Hampta Pass : Gateway from Kullu to Spiti

The most baffling thing about the Hampta Pass trek, which sets it apart from the plethora of treks in the Himalayas is neither its remote location nor the challenges it offers but the absolutely contrasting vistas presented by the lush green Kullu valley and the rugged and dry Spiti valley. The high mountain pass acts as a gateway to an entirely different world, very few treks offer this dramatic transition. I shall now delve into the details of this trek objectively, before telling my own experience.

Location: 

The popular approach is from Hampta dam which is located at a distance of about 12km from Manali in Himachal Pradesh. From there the trek starts and after crossing the pass ends at Chhatru /Chatru, a small village on the Gramfu-Batal-Kaza road. The trek can also be done the other way round.

For your reference here is a map for the entire trek route assuming you will return via the Rohtang Pass to Manali.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1BYQMqXP4uHdTKkvS5h5TvJgvImlVmk5V&ll=32.2516034500031%2C77.2703254999999&z=11

Season: 

Try avoiding the monsoon at all costs. October - early November is definitely the best season. The roadway remains closed due to heavy snow accumulation till mid-August. 

A note of caution: The travel agencies will tell you anything to keep their business running all year long, but do not make the mistake of taking any trek lightly irrespective of the tags like 'easy', 'moderate'. Depending upon factors like weather, River level which are beyond human control,  a so-called easy hike in the Himalayas may seem to be an insurmountable obstacle.

Itinerary :

Day 1: Delhi to Manali 

Day 2: Hampta Dam - Chika (6 km trek; uphill, 5-6 hours)

Day 3: Chika - Balu ka Ghera (4 km, moderate slope, 3-4 hours)

Day 4: Balu ka ghera - Hampta pass -Sheagoru (9km, steep uphill till the pass, then downhill, 8-10 hours)

Day 5: Sheagoru - Chhatru (7 km)

Day 6: Chhatru - Manali 

Requirements :

You need a permit from the forest department to camp anywhere in Himachal Pradesh. Acquiring this permit on your own is quite a bother unless you know someone there. Plus it is made mandatory to trek with a registered agency.

Day 0: Manali - Rumsu: (A Gala day at a colourful Village)

After spending a leisurely day at Manali, the most popular hill station of Himachal Pradesh we 6 started early in the morning for Rumsu. A village situated high on the hills on the left bank of Beas. We boarded a government agency operated bus which dropped us off at Patlikuhal, a small hamlet on NH3 about 20km South of Manali for 20 Rs. each. From Patlikuhal we had to persuade a sleepy jeep driver to take us to our destination which was about 6-7 km upwards. For an unjustified fare of Rs. 800 he agreed to take us. On the way, we saw the Naggar castle, a marvellous piece of architecture dating back 500 years. The kings of Kullu reigned from this castle and Naggar was their capital for more than a millennium.

From top: 1. Old woman at Rumsu. 2. Waving Goodbye

The last few kilometres of the journey was on ragged boulders laid on a narrow patch, it could hardly be called a road. Anyway, we walked for the last few hundred meters to the base of Kailash Rath, our trek operator. We were greeted cordially by Sonu, one of the organizers. After finishing the official formalities we were shown to our respective dorm rooms. After spending about half an hour for settings things in order we reunited in the dining hall. Alone in her separate dorm our only female team-mate was growing restless, as we were the only team which arrived before the scheduled time of 9.00 am.
As we had our breakfast other people started coming in. There were people from Pune, Delhi, Bangalore and apart from another guy it was their first trek. The organizers were trying to sound as authoritative as possible as they explained the standard Dos and Don'ts. Ashis da, a veteran trekker himself, started to groan audibly so as to protest against being treated as school kids. After brief introductions, we were given an hour to prepare for a short walk around the village with our rucksacks.

