Har Ki Dun Trek

My friend Anubhav & I decided to conquer the mighty Himalayas. We narrowed down on Har Ki Dun Trek. It was a 7 day trek which was to commence on 12th Nov 2016 and end by 18th Nov 2016.

Har (Shiva) ki (of) Dun (Valley) = Valley of Lord Shiva

Our journey started from Dehradun. We were to reach Sankri from where we were to embark on our journey. From Dehradun we took the route via Mussoorie – the Queen of Hills.

On the way we also got to see the beautiful Mussoorie Waterfall. Although, we were up for an amazing adventure hence we decided not to spend much time here and just witnessed it from a distance.

Moving on from here is a beautiful ride through the valley among the beautiful huge tall pine trees.

Just before we are about to reach Sankri, there is place where we need to do the entry. This is for the forest officials to keep record and track of who is entering that zone. While the entry was being made, I got a chance to capture the beautiful landscape.

Once we are set on our way to reach Sankri. The drive is adventurous and scenic. It goes all along by this beautiful river itself. The loud sound of the river which keeps flowing endlessly is just a sight to watch from your transport.

And as the dawn starts to descend upon earth, still the river water does not loses its charm. It continues to flow with full glory.

And then the beautiful moon comes out, right on top of the ridge with clouds floating by it. It’s time that we have reached Sankri and a long day has come to an end. Tomorrow morning is the D-day when we start off our trek to the mighty Himalayas.

Next morning as the run soars up the hill and beams its way into the valley, we get ready to embark on our trek to Har ki Dun.

The Terrain is rocky with huge boulders, cold freezing water, chilly winds, fallen trees. It gives a glimpse of what lies ahead. It gives a sense of how exciting and adventurous it is gonna be.

The entire valley is full of life. Not only in nature but also in man. The children here are always smiling, playing, enjoying and happy in their own ways.

Trekking will teach you a lot of lessons, the first lesson to learn is FOCUS. Never lose sight of what you want to achieve. If the focus is clear and sharp, you will achieve what you ventured out into. When we started we could see the Har Ki Dun peak at the fag end of the horizon.

Our luggage was carried by porters on mules, which is much of a relief as it becomes really difficult to climb up with so much of weight on you.

We were supposed to trek upto a place called Osla which is a small hamlet village in the hills. We were to halt there in a homestay. The trek is also by the river.

The goats & sheeps in the valley are a delight to watch.

After trekking for close to 7 hrs covering 15 kms we get to see the small village Osla. It gives some relief that hopefully now we are there and will get some rest. While at the same time, it taught us that a short rest should not bring down your effort and let you lose focus. The Har Ki Dun peak still gazing at us at the fag end.

And at last a long trek, brought us to this quiet village yet full of life. We relaxed, had tea basking ourselves into the glory of nature. The sight was just amazing. Our location was overlooking a deep pit and we had huge mountains in front of us.

And when the sun decides to set at our stop in Osla, it gave us a message about life saying, a new opportunity always arises when something else goes down.

Next morning, we get on with our trek, focused to reach our goal. With unwavering spirit we start our trek. It has become more steeper, the weather became even more cold and due to high altitude even less oxygen.

And just as life pulls you back before launching you into something amazing. Just before the sun would go down and we could reach Har Ki Dun, it was a tiring, tough vertical climb. It is quite strenuous that makes one even give up on the trek. But we didn’t give up. We kept climbing one peak after the other.

The one who waits gets the fruit and gets the sweetest fruit. After such a treacherous trek, nature opened up to us and gifted us the most amazing and beautiful landscapes which cannot be viewed elsewhere.

One can only come across such a beautiful view either in paintings or in movies shot in some foreign country. No one can image that India itself has such beautiful and amazing landscapes. We put up our tent and just got immersed the breathtaking view.

And then after a long tiring trek once again. The sun sets for the day. The temperature drops below -5 degrees. It’s chilly cold and we retire into our tents.

Trekking teaches you one things for sure. In order to achieve something, there will always be hurdles. In the end it will be worth it.

It was a 2 day halt at Har Ki Dun, therefore we decided to push our limits even more. We decided to also trek up to Jaundhar Glacier. This glacier is also accompanied by the mighty Swargarohini peak on its left.

It is even at higher altitude compared to Har Ki Dun and takes around 4 hours one way. The glacier is huge and we didn’t go right upto the glacier. We stopped 2-3kms before it and witnessed its magnificence.

The trek is a bit risky trek as it is vertical climb on the side drop of the ridge. It is a very narrow trail that you are to walk on to balancing yourself. The oxygen levels are lower and hence takes double the effort.

The mighty Swargarohini peak is sight to watch in itself and leave your awestruck and spellbound. The snow laden peak is true to its name, Swarg (Heaven) Rohini (Gateway) = Gateway to Heaven

By the time we were back there was another group of Trek joined us and set up a whole bunch of more camps there. It only enhanced the beauty of the entire place.

The next day we started to trek our way back from where we started. But this time, we decided to take a detour. Instead of going back via Osla, we took our route through Gangar, another small village in the hills.

The route to Gangar was much steeper downhill and we came across beautiful sights yet again. The memories of the beautiful place will always be engraved in our hearts and minds. It is truly Lord Shiva’s Valley.