Doesn't it become difficult for most of us to stay grounded at times?
Well, may be it's high time that you need to go far away and break free. So what's pleasing than trekking a long way in the never better Himalayas to see what life can offer you!
In the midst of nowhere, these three trans Himalayan treks will make you discover your own self as you set yourself free from the rest of the world.
THE CHADAR TREK
Difficulty level-moderate to high
Chadar trek in the zanskar valley is the most fascinating of all treks. Imagine hiking upon a crystal like frozen river alongside frozen waterfalls at a complete desolute place..well,this is what the trek is. Zanskar remains cut from rest of the regions for about 7months due to heavy snowfall,where frozen zanskar river brings the only hope for its inhabitants to connect through and that’s when the trek gets started.With a temperature ranging from -20 to -35 degrees, this trek generally starts in the mid of January and takes about 13 days for a complete expedition.There are shorter versions of the trek too till the halfways which takes about 9days.
Many websites provide packages every year for the trek which are all to be pre booked.
PHUGTAL MONASTERY TREK
Difficulty level-easy to moderate
Built in and around a honeycomb like natural cave,this incredible trek in the zanskar valleytakes you to one of the most beautiful terrains in the country. If not the chadar trek in freezing cold winters, this trek during summers in the mighty valley is something worth opting for.Here’s the good news,this is a small trek of 3-4days and requires no agents or pre-bookings so you’re all on your own;) Best season:july to september
Route
Day 1- drive from padum to Icher.The hike starts from Icher(town in zanskar).
Icher-Anmu-Chah(7hrs)
Day 2-Chah-phugtal-purne(5hrs)
Day 3-purne-anmu-Icher(7-8hrs)
Drive back from Icher to padum.
PIN-PARVATI TREK
Difficulty level-high
Well if not the pin valley,most of us have heard of parvati valley,right? ;)
The pin parvati pass in himachal pradesh is a challenging trek within the two completely different terrains of pin and parvati valleys.From a lush green forest to a cold dessert at high altitude, this one is a rare trek that can be traversed from both sides(kullu and spiti),however kullu remains always the preferred one as it provides the much needed acclimation and preparedness. A trek of 10days,this is not something to be tried by begginers due to its harsh conditions.
Best season and climate: The climatic changes of both the valleys being very difficult dealing with heavy rainfall in one and snowfall in another,limit its expedition seasons. June-end to mid-July and August-end to mid-September are the best of all.
Route: The trek starts from barsheni village,a few kms from manali.
Barsheni-khirganga-tunda bhuj-thakur kaun-mantalai-parvati basecamp-pin basecamp-mud. Drive back from mud to kaza and to manali.