Weekend Trip To Nearest Mountain Pass from Delhi

It was another random weekend and another random trip was planned. Idea was simply to spend the two days into the wild away from hustle bustle of metro city. The destination, Jalori Pass was on my wish list since I heard about it. Jalori pass situated at an altitude of approx 3000m is nearest mountain pass from Delhi. It connects Shimla and Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh.

So plan was simple to board bus going to Manali, get down at Aut and then explore Tirthan Valley, Jibhi and Jalori Pass. Since weather prediction has already forecasted the snowfall during weekend, our excitement was at next level.

It was 6:00 AM in morning as we got down at Aut town. Aut is gateway for Tirthan valley, known for lush green forests, unique wooden houses, majestic tirthan river flowing through valley, numerous hiking trails and of course Jalori Pass. Tirthan valley is undoubtedly heaven for travel enthusiast and nature lovers.

When we got down from bus, crisp and cool breeze welcomed us with its freshness. After sipping hot cup of tea, we jumped into the car we hired and fun was begun.

Our first destination was Jibhi, a small hamlet in Tirthan valley which has become quite famous off late among the travelers. As we entered the Tirthan Valley, Tirthan river welcomed us with its melodious sound. The rivers was flowing continuously parallel with road and at one point we couldn’t resist ourselves to stop and cherish the peace and solace of valley.

As we reached Jibhi it has already started raining, however we directly went to Jibhi waterfall. A small hike through Jungle trail take you to waterfall. Though it is not very giant waterfall still its worth going there. By the time we cherished the vibes of waterfall and clicked all those photos for social media we were already shivering due to cold and rain. Hot cup of tea was much needed at this time.

It was now afternoon and we were almost wet in rain so we directly headed to our homestay. After taking some rest and having hot and delicious Rajma Chawal we were again energized. We were informed that there is an amazing Café, Firgun Café at about 3-4km from out homestay at Sojha village. So without wasting time started our hike to firgun café. Though this 3-4km turned out to be very exhausted due to decent level of elevation, but the view from Café was worth the effort we put in.

By the time it was already evening, clouds were already playing hide and seek and suddenly the whole weather turned favorable for snow fall. The Café owner told us that snowfall may start anytime and to our surprise within next 5-10 min snow flakes started pouring from sky. I am saying pouring because it was actually a heavy snow fall. We just started dancing in joy and excitement. Snow fall lasted for more than hour and soon it converted whole village by white blanket. Café owner told Jalori Pass being at further higher altitude must have received the massive snow. This piece of information increased our adrenaline rush as next day Jalori Pass was on cards. Nomadic souls were all thrilled and excited for next day’s adventure.

We woke in morning like kids excited and full of zeal. After having mouthwatering Aloo paratha we were all set for Day 2. Plan was we will go to Jalori pass by car and from there trek to Serloskar Lake. But whole plan got messed up as our car got stuck in snow just after moving 3km from Jibhi and car was unable to move ahead on snow. Effectively our trek started from Soghi village itself and we enthusiasts started walking on snow covered road. We slipped at times and sometimes we almost fell but the energy from mesmerizing nature kept us charged.

The road was uphill throughout route as Jibhi is at ~1600 m above sea level, so the altitude gets almost doubled ~3100m till Jalori pass. We came across lot of stranded vehicles throughout the route. Hike turned out to be blessing in disguise as it was such a fun to walk snow covered road and enjoy the beauty of nature closely and slowly. There were moments when we were short of breath, our legs were crying in pain and heart was thumping but the whole atmosphere was so electrifying that nothing mattered to us. Suddenly life was full of peace and solace, our soul was in eternal bliss.

Although tea and Maggi shops are common at hilly areas however this area was so remote that there was only one very small outlet, however tea break was icing on the cake, cool and crisp breeze enhanced its flavours to next level.

While we were enjoying all the trail, suddenly we heard a sound of vehicle. To our surprise we saw 4WD bolero maxi truck was cruising towards Jalori Pass, in order to quickly start our trek from Jalori we jumped onto it. Holding the cold rails of maxi truck and facing the chilling winds directly on face we flew towards Jalori pass enjoying all white snow covered view all around.

We quickly started the trek, but we were disappointed with news that we won’t be able to reach Serloskar lake due to extremely heavy snow enroute. Keeping the morale high we decided to trek as far as we can. Walking uphill on snow covered hills was extremely breathtaking, While on one hand it was hard to take the breathe, On other hand the thrill and goosebumps on anticipating the views from top kept us moving. The 360 degree view from top was awe inspiring, half an hour spent on top was utilised to absorb the positive energy radiated by the nature around us.

Soon it was time to retreat and we headed back to our home stay in Jibhi.... But story didn’t ended here.

Something super awesome in pandora box was still awaiting us. As we jumped on our maxi truck to go back there was another flash snowfall. Believe me it was just out of this world and the scene around was not less than from any movie.

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Happy Travelling!!