The passion for mountain and the snow-clad view of the majestic Himalayas attracts me so much that trekking is not only a favourite pastime but also feeds on them mentally in finding ultimate freedom . The zeal for climbing up mountains took me my destination Manimahesh. Its a glacial lake situated at an altitude of 13000 ft in Bharmour district of Himachal Pradesh. The main attraction is the Manimahesh Peak that glitters like a 'Mani' and the image of the peak is reflected in the lake. To get in: This route is open only for 15 days in August, from Janmasthami to Radhastami. Nearest Railway station is Pathankot. From there one can hire a cab to Chamba. The base is at Hudsor, till where motorable road is available. From Hudsor the trail begins with 7kms away at Dhancho the first stop. From Dhancho it's again a hiking of 7 - 9 km to Gourikund. From Gourikund trekkers either prefer to go another 3 km to the Manimahesh Base near the lake and stay overnight there or can visit the lake and return for a night stay at Gourikund. Chopper service is available from Hudsor to Gourikundu which will take around 20 mins to reach the place but from there it 3 km trek to the lake. Day 1: We preferred chopper and after landing at the helipad at Gourikund we headed towards the lake. The trail was not so easy, no definite road and it was too much steep. But the beauty of the landscape a, the snow-clad Kailash peak enabled us to keep our attention diverted till we reach the apex. Many temporary camps and langars were set up for the holy sight. We put up in one such camp. Its better to mention that those were not luxury Swiss camps but were huge temporary structures with the basic minimum arrangements provided, sharing the tent with 40 strangers added to another new experience. Food was provided by the local tent arrangers and owing to such great height and freezing cold whatever we get was beyond expectation, though simple yet bubbling hot hotchpotch was too tasty. After the meal we went to the Lake. Its a glacial lake reflecting the image of the Manimahesh Kailash peak. It was freezing cold yet pilgrims were taking holy dip in it. After completing the Parikrama we rested at the camp. Slowly dusk descended, dark clouds covered with chilling cold breeze. Weather got really bad with thunders and hail and we lost all hope of viewing the Mani on the peak.
Day 2: It was what time of the dawn can't remember distinctly, I woke up to a loud cry "Har Har Mahadev", I tried to rush out but temperature dropped to minus, shivering cold and was still dark. I slightly peeped outside the tent and to my greatest wander saw the glittering silver peak hit by the first ray of the sun shining like a diamond on a crown - hence the name "Manimahesh". The view lasted for few minutes; dense cloud approached covering nightly darkness all over. Returning into the tent we again dozed off but when we wake up was 8 a.m. in the morning, the weather was too bad and dense fog was all over, the peak was hardly visible. We started climbing down but the road was almost washed away by the rain, cold drizzles were still continuing and the breeze was piercing like needles. It was so dense fog that we could hardly make our way to the steep terrain, so our plan to trek down was cancelled and we again opted for the helicopter ride to Hudsar.
Writing and photos by
Sanghamitra Roychowdhury
A wanderlust soul in pursuit of happiness in nature... this is no account of a blogger but an initiative to share my travel experiences... View all posts by thousandmilesahead
Published
