We 14 students started our journey in the evening on 30^th may 2009 from JNU and reached ISBT by bus. From the ISBT kasmiri gate we took the bus to Bhabha nagar. Next day around 12 noon we reached Bhabha nagar and there we found that there is no proper transport to reach Kafnoo so we took an ongoing jeep to Kafnoo.

Kafnoo is a small village with a dam, a private guest house and a tourist agency. We contacted this tourist agency for the guide and porters, which they provided to us and also gave a copy of the authority letter at the police station in the village. We also took permission from the dam authorities and pitched our tents near the dam.

Trek Day 1: We trekked in the upper parts of the village and exercised in those upper parts to acclimatize ourselves well.  Then we came back and stayed in the tents and planned for the trek with the help of our guide and two people who came from the other side of the Bhabha pass.

Trek day 2: We started at around 8 o’clock in the morning and reached Mulling at around 2pm. In the way we had to cross few streams of water, a long trail in the dense forest and beautiful grassland. Tents were pitched and mess duties were assigned. Moreover we found wood and made a fire also. Others helped in cutting vegetables, fetching water from the river and arranging rucksacks and other equipments inside the tents. At around 10pm we went off to sleep.

Trek Day 3: We started from Mulling at around 8 o’ clock in the morning and reached Kara at around 12 noon. This day we had to cross patches of snow apart from streams and there were no more trees around. Here there was also the tent of veterinary department of Himachal government with a doctor and porters and a herd of sheep which they brought for raring.

Trek Day 4: We started at around 8 o’clock and reached Pistrang at around 1pm. Today we had to cross 5 chilling water streams in a row; moreover today we left all signs of greenery behind and had just stones, boulders and vast snow fields around us. At pistrang the local Sheppard have made an arrangement that one can live there if he has a rain sheet. We used this arrangement as our kitchen. After lunch we went for an acclimatization walk towards the pass and reached till a point where the route was easy, from that point the beautiful pass was visible to us.

Trek Day 5: This was the rest day before our final assault on the pass.

Trek Day 6: We started at around 6 o’clock in the morning. After around two hours walk on the ground we were on the vast snow field and now there was no trace of any land. After a long and tiring walk we reached the pass at around 3pm in the afternoon. Then we started descending to the other side of the pass (i.e. pin valley). We were beside the Spiti River but we couldn’t drink that water as it was very dirty. In pin valley also it was all snow and our guide told us that so much snow was unusual in spiti. We kept on walking and found first trace of land again at around 8pm. This place was Gurung. Instead of our planned journey to Boldar we pitched our tents in Gurung as everyone was tired.

 

Trek Day 7:  Since everyone was very tired so we took a rest day at Gurung.

Trek Day 7: Today we started our journey at around 12 noon and reached Boldar at around 3pm. As we reached near to Boldar it started raining heavily and we had to run to our tent site and pitch the tents in that heavy rain. But we could not pitch our kitchen tent due to the winds accompanying the rain. So we took help from the shepherds who were staying in the cave near to our tent site. We cooked food inside their cave.

Trek Day 8: Today we started around 9am and reached Gurguru at around 12 noon. The terrain was all boulders and stones. In starting we also faced snow fall for around half hour.

Trek Day 9:  We started next day at around 9:30am and after a long trek of around 14 kms we reached Mud village at around 4pm. There we came to know that the route to Manali is still not open. Rohtang pass was open but Kunzum pass was still closed, therefore we had to come back via Kaza- Reckong Peo route. The Bus to Kaza was at 7am. So we had no option than to stay in the village. We stayed in a guest house in the village.

Travel: We caught the bus to Kaza in the morning and reached Kaza at around 9:30am. From there we got the bus to Reckong peo and reached Reckong peo in the evening. The bus was changed at Reckong peo bus terminal and after a break of half hour the bus started the journey towards Shimla. We reached Shimla at around 5am next day.

Travel: Immediately we got a bus for Delhi. Finally we reached Delhi at 1pm.

(Contributor: Nipun Nutan)