adventure
Buran Ghati Pass Trek
From the beginning of time man has been fascinated by mountains And his curiosity drove him beyond it in search of food shelter and livelihood.
But his quest for adventure Forced him to come back to mountains time and again because it was the mountain which taught him to fight against his own weakness infusing strength in him.
For me mountains not only infuse strength but it enhances your perspective. Trekking or hiking in the mountains is like a meditation when your complete focus is on the trail, the beauty of nature,your breath and you hardly worry about your past or Future.
You are truly present in the moment when the mountains test your resilience and your one mistake here and there can become life threatening.
It was my time for the test when I decided to go for Buran Ghati Pass Trek in the Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh. Previously I have been to 2 Himalayan treks- kedarkantha and kuari pass along with few hikes and attained maximum height of 3800 + meters . This time I decided to go above 4500 meters but something more awaited me.
The trek starts from Janglik ( 2804 m ht), an ancient ( 400-500 years old) and remote village situated in the Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh. The trail from Janglik ascend into a deep forest of Oak and pine trees and opens up to Dayara meadows (3376 m ht)
From Dayara the trail goes further up and the beautiful landscape slowly turns to white of snow from the green of meadows . Further you walk alongside pabbar river and the trail guides you to Litham (3578 m ht) . Here you find yourself among the big mountains , fully covered in snow.
From Litham , you resume your journey alongside pabbar river , flowing beneath several snow bridges , and walk further up in snow ( mostly in the month of May you find snow and this time due to western disturbance there was excessive snow) to reach Dunda ( 4075 m ht) campsite, the last campsite before buran pass .
Then, the judgement day comes . You wake up early at 1 am in the dark , prepare yourself for the hardest day ( we took almost 14 hours to cover 8 km in excessive snow ) and start your climb at 3 am in the dark. The climb is steep and you walk on hip deep snow ridges ( twisting your ankles and sinking deeper in snow many times) , applying your full strength and trusting your instincts and your trek leader.
You climb for more than 1 hour to reach your end goal , the buran pass , situated at an altitude of 4575 m . This pass connects the pabbar valley to sangla valley in kinnaur . The stunning views of Snow covered mountains from here take your breath away . It is nothing less than a blessing to witness the beautiful creation of God from this point. Climbs like these infuse a sense of wisdom you never felt before. You start looking at things with a broader and better understanding.
The descend from here is quite technical , the pass stands like a wall to the other side and you have to come down 30-50 m with the help of a rope ( rope rappelling ). You lose height pretty quickly and mostly come down by sliding on the snow. You reach your last campsite at manerang village and from there to barua to go back to your urban life.
We were a group of 5 people ( me , my wife , one solo traveler and two men of 55 and 62 years of age) led by our trek leader and the staff of the company we hired. The weather was bad from the beginning due to western disturbance and we faced rainfall, hailstorm and snowfall throughout our trek .
There were nights when we thought that our tents will blow away due to angry winds of the storm. The winds did took away few tents. And the relentless snowfall haunted us at nights when we thought we might get buried in deep snow.
We were stuck at Dayara campsite ( first campsite) for more than a day due to bad weather. During this time, we saw trekkers coming back from higher campsites because of excessive snowfall which lowered our spirits. But thankfully we got 2 good days in between to become only the second group to cross pass this season untill then.
We walked in mud , climbed in hip deep snow, doubted ourselves several times and applied our full strength to finish this trek. This was the test i wasn’t prepare to take but when I saw 2 people in our group above 55 years fighting it out , it gave me a lot of confidence to continue.
There are times when you feel like giving up , you lose your breath, your entire body becomes stiff but when you see your fellow people or trekkers feeling the same heat , you are inspired by them to continue.
This is the power of connection. We humans most of the time depend on each other to thrive , we respect each other in difficult times when our survival is on the line and i believe we can learn this only when we are together in the wilderness like Himalayas .
A Place which Feels like Home
Every now and then we feel the urge to stop doing whatever we are doing and get away from the rat race of the cities. The tension, the chaos, the worries all take a toll on us. That’s the perfect time to connect to mother nature, the wilderness, the place from where our species evolved.
That’s what I thought one month ago and decided for the Buran Ghati trek which starts from the janglik, a remote Himalayan village in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
I will write about the adventure and challenges we faced during the trek soon. Till then enjoy the poetic video i posted above.
©2023 Piyush Singh
Pleasures of the Path
Underneath the angry sky,
Pushing against the angry gales,
I venture in the wild.
I have seen a dream once,
There’s something draped in gold,
Waiting for me beyond .
In pursuit of that reverie,
I fought a war against the wild,
But the war never seemed to end!
When, finally the sun shone,
The glory beyond seemed futile,
As my heart breathed pleasures of the wild!
©2022 Piyush Singh
The pic above is of Chandra River in the Lahaul region of Himachal Pradesh. The weather turned bad and the icy gales were pushing us from the road . In spite of harsh weather and freezing temperature of -10°c or more I somehow clicked this beauty in its full glory.
I hope you guys also enjoy this.
