Pick up at 8:00 am from Prince Chowk, Dehradun.
Dehradun to Sankri (6400 ft) by shared vehicle. Approx 200 Km – 9/10 hours.
Night stay at Sankri on sharing basis in a guesthouse.

The drive from Dehradun to Sankri is a scenic journey through the beautiful landscapes of Uttarakhand, often undertaken by those heading to the base for treks in the Garhwal region.

Sankri (6400 ft) to Taluka (7200 ft) in a shared camper vehicle (12 kms – 45 mins)
Trek from Taluka (7200 ft) to Puani Garaat (8200 ft) via Gangad (12 kms – 6/7 hrs).

After a healthy breakfast, we leave Sankri for Taluka. The drive to Taluka itself is a adventurous journey on the bumpy roads in a camper vehicle.

Begin your trek from Taluka, a small village in the Uttarkashi district and the starting point of the Har Ki Dun trek. This trail offers a mix of landscapes, including quaint villages, dense forests, and high-altitude meadows. Puani Garaat is often used as a camping site, providing trekkers with a peaceful and scenic place to rest. Today’s trail is a mix of flat walk, gradual ascent and an intermediate steep ascent by the side of Supin River.

Puani Garaat (8200 ft) to Boslo (10000 ft) ( 12 kms – 6/7 hrs).

The trail from Puani Garaat takes a almost flat walk till Seema for 2 kms. Then we cross the bridge on our left side and steeply ascend till Osla village end and take the right trail towards Kalkattiyadhar. The route is a mixture of gradual ascends through cultivation fields and small settlements.

After crossing Kalkattiyadhar trek ahead on a almost flat walk with intermittent ascends to reach Boslo which is a open valley and nearest camping site to Har Ki Doon Valley.

Boslo (10000 ft) to Ratha Tho (13500 ft) via Har Ki Doon (12000 ft) and Marinda Taal (13000 ft).
Approx 9 kms – 7/8 hrs.

The trail from Boslo to Har Ki Doon is a pleasant trail amidst the valley by the side of Supin river. Har Ki Doon valley is a picturesque site to behold the view of Mt. Swargarohini, Hata Peak, Hanuman Mukh Peak, Jaundhar Glacier and surrounding Himalayan Range.

We spend an ample time here to enjoy the nature before heading towards Marinda Taal. We take the left trail from Har ki Doon and ascend steeply for half an hour. Then its a gradual ascend till we reach Marinda Taal which is a natural lake.

Ten minutes into this valley we hit a ten-minute patch of big boulders which on successful crossing leads us to a patch of flat land and then a steady incline. The trail after the lake is gentle humps through golden meadows with a few wildflowers still holding strong in this cold land. After joyously taking your time on the trail, expect to reach Ratha Tho camp just in time for hot lunch.

Ratha Tho (13500 ft) to Upper Lamjung (15500) trek.
Approx 9 kms – 8/9 hours.

The first half hour of the trek is through boulders post which a gradual ascend begins. Two hours after we started to ascend, we hit patches of descent. The valley takes sharp turns and changes direction a lot of time. The river here wears an even deeper colour. The sound of dry leaves crushing under your legs and the texture of the rock as you run your hands on its surface are some sensations you might want to experience. The feeling when the ground is mushy and holds you in your place like it’s telling you to go no further, is surreal. After a 10 minute almost flat walk we reach Saunbhera campsite at the foothill of the glacier.

The trail from here is all boulders which is good practice for what’s to come the next two days. Crossing the flat land of the campsite takes only a few minutes before we reach the foot of the boulders and start our climb up. We follow a narrow ridge all the way up to the small space which will be our campsite for tonight. One and a half hour into the climb, we will reach the top of the first ridge. Take a few minutes to rest and get a bird’s eye view of the campsite of Saunbhera, where veins of streams divide the land into geometric shapes – the flat ground appearing as hexagonal grasslands below. It was one sight we couldn’t tear our gaze away from. After a few minutes of straight walk at the end of the first ridge, we begin incline on the second and the last ridge which should take about half an hour to cover.

