Kaliheni Pass
District Kangra/Kullu, Himachal Pradesh
Position - N32 13.183 E77 02.964
Altitude – 4844 metres above MSL
Trail Orientation – West - East
Closest Settlement(s) – Bada Bhangal (West), Sangchar (East)
The word Kaliheni (probably) comes from a conjunction of 2 words in the Gaddi language. Kali for black and Heni for very old and hardened snow. So, Kaliheni Pass would mean the pass of the black snow or glacier. Old timers say Kaliheni was made up of a black glacier in the times gone by. It still has a lot of snow, some really old glacier as well but the charm has gone down from the yesteryears. Humans and development have taken their toll. That notwithstanding, along with Thamsar Pass, Kaliheni still is the gateway to the Bada Bhangal trek from Manali. The higher but easier of the two passes from a steepness point of view, Kaliheni is really remote. Over the 5-6 days that you cross Kaliheni, all you meet is shepherds and sometimes, some bears, both black and brown. On foggy days, the encounters could be closer than your liking.
If you enter or exit Bada Bhangal through Kaliheni (which you deifnitely should), you are in for visual treats and an unforgettable trekking experience. The whole trail is full of stunningly beautiful pastures on both sides. Come summer and monsoon, the pasture grounds turn yellow with flowers. Kaliheni stream, at one point flows in a level, wide valley, making for a once in a lifetime view. There is a high mountain in the background and the river snakes its way out, slowly right upto where you camp. Once you cross over towards Kullu, you can see the Beas valley dotted with some clouds, standing over are the high passes to Lahaul and Spiti. It all makes for a fantastic time spent outdoors.
Trekking to Kaliheni Pass:
Kaliheni Pass is part of the Bada Bhangal trek, a long, adventurous, beautiful trek to a remote village. As with the Thamsar Pass, once you get into Kaliheni, you have to either take a high pass out (Thamsar or Kaliheni) or a 2 day walk along a river gorge.
Unlike Thamsar trail though, the Kaliheni trail is not easy to follow. While officially a mule trail, it sees mules once or twice in a year and is used only by shepherds. So, it is not definitive and often difficult to follow. It does however, go up along the Kaliheni stream almost right upto the pass. On the way are a couple of stream crossings which take more out of you than crossing a pass. Ice cold water gushing at a great pace over a rock bed. Most of these crossings need to done with ropes if there are no temporary wooden bridges and they add to the fun that Kaliheni is. The trail close to the pass takes off left from the stream, goes past an ice fed lake and then to the pass top. The pass itself has 3 passes, the Southernmost is the one you can cross, the others have sheer rock faces.
Essentially, Kaliheni is a twin pass with Thamsar as far as trekking goes. Most groups cross both on the Bada Bhangal trek. The best times are July to September and the trek needs good reliable equipment and decent levels of preparation including enough rations to last almost all the trek, in case you are not able to refill at Bada Bhangal.
For seeing the Kaliheni trail from Bada Bhangal on a map, click here. For the trail from Sangchar (near Manali), click here.
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