Kuari Pass Trek (Lord Curzon Trail)
When nothing in life makes sense, when you feel lost in the polluted urban jungle which you call home, then you have to go back to your roots, the wilderness from where your species evolved. That place, those mountains from where you truly belong.
After another difficult year , I decided to go for another Himalayan trek in the last week of October 2021 and my destination was Kuari Pass which lies at 3876m height (from sea level) in the Garhwal region of Himalayas ,Uttarakhand.
It was an autumn season in the Garhwal Himalayas and the entire trail was coloured in green , brown and golden colours. You can only see snow above 4100 meters at various mountain peaks that surround you through out the trek.
Some of the peaks that takes your breath away during this trek are Mt. Dronagiri (7066m), Mt Kamet (7756m ), Mt Nanda Devi (7816m) and the nearest to Kuari pass, Mt Pangarchulla (4575m). You feel their presence like a shadow through out the trek.
The trek starts from Dhak Village in Joshimath (about 513km from New Delhi) and from there the entire trail is a steep ascend. The trail takes you through beautiful Deodar and oak forest called as Tali . From your camp in tali forest , you ascend above tree line, walk through golden bushes and various ridges to reach Kuari pass summit. And from there you return back to your camp in Tali forest.
From Tali forest camp you then trek to magnificent Tali Lake and descend to Auli via Gorsan Bugyal, a breath taking green meadow. From Auli you finally return back to Joshimath via ropeway which in itself a breath-taking experience. The entire duration of the trek is 4 days.
The entire trail is covered in snow from December to march and since this trek was firstly explored by Lord Curzon during British rule, it is also known as Lord Curzon Trail.
The Glistening forests , the shining bushes, walking among clouds and the stunning view of the lake were the hallmarks of the entire trek. Camping in the middle of a Himalayan forest and the stunning milky way galaxy watching you from above during chilly nights , is an experience that you will never forget.
These wilderness pushes you towards your roots, which is free from all tainted thoughts you have spoilt yourself with. And when you finally get to know what wrong you have done it is often too late.
So travel, trek to these places and see yourself correcting yourself with each heavy breath you take during the ascend.
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Among the Clouds
High above the mountains,
They come to greet you,
For what you have done,
The obstacles you’ve overcome !
Your sweat against adversities,
Your tears drenched in equanimity,
Together they come to hail,
With the clouds they all sail !
“O mighty soul! I bow to thee,
For the pain you’ve gone through,
Your bruised feet and mighty will”
Those clouds sang, a sight to behold!
©2022 Piyush Singh
The following pics are from my recent trek to Kuari Pass in Garhwal Himalayas, Joshimath Uttarakhand ( about which I will write soon). It was like a fairy tale, the clouds greeted us when we were descending from the summit . It was a mesmerizing, poetic moment that took away all the pains we have gone throughout the ascend.
I hope you guys equally enjoy this….
The Reflections of Life
The thing that lies deep within,
Divine Figments of distant memories,
Only reveals itself with reflections.
These reflections melt the clouds,
The clouds that hides my inner self,
Like smoke choking my lungs,
Like My pleasure haunted by chaos,
I fight everyday in the toxic city !
Only those who wander in the wilderness of nature find what they truly are and how long they have ignored that.
©2021 Piyush Singh
Kedarkantha Trek
There is no better way to feel life in its purest form than trekking to the mountains.
The sweat, the pumping hearts, the icy headwinds, the frozen boots and the pain that shatters your ego, you feel it all. You are nothing against the force of nature, against the mighty Himalayas.
I missed it badly throughout the lockdown. And so to quench my wanderlust I recently trekked to Kedarkantha peak with 24 other adventure seekers.
The trek starts from a small village Sankri which is about 186 km from Dehradun and 432 km from Delhi. It is one of the best winter treks in the Indian Himalayas as you get a lot of snow and 360 degree view of the surrounding peaks from the summit. It is a four day long trek.
You witness the beauty of snow laden pine trees ,a mesmerizing frozen lake by the name of “Juda Ka Talab” and the breathtaking beauty of Himalayas from the peak which is at an altitude of 3800 meters. The summit push in the early morning at about 3 am in the dark is the most thrilling part of the trek.
It becomes tricky near the summit as you walk on a narrow ridge with the slopes downhill on either sides. These slopes remain fully covered with snow throughout the winters. The howling gales try to push you and any wrong step can make you fall straight down the hill, sliding through the snow.
In spite of all such ordeals you are rewarded with the breathtaking view of sun rise from behind the snow laden Himalayan peaks.
The 360 degree view of the nearby peaks from the summit makes it more special . When you reach the summit you find yourself among the surrounding peaks which are no longer above you but beside you. You are continuously hit by the icy winds and you struggle to capture the moments with your bare hands. It is a kind of adventure your soul desperately craves for !
These mountains are waiting for you, waiting for you to come out of urban chaos and find your true self in the wilderness of nature.
There is nothing in this world that can challenge the magnificence of nature. No human is above it, it will always survive the jolts of pandemic we struggle to face. It was there before our existence and will continue to thrive after we perish. Respecting it can only help us to exist a little bit longer.
The Perceptions Square 