Rumsu is quite picturesque with its green apple orchards and colourful people. The mist and the dark grey cloud added a layer of mystery to the vista. I spotted a few Himalayan Magpies up on the branches of a tree, but before I could take a few snaps loud music from someone's portable speaker scared them off. I caught on to the guy responsible and gave him a good lecture, only to realize later that he was one of the instructors. In any case, I was hurt to see that so many people see trekking as just a medium for bragging or posting photographs in social media without actually respecting the wilderness.

After a sumptuous lunch back at the so-called 'Base Camp,' we set out on our own towards the other part of the village. This seemingly innocent stroll somehow offended the organisers as we deviated from their "School Programme". In the evening the weather turned for the worse and we turned in after filling ourselves with chapatis, dal and dahlia.
Pinaki woke me up in the middle of the night and after taking my flashlight went to attend the call of nature. I sunk deeper into my cosy sleeping bag and dozed off. The sound of thunder broke my slumber and I realised that Pinaki had not returned. I took my umbrella and rescued poor Pinaki, who was stuck because of the heavy downpour. As we were about to enter the dorm a chilling sight caught our eyes. Following the stupid rule of "Keep your shoes outside" all 15 male members of our group, barring me and my cousin Vivek managed to drench their precious hiking shoes even before the trek had started. I called everyone and advised them to protect their shoes from the rain. Promit da, probably the most educated member of our group with a PhD in mathematics, told me to stop the ruckus and get to sleep. Apparently, his shoes were 'Water Resistant and Water repellent'. From experience, I learnt never to keep my shoes outside and I had them wrapped up in plastic safely my sack.

 Day 1: Rumsu - Hampta dam - Chika - Jwara:

We were supposed to start for Hampta dam by 6.00 in the morning but at the last moment, few of the members decided that their rucksacks were not good enough and decided to take the ones offered by the agency. The last-minute packing frenzy cost us precious one and a half hours. The weather was gloomy and we saw no hope of clearing up.
We walked to our designated cars and started at once towards Hampta Dam. After an hour and a half, we made it to the check-point where each of our IDs were verified and documented, which took another 30 minutes. After numerous hairpin U-turns, our vehicles climbed up to the starting point of the trek. We knew that the weather could turn bad at any moment and we had a river-crossing at the end of today's trek and so some of us were really worried when we saw the lackadaisical attitude of the group and even the guides. Another 30 minutes passed drinking tea, purchasing wooden sticks (read hiking poles) and taking selfies.

At 10am sharp we started our hike in a single file, ladies at the front, Ashish da who was our only senior member in the middle and rest of the lads at the end, sandwiched by two of our guides. this formation soon fell into disarray because the 9 members from Pune had these unsatiable urges to take selfies, literally at every turn, some even stopped to comb their hair. After walking for an hour when they were told that we had not cleared even 1/10th of the way, they quickly fell in line. The realisation crept in that this is not "Ye Jawani Hai Diwani"(A Bollywood movie which inspired them to come to a trek).
The guides were discussing some-things among themselves in a hushed tone, which indicated some bad-news. I struck a casual conversation with Ajay, one of our guides and subtly asked what was bothering him. He pointed towards the roaring Hampta Nallah and said: "Last week Rimpu (another guide) aya tha tab itna pani nehi tha" [Translation: last week Rimpu came here and there was little water]. Remembering how at the end of the day we will have to cross the jwara nallah on foot made me realise the grave situation we are in. Having no cell-phone connectivity whatsoever made it impossible to know the situation at the river-crossing and hence we had no other option but to march on towards uncertainty.
We pressed on forward through lush green meadows with the mountain stream gushing to our right. At about noon the rain started pouring in and a thick mist blocked our vision beyond 10 meters. I packed my DSLR inside a polythene packet and tucked away inside my rucksack. Armed with my trustee umbrella and a yellow polythene sheet as my sack-cover, I prepared myself for a soggy uphill climb.

