Rupin Pass Trek : Photostory of country's classic trek

One of the classic treks in India where  the trail meanders through hanging villages, deep pine forests, walking alongside the Rupin river, alpine meadows, snow bridges, glacial valleys, snowfields, and hundreds of waterfalls!

In this photostory , you have photos shared  by Parikshit Madhukar.

Day 1:

On your  drive to Jiskun you will pass through rugged mountains, rocky roads, winding narrow paths and clear blue skies. Further onto your destination vast green meadows welcome you with beautiful wild horses running and grazing around which will want you to play the song “ude…khuley asmanon mein khwaabon ke parindey” from ZNMD movie. You’ll find hardworking pahadi women  carrying heavy  baskets behind their back; if possible stop your car and ask for a lift or wave them goodbye, else talk to them for few mins which will make their day. As the evening approaches the sky drapes itself in the abendrot hues.

The next day passes through remote, traditional villages of Himachal where you will find temples and houses made with  ancient wooden architectural carvings. Warm innocent mountain kids will  make your  hearts smile with their innocence. The trek is a challenging one. Expect an hour’s descent followed by an hour’s steep ascent.

We respect the mountains hence before the trek started  a small brief on the “green trails”mission to  segregate the waste was given by the trek leader. On our way whenever we found litter on the pretty trails we collected and later on segregated as per briefed. Happy faces soon to be tired legs were clicked before we  say goodbye to Jiskun and move forward on our journey to Jhaka.

The next day leave from Jiskun to Saruwas. After trekking for more than 6-8hours the team finally reached the campsite to spend the night . Soon after reaching Saruwas, the location in which the tents were pitched,our tiredness disappeared.On your way stop to pluck and munch on some small red delicious himalayan berries which will give you instant energy.  Afterwhich you can climb trees monkeying around.

Campsite activities are the time to bond with the team and make everyone feel at home like a family.

There is routine everyday during any of our treks to check the vital parameters of our trekkers. We left Saruwas  behind and traversed through lush green meadows, walked along the river, saw hanging glaciers, crossed chilled waters and reached and altitude of 3566mts i.e. 11600ft at Dhanderas Thatch.Campsite was set in the valley besides the Rupin river. Beautiful cascading waterfalls set as the backdrop of our stay. Nightsky was magically interstellarish.

Next day morning we hiked to the beautiful waterfalls. Hiking up to the top of the waterfall was a bit tiresome as we had to pass through the glaciers and the steep  boulder sections.  The experience of walking on the thick ice sheet felt nothing less than an EBC expedition.The jaw dropping scenery of the valley below as seen from the snout of the waterfall leaves you speechless.

The summit day had finally dawned. Before leaving the campsite trekkers were given some technical instructions by our  expert trek leaders and local guides as to how to cross the gulley. Few mins into the ascent, majestic views of snow mountains starts to open up right in front you. By now the campsite looked like a small yellow daffodil swaying amidst the lush green land.  It’s a treat to watch the flock of sheeps grazing & lazing high up above on the alpine meadows.Crossing the gulley and reaching the summit feels exhilrating.

The day's trek involves a steep descent all the way to Sangla, where your trek ends. Despite being the last day, this is one of the most picturesque days as you trek through the lush grasslands of Sangla.

This marks the end of your trek.

This photostory highlighted some of the most spectacular views of the trek and leaves you with a thought why is it necessary to “Disconnect to Reconnect”