Hampta Pass Trek

India: Hampta Pass Trek

The thing that Carson and I most wanted out of our month in the Indian Himalayas was a long high-altitude trek through the backcountry. We got it. From Manali, we organized a seven day trek to Hampta Pass (4270 meters) in the Kullu Valley. This cost me a little less than US$300 all-inclusive for the week (including boots, which we wisely purchased beforehand), and it was by far the best thing I’ve spent money on here. The trekking party, along with the two of us, included a guide (the jovial “C.D.”), a cook (I think he may have been some type of wizard), a horseman, and four ponies. It felt strange not to carry all our bags, but this is how trekking in the Himalayas works. (We felt glad that it was horses, and not human porters, who were hauling our equipment and supplies.)

The trek itself was only moderately difficult but intensely beautiful. We started in relatively low-altitude alpine meadows, camping among lily groves, walking through forests of pine, maple, and white birch. We climbed up to a high-altitude camp, where we stood on mountain ridges, looking across green valleys, up at mammoth glaciers. Lastly we made one long push to Hampta Pass, into an austere terrain of rocks and ice shrouded in thick white clouds. There was still much snow on the trail (it was quite early in the season), and our route was becoming increasingly treacherous. So we stopped a few hundred meters from the pass itself, satisfied that we had gone as far as we could. It was exhilarating to push that deep up the isolated valley, to be surrounded on all sides by massive mountains covered in snow and ice.

Mostly, though, we just loved the rhythms of each day on the trek: Waking up to a stunning view of mountains; enjoying a cup of morning tea; walking past rushing waterfalls and blooming wildflowers; enjoying a snack of moong dal while sitting on a rock that looks out across a gaping, steep valley; reading and writing next to an ambling river; enjoying one of Gyian’s creations for dinner; drinking boiled water; playing cards in our glowing orange tent; falling asleep gazing at a pitch black sky filled with so many stars. The weather was mild: warm but not hot during the day, cold but not freezing at night, and often drizzly with misty clouds. And the food was surprisingly varied, copious, and delicious: We ate hearty dishes Indian subzi, dal, rice, tasty vegetable fritters, spicy samosas, Chinese chowmein and fried rice, Tibetan momos, American french fries, sandwiches, soup, and (cheeseless!) pizza. Not to mention a plethora of snacks. Like I said, the man was a wizard.

Most of all, perhaps, it felt so nice to have a week without—without showering, music (aside from C.D.’s crooning renditions of Bollywood songs), TV, Internet, money, autorickshaws, bus horns, bargaining, mundane concerns, and other people (aside from a handful of solitary shepherds we met along the way). But it was also a week with—with outstanding views, great conversations, and quiet moments of thought. I was very happy on this trek. I’ll remember it for a long time: I’ll remember it for its beauty, for its excitement, and for its serenity.