Walking the High Hills

Here are five treks in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand that cover this spectrum and should keep any enthusiast occupied for several seasons.

Nagtibba

If you stand on the ridge of Mussoorie or Landour looking north at the snows of Bandarpunch,your view is impeded by a dark forested hill in the near foreground. This is Nagtibba,3022m/9,915’,beloved of boarding school students in the region. I first climbed it as an 11-year-old and last went back a little more than a year ago. Boys and girls have been to the top and back from Mussoorie in 24 hours and it’s been climbed in a weekend from Delhi.

There’s no reason to sprint; it’s a wonderful walk through thick oak and rhododendron forests,past an old Nag temple,once just made of stone,but now rebuilt as a large and modern structure. On a shoulder about 400 m/1,300’ below the top is a “trekking hut” (complete with outdoor metal seating),sadly damaged by ugly,thoughtless graffiti and an absence of maintenance. Camping is a better bet.

There are many routes up Nagtibba. Traditionally,it’s been approached from the Aglar valley,which is the big dip beyond Mussoorie. The conventional route starts from Devalsari,about 2 km from where the road now ends,with its deodars,a wooden temple and an old forest rest house. A shorter alternative is through the village of Munglori,to the west just off the same road. Last year,however,our group climbed up from the north,circling through the Yamuna valley to Bhatwari. This had the advantage of slow,short stages,befitting the senior citizens (two in their 70s) among us,and also offered a well-made path. Two nights in the open and we were on the snow-covered summit with its spectacular 360-degree views. Nagtibba is one of several isolated vantage points (Choordhar in Himachal Pradesh and Darwa Top in Uttarakhand are others that come to mind) high enough and close enough to offer grandstand views of the high Himalaya without being a part of it.

Great Himalayan National Park

Just before the main road enters the Kullu valley in Himachal,close to massive hydro-electric projects which,sadly,have ruined the beauty of the Beas river,a branch road turns eastwards into the Great Himalayan National Park. Three river valleys comprise the park,and offer rewarding walks to the glaciers at their heads — and dramatic crossings between them. This is the home of the flying squirrel and the spectacular Western Himalayan Tragopan.

In 2003,we walked up the Sainj and then crossed to the Tirthan,along trails that are fine up to a point but then,abandoned to nature,have deteriorated,making them more challenging — and appealing. Remember that entry into all national parks attracts a fee,which can be steep for foreigners and,for some reason,anyone with a video camera.

Our journey up the Sainj took us past the three villages within the park that are still inhabited,but also caught in a time warp of poverty,unlike the relatively prosperous neighbouring Kullu valley. The trails were overgrown but we were amply compensated by the colourful profusion of wild flowers,including the purple buttercup-like Paraquilegia grandiflora that loves to cling to damp rocky nooks,and the Himalayan Blue Poppy.

The highlight of the trek was the crossing from Shakti,over the pastures of Dhel at 3,500m/11,500’ studded with flowering pink Rhododendron companulatum and white dwarf Rhododendron anthopogon,and a 4,000m/13,120’ saddle down to Gushaini in the Tirthan valley. It is a week-long walk at a leisurely pace over some of the loveliest,least-visited grassland I have seen. The trail rose steeply through untouched forest and across wild country,descending just as directly to the turbulent Tirthan. Our visit coincided with the pilgrimage of the local devta to a shrine high up in the valley. Alas,we didn’t see either the squirrel or the tragopan,but we did spot a musk deer in the forest.

Obra valley

One of the most popular mountain trails is the one that runs up the Tons river beyond Mussoorie and Chakrata to Harkidun,regarded as a classic by generations of trekkers of all ages. Less well-known but equally captivating is the neighbouring Obra valley,which terminates in an astonishing large and flat plain,Devkyari,at around 4000m/13,120’. About three kilometers long,it is big enough to land a modern airplane.

To reach the Obra valley,the road branches off shortly after Netwar on the Tons to end at Jakhol that has a forest rest house with an enviable location. From here,it takes three or four comfortable days to reach Devkyari (the locals can do it in one!) along the river,past an old temple or two and fields of marsh marigolds,twinkling streams lined with primulas,and imposing walls of sheer rock reaching up to snow and ice on either side. The higher you go the more breathtaking the vista until suddenly,at the top of a steep climb,Devkyari opens up with snow-covered mountains looming over it.

