Trek Himachal

Baleni Pass

District Kangra/Chamba, Himachal Pradesh

Position - N32 21.620 E76 17.134

Altitude – 3738 metres above MSL

Trail Orientation – South - North

Closest Settlement(s) – Salli (South), Darkund (North)

The spelling above is not correct but I can't think of anything better. Its at times like these that I rue my poor abilities at writing in Hindi and the general lack of ability amongst my audience to understand pure Hindi. How do I spell it correctly? I dont know the answer. Its important because this is the most important pass for the Gaddi tribe in Himachal. One of the westernmost Dhauladhar passes, relatively lower than its middle cousins at 3738 metres, flat walk to the base camp and proximity to Bharmour, the home of Gaddis. Plus the added incentive of being one of the first in the Dhauladhars to open after winters.

There have been times I have wondered why the heck have I need to cross so many passes in the Dhauladhars. I was thinking something similar climbing up Baleni. I dont know if it was mental or physical tiredness but all of it and more was lost as I reached the top. In one of my earlier posts about Jalsu Pass and the trek through it, I had mentioned about how Jalsu was so different from Indrahar. Baleni, in its own unimitable way was different from the other 2. From Jalsu and Indrahar, you see a lot of things, both different from each other but nowhere else would you see a lateral view of the Dhauladhars. Nowhere else would 4 passes collude to form a high snow filled valley. Nowhere else are the Dhauladhars blocked on the North by a high ridge giving birth to a large glacier and a single stream coming out from all of them. Nowhere else are glacial lakes as plentiful. Infact, its around Baleni that they exist at all. Kareri Lake is on the Kangra side. Lam Dal, Nag Dal and Kali Kund on the Chamba side, all within a day's trek from the pass. Standing atop the pass and looking east, you see the Dhauladhar peaks forming a curve.

Its not the most popular trekking pass because its not very close to Dharamshala but its well worth the trouble you take for reaching it. The trail on this side is flat and has beautiful camp sites. As you go up the pass during spring, you can find some wild lilies and other flowers in spring. On the other side are the typical Chamba gorges, an old village, shepherds with their herds, a slide down a large snowy expanse.

Trekking to Baleni:

There is always the case of time. If you are not time tight, start from Dharamshala and go through the Kareri Lake. Avoid starting at Salli because that involves a bus/car ride which I personally hate and therefore hate recommending as well. The trail upto the base camp from Salli is slow incline along the Baleni rivulet. Once the trail leaves the rivulet at Charkhotu, it climbs up steeply to the pass, though not as steep as some of the other Dhauladhar passes.

Once you are atop the pass, a steep trail leads down to Duggi Goth, in the middle of a glacier if you are trekking in spring and then along the stream to Darkund and onwards to a road.

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