RUPIN PASS TREK............. ...... .....The Rupin Pass trek is like an edge-of-the-seat Hollywood thriller. So sudden are the changes in scenery that it makes you always walk a little further just to see if there is another surprise round the corner. What’s intriguing is why many hikers don’t do this trail. Yet, it is one of the best treks you will ever do in your life. Picture this: A turn here and a towering waterfall, a turn there a meadow full of yellow marigolds, another turn: a fir forest. Look down and a snow bridge to cross, look up -- a hanging village, scan the horizon and hundreds of water falls cascading down a glacial valley, look across and an icy blue river gently floating by. Squish your toes and rivulets dance, twirl and gurgle underfoot. Eerie trails dug out of rock faces, trails that look down a precipice, trails over swaying wooden bridges, trails through deep dark folds in the mountain, trails that cut through millions of white Rhododendrons, trails over lush expanse of green meadows, trails on glaciers and icy slopes, trails over vast snow fields, trails through an echoing gully – it just doesn’t stop. The Rupin Pass trek has got it all. Your trek starts at Dhaula, a sleepy hamlet of a dozen homes and the last road head of Uttarakhand. Dhaula overlooks the Rupin curving down a stony gorge in the river – the sound deafening. In the evening step down to the cable drawn sway bridge and catch a wall of mist hanging over the gushing Rupin. The stillness of the mist in contrast to the rush of the river right under is the start of the many surprises in store. Day 1. How to get to Dhaula base camp Dhaula (5500 ft) is the base for the Rupin Pass trek. Dhaula is a sleepy hamlet of a dozen homes and the last road head of Uttarakhand. Getting to Dhaula: Dhaula can be reached by a private vehicle from Dehradun. The other way to get there is to take a bus from Dehradun to Sankri, get off at Naitwar and take a shared jeep to Dhaula. The bus from Dehradun leaves at 5.30 am from Gandhi Road, just outside the railway station. If you are taking a taxi the route is Dehardun -- Mussoorie -- Damta -- Nowgaon -- Purola -- Mori -- Naitwar -- Dhaula. It is a 10 hour long, but lovely road journey. Dehradun is the nearest big town to the trek base Dhaula. Take an over night train from Delhi to Dehradun. The train 12205 NDLS DDN AC EXP runs everyday and is a good train to take. It usually gets to Dehradun by 5.45 am. Day 2. Dhaula 1560 mts to Gosangu 1920 mts via Sewa (5½ hrs. Level: Easy undulating walk, with short climbs and drops. Altitude gain: 360 mts/1180 ft. 11 kms). Dhaula - the base camp. You camp amidst pines next to the fast flowing Rupin river Take the trail that starts at the village and heads up the valley to Sewa Gaon. Past a cattle shelter and an enormous collection of dung, the trail starts to climbs sharply 200 mts outside the village – a gentle reminder of more such climbs to come. The climb eases out in 20 minutes into the first change of scenery: The Rupin fans out 500 ft below you into a wide river bed. Friendly villages hang out of the hills on either side. Village kids scamper about with their shy smile and a gentle Namaste. A curve in the trail and the next change in scenery: The Rupin careens out of a gorge. A sheer cliff face towers over the river so high that clumps of clouds hang about its face immobile, listless, and undecided. On the other slope, the trekking trail snakes its way up through apple and apricot trees. The landscape: lush green. Half an hour into the ascending trail, stop by at a road side eatery and the only one you’ll find before getting to Sewa. If you are lucky a friendly thirteen year old girl-woman will take your order for tea and biscuits. She is the owner, manager, cook and the washer boy of the place. Sip the much welcome tea and enjoy the view of the cliff face looming over you and the sound of the Rupin pounding at the bottom of the gorge many hundred feet below. The temple with a clock at Sewa village Sewa at 2040 mts is an unattractive place to camp, though the camp site is at the entrance of the village. Stop at the village temple adorned with medals and an electric clock – a sight so out of place that you need time to get used to it. The two storey temple combines local and Kinnaur traditions, not surprising with the Himachal border so close. Buy a few biscuits from a shop near the temple, swig from your water bottle and head out of the village. The trail cuts across a mixture of barley and potato fields and suddenly dips into a deep dark jungle, so thick that the darkness is overpowering. The descent through the mixed forest over a slushy and often smelly trail pops out into the bright river bed of the Rupin. A change so sudden and different that you need to look back just to check your bearings. For the first time on the trek you actually trek on the river and not alongside it. Pine forest after Sewa Gleefully hop and crisscross across the many rivulets of the river. Veer to your left and join the trail that goes over a small wooden bridge across a stream that flows into the Rupin. Spend some time on the bridge because this is no-mans land. On either side are the states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. In fifteen minutes you get down to the bank of the river where