TRIUND, Dharamshala

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 13^th 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 Time shown by Google was about 12 hrs.. but my experience says for actual timing the thumb-rule is to add 15% to 20% to it if you are a safe driver. 

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.This road was surely a tough ask even for some construction trucks plying on it, leave alone our nanhi Wagon R. But to our surprise it pulled off this 2hr turmoil.

 

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. 

 We started the Trek and that’s where we are headed to, the white peaks… Looks far off  & we already started to feel the heat

 On the way up met this Guy from Delhi..

  

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!!

  

 Oh ya!!  Forgot to tell that we somehow accidentally happened to reach this place on a full moon night. Awesome. In case if you are planning, then choose a full moon night. It’s just something else to be on the Himalayas with the Full moon on top.

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…

  

Took a different way on the way down. This was called the Bhakshu Nath Temple route. This was a shortcut, quite steep.. but beautiful..

 The descent also gives you time to sit quietly & unwind…

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

sensnehashis@hotmail.com

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