Trek Route
First, an admission of my error. I lost some of the GPS trail on this one. I am not sure how and why but I lost it. The good news is I have lost that part which actually does not matter much. So, both the passes, the base camps are there. The part which is missing is anyway straightforward and the details below should suffice. The branch road to Barot from NH20 and the trail from Silhabdhani onwards is on this OSM frame.
- Barot - Jhatingri: Cross over the Uhl at Barot towards the right bank of the road, walk along the trail on the left of the reservoir. Keep walking along the Uhl. The trail gradually moves away from the river up towards the ridge. You will pass the villages of Kau and Kalhog on the way. Need be, ask for the way. The trail moves further up towards the ridge from Kalhog. Once you reach the ridge top, walk along the ridge and you will climb down towards Jhatingri.
- Jhatingri - Silhabdhani: Walk down from Jhatingri towards Barot on the Jhatingri - Barot road. If you prefer walking along the road, take the first right and keep walking on the road. This trail is very long, around 17 km to Silhabdhani. So, you would be better off taking some shortcuts to cut off the curves and shorten your route. The long unpaved road walk can anyway get too hard on the feet. Once the road reaches the ridge top, it continues on the ridge for another 5 km. The moment the ridge starts sloping down, there is a left turn into a neck kind of opening. This is where the road leads to Silhabdhani.
- Silhabdhani - Kadaun via Bhuvu Pass: Since pass was part of a mule trail, it is straightforward. There is only one trail to the pass and on the other side as well. The trail on the other side leads straight to a road, walk right on it and Kadaun is only 100 metres away.
- Kadaun - Pheti Goth: Walk on the Kadaun Kullu road for sometime towards Kullu, about 300 metres. On the opposite ridge across the stream, you will see a trail. Leave the road and walk down to the stream, cross and join the trail. This trail passes through a few villages, all waymarked on the GPS trail. Once you reach Doghari cross the stream to the other side and reach a village called Gramang. Through Gramang, a trail leads North into a dense forest. You will be able to see the Himri pass with two necks. Keep walking this trail on the left bank of the stream. The trail slopes gently upwards for a couple of hours and then opens into a flat space. Cross the stream here and you will see a large rock which is Pheti Goth. Beware though, most of the year, this open space is overgrown with thorny bushes and is difficult to locate visually.
- Pheti Goth - Karal via Himri Pass: Cross the stream back to the other side and take the trail going upwards. This is quite, quite steep, much more than you will anticipate. You will see 2 necks of the pass and a large rock formation in between. Aim for the right neck, the left one is too steep to climb. After crossing the neck, head left towards the opening of the left neck. From the jungle on the opposite side of the pass, if you look left, you will be able to see a large open slope. Head North West own the slope through the forest. Keep an eye on the grassland, that is your target. The moment the trail opens on the grassland, head straight down the grassland towards a mud hut. Even if you dont see the mud hut, barge down the slope straight towards where you see a conifer jungle. Once you touch the jungle, there is a clear trail with a slight west orientation. The idea is to be slight left of the ridge and reach the stream. The stream has a proper bridge. Once you cross the bridge, the trail is straightfoward to Himri and then to Karal and there is enough habitation to guide you.
Once again, use the GPS trail wisely. Use the waypoints well and read these guidelines.
