Triund - Camping at in front of the great Edifice of Dhauladhar range.

Solo Traveler at Snowcovered Triund

Introduction: For few months I was craving for a Solo travel and to get lost into the wild. To keep the adventure essence, I kept it entirely unplanned right from leaving home. And within 13+5 hrs of travel+trekking, I am here, facing the great snow covered Edifice.

I could not choose one out of two Title for the post, hence you see both.

About the place: If you ever dreamt or had a dream of being so close to a huge snow covered mountain that you feel like touching it with a stretch of your hand then this is the place to be at.

Triund is a camping ground facing the Great Edifice of Dhauladhar range of outer Himalayas. The trail to Triund starts from Galu Devi temple above Dharamkot village, McLeodGanj near Dharamshala.

Altitude from sea level: 2825m

How to reach: Delhi-Kangra-Dharamshala via NH1 or direct bus from Delhi to Dharamshala

                        Dharamshala to McLeodGanj 10 km.

                        McLeod Ganj main market to Galu Devi temple at Upper Dharamkot | 2 km | 1-2 hour walk                         OR a 45-minute cab ride

                        Galu Devi temple to Triund |4 km |3.5 hrs walk

Best time to Visit: December last to January 1^st week. Closed after January first/2nd week due to heavy snow.

Brief Itinerary:
Day 1: Sunday 27 December,2015 leave Dwarka,Delhi at 3:40 pm and take bus
                           to Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh at 5:30 pm.

Day2: Monday 28 December,2015. Reach Dharamshala at 05:30 am take taxi to McCleodganj. Begin                                    trekking to Triund. Camping at Triund.

Day3: Tuesday 29 December,2015 Back to Delhi.

Expenses: To and fro bus ticket Delhi-Dharamshala INR 550+550 = 1100.00

                   Taxi from Dharamshala-McCleodGanj-GoluDevi Temple INR 650.00

                   Bust from McCleodGanj to Dharamshala Bust Terminal INR 15.00

                   Meals and BreakFast  INR 550.00

Entire trip cost INR 2315.00 only.

Back to travelogue:

It had only been around 15 days since my last bike ride to Chakrata, Uttarakhand but for some reasons unknown, I was craving for a Solo travel and to get lost into the wild. The problem was, as usual, I was unable to zero out on a destination and a plan. Therefore, decided not to have a plan, just leave home and board the first bus leaving for hills, preferably snow covered.

I left at around 3:40 pm for Dwarka Mor Metro station. Boarded the first metro train that came into site. I was still confused and had two options, either de-board at ISBT Kashmiri Gate or Anand Vihar. Mostly, Buses plying East of NH58 leave from Anand Vihar ISBT (Nainital, Munsiyari, Pithoragarh, Ramnagar) and that of West of NH58 from Kashmiri Gate (Himachal, Haridwar, Rishikesh)this I only came to know when I asked ticket to Pithoragarh at Kashmiri Gate ISBT. I had a look at the route map of metro and found Kashmiri Gate comes first and hence, chose it. The moment you enter the ISBT, thanks to the dramatically improved infrastructure, you do not feel to look for someone for bus info. I saw there were state specific counters and you can head directly towards the counter of state you wish to travel. Went to the Uttarakhand ticket counter and asked for ticket to Pithoragarh. The man at the ticket counter advised me that bus to Pithoragarh can be boarded from Anand Vihar only. I shifted to Himachal ticket counter and asked for Reckong Peo, I saw a direct bus from Delhi to remote Reckong Peo when I travelled to Narkanda via shimla last year. Unfortunately he told me that the bus route to Reckong Peo is closed for the day due to heavy snow. Now, here I got the privilege of traveling solo and unplanned, I asked him for McCleodganj and yes I got my ticket for INR 548.00 only, that gives mileage of Re 1.00 per km as McLeodganj is around 550 kms from Delhi, the bus was scheduled to leave at 5:30 pm.

ticket to lonely woods

I had around half an hour to wait for the bus, had tea, a quick walk round the ISBT to have an overview of the destinations covered by buses plying from this Terminus.

I boarded the bus and being solo, felt this paradox of being excited but with great peace within. The bus left at 5:30 pm.

