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10 - 27 Jun 2005 - 18 days India Bhapa Pass Trek & Manali
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10 - 27 Jun 2005 - 18 days India Bhapa Pass Trek & Manali
Mooling camp on Bhapa Pass trek
The group comprise of the usual 15 ladies and 5 men led by Yong Lee Keng. We routinely schedule the trip to commence in summer because the roads in Kinnaur and Spiti are passable from end May onwards. However, this year, the area experienced the highest snowfall ever in 20 years. The road near Rohtang Pass was covered in 10 feet of snow when there were none a year earlier. What the authorities did was to bulldoze one-way through for traffic. Unfortunately this was not done over in Kinnaur Spiti. The group had to walk a longer distance and met up with the jeeps coming from the other side of the mountain. Even Bhapa Pass was snowed over, so much so that the horses were not able to cross. Last year, the horses were always at the campsites when we arrived. LeeKeng is doing the writeup and I will place it here when it is completed. Meanwhile have a look at the trip pictures. Below is the itinerary of the trip 2005.
Day 1 - Meet in KLIA for flight New Delhi arriving at night. Overnight in Delhi.
Day 2 Delhi to Manali - We travel by morning train to Chandigarh and visit the Rock Garden. After lunch we bus to Manali, arriving in the evening. We should have time for a short walk in this small pretty town. Overnight Manali.
Day 3 Manali - We have a free day to take in the sights and culture of this small town. Manali is a popular tourist destination and has good shopping and eating. We go for paragliding in Solang Valley and walk back to Manali through picturesque villages and orchards of apples, apricots and peaches. Manali is mainly Hindu with a sizeable Tibetan population. Overnight Manali.
Day 4 Rohtang Pass to Dadar Pul -We bus over the Rohtang Pass 3978m to Dadar Pul 3960m with views of Chandra-Bhage mountain range with peaks above 5000m. We camp here overnight to acclimatise.
Day 5 Trek to Chandratal Lake - Our bus wil take us to the trail head in Kunzum Pass 4551m. We then trek down to Lake Chandertal 4270m some 3-4 hours away. This high mountain lake is surrounded by high snow-capped mountains. Overnight Camp.
Day 6 Trek to Batal - Trek 3-4 hours from Lake Chandratal to Batal where we board our bus to Kaza in 4 hours for overnight stay in a local guest house.
Day 7 Tibetan Monasteries - Visit by jeeps the Ki Monastery located on a small hill followed by Kibber Village 4205m, reputed to be the 2nd highest inhabitable village in the world. Lastly we visit the 1000 years old La-Lun monastery with its hanging buddha statues. We proceed to a Tabo guesthouse for the night.
Climbing Bhapa Pass / Himachalis
Day 8 Tabo Dhankar -We visit the Tibetan monasteries of Tabo and Dhanker in the morning. We then enter the Pin Valley and to the the village of Mud. Here, we do a short 2 km trek to our campsite accross from Mud. Overnight Camp.
Day 9 Bara Bolandar - We trekked along the Pin River to our next campsite at Bara Bolandar. The trail goes along green meadows and rather barren landscape. The trek is quite level and should take about 6 hours easy walk. Overnight camp.
Day 10 Bhapa Pass to Fauti - Its a difficult climb up to Bhapa Pass 4890m where we can expect thick snow at the top. Then its down to Fauti campsite. The scenery change is very drastic, from barren snow-peaked mountains to the green valleys on the Fauti side. Expect a long day today with between 5-7 hours trek. Overnight camp.
Day 11 Mooling - A very pleasant and easy walk along the Bhaba river. Trek will be an easy 5 hours in green meadows and sparkling streams and rivers. Wild flowers are also expected. Overnight camp.
Day 12 Kafnu then Shimla - Another easy day with 5 hours level walk to the village of Kafnu. Trek is flanked by green meadows and thick pine forest. Expect to arrive by 1pm, followed by an 7 hours bus ride to Shimla for overnight stay.
Day 13 Shimla to Delhi - We'll have a full day browsing this former summer capital of British India. In the evening we take the local steam train, which passes a hundred tunnels, down to Kalka. From here, we'll go on an overnight sleeper train to Delhi.
Day 14 Delhi - The train arrives at 630am and we will have a full day of sightseeing and shopping in Delhi. These would include Bahai Temple, Kutub Minar and Janpath Shopping Area. Overnight Delhi.
Day 15 Taj Mahal - We bus to Agra for a visit to the famed Taj Mahal and Red Fort. We schedule the evening to see the birds at Keoladeo Gana National Park, a UNESCO listed park, famous for bird-watching. Overnight Bharatpur.
Day 16 Bharatpur to Jaipur - Its more bird watching in Bharatpur in the morning before heading to Jaipur. We'll viist the City Palace, Hawa Mahal or Palace of the Winds and the Ameer Fort. At night, an optional visit to Chokhi Dhani, a folk village popular with locals is recommended. This place not only showcases Rajasthani's culture and folk artists but has great food. Overnight Jaipur.
Day 17 Jaipur to Delhi - We have a full morning browsing the local markets, good for sovenier shopping. After lunch we go back to Delhi for our even flght home.
Day 18 Arrive KLIA in the morning.
Yak rides / Rohtang Road
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