Trek Himachal

Trek Route

The trek starts from Bir. Bir can be reached by bus or taxi from Dharamshala. Most of the trail on this trek (apart from that near the pass) is easy to find and walk on. Click this link to see the map of the trail on OSM (Open Street Maps).

1. Bir - Billing: From Bir, walk along the road to Billing. 50 metres up the road, on the left, a trail starts towards Billing. This criss crosses the Bir-Billing road 4-5 times and is easy to see. On the way is also a very small local temple. The trail is around 4 km in length, around 10 shorter than the road.
2. Billing - Rajgundha: The road from Bir to Billing at some point was planned for extension to Barot via Rajgundha. As a result, the trail from Billing to Rajgundha is almost a jeepable road apart from minor damage in some places. About 3 metres wide, it runs through a jungle of oak, rhododendrons and conifers and affords brilliant views of parts of the Kangra valley, the new found haze permitting.
3. Rajgundha - Plachek: The trail continues from Rajgundha to Kukkargunda. From Kukkargundha, take a slight right towards the Uhl river. Around 2 km later, the small trail hits a bridge on Uhl. Do not cross the bridge, keep walking upstream along the right bank of the Uhl. The trail climbs up and away from the stream. You can see 2-3 waterfalls on the other bank. After a small shrine to the left, around 3 km from the bridge, you will be able to see Plachek through the trees. The trail splits into 2 a little while later. Take the one going down. It reaches the river and then crosses it over a wooden bridge to Plachek.
4. Plachek - Jhodi: From Plachek, the trail climbs steeply till all that remains is a 1-1.5 metre ledge above the Uhl flowing below. It continues on the left bank of the Uhl. Just before you reach Jhodi, which is a small campground and a makeshift shop, there is a waterfall over a small stream which you will need to cross by wading through it.
5. Jhodi - Panhartoo: Continue along the left bank of Uhl for sometime. About 1.5 km from Jhodi, the trail crosses over to the right bank on old snow covering the stream. Walk upstream along the stream to reach Panhartoo, a slightly sloping camp ground and 2-3 makeshift shops characterized by the blue plastic sheets used as roof covers.
6. Panhartoo - Bhedpal: Panhartoo is the meeting point of 3-4 streams from all directions apart from South. The trail veers and climbs sharply just after Panhartoo. Upto Panhartoo, it is due North East. Just after Panhartoo, it follows the stream towards North West. As it climbs steeply, the stream also takes on a torrent form in the monsoon. After about 1.5 km, the trail crosses (rather wades) a small stream and then climbs very steeply up to a campground along the same stream. This is Bhedpal. You can also see /hear a waterfall just west of the small ridge near the campground.
7. Bhedpal - Thamsar Pass: Look due North from Bhedpal, a small trail zig zags up. It is mostly marked with horse hooves, as is the Panhartoo Bhedpal trail. Along the way is a marker made by piling up some stones on top of each other. After the steep slopes, the trail levels out for about half a kilometre. Towards the right of the trail is a snow fed lake and the flag on the small ridge north is the pass. The last stretch from the lake plain to the pass is only about 300 m in length but is quite steep.
8. Thamsar Pass - Udg: Climb down bang opoosite from where you climbed up. After the first steep slope down, keep left and walk along a plain till you reach the base of the ridge. The path is clearly marked by horse hooves, goat droppings and sometimes human footmarks as well. After a little while, as the trail climbs down sharply, you will be able to see another lake on your right, much larger than the one on the other side of the pass. A stream is born of the lake and the trail keeps to the left bank of the stream. The first large patch of grass which looks like a campground with a small shepherd hut (or its remains) close the stream is Marhu. Between the lake and Marhu, just before you reach Marhu, is another small lake. From Marhu, cross the stream to the right bank. After Marhu and a waterfall (where the trail climbs down steeply), it levels out again. The next campground is Udg. Its a pasture with lots of options to camp. The lower you camp, the better are the chances of getting some driftwood for making a cooking or camping fire.
9. Udg - Bada Bhangal: Bada Bhangal is visible from a few metres below Udg. The trail continues along the right bank before switching to the left bank about 1.5 km from Udg. Bear in mind though that these trails change very often because of landslides, so it is best to look for fresh footmarks and signs of use, goat droppings, horse shit before deciding on which one to take. After switching to the left bank, the trail climbs down, reaches the left bank of the Kaliheni stream (the stream from Thamsar pass joins this stream just a few metres upstream of the bridge) and crosses it over a wooden bridge. Bada Bhangal is divided into 3 parts. The part just after this bridge has a shop, the middle school, a playground, a helipad and an ayurvedic dispensary. Across the Ravi from the school (over a wooden bridge) is the lower village. A little upstream is the upper village and the power house. A little downstream is a cedar jungle with a campground and the Forest Rest House.