The log bridge and the Waterfall

In a hike in the Himalayas, the weather can turn the easiest of trails into treacherous death-traps. The relentless rain sapped what little energy and spirit we had left. The guides pushed us on, urging not to stop. At about 2.30pm we came across a large waterfall blocking our path and we could not see any path around it. The guides were bringing the rear who were lagging behind continuously. After a while, Ajay showed us the way, which was to tackle the waterfall head-on. Normally the waterfall is nothing but a small fountain but the sudden torrential rain transformed it into a formidable obstacle. After seeing two fellow trekkers cross this point my friend Pinaki came close and whispered " Pratyush! wasn't this supposed to be an easy trek?" I was about to lecture him to boost his morale, but his eyes showed that he was enjoying the challenge.

After another half an hour we saw another group heading our way, descending rapidly. When we crossed paths we asked them if they had crossed the pass from the other side. Their reply stopped us dead in our track, they were returning from the river crossing up ahead because the water level was too high and even mules could not cross it. Their entire ration was on mules and hence they are returning back to Hampta Dam. However, our guide motioned us to resume our climb and we obeyed. Some of us were like " why are we climbing, we should go down" but my experience taught me to have faith in the local guide.
The confusion cleared when we reached the crossing. On various websites, this particular crossing is shown as ankle deep and so we had assumed in the rainy season it may bee knee-deep but when we reached at the crossing point the water was easily neck-deep and gushing furiously. Thankfully few locals anticipated this and erected a zip-line across the Jwara Nallah for safe passage of the trekkers. Our agency had semi-permanent campsites with all provisions and hence no mules accompanied us. The other group was not so lucky and had to return.

It was a very exciting experience for all of us and we were all smiles as we reached the other end. Even with all the rain, cold, mist and mud, we enjoyed the entire ordeal. 

At about 5pm we reached the destination for the day, the Jwara Campsite. As told by the guide we left Chhika /Chika 15 minutes back. We saw the camps of some other agencies erected there. 

After entering the spacious 4 men tents,  we quickly changed into dry clothes and without warning, evening swooped down and plunged everything into darkness. After a very early dinner, we surrendered our tired bodies to the warmth of the sleeping bags. 

Day 2: Jwara to Balu ka Ghera

 Today we were supposed to start at 6 am but as we got ready and got out of the tent we found that apart from us 6 and the agency staff no one else woke up. We took a few snaps with the guide. He was pleased that at least some of us were disciplined and punctual.

Jwara Campsite

Today's trek was relatively easy and short but the weather was the same. Meanwhile, 50% of our group refused to pay 300/- for the river crossing claiming it should be included from the trek charge which we have paid beforehand. Both parties had logic behind their argument but arguing when we should have been walking was totally illogical.
After the agency representative at the camp agreed to pay for the river crossing our walk began at about 9.30 am. For only 300/- we had lost valuable time.
 We were given packed lunch of fried rice for the journey up ahead and at 10 am we started our gradual climb. Despite the rain, this part of the journey was fairly relaxing, we were walking along the river. At noon we reached another camp organised by some other agency. They had a canteen where we had our packed lunch. Warm tea and biscuits, noodles etc recharged us for the final kilometre of the trek. At 2pm we reached our Balu ka Ghera camp.

Top: On the Way to Camp 2
Bottom: The camp a kilometre before our camp

Our camp was just below Balu ka Ghera. The origin of the name of this place is as mysterious as the place itself. This place is almost flat and the streams meander around whimsically. Some say that it was home to Himalayan black bear and hence the name. The more logical theory is that the silt carried by these streams are dumped in this flat valley causing a round beach like formation around a stagnant pool of water. This almost circular sandy beach gives the name Balu ka Ghera, literally meaning a ring of sand.

Our campsite was practically on the riverbank with 2 waterfalls overlooking the camp. The green pasture and snow-covered hills created a great picture.

The weather continued to get worse and the morale of the team had hit rock bottom. Those who brought rucksack provided by the agency were in a precarious situation as its rain cover hardly offered any protection. Their clothes got soaking wet in the two-day raining spree.

We 6, huddled together inside a tent and ate jhal muri and gossiped till dinner. The next day would be the most crucial and the longest as well. Because of the altitude, it was really cold here and we did not wait much to get into the warm fluffy sleeping bags.

