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A Small trek to dharamkhot

A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.

It was a New Year long weekend and it had rained for two days continuously. So we had to stay indoors as it was freaking cold out there. On the 3rd day, it didn’t rain, but the weather was cloudy. Whoever visits Dharamshala or Mcleodganj, doesn’t forget to go to the famous trek, the Triund Trek. Hence we decided to give it a try.

There are 2 ways to reach Triund; one way is through Dharamkhot (that is an easy route) and the second is through Bhagsu Nag waterfall. Obviously, we chose the former one ?. At around 10.40 am we reached Lower Dharamkhot; upon investigating, we realized that the real Triund trek starts from Gallu Temple. Also, many travelers visited Triund during New year’s Eve, which made the trek dirty. So the police decided to limit the trekkers; if you managed to reach the starting point of around trek before 11 am and with a guide compulsorily, you were allowed to proceed for the trek. Another reason for the compulsory guide was it snowed in Triund which made the path a little riskier and one guy had gone missing for certain days up in the Triund jungle.

A map was made on the way up to Galu Temple

We still took a chance and started to trek from Dharamkhot to the temple. On our way, it started raining heavily, hence we had to halt for 30minutes under a cowshed. As the rain gradually slowed down and reached the temple within 40minutes. I was flabbergasted to see the huge crowd waiting to go up to Triund. It was 12.00pm and so the people were obstructed by the officials at the forest checkpoint. There were many guides, still ready to take us to the Triund trek but the charges were Rs.2000 and no staying up there. Due to high chances of snowing up there, the guide told us that we wouldn’t be able to go till the top of Triund, only halfway, and then return the same day.

Point to be noted: There is an option of taking a cab all the way from Mcleodganj to Galu Devi temple. For a vehicle, you will be charged Rs 500.

To reach Galu Temple from Dharamkhot by walk:

Get to the water tank near the government primary school at Dharamkot. Next to the water tank, there is a trail that climbs up through a forest. Walk up along this trail for about half an hour to get to the Galu temple clearing.

Seeing so much crowd during the Covid times is a nightmare nowadays. We were in a dilemma, standing away from the crowd when we met a group of 3 friends. They told me that they had come especially from Delhi for the Triund trek and were on time exactly at 11 am. But as they didn’t have a guide, they weren’t allowed to go up and the guides present at the spot were charging too high. We decided to give it a last try; we formed one group, approached the guide, but he demanded Rs.2000 per person! We greeted him “Namaste” and left from there.

Those 3 guys and we two had become a real group in a short time; we had a whole day to explore Dharamkhot. One guide was kind enough to let us know the path to some nice waterfall there. We cross-checked with others and it seemed to be true. At least we would be away from the crowd, having this thought, all 5 of us proceeded to explore the less explored!

The trail became dense, it started raining and we saw snow along the trails. But we weren’t scared a bit; in fact, we enjoyed every bit, people crossing by the thought that we knew each other for ages. This is the most adorable part of any journey; you meet the unknown, make friends with them and enjoy to the fullest.

I wore running shoes, which meant they weren’t resistant to water. So my friend did a jugaad; he tied polythene around my shoes! The three friends were very sweet and lively, time just flew like the blink of an eye, with them.

We kept walking for a while and came across a small cozy tea stall. Once more we confirmed the returning tourists about the waterfall and they nodded yes. But they warned us about the slippery route that was mostly snow-covered plus the clouds had become darker and it was raining continuously. Honestly, all of us were eager to walk in the snow and witness the mysterious waterfall, hence we kept on walking. After a while, it seemed to be a dead-end!

The path was too narrow for one person to walk; there was a steep slope that was a little risky. All of us looked at each other’s faces and said aloud “Chalo kuch toofaani karte hai!” . One by one we came down and started to proceed ahead when we saw another big challenge. There was literally no path to walk as it was fully covered with snow plus it was damn steep. Please have a look at the below picture to imagine what I mean.

It looks easy but trust me it was dangerous to cross this path!

Some of us dared to go to that spot to click photos! After a long time, I stepped over the snow;haaye! But with majority votes, we decided to revert back as there wasn’t any way ahead. Though it was an easy trek, we had to watch our steps so as not to slip on the snow. On our way back, we halted at the tea stall to have “mast garam chai”.

The girl right behind me is Niharika, after her is Shreyansh and last is Rohit(sorry couldnt capture him )

We kept scratching our heads as to where exactly was the waterfall. Nevermind, I believe that the journey is more enjoyable than the destination. It is always hard to bid adieu, but that’s how life is; we have to keep moving, taking only good memories with us.

Karne to aaye the Triund trek, lekin kahi aur hi nikal liye 🙂 But my friends were too desperate to do the trek and then we made the second attempt again, this time through the Bhagsu Nag route! There also made wonderful friends..to know my experience and advice, please go through my blog Triund Trek in Dharamshala.

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