Hampta Pass Trek

In the morning, we drive to the dam site at Jobra and from here walk through a very pleasant landscape. The walk initially will take us through a mixed forest having pines, spruce, deodar, chestnut and maple trees. We cross a beautiful meadow having a gaddi shepherd camp there. We will need to cross the river at a vantage point if the gaddis haven’t made a makeshift bridge somewhere along the river. We cross the river and climb to a beautiful meadow called Chikha along a side stream. Today’s hike is a gentle one and will take about 2 hrs. Having rested for some time one will be advised to walk up a short distance to a nearby waterfall which also plays host to a number of white capped redstarts. Overnight in tents.

Today’s trek is more gradual. We have It’s an interesting day’s hike today. We cross the stream immediately after the campsite and start gaining height and moving towards a gorge section towards the right side moving along the river. We will walk through boulder sections, meadows filled with wildflowers, cross a waterfall and a side river which might require careful handling to reach our campsite for the day, Balu-ka-Gheera. This hike will take about 3.5 to 4 hrs with a few breaks in between. This campsite is along a network of river channels and has big mountains guarding it on all sides. Our guides might also take the decision to walk for an additional hour and reach an upper campsite also called by the same name. This will make next day’s climb a bit shorter. We rest and relax at the campsite and get charged for the next day’s climb to Hampta pass. Overnight in tents.to cross a river. Later we hike through forest. The last hour of the trek goes up again. We will pass a temporary settlement of farmers, who are staying here during the summer period with their cows. Our campsite of this day promise amazing views of the surrounding Himalayan Mountains. And is the highest point of this trek.

Today weather and trail conditions will decide what time we leave but it’s going to be an early morning departure for sure, between 5 to 6 a.m. The walk is in all probability going to be partially/completely on snow depending upon season and weather conditions. From the camp we start with a steep climb on scree slopes to reach a ridge and from here we continue climbing towards another ridge which leads to the pass. This climb will take about 4-5 hrs and one will be rewarded with absolutely out of the world views all around. Indrasan and Deotibba peaks completely dominate the landscape and the ranges towards Lahaul look quite majestic. We spend some time at the top taking pictures and to have lunch and having regained our energy start climbing down back towards Balu Ka Gheera. This descent will take about 2-3 hrs. Overnight in tents.

On this day we trek back to Jobra via chikha. This will take about 5-6 hours. From Jobra we board the vehicle and drive back to Manali. The trek ends here.