Day 3: Balu ka Ghera - Hampta Pass - Sheagoru: (Toil and Rewards)

    In the morning before breakfast, the two guides called us and told us that the weather would be much worse near the pass and possibly it was snowing there. It will take approximately 10hours to reach Sheagoru campsite after crossing the pass. Ajay asked us to decide whether we want to go forward or return to Rumsu.For me returning was not an option unless one of my 5 friends was sick, thankfully, that was not the case and my arm shot up immediately. I looked back and only 7 out of 20 hands went up to support, the rest wanted to go back. Ajay said that it wasn't an option to split the team so the decision had to be unanimous. We were advised to discuss amongst ourselves over breakfast. 

    Our plan was to head towards Kaza from Chhatru and we had paid a hefty amount to a travel agency, returning to Manali will put the next half of our tour in jeopardy. After a lot of morale boosting we managed to convince 15 out of 20 to head forward. Ajay and Rimpu decided who will take us to the pass with a coin toss.

Top: Balu ka Ghera campsite
Bottom: Somewhere above Balu ka Ghera

    At 8 am Ajay, the winner of the coin toss, led us into the thick mist, we were told turning back now was not an option anymore. Rimpu headed back with the 5 people from Pune. From some blogs and magazines I had read that the pass was 1-2 hours walk from the Balu ka Ghera campsite but even after walking continuously for 2 hours the pass was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly after climbing over a hump, we came across a lake-like waterbody. It was nearly 50 meters across, we circumnavigated it by walking along its left flank. I assume this was the Balu ka Ghera. After a while we found ourselves in front of a field of large boulders and jumping from one to the next was no easy task. We had deviated from the conventional route. Meanwhile, Rimpu caught up with us, leaving the 5 others to go downhill on their own. The fog combined with the chilly wind gave the landscape an eerie unsettling make-over. There were colourful wildflowers in full bloom all over the wide valley.

Then we were on all fours climbing a very steep wall to the left. All of us were gasping for air, surely this was not the conventional route as there were no tracks visible on the grass. Everything was shrouded by clouds and there was nothing which can help us get our bearings. We were moving forward, trusting our guides' experience and intuition. After a lot of huffing and puffing, we found ourselves standing on a snow-patch. It was 1 pm already, exhilarated, I asked whether we had reached the pass. The guide smiled and said: "chalo bhai, abhi bhi 1-2 ghanta baki hai." [Move on, we still have 1-2 hours before we reach the pass]. We were walking on the ridge of the cliff that we climbed and then we were treading on soft snow.

Having no micro-spikes under our shoes often some of us would fall on their bum. It was tiring but fun, nonetheless. The chilly wind was enough to make our rain-drenched bodies shiver violently. At about 2 pm we were all on the pass, but everything around us was white as if God has erased all his creation with a big eraser. After snacking on some sneakers and chocolates we resumed our journey. Just before starting our descent we had to climb over precariously spaced round, mossy boulders. Any slip here would surely mean a loss of limb, maybe even life. Under my breath, I cursed the guides for this so-called short-cut.

Hampta Pass

After crossing this last hurdle suddenly an entirely different valley appeared from behind the curtains of grey-white clouds. Like magic, the rain also subsided as we continued our descent into the Spiti valley. This valley is totally devoid of any significant vegetation. The entire landscape appeared barren. The rains have made the moraine-like landscape ever more unstable and dangerous. A small steam decided to make the trek route its path as well turning it into a muddy slush. After an hour of careful downhill journey, we came across a large snow-patch and the path went across it and then continued downward over scree and boulders.

Spiti Valley: First Glimpses

Our guides decided that we were going to glissade (skid) on the snow instead. Rimpu showed us how and waited for us at the bottom of the150 metres long slippery slope. The slope ends abruptly at a wall of big boulders so failing to stop at the appropriate time would mean broken bones. One by one we went down the slope and it beat any theme park in the world hands down. Our hands and butt hurt like they have been crushed because of the sudden contact with freezing snow. Rimpu told us to get back on our feet and start walking otherwise the cold would take over and we would risk a chill bite. After another few minutes we came across a small glacial lake and as we looked up we were elated to see a patch of blue sky peeping from behind the clouds.