The base camp for the pass is called Upper Lamjung. Lamjung, in local language, means ‘Long Moustache’ named as such for the shape of the lower ridges and how they appear from below. The campsite is compact and tricky to set up. It is uneven and full of rocks. Take it from us when we say this is not going to be one of your most comfortable nights in the mountains! The pass hides behind the many folds of the glacier in this area. The campsite here is pretty exciting for it is protected by rockfall by a dip in the terrain. While the dip can keep the rock away, there is no way to stop the continuous sound of the rumble of rocks falling hither thither.

This day will be used as and when required on the trail.

Upper Lamjung (15500 ft) to Bonga (14800 ft) via Borasu Pass (17060 ft).

Approx 10 kms – 11/12 hours.

We start as early as possible, even before the sunlight starts chasing peaks, slowly creeping up on one mountain after another as they shed off their darkness little by little. An hour into the steep, heavily bouldered climb, we reach the base of the glacier. This is where we will gear up – put on our crampons/ microspikes. The slope of the glacier is not more than 30 degrees as it starts but very quickly turns into 70 degrees with alternating rock and snow patches a little further up. The last bit up to the pass is almost vertical and can feel a little intimidating.

We reach the pass in around 3 hours. The view from the top which lies at the daunting altitude of 17880 ft is mesmerizing. Snow covered peaks with browns and whites playing chase with each other forming peculiar patterns on the high mountains all around. After a small prayer on the pass, we start the difficult part of the journey – the long and arduous descend. The first bit itself looks like a direct drop. It will require roping up or fixing ropes for a safe descent. The initial section, which is a 75 degree slope takes close to 40 minutes to descend. Post this, we hit a large patch of almost flat snow which slowly descends downwards. This section has a lot of open and hidden crevasses, however, and needs to be crossed with caution. It also has sections with steep slopes on one side which could take you straight down, in case of a single slip. By the end of 45 minutes on this terrain, we would have already descended 1000 ft and reached the end of the snow section.

What comes next is especially daunting– hours of sharp ascend and descend on big boulders. The need to exercise caution on every tiny step forward, to avoid the gaps between these boulders, is extremely tiring. The next section which brings us down by 700 ft looks like a small distance to cover but takes close to an hour and a half. It is a steep descend with no specific trail and requires navigating massive boulders. Once at the base of this section, we will walk for 45 minutes on the rocky ground to make it to the mountains on the other side of the glacial bed. We need to catch the ridge of the mountain you see ahead. But in order to do that, we have to climb up a steep slope of scree and loose rocks. This section which will take not more than 50 steps to climb might make you think 50 times before you do it. Once on the ridge, the walk is pretty straightforward, although it is on a narrow trail with loose rocks, so you might want to be extra careful. Half an hour on the ridge and the landscape starts to fill a little with colour. The snow-capped peaks are now pushed into the backdrop. Streams can be seen and not just heard.

After walking the ridge and welcoming colour back into our field of vision for 45 minutes, we descend to take the lower ridge. Flowers get added to the mix of dry grass and life is starting to thrive in this terrain. Expect to reach the campsite for today by early evening. The campsite is in warmer lands with plentiful colours and a stream flowing by our tents.

Bonga (14800 ft) to Chhitkul (10800 ft) trek down.

Approx 14 kms – 8 hours.

The terrain for today includes a fair bit of steep ascends and descends, all on massive boulders across an exposed mountain face with a steep drop. There is no specific trail which makes things harder. After almost 3 .5 hours the tree line starts to appear. We could hardly contain our glee when we heard the crispy yellow leaves of entire mountains full of Bhojpatra trees make music in the air. Walking through thick, golden forests of Bhojpatra is extremely refreshing after the cold terrain we spent hours on.

An hour more and we reach open grasslands with huge humps taking us up and down – but the warmth of seeing life around us on these small hills keeps this a breezy walk. Once we make our way down to the river bed, there is one more small section of walking on rocks. By early eening expect to reach a small wooden bridge which takes you away from the mountain onto smooth roads on the other side of the bridge.

Chitkul, which is the end point of the trek is a two-hour drive from here.

Chhitkul to Shimla drive.
Approx 240 kms – 12 hours drive.
You are expected to reach Shimla by 8 pm. You can book your onward journey accordingly.