you can easily pictch 7-8 tents. This place is called as Haldi Khad. The next days trek carries ahead along the trail until you climb up from the banks to the road head of Gosangu. The village of Dodra, the remotest Tehsil of Himachal is above Gosangu and takes an half hours climb to get there. If you decide to break your trek at Gosangu you can get buses to Rohru and then to Shimla from Dodra. The other end of the road climbs up to Kitwari, where there’s a BSNL tower coming up. Day 3. Gosangu 1920 mts to Jhaka 2650 mtsvia Jiskun 2320 mts (5½ hrs. Level: Long climbs with gentle walks in between. Altitude gain: 730 mts/2394 ft. 9 kms) Prepare yourself for a bit of huff and puff that the trail has in store for you for the day. The good bit is that the climb sections are always followed by gentle level walks. Take the road towards Kwar, cross the wooden bridge and head towards the iron bridge over the Rupin. Just before the road takes a dip to meet the river, take any of the trails on the left that climbs and meets up with the overhanging trail to Jiskun. The old overhanging trail, below is the river Once on the main trail to Jiskun, the changing sights start to assault you relentlessly. First, the trail itself: what was until now a wide bodied path suddenly turns into a narrow trail. The mountain slope no longer gentle, but a towering precipice, climbs interminably. The trail hangs out of the face, like a lip. As you peer over the edge, far below, the Rupin glistens as the sun catches its rapids. A bend in the trail, a short clamber over a narrow section and you stop short: a sight least expected. A picturesque waterfall cascades down on the trail, its source so high above that you can’t see it. The water so gentle and fine, yet with so much volume, that you want to take in a shower. Spend a while taking pictures -- and perhaps even a refreshing swipe under it. First view of snow peaks outside Jiskun Another few anxious moments of over- hanging trail walk and you come to a rapidly flowing stream, the Raj Gad. This is an ideal place to take a breather -- after this there is a long climb to Jiskun village. Take off your shoes to cross this stream. You don’t want to get your feet and boots wet at this stage. The trail forks immediately as the Raj Gad vanishes from view behind you. Both trails look suspiciously similar. Take the trail heading up. It is a long hour’s climb to Jiskun village. Jiskun high above the confluence of Nargani and Rupin is a village in two parts -- lower Jiskun is now called Bawta. For a trekker it is a welcome break. You sight a friendly tea house for a much welcome rest. Soon after the trail winds endlessly up, until you reach upper Jiskun half an hour later. Cross the first post office of Himachal Pradesh, and take a break at the many eateries here. Jiskun is a good place to replenish your supplies if you are running short. There are local stores where you can stock up on your rice, wheat, sugar, spices and vegetables. On the way to Jhaka - the village that hangs on the mountain It is a further 3½ km walk to Jakha, the highest and the last village on the Rupin pass trek. The trail out of Jiskun descends rapidly through a forest of deodars and walnut until it reaches an enchanting dark fold in the mountain. The fold’s upper reaches are dark and beyond human touch. Sight the remains of an old wooden bridge, almost hidden in the foliage. Below at eye level, cross the new wooden bridge and crane your neck up to an eerie trail cut out of the rock face. So out of place and strange, you need moments to fathom how this was built and who made them. The next one hour climb to Jakha is through one of the best trekking trails. The scenery changes frequently. The trail initially zig-zags up on the ridge line of the slope. Looking up from below, the trail appears ominous, reaching out to the sky. Once you start climbing it isn’t as monumental as it looks. The trail winds through an enchanting mixed forest – with cliff faces on the other side of the valley and whistling birds keeping you company on this side. Two thirds of the way up, watch out for an equally broad trail that forks to your left. The other trail heads up to a village, Dhara, higher than Jakha. Stick to the trail that veers to the right. Jhaka the hanging village on the Rupin pass trek Day 4. Jhaka 2650 mts to Saruwas thatch 3400 mts via Uduknal 3000 mts (4½ hrs. Level: Mostly climbs with one gentle walk in between. Altitude gain: 650 mts/2132 ft.6 kms). Jakha is a village completely enveloped in the ways of the Satsang. No meat is taken here. Avoid asking for any live animals or eating meat out of canned tins. The campsite is just above the village and doubles up as the children’s playground. An alternative campsite is to camp in the courtyard of the school itself. Jakha is the last stop to replenish your supplies and also look for porters if you are running short. For the next few days of your trek, there is rarely a soul you are likely to find on the route, except shepherds tending to their flocks. This is how it is until you reac Sangla. The well defined trail ascends past the playground, passing through fields of the upper Jakha village befor
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 10:35:59 +0000
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