10. Bada Bhangal - Sunni Thach: Retrace your steps back towards the middle school and take the trail which climbs up towards the ridge right across the school playground. This trail crosses over the other face of the ridge and then goes through a lot of fields. Its easy to get lost in the fields and then have to wade through high bushes to get to the trail. Thumb rule is to always take the upper trail when faced with a choice. Once it is out of the fields, the trail is easy to follow. The biggest challenge on this stretch is open areas with unforgiving sunshine and almost no water for the whole day. The whole trail after the first 2 hours is one large campground. Sunni Thach is after the second major stream that the trail crosses. Any stream with significant water (sometimes the word significant is not needed) in it is a major stream.
11. Sunni Thach - Lumba Padh: By now, the Kaliheni stream is far away and below the trail. After Sunni Thach, the trail climbs almost upto 3850 metres above the sea level and then climbs down, crosses 2 streams, climbs down further towards the Kaliheni stream. After wading a major stream, the trail climbs slightly towards a campground and then turns due South, goes down right almost upto the Kaliheni stream. From here, it runs almost along the stream upto the first big camp ground, Lumba Padh. This place is characterized by the opening up and widening of the Kaliheni stream basin. At this point, the basin is almost half a kilometre across.
12. Lumba Padh - Devi ki Marhi: From Lumba Padh, the trail climbs down to the river basin and continues all along it, crosses multiple camp grounds and a small shrine on the left. There are 2 options for most of this part. Either the trail on the slope, right bank of Kaliheni or the river basin itself. After Garhthala, which has a large shepherd hut made of stones (can sleep 10 people easily), the trail crosses a wild stream over a bridge. In the absence of a bridge, ropes would be needed. After this stream crossing, the Kaliheni basin taken a 90 degree turn from South of South East to East. Continue along the river basin. The second small campground with a small shepherd hut (the first one has a hut as well) is Devi ki Marhi.
13. Devi ki Marhi - Kaliheni Pass: Right bank on the river basin upto the point the glacier starts. Just before the glacier starts is another stream crossing with very cold water. After the glacier starts, leave the Kaliheni stream (which continues East along the glacier) and turn up on the rock strewn trail NE. Look for horse shit or footmarks. Climb right along the ridge, which flattens out after sometime. In the flat is the first lake and the trail crosses a stream. Another small slope up is another lake. The trail from here to Kaliheni pass (due NE) is made of huge 3 steps of steep slopes and then significant flats. The final steep slope up is to the pass. The pass has 3 necks. The rightmost is the actual pass, marked by a flag and stones put atop each other. The other 2 necks have sharp drops on the other side but could be crossable at times of heavy snow.
14. Kaliheni Pass - Theli Sanghor: The pass is always under lots of snow, so the best way to find the trail here is look for horse hoofs and horse shit. Broadly, you head East from the pass. Narrating the trail is difficult because often nothing is visible and I myself lost my way for sometime. Do not turn too much left or right anywhere. If you do, turn or zig zag back later. The aim is a large glacier over a stream about 400 metres from the pass. When the glacier levels out a bit, head left towards a shepherd hut. The campground next to this is Theli Sanghor.
15. Theli Sanghor - Riyali Thach: The trail is quite clear after this. It zig zags steeply down the ridge from Theli, turns sharp right towards the stream (which is from the glacier in 14 above) and then crosses the stream. Just 100 metres downstream, the trail crosses back again. This stream is really wild during the monsoons and crossing even with ropes can be a hazard. Be very careful. You can also try to avoid crossing this by crossing a tributary and staying on the left bank of the big one. After the second crossing, the trail climbs up and goes over rolling pasture meadows. The campground with a shepherd hut is Riyali Thach.
16. Riyali Thach - Sangchar: From Riyali Thach, the trail goes up and down, barely losing any altitude for what feels like ages. The stream is left far far behind and many small ridges are climbed up and down. Finally, after reaching Kharsu (a pasture about 7 km from Riyali Thach), the trail turns SE and finally climbs down a ridge. This is a clear mule trail and you can see the Beas valley. After a little while from Kharsu, you will be able to clearly see some villages. The first one is Sangchar, served by an unmetalled road as at August 2010.

Remember to go by waypoints and before you use the GPS trail, read this page as well.