; uses hat to block any and all sunshine!
That's better
A well deserved rest place (temporary, not permanent please) ;-)
Indra has discovered something and gestures.
The greenery on the ground is increasing.
The trees are changing colours.
The team leader poses on top of a granite block
Tired trekkers use this opportunity to rest for a few minutes,fill up water bottle, click photos etc.
A hollow trunk and a bare top
Down and down, we keep going down (energy and enthusiasmwise too)
Aren't you tired of this road by now? The photographer had two memory sticks and 3 spare sets of batteries. He decided to use all available resources to click away to glory
Finally, the lunch point. Actually, it was the rest point of sheep. We had to move away to avoid the pungent smell of sheep dung.
Me above the rest (at the alter?)!
The makeshift kitchen: two parallel burning logs and three pots. He could make omlettes and tea simultaneoulsly.
What is the script used by nature to 'write' on these trunks?
Seduction
Well, the lunch time is up. Let us move further down
Note the sharpness of horns; better to keep away
The same road, now appears at a greater height than us!
Now, that's green
Finally, we made it to the last camp (Lekhni). It was a 'pucca' house. The ladies occupied the first floor which had 4 balconies on 4 sides of the house.
An idyllic place to stay for one or two nights. The tent is the kitchen of the camp.
Welcome drink is served by uniformed bearer.
The deputy leader, Patawardhan is commenting on something (or is he yelling at the girls). 'Anna' is checking whether any snow is still on the posterior
A refill. The red uniform is distributed by YHAI
Two cups at a time? Come again for refill!
The apple flower
View of the mountain+zigzag road from within the house. What other luxury can one ask for?
The Rohtang pass (on top left)
Finally, we made it to the base camp before lunch. Dr. Apte (2nd from left) was to catch a bus that evening. He treated the group at a nearby cottage. A group photo of the successful trekkers.
We caught a bus from Kullu to Joginder nagar. Our plan was to travel by the narrow guage train that traverses the Kangra valley. A temple complex on the way to Joginder nagar.
Nice scenery on the road from Mandi to Joginder nagar. A road winds its way from the valley to reach a high road (visible near the top of the road).
The hill ranges and the valley
Terrace fields
Appears like a temple; it is actually a bottling plant. See the next pic
The arch of the bottling plant at Galu (close to Joginder Nagar, where we were headed to).
Entrance to the Joginder Nagar train station. It is the terminal station of the Pathankot-J.Nagar narrow guage train of Kangra valley.
A view from the platform
The desiel engine that pulls 3-4 bogies. Note the distance (less than a metre) between the rails
Some info on the railway line
The fare list. The minimum fare is Rs. 2 (two). We bought 3 tickets to Baijnath Paprola (Rs. 4 each). The clerk did not issue a printed ticket. Instead, he wrote the relevant information on a piece of paper, wrote a serial number, put the station master's stamp and signed. I still have that ticket. See the next picture.
The handwritten railway ticket for 3 persons, each costing Rs. 4 for travelling between Joginder Nagar and Baijnath Paprola: 15-MAY-2009. There is even a ticket number (421709)!.
The station master's office, the weighing machine and tool box on the corridor.
The narrow guage train from Joginder nagar to Pathankot chugged off and crossed to the other side of a nallah (stream).
The track, most of the time, hugs the contour of hills
Sumangala Indra is appeciating the flowers by the side of the track.
A small station: chaintrabhaterh. The track connects some small villages enoute better than the national highway.
There was an artificial lake (replenished with snow water) on the other side of the station. People were swimming and diving. On the whole, the swimmers were having a gala time.
A close up of the monastery.
The buddist monastery
A passeger obliges and poses for the photo.
The second station: ahju. This has a station building. The station-in-charge has gone to get the metal wire ring, a token for clearance of the train track.
Not a bad building; note the solar cells on the roof.
Note the metal ring in the hand of the station-in-charge (khakhi uniform). He will hand it over to the driver (blue shirt)
Ahju station is the heighest point on the route. It will be downhill from hereon. There is fork in train track; an alternate track goes left and rises towards a hill. The train, by default, would follow this track to the dead end. In case the break fails, the train moves to this alternative track, gains altitude, and hopefully (!?) will stop. This alternative track is short and terminates near the two people in the picture. Only when the train comes to a full stop before the fork, the main track is cleared for the train and the metal ring token in given to the train driver.
The old style overhead luggage rack inside the train
A pic for the record
The next station: baijnath mandir. The famous Shiv temple is closeby.
The stream that the train crossed just now. The highway is also visible.
We reached Baijnath paprola - our interim destination. We planned to catch a bus to Pathankot thinking that it would be quicker (it was not so due to lack of direct bus from Baijnath to Pathankot). Heavy luggage are being loaded into the luggage compartment.
Note the position of the lever. It has cleared the platform number 2 for another train coming from Pathankot.
Note the good old, solid keys that prevent unauthorised operation of the levers! The train on 4up track can home in!
Not many passengers here; the platform is nearly empty. There was a small canteen where we had tea and bhajjias.
On the other side of the tracks was a holiday home (of some bank)
Information boards at Baijnath Paprola station
Ticket window
We boarded a bus that goes to a nearby town; hopefully, we will get onward bus there. We are on the highway now. The train track is running parallel to the road.
A break inspector (donkey) on a bridge :-)
We passed another station (Paror) located close to the highway.
Himachalis are very religeous. Note a pair of 'padukas' (footwear of holy men) on the bus dashboard. Photos of Gods are above the glass window.
We came to 'baba Sahib Bhimrao Ambedkar bus stand'. The bus would stop for 5 minutes.
The 'New Prem Rajdhani Express' appears to have a lot of buses on these routes. Note the spelling of the word 'express'
Note, again, the spelling of the word 'express'
This is the bus we travelled by.
Note the gap between X and P in the word 'express'!
A deity was being taken in procession. The procession entered the bus stand. Devotees came and submitted coconut, flower etc.
We have travelled 53kms from Baijnath (with a change of bus at ...). The gagal airport is just 8kms away. This is the kangra town on the National Highway 88. Dharamshala is 18kms off the highway. I occupied the front passenger seat in the bus. So, I had a ringside view.
A chowk ; the bus had to take a U-turn to reach the bus stand.
A bus stop (highway rain shelter - so says the board) near the junction (ghurkadi chowk). The poster of a coaching institute (NIFA) shows a girl dancing ("Job No Tension")
A mini traffic jam on a narrow bridge due to agressive behaviour (not following traffic rules) of a motorist.
The dumper truck had to take a reverse; the Maruti car was not budging even though our bus driver kept a lot of distance between the bus and the following car. What a shameful lack of road sense! The thought stream of the Maruti car driver: 'I will not backoff even if it means more delay because the jam is due to someone else's fault'
Gaggal town; the green board proclaims that the airport is just 1km away.
