The Sar-pass Expedition

My first trek with Youth Hostel Association of India (YHAI), ‘the Sar Pass Expedition’ was an unforgettable experience. Much spoken about by my travel buddies, Sar Pass trek was something I was keenly looking forward to. Finally, I got the opportunity to do so in the 19th batch of YHAI (SP-19) 2016. I sincerely hope this travelogue will inspire you all to explore unseen wonders; to protect, respect and conserve nature.

‘Sar’ in the local dialect refers to a lake (usually frozen). The lake, which one has to cross to embark on this trek. Sar Pass trail meanders across the Parvathi valley, Kullu district in Himachal Pradesh.

A beautiful and challenging trek to amateurs.

The trek was to commence from Kasol (6500 ft ASL). I arrived at Kasol by bus at around 1400 hrs. The base camp was at the entrance of the town, along the banks of the  Parvathi river (to the left of the road as you come from Bhunter). It was quite impossible to miss the words YHAI written over the roof. Kasol (in case you did not know) is  a mini Israel within India. Shops with boards written in ancient Hebrew did take me by surprise!

Shop signs in Hebrew

A short walk back the same road got me to the camp.

 

The camp seen from above

After the registration formalities, I was allotted tent No 10.

With nothing much to do for the rest of the first day, I decided to visit Manikaran. It is about 4km from Kasol, connected by frequently plying buses. However, I chose to walk as the climate was just perfect!

The walk from Kasol to Manikaran

The visit to the Gurudwara in Manikaran, along with the food cooked from the hot-springs was a splendid experience. On my way back, I decided to cross Parvathi on one of the many suspension bridges that swung over it. A number of small, hot-springs stood lining the banks, some of them cold enough to take have a refreshing bath!!!! A wonderful, first day which culminated in my tent no.10, with other tent-mates

The following morning, post warm-up session, we were taken  for an acclimatization walk and were introduced to the trek by the camp leader. The day after, we were introduced to the basics of rock climbing and rapelling.

Trek D1: 

The trek started at around 0900 hrs, beginning along the pristine valley of Parvathi. The stone laden road was quite challenging.

On the way, we met several locals,strolling with their horses and donkeys, carrying goods from their villages to the town below.

About 4 hours into the trek, we stopped to fuel up our tummies at a “Maggi shop”. After resting for a short while, we had our packed lunch and continued our ascent.

With the hot sun still bearing on us, we continued the trek taking care not the throw away trashes to pollute this beautiful piece of nature.

The local people were quite humble and helpful. Holy shrines scattered at frequent intervals along the trail depict their respect to their forest, culture and tradition.

We tried our best to collect as much plastic wastes lying around left behind by tourists, as  part of the YHAI tradition to keep the place clean.

By mid afternoon, we reached Grahan (7700ft ASL), our camp for the day. It was the last village we would cross along our way up.

The lush green expanse of fields and pines, beside our camp was a welcoming sight. After the evening 'chai’, I walked up a nearby trail, in solitude, which ended at the top of Grahan. Awestruck I stood, by the breathtaking view of the valley below, totally reluctant to return back! The dusk had melted into darkness and I had to head back to camp for dinner.

Trek D2:  

Ascending up from Grahan, we set out  to reach Padri (9300 ft ASL),  another exotic location, as if straight out of a movie set!. We camped with our back facing  the lofty mountains. On the other side was the sprawling green meadows, with sheeps and horses grazing.

Trek D3: 

Mingtatch (11300 ft ASL), was our next target. We realised that the temperature had dropped drastically and so had the oxygen level. However, the view simply got better and better as we ascended further! Indeed, a mystic experience it was, wrapped circumferentially by natures’ wonders!

Trek D4:

The  fourth camp, Nagaru (12500 ft ASL), was the highest camp in the trek. The locals told us as to how the area usually remained covered by 1-2 feet high snow every year and what a tedious job it was to fix the tent in the loose snow.

The highest camp Nagaru is usually covered by 1-2 feet of snow every year. Locals usually tell about how hard it is to get the tent fixed as there would be no solid land to fix it. The inmates would have to catch hold of the tent to prevent it from flying away with the strong wind.

 But we were received by dry land with just a tiny bit of snow fall.

The snow fall

Yes, blame it on Global warming and yes, it is a sad reality!!!!.

The water supply to the camp was never a problem in the previous years as there was abundant ice around. Now, as the ice was too less, we had to rely on a tiny patch of snow adjacent to the camp.

The sole water supply to the camp. A small patch of ice in an area which usually is carpeted with snow all around with no hard ground visible

Aware that we were up for a long haul the next day, we ate our dinner early. My sleep, however, was stolen away by the lusciously luminescent moonlit night. The star studded sky kept my senses allured. The snow caped mountains shimmering against the prussian sky,  captivated me in this dream like reality, as I lay on the lap of Nagaru. Truly, an out of the world experience!

The clear moon-lit  sky seen from Nagaru

Trek D5:

The next dawn, we left early, around 0400hrs before the sun  could stealthily melt the snow, in order to ensure a less slippery climb. Definitely, a daunting task for a first timer,this was !

Trekking the snow was more exhausting than I had imagined, with our boots sinking almost knee deep at certain places. I took nearly 5-6 hours to travel the mere 5-6 km. Traversing the snow , we also had to be cautious of the imposterously white areas where icy waters remained exposed beneath our feet.

I had not quite expected to feel hot in the Himalayas with all the snow around, but nature has her own way of teaching life! The snow reflected sunlight, which glared on my eyes and sunburnt my face.

The final 50 meters was near vertical. The adrenaline rush kept  us going and finally, we reached a whopping 13800 ft ASL!  A sense of victory pulsated in me, as I had completed my first high altitude expedition successfully.

At the top

The travel down was a thrilling long slide on our bottoms for about 2 kms, a really good way to travel fast. Thereafter  a short trek down got us to Beskari (11000 ft ASL)

Trek D6

The last camp on return, Bhandak Thatch  (8000 ft ASL) was another beauty. Vast flat ground enveloped by thick forest around the camp,along with the towering mountains guarding them.

People did talk about bear attacks around the area. Fortunately, our stay was uneventful.

Trek D7:

The next day, also the final day of the trek was a trail down small beautiful villages. The trek concluded in a town called Brashani. After a small cup of tea, we took a bus back to the base at Kasol, thus, bringing  the 7 day long exciting trek of Sar-pass to an end.

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A short clip : “ Sar-pass, through my eyes “

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This trek is both enticing and challenging. It gives you a trailer of the beautiful Himalayan range. It makes one aware of how humans are destroying this priceless natural resource by littering and cutting down trees. One can also experience the impact of global warming and its precocious effects. The problems such as dearth of drinking water and the frequent floods here, are clearly reflected by the helplessness and frustrations in the voice of the inhabitants.

I , therefore, urge each one of you to make a choice….. a choice between being a responsible human on this planet Vs facing the aftermath of your own ignorance!