DAY 0 - Warm up Trek to Bear Valley
Summary:
- Visited Tsuglagkhang Complex at McLeod Gang in the morning
- Went to Bhagsu Village to make Indrahara trek inquiry at Manu Adventures
- Started my warm up trek for Guna Devi temple by noon
- The route took me through Dharamkot, Dal lake, Naddi village and Bear Valley
- Had a little adventure by a water stream flowing through the valley
- Returned back
Trekking Route:
McLeod Gang - Bhagsu Village - Dharamkot - Dal Lake - Naddi Village - Bear Valley - Water stream - Guna Devi Temple - Return via same route
23rd May 2013
I reached about 2 hours late at 7 AM in the morning. Good thing was the bus dropped me all the way till McLeod Gang instead of Dharamshala. The first thing I did was to rent a room down the Yongling stairs on Jogiwana Road. The room was decent enough with a double bed, clean bathroom with a hot water facility and a TV. The owner charged Rs. 300 for a day. These types of rooms were built by local people by extending their homes and are quite cheap to stay. I am sure that if I was to stay there for a longer duration, like most foreigners do, the same room would have cost me about Rs. 100 a day.
(Above: View of McLeod Gang)
After getting fresh I took off for a city tour with only a cap and a water bottle with me. After having a breakfast of sandwich and coffee I went to Tsuglagkhang complex. It is the Tibetan temple where his Holiness The Dalai Lama stays. If you wish to gain an audience with him one has to contact the temple administration many months in advance via his official website. Most of the time he is away on world tours. I just wanted to see the temple. It was beautiful, especially the Tibetan paintings on the inside walls.
(Above: Tsuglagkhang Complex)
After that I headed towards the local market in search of a guide who would take me to Indrahara pass. I was also planning for a warm up trek to some nearby place after noon. I contacted Laxmi Holidays and they were ready to arrange my four day Indrahara pass trek for Rs 5500. The package included guide, food and equipment like tent and sleeping bags. It seemed a good price considering that I was travelling alone. I could have rented a guide and the equipment separately instead of going for a package but this being my first solo trek I though it as wise to go for a packaged deal.
Before finalizing on Laxmi holidays I decided to contact Manu Adventures who was a famous name in the region for treks and adventures. Their office was in Bhagsu which is a couple of kilometers from McLeod Gang. They quoted a price of Rs. 5200, food not included. I made some calculations in my mind and found that the food cost would be about Rs 2000 for 4 days. Though the guide they were providing was an expert but I declined their offer due to high cost. I called Laxmi holidays and booked their services.
Before finalizing on Laxmi holidays I decided to contact Manu Adventures who was a famous name in the region for treks and adventures. Their office was in Bhagsu which is a couple of kilometers from McLeod Gang. They quoted a price of Rs. 5200, food not included. I made some calculations in my mind and found that the food cost would be about Rs 2000 for 4 days. Though the guide they were providing was an expert but I declined their offer due to high cost. I called Laxmi holidays and booked their services.
I checked the time and it was almost 12:30 PM. Mr. Manu from Manu adventures told me that there is a nice place called Guna devi temple about 9 kms away and would make a good warm up trek. The way for Guna devi temple was via Dal lake, Naddi village and Bear valley. Though it seemed difficult to complete this trek before evening but I thought why not give it a shot!
(Map of my first day trail)
To reach Guna devi, I had to cross two hills which were on the left of Bhagsu Village (see map above). Bhagsu is situated in a valley. I trekked and reached the hill top where Dharamkot is situated. From there I went downhill to the other side in the valley where Dal Lake is situated. On the way I met a girl and her guide who were also headed for Dal Lake. We trekked together chatting all the way.
The girl was from Czech Republic and her guide was a young local lad from Tibet who took refuge in McLeod . There are a lot of people like him who escape Tibet and take refuge in McLeod Gang. These refuges have to walk for weeks making their way via Kathmandu before they reach India.
On reaching Dal Lake we relaxed a bit enjoying the beautiful scene in front of us. Apart from the religious importance, the view of this lake is also gorgeous due to its location and surroundings. The Lake is situated at a height of 1200 meters in a valley and is surrounded on all the sides by hills of green Deodar trees.
The girl was from Czech Republic and her guide was a young local lad from Tibet who took refuge in McLeod . There are a lot of people like him who escape Tibet and take refuge in McLeod Gang. These refuges have to walk for weeks making their way via Kathmandu before they reach India.
On reaching Dal Lake we relaxed a bit enjoying the beautiful scene in front of us. Apart from the religious importance, the view of this lake is also gorgeous due to its location and surroundings. The Lake is situated at a height of 1200 meters in a valley and is surrounded on all the sides by hills of green Deodar trees.
