Travel

RUPIN PASS – AN EPIPHANOUS JOURNEY – TALE OF 2 BACKPACKERS

INTRODUCTION:-

The Rupin Pass Trek is not just a high altitude two states trek but it is no less than a heavenly kingdom for all the nature lovers.The trek holds gorgeous landscapes and abrupt changes in the trail give it a kaleidoscope charm. The turquoise waters of the Rupin are surging along with the surroundings, completing the very famous three-stage waterfall of Rupin.For those who want to have a complete experience of every kind of sightseeing in the Himalayas,be it,the hanging villages,the dense forest,the snow glazed peaks,hundreds of waterfalls or the glacial meadows;The Rupin Pass Trek is a treat to drool for.Although the Rupin Pass Journey may be mouthwatering, it is a moderately challenging trek that calls for a high level of physical fitness as well as strong lung and cardiovascular systems. As such, make sure you are well-prepared before beginning the trek. you can also visit Ruinsara lake trek

DAY 1: DEHRADUN–DHAULA:-

We left for the base camp Dhaula for the trek from Dehradun on 24th May,2016. In Dehradun,we met our trek mates for the first time. There were 20 of us. Although the first meeting was with a little nervousness in our hearts,as the days went by,we all became a great team and even bigger friends!After a long bumpy ride we reached Dhaula.Dhaula is a strange place surrounded by a canopy of huge trees.Our tents were set up on the banks of the clean Rupin river.The rest of the day was spent getting acquainted with our trek leader and the rest of the team.Most of our members were from Chennai and Bangalore and others were from Pune,Delhi, Ahmedabad,Surat and we were from Kolkata.

DAY: 2 DHAULA – SEWA:-

In the next morning,we all together were refreshed and ready to start the trek.Our next camp was in service at a distance of 11 kms from Dhaula.We started our climb towards the service.The first day of the trek is always taxing.We barely covered some distance that most of us were gasping.Nevertheless,we soon found a rhythm and went on without any problems.We reached the service by noon and were greeted there with a hot lunch.In service,we stayed at a homestay.Sewa is a small sleepy village and the most important structure of the village seemed to be a temple.The temple was a classic example of Kinnauri architecture.At that time the temple was locked.When asked by the villagers,he said that the idol is common in 12 nearby villages and the idol visits each village every month.Well,that was something unique we heard!

DAY 3: SEWA – JISKUN:-

The next day we started from service towards Jisakun.First,there was a downhill trek that reached up to the Rupin River.Here we go quietly from Uttarakhand to Himachal Pradesh via a small wooden bridge over the Rupin River.This is one of the high points of the day. we followed an uphill trail to Gosangu.This is where the difficult part comes in. It is a road head and we had to trek for about 6 km in a dusty road. We have often seen vehicles passing in front of us! After gasping for a few hours on a dusty road, we finally reached the village. t was then another uphill route to the village of Jiskun. but when we reached Jiskun, seeing the village and the house, our tiredness went away.

DAY: 4 JISKUN – JHAKA – UDAKNAL:-

The next morning, our climb resumed,though there was a rough road towards Jhaka village.Jhaka is the last village on the road leading to Rupin Pass.During the climb, we met several school children who greeted us with a lovely “Namaste”.Jhaka also known as Hanging Village,this village seems to be hanging on a rock.From Jhaka,it was again on the way through the forests to our next camp,Udkanal.It was a beautiful camp with cliff views.

DAY 5: UDAKNAL – DHANDERAS THATCH:-

The path of the next day was quite different from the previous days. We followed the path taken by the shepherds. We also met some shepherds with a flock of sheep. There were a lot of sheep there and I kept wondering how they manage to keep track of their sheep! At one point I thought he was the Santiago of “The Alchemist” looking for new ways and new things We also had snow for the first time that day. We had to cross the ice bridge. After a few hours of trekking we reached a place called Buras Kandi. This is where the treeline ends. Here we walked among the rhododendron trees and finally reached the bottom of a river which was our resting place. A few meters ahead of this place, we saw the Rupin Falls for the first time. It was definitely a sight to behold. We could really feel the thrill it had in store for us. We had to climb the waterfall! After a few more hours of trek,we reached our camp site, Dhanderas Thatch Day. There could be no better camp than this.