People say Journey is more beautiful than destination, but trekking for five days from Rumsu(Manali) to Chatru, which is in Lahaul valley and then by road to Spiti Valley to reach our ultimate destination “Chandra Taal Lake” or “The Moon Lake” made me realise that some destinations are more beautiful than journey, worth taking the pain to reach there.
Chandra Taal is located in the Spiti side of Lahaul and Spiti valleys in Himachal Pradesh. These valleys are arid and that’s why this area is called “cold desert”. Wait…wait….wait….did anything caught your attention?? This lake is called Chandra Taal or Moon Lake, do you know why??
Because of its crescent shape.Some locals in Spiti Valley believe that fairies frequently visit this lake at night and now this is interesting.I don’t know how much of this is true, but one thing is sure that this lake has such a magical aura where one can drift in his/her dreams.
On the first day of our trek we had reported to Rumsu. Me and my friends took flight from Mumbai to Delhi and from Delhi via bus we reached Patlikuhal from there we got a cab to reach Rumsu base camp. Rumsu is a small village about 3-4 km from Naggar. After getting a little rest our trek leader took us for an acclimatisation walk, then we had our instructions meeting. In meeting all details about the trek had been given to us. After meeting we packed our backpacks for the next day.
After our first day at base came at Rumsu, we drove to Hampta dam and our trek started from there. We had our first pahado wali maggi at Hampta pass dam. Our first camp was at chika, we took around 3 to 4 hours to reach there.Chikka has big rock boulders and a beautiful waterfall.We stayed overnight in tents at Chikka.
Our second day was a little tough than the last one, we started the trek for Balu Ka Ghera. Trek duration was around 5 to 6 hours. Balu ka Ghera is a large plain ground on the bank of the river and camping at this spot is a dream in reality. One can spot Indrasan, the highest peak of the Manali valley from here. We also crossed the water stream which was on the way and it numbed my feets. Good part of the trek was, having hot delicious snacks after reaching at campsite. We had garma garam soup in cold chilly weather.
Third day morning, even our body was getting used to the exertion but the trek route from Balu Gehra towards Shia Ghoru was a climb, scaling 4,200 meters, which was really tougher than before…After fighting with altitude sickness, i reached hampta pass, guys one thing is sure, you need to be very tough for the long duration trek. People say the aerial views of Spiti valley from Hamta Pass is quite breathtaking, but the only thing i was doing at hamta pass was trying to breath.
As soon as we reached hampta pass, we got lunch break and the only thing i did was went to sleep for an hour. Can you imagine i slept at hampta pass in sitting position, while writing this post I am just laughing at me😂😂. We started descending from Hamta top towards Shia Ghoru. The descend was steep and little risky, but descend was much better than climbing on that day. Almost after 10 hours trek around 6:30 in the evening we reached Shia Ghoru. And I was almost dead.
On Fourth day the morning was so good, the sky was clear, fresh air and last day of trekking. Oh, I forgot to let you know the best part of the trek was washrooms, you have to go in the tent bio-degradable washrooms and have to fetch that chilly cold water from river Beas😂😂😂, and these treks will make you love your bathrooms like hell.
After morning breakfast we started the trek to Chatru, this day was so good, as most of the time we had to descend and it was so easy. From chatru we were suppose to go to the chandra taal lake in taxi. Around 3 and 1/2 hour we completed our trek.
After reaching at chatru camp site , I was so relaxed thinking about the taxi ride which we will take to the chandra taal lake but….if you guys like a roller coaster ride then this ride is sure not to miss…If you’re visiting from Manali, you can hire a car from there to reach this lake.Please don’t drive here yourself because the condition of the road is dangerous after Batal, where you can halt at Chacha Chachi Dhaba for some yummy rajma rice.
In the parking lot outside Chandra Taal, I couldn’t believe we were near the lake because everything around me was barren and we have walked for one more kilometer to reach that lake and after that 5 day trek, it was something like I have to reach the moon.
My mind was saying “lets quit here… Its just a lake…sit in the car and sleep” but my curiosity didn't allow me to do that, as my heart said “what if that lake would be super magnificent and heaven, then you will be regretting whole life thinking about it and curse yourself”.
And I said to myself “you have to do this”. Slowly and gradually i started moving… Do you want to know the temperature on that day?? It was 6 degrees and my nose started to freeze. But as i started to see the bluish colour, happiness filled me and i started walking faster, I love the blue colour.
Finally, I was at the edge of Chandra Taal Lake. There was some magic in the air, soon I forgot all my body ache and i started smiling. As this was the ultimate destination of my journey. You can make out from the picture how beautiful the lake is, but one thing I want to tell you, these pictures don’t justify the beauty of the lake, you must visit it once.
I always get attracted to pictures of blue water and transparent lakes in foreign countries, but i didn’t know that India is so beautiful and we have such beautiful lakes.India is really incredible.
There were so many buddhist prayer flags, i think they were one of the reasons for the supernatural energy which I felt in that air. There was one board also, where one can write whatever he/she wants, I didn’t write anything because I definitely want to visit there again and feel the magic. After some photo session we headed towards the parking lot with lots of memories to cherish and stories to tell.
As my journey to this moon was awesome and unforgettable. Around 4 pm we returned to our camp, It was a splendid day, full of energy and fun. Sky at night was so clear that we were able to so the galaxy, there were millions of starts in the sky and the moon was so bright. My heart was full of happiness and mind was full of hopes for my next trek. Going back to Manali was another 6 hour journey chatru camp site, but our driver was having an awesome collection of unplugged songs, which made our journey so smooth and refreshing….Me and my friends also begged his pendrive but he said “mamji mein kya karunga in pahado mein agar apko de diya toh”
My mind is Crooning one of the song which he was playing:
“Tooti Chaarpaai Wohi
Thandi Purvaai Rasta Dekhe
Doodhon Ki Malaai Wohi
Mitti Ki Suraahi Rasta Dekhe..
Kaisi Teri Khudgarzi
Lab Namak Rame Na Misri
Kaisi Teri Khudgarzi
Tujhe Preet Purani Bisri..
Mast Maula, Mast Kalander
Tu Hawa Ka Ek Bavandar
Bujh Ke Yun Andar Hi Andar
Kyun Reh Gaya..
Re Kabira Maan Jaa
Re Faqeera Maan Jaa..”
Some day again i want to get lost in that mountains to relive those moments and find my life, but this time with him( Aree warna mera bag kaun uthayega)
P.S - Trip of cost includes only 5 days trekking i.e Rumsu to Manali. It doesn't include flight and bus fare.