“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.

Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into

trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will
drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.”

-John Muir

I had always the longing for trekking as it always gave me goosebumps whenever I thought about it. The
meadows ,the lush green valleys had the tranquility to do it .

Finally, during the summer break of 2019 when my Neet exam was over the chance came and I couldn’t
find an explanation to get me understood that why shouldn't I go for another? I have a friend who is an
avid trekker and we previously trekked in Uttarakhand and Sikkim. I told him about the plan and as he
had no foreseen plans, he gave me thumbs-up :-D

As we had all the equipments ,all we had to do is to gather information about the trek. We had to buy
dry food enough for the whole journey to keep us energized. We bought tickets and in a week(very
short period of time) we were ready to move.

So, My friend and I started from Kolkata by flight and laid over at the IGI airport for 2:30 hours before
our Delhi - Bhuntar flight. We met another group with three person at the Bhuntar airport who were
going in the expedition on their own. The climbing was going to be a lot of fun and frolic as all of us were
youngsters having completed matric and one sophomore in school. We took a taxi to Manali through
Kullu as we all wanted to visit there at first. The valleys of Kullu has so amazing view that we got
awestruck. It has a wonderful vista of green fields and a mesmerizing view.

We reached Manali the same day in the morning and spent the day in the lodge.Now, we needed to
take rest so that things will go on at ease. In the evening, we went up to see the market ended up
buying things. A day's rest before the trek is always advised as it can be pretty exhausting at the high
altitudes in the Himalayas. Mind and body will quest for a ton of energy so adequate rest and sleep
before the trail is a must.

We were happy as a clam.

First day of expedition

Manali to Chikka

We were on foot and walked along the Vipasha river through Preni village, a calm hamlet which has
been giving shelter to the trekkers, vagabonds and Tibetan refugees. In the route comes a Buddhist
town Sethan, also called as the igloo village of Manali .We saw the towering Dhauladhar ranges. River
Beas slicing Dhauladhar and Pir Panjal and definitely it was a moment of Aww and it was like home to
oblivion.The Serenity was so calm and peaceful. People are jovial in this quiet yet busy town as most of
the people , mostly tourists were busy relaxing .

We continued our trail through the lush green tall rhododendron forest, the view was breathtaking and
giving me a cheer of joy for our future journey. Through the meadows and eternal land of the ravine, we
reached Chikka.

As young, energetic and exuberant trekkers we camped and called it a day. The day was quite amazing
yet pretty exhausting.

Second day of expedition

Chikka to Bhalu ka Gera

As the first day drained our energy we took some time to re-energize in the night by getting up a bit late.
We started at morning and now the climb was getting steeper. As a trekker we didn't feel fatigued
thanks to our previous trekking experience. Today, the number of side streams increased in a drastic
way, most of it having mound or deck bridges. Some of them were too classy and beautiful to go away.
The path was sliced through the flakes of snow and the ground was getting slippery due to drizzling.
Along the way there were rivers that we had to ford. It was a tough job as the current was steady and
cold-white due to snowfall and raining but our resilience, courage and sportsmanship showed up thanks
to our young blood and energy pump.

There were waterfalls, streams and watercourses to cross through most of the day. The whole day was
zipped with a wetty and damp note. The night was shivering as cold wind was blowing.

Third day of expedition

Bhalu ka Gera to Ratni Thach

Bhalu ka Gera interpretes circle of bears as the brown bears are said to hibernate here during winter. So,
our trail started in the morning through the scenic beauty and patches of wild flowers bloomed in a
scattered way adding another stroke to the scenic beauty.
The walk continued with not much change to the altitude along the Hampta Nala. We realized, we
completed our first two days of expedition and marched through the whole day passing several streams,
unravelling grounds, green grass and vast meadows.

Fourth day of expedition

Ratni Thach to Hampta pass to Shia Goru

On the fourth day we started a bit early than the usual clock and trailed for almost 2 km as we reach the
Godly Hampta pass. I lost my vocabulary to describe the place yet view from the pass was next to
godliness. We were taking turn towards heaven, that's how it was. The mountain peaks were clearly
visible from the pass with the peak of Mulkila rising above all of them. We took snapshots of the area.

From top of the pass we saw the majestic peaks in the Kulti valley, Indrasan and Mt. Deo Tibba. We
planned to descent down which leaded us to Shiya Goru, a trekkers' campsite. We put camp in the
beautiful meadow by the stream. The sky was crystal clear with clouds hovering over the place.

Fifth day of expedition

Shiya Goru to Batal through Chattru

We trailed through the slope to the Chandra river as the side is rather steep and follows a long ridge.
Again there are river bridges as we walked past them. You can see ruminants grazing around and mules
carrying trekkers' rucksacks as most people tame to mother nature with no trekking experience. We
decided not to hire anything but expedite on foot. (rental car is preferable as Chandratal is
approximately 4000 ft up with still a long way to cover.)

However, we reached Chhatru following the Chandra river. The Chandra river is known to have a steady
current that can sweep you past with a spur of a decision made to wade through it among the trekkers
with zeal and zest at near the finish point.
We went through the Rohtang pass, usually the whole area is covered in snow during winter and due to
rain the road was muddy. We trailed along the gorges to Batal and Chandratal. We walked a whooping
distance to Chhota Dara with increasing altitude . Enroute to Batal there is Chota Shigri and Bara Shigri.
Shigri is baraf rather a full sized glacier that adds to the scenic beauty. I was thrilled to watch such
gigantic glaciers on site. We decided to camp at Batal as the day was hectic and one of us picked injury
on course. There was a dhaba that kept our stomachs full and gave hope for tomorrow's trek. We
understood food is necessity to survive whether tasty or not and to thrive daily to keep up with hunger.

Sixth day of expedition

Batal to Chandratal

The penultimate day of our trip. The trail is full of steep climbs and downfalls. We dwelled past the
mighty Himalayas and Pirpanjal and were on course to Chandratal. We saw sporadic snowfall and one
can't describe how beautiful it looked. We walked upstream and the nature is windy due to the open
ravines. We marched on through bends and turns to Kunzum La. The view from here was next level and
after that we took a detour to Chandratal along the Chandra valley, with the river on our left ,we trailed
to Chandratal,through green patches on the barren land.

We reached Chandratal after a long walk and the contention and struggling was worth the view that
gave that inner peace of how beautiful can mother earth be ! It was like roof of the trek, we took
photographs and planned to see the peaks more clearly ,early next day.

Heading back

Chandratal to Manali

After taking photographs of the peaks, panoramas and the whole night's time-lapse we started out. We
never believed it to reach Chandratal on foot. After that, we boarded a bus to Manali via Rohtang Pass.
We were hungry but the feeling of accomplishment was way too much to eat. Rohtang Pass offers
splendid view of the valley and the bus taking turns made me to believe the turns to heaven in the
Himachal Roadways.
It was like a tale, all's well that ends well. All of a sudden and we hit up with 3 unknown people who
were going to be our friends for the rest of the period of trail and for life. We promised for more treks
and bid adieu.

I had trekked before in Yuksom, Tendong ,Satopanth taal, goecha la ,valley of flowers among others ,this
was definitely a memorable one where my friend and I started a journey unknowingly and through the
snow covered meadows and eternal barren lands. Again the trek proved that mountaineering is one the
toughest sports of all.

The tranquility of the nature gives us the salvation, outside the homebred human being out of their
regular life ,out of the concrete jungle, the office cubicles with life getting stuck in this indigenous
human race and I , myself see this summer break more as a relaxation. Recuperation and switching off
are as important as the training itself.

We headed back to Calcutta on an evening flight with a desire for another thrilling Trek in near future.