First Sunrays and Blue Sky in Days

The worst part of the trek was finally over. We continued through the mesmerising landscape till we reached the camp at about 4.30 pm. It took us over 12 hours to make the crossing, under different weather conditions it may take far less time.
I have done some treks before but I would not grade this trek as easy, not even moderately easy.
As we settled in for the night after a good dinner we talked amongst tentmates on how enlightening this experience had been. One after another everyone dozed off as their tired bodies took over their excited minds.

Day 4: Sheagoru to Chhatru: (The Final push)

Sheagoru Campsite

At about 7 am we all got ready for the last day of the trek. The first task is to cross the Hampta river on foot. The river was gushing at a ferocious speed but there was no other option but to cross it directly. We formed a human chain by holding hands, took off our shoes and headed towards the icy cold water. Just after the first step, we realised how dangerous the river was, any mistake will result in certain death. The water was much higher than anticipated, almost mid-thigh level and the force was relentless. We grabbed on to each other as our lives depended on it and inched towards the other shore one step at a time. Survival instinct focused my mind and everything else became blurry and surprisingly I was calm. As soon as we reached the other shore we were told to jump and jog to start blood-flow to our legs and toes. They were hurting as though they had been smashed with a rock. I put on my shoes and started walking. As though pleased with our toil, the Supreme being decided to clear up the weather. The dull grey veil had been lifted from the world and a blast of colour just hit us. We stopped in our tracks, speechless!!

With the weather, our moods freshened up and I took out my DSLR from my rucksack after two days. We followed the Hampta river downhill along its left bank. The skies had cleared completely but a sudden sound of thunder stopped us. Surprised, we were looking at each other when Rimpu and Ajay shouted simultaneously: "Rock-fall, Bhago (Run)!! and run we did. I never knew I could run that fast with a 10 kg rucksack on my back on a rocky terrain. As I looked back I could see the car-sized round boulder stopping just a few meters short of out trek path.
At 10.30am we reached a flat piece of land directly overlooking the confluence of the river Hampta and the Chandrabhaga. Chandrabhaga is a mighty river originating from the upper reaches of Spiti and Lahul.

Top: Chhatru at a Distance
Bottom: Ice-patch beside the Chenab; The Last Hurdle

We could see Chhatru, far away towards West. After taking in the breathtaking vista we continued the final phase of our journey. We had to cross the Hampta river again but thankfully over a bridge. Chenab is a torrent of greyish water flowing towards Punjab in the West, and as we walked alongside it, its roar instilled a fear inside our hearts. After crossing another large stream by jumping from boulder to boulder we came across the final hurdle, a steep snow-patch. Although a path had been cut across it, any slip would mean a plunge into the Chenab and certain death. We cautiously crossed it, the guides also assisted some of us.
We finally reached our Chhatru campsite sharply at 12.00 in the noon. It was situated at some 100 meters away from the Chhatru bridge on the left bank of the Chenab. We could see a large line of vehicles standing at the other bank, where a few stalls could be seen. We were supposed to go to the Chandratal after lunch but I could not see any vehicle at the campsite or the left-luggage. We soon found out that the incessant rains have damaged the road from Manali via Rohtang pass and the vehicles from the agency could not reach us as they were supposed to. We were stranded on Chhatru, but that story is for my next blog.

Chhatru Campsite

This trek is laden with so many elements that it is totally worth doing.The numerous streams and waterfalls, green meadows, forests, snow peaks, glacial moraine, one would never get tired of the variations. This trek is not a guitar recital but it is like a full-fledged orchestra with all instruments creating a harmonious melody. Though the weather was a bit let-down for us, still it enabled us to experience this trek differently than most. Experiences like crossing the Jwara Nallah on a zip-line, negotiating a beefed-up Hampta river, running away from a rock-fall or sliding down a snow-patch will always be cherished by us.
Please feel free to comment if you have any queries.