This blog will give you a detailed insight about one of the most sought after adventure in Himalaya, in a town which attracts so many tourists for it's heaven looked landscape and cafes. I have done Sar Pass Trek in June 2017 through YHAI. Entire trek was of 6 nights and 7 days. Base camp of this trek is in Kasol - A small town in pin parvati valley.
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Maximum Altitude Gain: around 14000ft
Duration: 7Days
Base Camp: Kasol
Best time to visit: May to June and Mid August to Mid October
How to reach kasol:
Take a bus to Manali from delhi/Chadigarh. Ask driver to drop you at bhuntar. Straight road goes to manali. Left turn will take you to kasol. Take a local transport at nearest bus stand. It will be around one and half hour drive.
Enjoy your drive as your pass deep through parvati valley. Parvati river flows right besides you throughout your journey. Even your basecamp is also right besides roaring wild Parvati river itself.
Acclimatization:
Kasol is situated at height of around 6000ft. Our body is not used to this kind of altitude. That's why acclimatization is very necessary for any high altitude trek of height more than 8000ft. Sar pass crosses almost 14000ft. So yes, its definitely mandatory here also.
Acclimatize simply means you have to adapt to condition you are going to be in for next few days. You can simply roam around city for 2-3 days, take a short hike to nearby hills. Atleast you will get an idea of how your next days going to be in this weather and altitude.
Highlight of the trek:
Kasol to Grahan (6000ft to 7700ft) – 12km
Grahan to Padri (7700ft to 9500ft) – 8km
Padri to Ming thatch (9500ft to 11154ft) – 15km
Ming thatch to Nagaru basecamp (11154ft to 12795ft) – 9km
Nagaru to biskeri via sar Pass (Highest altitude gain) – (12795ft to 10900ftvia 13800ft) – 18km
Biskeri to bhandar thatch (10900ft to 9500ft) – 8km
Bhandar thatch to Barshaini(9500ft to 6000ft) – 10km
Route to Grahan village is steep, completely in deep forest and distance is also more. It will test your patience on your first day itself. Route is scenic, never want you to leave sight. Mild rain will make your day. We got so much of rain that almost everything got soaked up. Please carry rain gear with you. It's a must june july season.
Grahan village itself is so beautiful nestled in a middle of forest with almost no civilization around. Homestays are lovely. Do sightseeing around a village in evening. Beautiful sunset should not be missed. You will get a glimpse of snowclad mountains from this campsite. It is a last village enroute to sarpass. After this you won't find any habitant in your way. Only your team and scenic himalaya surrounding.
Day 2 would be easy way to Padri campsite. Altitude gain is around 1500ft with roughly 8km of walk. Forest is very dense here. Only sound you will hear is from water stream and birds chirping.
Location of this campsite has its own importance here. You are at backside of sarpass mountain range. Views are amazing. You will be able to see third campsite from this location but it's way too far.
Day 3 is a tough climb to ming thatch. I mean literally steep climb of almost 2000ft. Initial few km will be steep descent and then continuous steep climb. Then you will reach only lunch point. Campsite is till 3hours away. Big mountain and meadows to climb. Few water crossing in between. It will test you physical stamina. That's why we are here right? Do something adventure out of our comfort zone.
Scenery are out of bound. Lush green dense forest of pine and silver oak trees. Exact replica of your Christmas trees everywhere. You are trekking in the shadows of backside of sarpass still. No big mountains will be visible. Rain will make your day more adventurous.
Campsite of ming thatch is amazing. you will see amazing sunset here. Paint your thoughts at this moment. Make it a permanent memory. You would just sit at one point and just imagine how amazing it can be. Seeping a cup of tea with an amazing campsite is a dream come true.
Next would be easy climb to Nagaru basecamp at 11875ft. Weather is pleasant. Treeline is over. Sky is open now. Alpine meadows starts appearing. One of you lifetime moment it will be to see alpine meadows. For next two days you will walk over alpine meadows only. Local villagers graze their animals in this area. This grass has so much of nutrition than anywhere else.
Nagaru basecamp will be you highest campsite in entire trek. It's completely covered in snow. for the first time you will see snowclad mountains clearly. Its so grand and gigantic as tall as 23000ft.
Sitting at alpine meadows in a misty evening looking at a snowclad mountains. What else you need 🙂 Cover yourself with warm layers. Night will be cold sometimes at -5 c to -10 c. Many people get seek at this altitude because of weather. Take diamox if required. Next day would be a D-Day of your trek. You are going to cross sar pass. Take rest well. Get proper meal.
Crossing a sarpass is not an easy task on any day. Altitude is going to wary a lot. There is so much of ascent descent moments. Distance is almost 18km. Wind is more as there is no tree to protect you. There is no water stream in between.
Your day will start at early mornig 4AM. Initial climb is very steep until sarpass top @14000ft. After 3 to 4 hours of climb you will reach here. Stop your breath and just visualize how beautiful this nature's creation is. Almost 360′ view of snowclad mountains. Well, we were not that lucky to see because of so much clouds. But whatever we could see, it filled with emotions. Hard work of last 4 days, trekked through rough terrain, almost 50km to reach here, in a tough climate with continuous altitude increase - Dude, you have earned this. I'm telling you, your life will pause for a while.
You will see grand alpine meadows. Yes, you are going to cross it. Though it would look closer but this meadows are far stretched as far as your eyes can see. Your mind will thank you at this moment for doing this trek. Meadows will overwhelm you with a joy of walking over it.
Descent will start now. You can literally run downwards. If lucky and snow is too much, you can slide down this meadows easily. If not, then it's another 3 hours of descent in lush green meadows. you will enjoy descending on meadows.
Next campsite is nearby only. The way this campsite carpeted in this landscape is amazing. Relax yourself at campsite. Keep hydrated. Take proper food. Enjoy your evening. Share you happiest moments with your friends.
Trek to bhandar thatch is an easy descent of 8km. Route is scenic. Terrain is easy. There are some water crossing in between. Treeline is over. You are again trekking in pine trees.
Take care while descent as it more prone to injury. If rain is more, descent will be very difficult. You will reach campsite around 3.
Most beautiful campsite of entire trek arrived. Completely out of heaven and landed on earth. Cloudscape surrounding snowclad mountains is a sight you don't want to miss. Misty evening with cup of tea in a warmth of winter layers with a view of snow mountains covered with clouds, surrounding pine and oak trees. You have lived your day wonderfully.
Trek to barshaini village is a complete descent. You are going to enjoy this descent. Walking under a shadow of pine trees is a bliss. local villager's life will give you a glimpse of how they live in this remote location. You will see habitant for the first time after so many days of trek in middle of forest.