It was an overnight journey and the bus reached Dharamshala bus Terminal at 05:40 AM and it was still dark and the only source of light was earth’s natural satellite. Unfortunately there was no local transport at this hour in the morning to McLeodganj, I had to take a private taxi that charged me INR250.00 for Dharamshala to McLeodganj 10 kms only L. This was the moment when I got the majestic glimpse of white moonlit the Dhauladhar peak and to express in the simplest way, the range looked like a huge tubelight wall owing to the reflected moonlight on snow covered peaks.

Moonlit Dhauladhar range

 I had a tea with Tibetan Bread INR 10.00 only and asked the Tibet boy for the way to trek to Triund. He advised me not to leave in dark as monkeys may trouble me till Dharamkot. I really do know that monkeys are indeed troublesome, especially with someone wearing spectacles. Therefore I opted for taxi till Galu Devi Temple, Fare INR 400.00 for 8.5 kms L. The difference, trek from McLeodGanj Market to DharamKot village is 1.8 Km, Dharamkot to Galu Devi Temple 3 km and by road, it is around 10 km and takes around 40 minutes. I reached Galu Devi Temple, the last road head to trek to Triund, at 6:40 am and it was still dark. Fortunately, within five minutes I saw another taxi, these were three guys from, yes, Delhi. I asked for their company and we began trekking. But I could not keep up with them, they seemed to be in hurry and were not interested in enjoying the nature and views of the valley. Thanks to them as from now onwards only I realized what it meant to be a solo trekker and on your own. The trek not a paved one and is raw and steep throughout the 4.5 km. After trekking for nearly 1 km, came across this memorial,

when I came home I googled a lot and could not find much about Mr. Prag Bhaskar but really felt low may he rest in peace and his soul inspire trekkers.

Since I was all alone, I was very well aware of the fact that I am walking through core jungle and it is not safe to walk without making any noise. I turned my all time favorite Babbu Maan songs on and kept enjoying the serenity.

The three stair: McLeodGanj, Dharamshala and Kangra valley

At some places, the trek looks really unsafe, one can see huge boulders hanging off the cliff waiting to be triggered.

After walking around 2 km you see this Magic View, says the oldest tea shop.

One can also spot Ravens; species just above Crow and spotting one confirms that you are moving on and in the right path and direction. 

The last 1km trek to Triund is tricky and a bit unsafe during these days of the year due to black ice. It really thrills being trying to avoid falling into 7000 feet deep gorge by inches especially when you are all alone.

And after a strenuous 4 hr trek I reached from Here

To here:

The moment you face the Great Edifice all your efforts and every steep step you take uphill proves worth to its 100% efficacy.

I camped here, and asked for way towards Laka Glacier around 3 km trek from Triund. Finding the way to Glacier will not be any difficult as there are directions marked every now and then but trekking the path is.

you can spot the yellow direction arrow at bottom

After walking around 1.5km the trek goes too narrow and layer of snow too thick upto 2 feet.

One thing I would suggest to every trekker to always keep in mind that one has to trek the same path downhill and there is a whole lot of difference trekking up and downhill. It is not like if somehow I make it uphill then it will be easy to trek down.  Its more unsafe and difficult to trek downhill on a snow covered trek. Therefore, keeping this in mind, the moment you feel unsafe beyond a certain point, turn around and leave it for next time with better luck in hand instead of being last time. In short, do not push it beyond the safe limits.

I turned back from the unsafe zone as you may never know what and what not lies beneath the snow, latter being dangerous as you may end up stepping on air beneath snow.

the point where I turned back is beneath that rock that makes the trek too narrow and unsafe

Came back to Triund had bread omlette and tea cost INR 80.00 and 40.00 respectively. While trekking downhill, met another solo traveler Mehul Choudhary and to my surprise, he is also from Delhi and a photography apprentice.   He planned to travel to Solan, Manali next morning, hence we farewell and I left for Dharamshala for bus to Delhi.

I am craving to experience this and will for sure come again soon to complete the incomplete trek to Laka Glacier. Triund is a must visit place in Himalayas suggested at mustvisithimalayas.

Keep Travelling!