TRIUND, Dharamshala
Have Guts? Love Driving? Fascinated by snow capped peaks? Have 3 Days? Then Read on…
Have Guts? Love Driving? Fascinated by snow capped peaks? Have 3 Days? Then Read on…
Triund is a place less heard off by many & that’s exactly what makes it all the more interesting. At about 3000m from the sea level this is one of the perfectly suited hiking destinations for beginners. No words can describe the beauty of the place and one needs to be there to know what it is like. Mind you No water, No Electricity only Nature at its best so be prepared for some out of the world experience.
One requires no
planning what so ever & entire trip can be covered in 3 – 4 days Ex- Delhi.
This is what I took with me
- - A DSLR + Tripod + ( A wide angle Lens would be great – although I managed without it)
- - A Trekking Bag with good Jackets & good quality water repelling Lowers
- - A pair of Shades, Walking Shoes with good Grip, A Trekking Stick
- - Medicines
- - A good Friend &
- - A Wagon R fresh from Service Check Ups
Well if you have all these then please don’t wait… You are
missing out on something.
We started on 13th Nov 2013 from Delhi at about 6:30 am in our Wagaon R. The plan was to reach McLeod Ganj by same day evening before Sunset to avoid driving in the night. Then next day we would do the trek from McLeod Gang to Triund, stay atop Triund Hill in the night & then descend the next day morning & then drive back home immediately after that. Pretty packed schedule.. but we had only 3 days so not much of an option.
Route taken
Delhi -- Ambala - -
Ropar –Nangal—Una – Amb—Dharamshala – McLeod Gang.
The Map shows the route taken by us
For Early starters, Murthal is a nice place to have
breakfast. Try out the “Sardar Ka Dhaba”
before the Murthal Haveli for some really nice food. Tea here is also
awesome. Although for us, we didn’t stop here as we wanted to save time and
reach our destination before sunset.
Somewhere near to Ropar the Punjabi flavor starts to set
in..
The Blue waters’ of the Bhakra Nangal Dam was a pleasure to
the – used to Delhi eyes… You are not allowed to photograph the actual Dam (We
realized it the hard way, as our Camera was almost snatched by the rogue
Policemen on duty).
Actually it’s not a bad idea to
halt at Nangal & visit the Bhakra nangal Dam & the Chamunda Devi Temple
& Naina Devi Temple and then head north the next day if you have time.
For the Bharka Nangal Dam visit the timmings are till 16:00
hrs. You need to detour and take a small road towards the main Dam structure.
Next a permission from the Govt is required to visit the dam. The permission
can be taken at the Dam office at Nangal.
It’s really overwhelming
to see the mammoth structure in its full vigor. A must visit.
However we were short of time & hence spent only 15-20
mins at the bridge over the Dam’s canal & decided against the detour.
Somewhere on the UNA-AMB Road, after AMB , Google did the Googly!!! Led us to this under
construction road.. Hell it was an experience.
Just ask the locals wherever in doubt about the condition of the road whenever Google asks you to take a turn from the straight path.
Finally back on track but pretty late by now.. & no
question of reaching Dharamshala before sunset. So I was preparing myself to
drive on the hills for the first time & that too after sunset.
Well those White ranges that you see on the hindsight, those
were the ones we were heading to.. Seems so far away
An under construction Tunnel…
Well by the time we reached Dharamshala it was already
18:30hrs & was dark. We were hungry since morning & dead tired. Stopped
at a small hotel to get freshened up, had some Chow Mein, coffee. There we met
another group that was also travelling to Triund for an annual Triund marathon
that was scheduled for the next day.
The Road till this place was quite broad & for me,
driving for the first time on the hills, was still manageable. Now we needed to
head to McLead Ganj, where we had our room booked. The journey was still 25kms
to finish. But the roads started getting narrow. Also the left Headlight
somehow stopped functioning!!!.. So here is me, first time on the hills, on the
dark narrow roads & without the left headlight.
