Pin Bhabha pass Trek

On 12th July, we boarded a train from Kanpur to Delhi. The next day, we took another train from Delhi to Chandigarh, where we hired a traveller, to take us to Shimla. We were a group of 21 people, all of who are students from IIT Kanpur. We reached Shimla in the evening, stayed there for the night, and the next morning, left for our first camp site at Kafnu. We had 2 guides, 3 porters, and some mules to carry tents, ration and stove.

Day 1 : Kafnu (7800 ft) to Muling (10,600 feet), 11Km

Started the day with delicious daliya in breakfast. Trek started along a tributary to sutlej river, passing the nearby Kafnu dam.

2 dogs joined us on our journey, who we named as Dholu and Sheru. An hour later, we could see the frozen parts of the river near the foot of the hills. Water was flowing from beneath the ice, as we made our way up a steep hill. Soon we were up the hill, a relatively flat area surrounded by coniferous trees, mist and rocks. After further ascent, we crossed a stream, by walking on top of logs, then again went through a forest, full of pine and oak trees.

We had packed some parathas for lunch, which we had with peanut butter. After the lunch break, we continued trekking, though at a lower speed. Finally by the end of the trek, emerged lush green meadows of Muling.

There was a 4-room house, next to a river (probably belonging to forest officials), where we rested for the evening and then retired into our tents for the night.

Day 2 : Mulling (10,600 feet) to Karah (11,600 feet), 6Km

We packed our tents and rucksacks, had upma in breakfast and started trek at about 9 a.m. As it was raining since morning, we were also wearing our raincoats. After a relatively short trek of about 3.5 hours, involving a steep climb on a zig zag path along the side of a hill, we reached another meadow, and pitched our tents. A stream flowed nearby.

This place is surrounded by hills on all sides. This creates a path for the clouds, which come from one side and envelop us, while moving on. There was a small flock of sheep nearby, guarded by 2 big hairy mountain dogs. The shepherds to whom they belonged were also living in a tent nearby, behind a big rock.

Dholu had a little fight with these dogs as he was new in their area. Had delicious maggi in the evening and rice + dal for dinner.

Day 3 : Karah (11,600 feet) to Phisterang (13,400 feet), 5Km

Got up early today, but got served tea only at 6:30 am. Brushed in the stream, got fresh and had breakfast, wrapped up the tent and were ready to leave by 9 am. Shortly into the trek, we encountered a wide stream. Guide went and checked up and down the stream to find a narrow crossing. There wasn’t any, so, now we had to open our shoes and fasten them with our belts to avoid wetting them. We formed a chain and crossed the stream. Cold water numbed our feet.

On reaching the other side, we met a group of Czech trekkers, who were coming from the opposite direction, crossing bhabha pass. They had been trekking in Himachal from the past 1.5 months and were nearing end of their journey. I asked about the weather at Bhabha pass, and they said it wasn’t good. After another steep climb, and a short trek of 3 hours we reached Phisterang, at the base of Bhabha pass, at an altitude of 4000 m. By now, I could spot a good place to pitch tents when I see one : - Flat ground, but not too rocky - near a water source, like a stream or a rivulet

In the evening, the Trek leader assembled us and said, we are going to visit the nearby hot springs. I became suspicious, as this region was not known for hot springs, and the indiahikes website I had consulted didn’t mention it either. Turns out, the guide had planned a walk to the top of a nearby hill and back, for acclimatization and to teach how to navigate in the dark. Was a good exercise, but I don’t know why they needed a hot spring farce to get us out of our tents :P

Day 4 : Phisterang (13,400 feet) to Bara Boulder (13,800 feet) via Pin Bhaba Pass (16,000 feet), 16Km

As usual we had tea at 6 am, breakfast (dalia and upma) at 7, got fresh, packed up and were ready to leave at 9 am.

First hour of trek was on flat land covered with rocks and all types of beautiful flowers, till we reached the base of the pass. Then began a steep ascent up a hill. The top of the pass was full of rocks and snow. The eyes could see no colour, with only various shades of black. A thick mist covered the entire place, which created a cold and foggy environment. On the other side of the pass, we could see the great gray slopes covered in rock and snow. The entire landscape was reminiscent of a planet in its infancy, yet the presence of horse poo in the snow gestured otherwise.

After a brief celebration at the top of Bhabha pass, it was time for the descent. The other side of the pass had a much gentler slope and thus, we needed to trek a lot more during the descent. Walking through the snow was not as easy as I thought it would be, as the feet would either dig too deep into the soft snow, or slip over it. On slipping, the cold snow would sting hard, so to avoid slipping any further, I started taking smaller steps.

On further descent, we were walking to the left of a rivulet on top of rocks and boulders. This was the leeway side, and thus no vegetation was to be seen. We could see the sun shining on a mountain side in the distance, which bolstered our spirits. We paced further down, gradually reaching the valley and into the sun. It was refreshing to experience the warm rays of the sun, and be dried by them.

We rested for a while, had lunch and after sundown, started trekking again. Now this part of the trek was considerably harder considering the scree slope and low visibility at night time. We were already exhausted after trekking the whole day, but carried on, to reach the campsite at Bara Boulder.

Day 5 : Bara Boulder (13,800 feet) to Mudh (12,200 feet), 11Km

Couldn’t sleep in the night as my sleeping bag had got wet. Woke up to beautiful sunshine in the morning. So, we emptied our bags outside, to dry our clothes and sleeping bags.

By 11am, we were packed and ready to go to Mudh Village. The trek from Bara Boulder was mostly flat, consisting of a few ups and downs along the hills. As Mudh village was nestled among the mountains, it was clearly visible from about 5Kms. The sight of human settlement after days of trekking gave us much needed boost to cover the last leg of our trek. The village was on the other side of the Pin river, which we needed to cross via a rope bridge.

After crossing the bridge, and further climbing up, we finally reached Mudh village.

Had an awesome dinner, and a good night’s sleep in a lodge.

Day 6

In the morning, we boarded a bus to Kaza. On the way, we were greeted by beautiful sceneries of the Spiti Valley. I will now leave you with some pics of the Spiti Valley.

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