The return is back the same way,which isn’t much fun,but by a stroke of luck,we had ample compensation during our 2006 visit. Our visit coincided with the arrival of the local devta at Devkyari for a ritual bath in a glacier pool at its head,and hundreds of devotees participating in day-long prayers. The ceremonies concluded with traditional dances on the vast plain,ending only when in the gathering dusk it began to rain. The devta’s pilgrimage brought perfect weather the next morning,and,as if blessed,the valley glistened brightly after the night-long shower.

Kuari Pass

As Viceroy of India,Lord Curzon sought in 1905 to walk from Kumaon over the Kuari Pass (3690m/12,100’) to Joshimath and Badrinath. Legend has it that a swarm of bees stopped him in his tracks. Described sometimes as the Curzon trail,the trek remains one of the most popular in the high Himalayas,offering some of the most dramatic views of the snows to be had from anywhere.

In 2007,we decided to do it in the reverse direction,from Joshimath to Kumaon,so that we could divert to the high pastures of Bedni Bugyal,perched on a ridge in the shadow of Nanda Devi and Trisul,Kumaon’s dominating mountains. We cheated a bit by taking the cable car to Auli,thereby cutting out a tedious and hot climb at relatively low altitude. Two days later,we were camped on a grassy shoulder an hour below the pass where the high mountains of Garhwal came to life as they were touched by the morning sun.

For four days,the trail then crossed two river valleys and the ridges between them before ascending to the Palbala ridge,leading to the mystery lake at Roopkund. It was too early in the year — and heavily snowed up — for most of us to make it up,but our trip guide and one other person did make a swift dash to the lake while the rest descended to Bedni’s delightful meadows. Done either way,this is a classic walk with all that a mountain lover could hope for: views,delightful campsites,lush forests and picturesque trails.

Pin Parbati Pass

There is nothing more exhilarating than a long trek through uninhabited valleys,crossing high passes that are seldom visited,along trails that are hardly used,meeting nobody,being totally self-sufficient,taking nothing from the wilderness and leaving nothing behind. Such trails can be found in the border districts of Uttarakhand,Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh.

One of the more easily accessed trails links the Parbati valley in Kullu with the Pin valley in Spiti over the Pin Parbati Pass 5319m/17,400’ — but be warned,this is not for the faint-hearted. It is also one pass that doesn’t follow a grazing or trade route,having been discovered by the English administrator Louis Dane in 1884. In late September 1993,when I made the last of three crossings recorded that year,the road terminated at Manikaran. It now goes up to near Pulga (the site of yet another delightful forest rest house with a register that had entries since it was built more than 90 years ago).

The 10-day trek (which threw up a rare glimpse of a Himalayan red bear and a Himalayan fox but — satisfyingly — no humans) passes wonderful hot springs (Khirganga),a natural rock bridge across the Parbati (Pandu pul,because tradition has it that the Pandavas created it) and a large glacial pool with a small shrine (Mantalai). It then climbs sheer up the rocky northern flank of the valley (where I was lost for a day or two),relenting briefly at the side of the glacier below the pass,before resuming its steep upward journey.

The pass itself,sits atop a small glacier that can be crevassed,and is festooned with prayer flags strung between cairns. It affords wonderful views of the Kullu and Spiti ranges,and gives that exalted feeling of elevated space,experienced only in the region of permanent snow and ice. The descent on the other side into the barrenness of Spiti is swift at first and then long as the Pin river tumbles its way to the village of Mudh and the road-head at Sagnam.

What else?

Looking for greater challenges? There’s the Nanda Devi sanctuary trek,which the government,in its wisdom,has closed for the time being. Or the three-week-long Snowman trek in Bhutan. Or,perhaps the ultimate,a traversing of the entire Himalayan range between Kashmir and Arunachal,avoiding roads and seeking out high passes,an undertaking of several months that’s been done a few times. But short of all that,there are enough lakes,passes and trekking peaks in India’s hill states to keep even the most energetic mountain explorer contented for more than a lifetime.

(The writer is a one-time climber and a lifelong mountain lover)