Hampta Pass: An alpine journey into the mountains

August 2018 was a month of devastation in himalayas as rain gods were not in a mood of showing any mercy and it rained like anything.I had been planning for Hampta pass trek.

I had a word with a friend of mine about the plan to go alpine style for the trek and we both finally went against the odds and finally left for this adventurous journey.

Hampta pass lies in the land of gods i.e. Himachal Pradesh

This trek starts from manali and ends up in spiti valley.

We started our journey from Delhi at 10 pm and drove to Manali while it drizzled the whole night,we were anxious about the conditions of the mountains but at the same time we were excited thinking about the adventure that we were about to find ourselves into.

We reached Manali by noon and parked our car at a resort’s parking and packed the essentials and started our journey.

Trek starts from the Allain Duhangan Hydropower Project near the village Sethan.

Drive to this dam was a joyful one as it was raining and we were excited to start the trek.

At 1 pm, we finally started our trek.

With some lush green surroundings and richness in flora,hampta pass trek engages one right from the beginning.

We were twenty minutes into the trek and a beautiful old wooden bridge connecting the mountains over a river crossing was spotted.

It was one of the most magical landscapes i’ve ever seen.😍❤️

By 2:30 pm,we reached jobra campsite.

We took our lunch at a shack at jobra campsite.

And then we moved to chika campsite and pitched our tent.

Chika campsite is one of the most beautiful campsite at an altitude of 10100 ft surrounded with gorgeous looking lush green mountains with a river flowing alongside.

The weather was cloudy and the sound of water crashing on the rocks was like a symphony to ears.

After relaxing for a while,the most important task was waiting for us i.e. food.

We were trekking alpine and were carrying energy bars and dry fruits but carrying a complete meal for 4-5 nights was obviously impossible.

So we started talking to various trekking groups about the food availability if they can provide us the food.

We were fortunate enough to find a group trekking with bikat adventures and the organisers of the group agreed to provide us food.

We were more than overwhelmed and will always be thankful for their gesture.

After a good dinner we finally called it a night and in no time we slept as we were sleep deprived for nearly 36 hours.

We woke up fresh and had a lipsmacking breakfast we quickly packed our stuff, dismantled our tent and we were ready to move deeper into the valley for our next campsite i.e. Balu ka ghera campsite at an altitude of 11900 ft.

The route was gradually steep initially and became flat afterwards with just a few patches of boulder climbing.

The major obstacle for the day was a river crossing where the stream flows at a higher intensity and the water is damn freezing.

I saw a few people lined up at the starting point of crossing figuring out who’ll go first.

There i met a man who was in his late 40’s and was trekking with YHAI in a group of 45 adults.

We made a human chain and crossed the river quite comfortably but couldn’t feel our feet once we were out of the river.

After a short break we moved further.

I asked that man why wasn’t he trekking with the group?

The people in the group are slow movers and it breaks my momentum,he replied.

By evening we reached our campsite and before setting up the tent i thought of lying down for a bit and stretch some muscles.

When trekking,a bit of stretching is always a good idea to avoid any cramps or sore muscles.

Now while setting up a camp during monsoon one must plan with some considerations.

In monsoon season,it rains almost daily in night and to avoid water getting below your tent one must dig a boundary around the tent to make a way for water to move away from the tent.

It rained the whole night and I couldn’t sleep the whole night thinking about the big day tomorrow as we were going to reach the highest point of our trek at 14100 ft the following day.

Next morning we woke up early and packed our stuff and started to move.

The trek was initially a walk though wide valley and the lush green valley started to vanish and the landscape turned into boulders and stones.

The climb started to become steep as we were constantly climbing boulders.

After a while our water bottles got empty and there were no water sources.

We were damn thirsty but we kept moving as we knew there was no alternative to this.

We needed to reach the next campsite for the next water source.

We kept climbing and by 1 pm we were finally at the top and Hampta Pass was finally here.

We spent some time there clicked a few pictures and started our descent and believe me it was the most scariest part of this trek.

The descent from Hampta Pass is damn steep with a place for only one foot to place at some spots.

The view was quite spectacular and grand as the whole valley was visible from that point with the views of Mt. Indrasan and Deo Tibba.

We trekked down to out next campsite i.e. siagoru at an altitude of 12900 ft.

Later in the evening we came across a devastating news.

The man i met yesterday at the river crossing fell from boulders while descending down from the Hampta pass.

His body was rescued by some porters.

That patch was really tricky and it needed one to focus on the route instead of constantly enjoying the view which could distract anyone.

Suddenly the whole vibes of that place turned from happiness to sorrows.

That day I realised that one should always be with their groups or friends while trekking.

It’s all about team work and there’s no competition of being first to reach the destination.

Trekking is all about enjoying the unfiltered company of our friends and enjoying the gifts mother nature has for us.

The night was a tough one for every single person present there.

Next morning after a mourning session for that man we started with our journey.

Today the trek was all about enjoying the nature as it was mostly a pleasant walk through the big mountains and vast valley.

We were actually trekking into spiti valley.

And after sometime we could finally spot the NH5 that connects manali with spiti valley.

We started to move quickly as we didn’t have any transportation booked to reach manali.

After reaching village Chhatru our trek finally ended.

Now the task was to wait for the one and only bus operating from kaza to manali.

But there was another twist that was waiting for us in this adventurous trek.

The bus that operates on that route malfunctioned on that particular day and we were left with 2 options either we camp at chhatru or find someone to hitchhike with.

We had our lunch in the meanwhile and planned to wait for an hour or so before setting up our camp.

We were fortunate enough to find a truck driver who stopped at chhatru for a while.

I asked him if he can take us along with him to manali and he allowed us to travel with him.🤗

The generosity and kindness shown by him was the highlight of that short journey with him.

He was full of stories and his experiences of driving in hills over the time were so exciting and engaging.

He dropped me in manali without asking for anything.

I still remember him as one of the most beautiful souls i’ve ever met in mountains.

This trek was full of emotions for me.

There were moments of sheer happiness and grief all in one journey.

It taught me about kindness and teamwork and the will to be in the wilderness on your own.

Humans are full of stories and i feel that’s the only thing that connects us.❤️