It was like whenever I was
taking a turn on the hilly road & the valley would be towards the co-driver
side, I would be totally blinded without the headlight on the pitch dark roads which
didn’t have safety railings either towards the valley side. On top of it, the
buses on the road were being driven like mad on the turns & were taking
turns at about 50kmph blindly. A small mistake by you of being on their side of
the road & you are gone. (Back in Delhi, We Delhi wala’s are used to
driving on all lanes except the ones that we are supposed to drive on!!) Scared
the hell out of me…!!@@!!
Was praying to God to keep us safe through this passage
& then suddenly as though he listened to me & came from behind a
screaming big fire brigade vehicle ringing its bells. I decided
that that this was the best option & gave it a pass & started to follow
it (As we do a VIP escort vehicle back in Delhi to get a fast passage through
rush hour traffic - let the Delhi driving experience give me at least some
benefit). And so for the next 30mins I was just following the fire brigade
vehicle blindly without caring about the unprotected edges of the road or the
approaching traffic from the other end. (The water bowser was big enough to
make the approaching buses brake & give way to us)
Finally at 20:30hrs, reached the hotel at McLeod Ganj.
Thanked God. And then took a hot bath after the day’s drive. Phew!!!
Sipping 2 pegs of RUM sitting on the open balcony with a
cold breeze blowing over.. Just the right medicine to heal your brain from the
stress of the long drive & prepare you for the next phase of the trip – The
Trek to TRIUND.
Out hotel at McLeodganj..
The next day we started our Trek at about 12 noon. Actually
we were late. The best time was to leave at 9 am.
Anyways took some raw chicken from town (for cooking at Triund – The
cook of the guest house on top will cook itfor you for about Rs400/-)
Essential items to take with you on the Trek are
- - Trekking Stick
- - Medicines (Analgesics, Pain Killer tablets & Spray, Anti-emetic, etc)
- - Good quality shoes
- - Jackets & Caps as per the Temperature predictions
- - Water bottle.
- - Torch & Lighter
- - Chicken & Alcohol (if you wish to)
Please remember that there is no water or electricity on TRIUND. We had tied up M/s Summit adventures for the
accommodation on TRIUND TOP. They own one of the only two guest houses on the
hill. The other one is a Govt accommodation and needs to be booked at
Dharamshala. In case you are not booking either of these then there are small
operators who provide Tents on rent @ about Rs. 500 to 700/- per night along with
sleeping bags. You can choose either of the options.
The route was dangerous at places but good overall..
One gets resting places on the way up like this one called
the Magic View Café. The only thing that there are only 3 such stops on the way
& the cost of food & water bottles increases as and as you go higher & higher
Well Finally we reached the Summit before Sunset & it
took us about 6hrs of continuous Trekking to get here.. Tiring specially if you
are as unfit as I am..
This Hill Top has one of the most stunning sunset views that
I have seen.. Awesome. It redeems you of all the tiredness..
The night atop the Triund Hill was memorable one. We lit a
bonfire, had the chicken cooked by the caretaker of the Guest house.. so the
menu went like.. Chicken Lollypop, Chiken Biryani & RUM with the fire
burning beside us… Can u ask for more?
The Majestic view of the Himalayas (Dhauladhar Range). On
the left bottom you can see the ropes of our tent!!
Our Tents.. Just imagine tenting on the Himalayas on a full moon night.
Well my friend had some chest cramps in the night & I
was not able to sleep for most of the night. Finally a combiflam helped. But
the next day morning was again amazing…
We had our breakfast the next day morning (All arranged by Summit adventures) & then began our descent by 8 am…
Our descent ended at this
waterfall near the Bakshu Nath temple..
We finally reached our hotel
at about 13:00 hrs. rested for 15 mins cleared our bills & then again
started our drive back to Delhi. We managed to reach Delhi way about 1am in the
night. Was very tiring, trekking down in the morning & then driving non stop
for 13 odd hrs to reach Delhi but was hell of an experience.
The total cost of the trip
was about Rs.6000/- per head all inclusive.
Well I have tried to keep the
things short & crisp in the blog. Anyone willing to know more about the
place or for that matter any other detail please feel free to contact me at
Thanks for reading my blog.
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