CHURDHAR (SHIRGUL MAHARAJ KI JAI)

Hello there, How you doing? Ravishing I hope.. So here again I am sharing details of a Holy place situated in Sirmaur ,southern most district in the south-eastern region of Himachal Pradesh, India to trek the highest peak in Outer Himalayas namely CHURDHAR which is at 12000 ft (3647m) above sea level .

How to reach : Churdhar peak can be approached from at least three routes .

1)Chaupal in Shimla district is the base for the shortest route of 7 kms.

2) Haripurdhar in Sirmour district is the base for a longer route of some 50 km

3)Noradhar (Nohra) is the third base from where Churdhar is a 20 km climb and this is the route I took.

Nauradhar is a small town on the Solan - Rajgarh -Sangrah road.So here I go again to enjoy serenity, calmness and landscape experince .

Jai ho Shirgul devta ji

Lush, Lush ,Lush green valley with high and low Landscapes, Deodars , Beautiful flowers attracting tourists from all corners.

As the name says Churdhar depicts Churu stone used for producing white cement..

Greenery surrounding this peak, which makes the trek even more worth doing. It is a steep hike into the beautiful Deodar forest which offers a picturesque view while hiking.

Phase one :

Rocky mountain stone paved path, strong wind flow.. It is recommended to start your journey early morning.. To avoid sunstroke.. Keep one raincoat, sunscreen and water bottle.. Phase one is tough. It takes almost 1:30 hrs to finish this. After climbing this you shall be viewing landscape small small huts of Nauradhar a captivating view , Deodar range starts from here.. Keep a pace speed in this plain area.. It shall take one more hour to reach first phase called as Jamata one can have breakfast lunch or can even stay here for night.

You can take rest here enjoy the tea and breakfast and then gear up for the next phase.

Height of the trek start increasing slowly from here. Keep walking,it usually rain here so keeping a raincoat is always a good option bAs of now you shall be walking through the thick Deodar trees..smiling at you ,variety of fluara and fauna for the next 3 hours A tempting view.

PHASE TWO

The route is through a dense forest which is very scenic , pleasing and alluring at the same time. Trek is easy through these valleys as compared to previous 6 km. We enjoyed it very much as we were passing through the clouds and completed next 6 km in just 2 hrs to reach to next tea stall at 2nd break point called "Doosri"

Relax, enjoy the tea and maggi here. Refill your water bottles and gear up for last and the toughest part.

PHASE THREE

Which is rocky , unpaved path, with sharp uphill and downhill, keep moving with a relatively low speed since there is lack of oxygen you might be feeling bit too tired. This phase is know as "TEESRE"

From here onward last phase of the trek start which is the toughest one and I would recommend to complete the whole trek before dusk.

We were late and have to complete the last phase in moonlight which was no doubt very exciting yet too risky if you are going for the first time. We took around 3:30 hours for competing this which usually people take 1:30 hours.

Walking with the moon and stars singing songs with torch light, tired yet passionate to reach our goal.

We reached our destination and the feeling cannot be defined in words.

Mandir provide service of Langar and we enjoyed that to the fullest.

Next we reached the Dharamshala for staying .. I would recommend you to have early bookings because there is shortage of Night stay here. We were lucky and hence got the place to stay since it was not a weekend.

Next morning we went to the temple for our prayers. After spending few time here we started towards the Shivling.

Criss cross rocky mountain which is covered with 12 feet of snow in winters.

It was really a delightful experience and one must visit here once in life time.