Our First Anniversary Trek to Kasol Kheerganga - The Sumptuous Life

What people usually do on their first anniversary - chill, relax, book a luxurious hotel maybe. Don't worry, I am one of them too but my husband is not, especially all year when I am complaining that you are the reason I am getting fat and bla bla. So whenever I am thinking of a nice chilling trip, there is my husband challenging me to go on a trek, so that I don't complain and blame him for my laziness. Little did he know, the nagging is not going to stop. So that was the gist of how we decided to go for Kheerganga trek. Now I'll take you through the itinerary.

Day 1 - We took a bus from Kashmiri Gate to Kasol, there are direct sleeper and semi-sleeper AC buses from Delhi so if you do not want to drive like us, then hop on. It was almost a 12 hour journey with a few halts and people vomiting like crazy. I mean thank god I did not eat anything, otherwise it would have been a nightmare. I really can't control myself if someone else is vomiting infront of me. My hubby was making sure I am okay because he knows my vomiting demon face.

Day 2 - We reached Kasol in the morning and started looking for our hostel. Weather was chilly as it was early February, so packing your jackets is a must. This was the first time that we decided to stay in a hostel and booked "The Hosteller". There are almost 3 branches of "The Hosteller" in Kasol, do not get confused like we did and do not completely trust the maps, as we got adrift while finding it. Imagine after a 12 hour journey, you are literally dragging yourself finding the hostel so that you can get the comfy bed and cozy room you booked. But the story doesn't end here my friend because you think you know all about the "Hotels" and they will give you the room even if you reached early before the 'check in time'. Na na nope you are forgetting you have booked a "hostel" so wait for your turn pal. Good thing. Kasol has so many cute and helpful dogs, I mean for a dog lover, to be honest it was - heaven. I have a separate folder in my camera library where we clicked only the photos of doggos.

We decided to have a little bite while waiting for our room to be allotted. After a quick breakfast we wandered around the vicinity gathering details for Kheerganga trek, as we had not pre-booked it from Delhi.

After a long and tiresome wait, we got our room. We relaxed a bit, freshened up and went out to explore Kasol. We hiked towards Manikaran Sahib Gurudwara, which is quite mesmerizing. It's almost 4 kms away from Kasol, so you may either take a taxi or you can just walk instead. The whole place is surrounded by Temples and Gurudwaras with hot springs and scenic valley views. And lots and lots of cute doggos on your way.

Day 3 - We woke up early, got ready and bideu our goodbyes to the lovely dogs and left for the trek. There is a public transport that leaves in every 30 minutes, I guess for the trek location but do not wait for it if you are in a hurry because we waited almost 45 minutes and no sight of this so called bus service, so we hired a taxi instead. We had to wait for the guide to arrive on the trek commencement location, we had some paranthas and chai to keep ourselves busy. Now Important things to remember:

1) Do some research and always check the weather forecast before going on a trek. When we went, it was snowing so I changed my shoes and rented some boots, which are compatible to this type of trekking as it was my first time, my husband on the other hand was comfortable covering his shoes with socks as he already did Naag Tibba trek in the snow.2) Gloves, warm socks and jackets are must for a trek where the temperature drops to minus 10 at night.3) Power bank, torch, shades, trekking pole and medicines are a must carry.

A very important thing, keep your camera easily access able because you are going to see numerous mesmerizing views and doggos assisting you and leading you onto the right path. We were trekking alone without the guide so there were dogs who were helping us to get on the right track. And if you are lucky you get to see snowfall. Me and my husband saw snowfall for the very first times in our lives and we took the shot of night sky with our iphone so all and all our anniversary trek was a hit.

In the end I would just say, Kheerganga is not a beginner's trek to be very honest. For me it was the most difficult trek I have done, so far. Plus if you decide to stay in the tents at night choose wisely because we certainly are too old for loud music and people getting drunk and losing their senses.