Trek Route
The trek starts from Dharamkot/Ghera. Dharamkot is 2 km from McLeodganj while Ghera is an hour's road journey from Dharamshala. The trail for this trek is a combination of easy low mountain trails in the beginning, walking through dense bush with almost no trail in the middle reaches and a very clear paved trail up the Pass. Click this link to see the map of the trail on OSM (Open Street Maps).
- Dharamkot - Laka: An easy trail to a much trekked destination. The meadows of Triund attract many visitors in a year. From Dharamkot, only one trail leads East up a ridge. From Triund, head north towards the Dhauladhars. The trail is clear and easy to follow.
- Laka - Bagga: Just after you cross the destroyed forest rest house in Laka, leave the Indrahar trail and turn left (West) towards the rocky basin of the erstwhile Laka glacier. Cross the basin and keep heading west aiming for the next visible ridge. From the depression in the ridge, head west along the beginnings of a stream. Walk along the stream till it meets another stream joining it from North East. At this point, cross both the streams towards the right bank of the combined stream. A trail is visible from here on. There are times the trail passes through thick thorny undergrowth. Overall, the trail will keep along the stream, mostly high up on a cliff. After crossing the thick jungle, the trail gets clear again, crosses the stream to the left bank, goes along a pasture for sometime and then crosses back to the right bank through a makeshift bridge. This point is almost bang South off the Bhimghasutri Pass. After this final crossing, the huts at Deep are visible on a ridge due West. Head up the trail straight to the huts. From Deep, another clear trail heads due North West to Bagga, around 2 hours and 1 meadow away.
- Bagga - Gaj Pass: From Bagga, head upstream (North) along the left bank of the stream. Keep to the left bank till you reach the confluence of 2 major streams (this point is about 30 minute walk from Bagga). At this point, look straight up North and a clear paved trail with stones arranged to make steps is visible on the ridge separating the 2 streams. The trail is a combination of paved steps and cleared grass trail right upto the pass. There are also a couple of rock overhang caves and camp sites on the way which can be used as base camps in warm weather. These are marked on the map.
- Gaj Pass - Lam Dal/Kala Chho: Lam Dal is visible North East from the pass. Its a long water body visible ahead of you on your right. The trail is mostly covered in snow and is best traversed with a combination of sliding down on steep snowy slopes and walking on the realtively flat ones. Camping is possible next to the lake or at Kala Chho, a huge waterfall around 3/4 km West of the lake (for this point, head North West from the pass).
- Lam Dal - Duggi Goth: Its a walk between the main Dhauladhar ridge on the South side and a sub ridge on the North. The trail is on the right bank of the stream and passes through 4-5 water bodies (lakes) formed by melting snow from the nearby peaks, all of which feed into the same stream. After you have crossed the last lake, the trail crosses over to the left bank. Lam Dal is a religious lake visited by pulgrims from Chamba every August, so this trail is clearly paved and easy to find. Duggi Goth is a small campground with a few rock overhang shelters. Its at the point where the stream turns North (it heads west from Lam Dal).
- Duggi Goth - Darkund: You will see a clear path laid out once you are near Duggi Goth. This runs along the left bank of the stream all the way to Darkund through thick jungles and a few shepherd stops.
- Darkund - Kundi: A narrow village path high up on a cliff along the left bank of the stream. From Tur, the path turns west away from a stream and joins a road at Kundi. Kundi is served by a morning bus to Chamba.
Remember to go by waypoints and before you use the GPS trail, read this page as well.