(Above: Dal Lake)
After a while I bid good bye to the girl and her guide. I headed towards Naddi Village which is on a hill top on the other side of lake. I had already crossed a hill to reach Dal Lake. Now I had to climb another hill to reach Naddi village at its top and then descent to the other side in the bear valley. By the time I reached Naddi I was quite tired but from here I could see the bear valley and for the first time in this journey the distant view of snow capped mountains
(Above: View of snow capped Dhauladhar range from Naddi Village)
After having a cold drink at a local shop in Naddi village I headed towards the bear valley. As I started to descent in the valley I could see that the last sights of human habitation were gone. The valley is beautiful and the forests were dense. I could even hear the distant sound of a stream flowing down the valley. I was happy that my trail was headed in the direction of that sound. Occasionally I came across herds of goat and sheep. Further the trail became completely deserted. I was alone and as a result I started to worry a little. I was warned by the guide whom I had met in the morning that many bears were spotted in this bear valley and a few incidents of bear attack were also heard of. Though the bears descend to the valley generally during winters but travelling alone thorough a deserted forest named bear valley was enough to make me sweat. I remembered some tips I had read on internet forums and started to sing a song while on my way, just in case! After an hours trek I reached the bottom of the valley where there were few signs of human habitation.
(Above: View of Bear valley and the stream flowing through it)
I could clearly see the water stream gushing and making its way through the rocks. There I saw a pool of water created in the stream due to natural placements of rocks in its way. A girl probably in her early twenties was swimming in it. She did not seem like a local girl; probably a tourist. She was wearing a grey colored t-shirt and a matching pajama. Her complexion was fair and her body was lean but curvy at the right places and her wet clothes hugged those curves beautifully.
As I reached the pool I observed that she was with her parents. Her Dad was also swimming in the pool and her Mom was on a side clicking pictures of her beautiful daughter playing in that crystal clear water.
As I reached the pool I observed that she was with her parents. Her Dad was also swimming in the pool and her Mom was on a side clicking pictures of her beautiful daughter playing in that crystal clear water.
On reaching the pool side the girl’s dad gave me a suspicious look which was expected. I tried to make a friendly conversation with him. I came to know that they were coming from Jaipur. They were staying in a hotel at Naddi village and were on a family trek/picnic to this stream. The girl was more communicative than her dad who was not happy with me being by the pool side. Obviously no Dad would wish his bathing daughter to be ogled by a stranger. He tried to get rid of me by mentioning that Guna Devi temple is still an hour away and I should leave soon if I do not want to get late.
He was actually right, I was getting late. I was not wishing to trek through bear valley after sunset nor I wanted to spend my night at Guna devi temple. If I wanted to finish my trek till Guna Devi I should not be wasting my time. But as I was almost leaving, something by the pool side caught my attention and I suddenly knew what I was going to do next.
It was a big rock about 15 feet high with a vertical side facing the pool. The depth of the pool was around 10-15 feet at its deepest. A perfect place to jump!
I climbed the rock from the rear side, reached the edge facing the pool and had a look at the ice cold water below. From above, it looked scarier and higher than it actually was. But I had already made my mind. Through the corner of my eyes I could see that the girl was now by the pool side looking at me. I guess she got the idea what I was up to. Now there was no way returning back, my impression was at stake!
He was actually right, I was getting late. I was not wishing to trek through bear valley after sunset nor I wanted to spend my night at Guna devi temple. If I wanted to finish my trek till Guna Devi I should not be wasting my time. But as I was almost leaving, something by the pool side caught my attention and I suddenly knew what I was going to do next.
It was a big rock about 15 feet high with a vertical side facing the pool. The depth of the pool was around 10-15 feet at its deepest. A perfect place to jump!
I climbed the rock from the rear side, reached the edge facing the pool and had a look at the ice cold water below. From above, it looked scarier and higher than it actually was. But I had already made my mind. Through the corner of my eyes I could see that the girl was now by the pool side looking at me. I guess she got the idea what I was up to. Now there was no way returning back, my impression was at stake!
(Above: The pool of water created in the stream and the vertical rock, it may not seem but the rock is twice my height)
I took a deep breath and jumped aiming the deepest part of the pool. It was a clean jump. Even after I landed in the water my heart was still beating fast. It took a while till my heart beats returned to normal levels, only then I could feel the cold water stinging my body. It was ice cold. After swimming in it for a while I made my way out of the pool. Surprisingly I was dry in a minute due to less moisture in the atmosphere. I wore my jeans and t shirt and made my way towards a tiny shop on the other side of the stream. While I was leaving the pool I heard the girl's dad ranting something about irresponsible behavior and risk. I ignored and headed for the shop.
After drinking some water by the shop I saw the time on my watch. It was 4 PM, only a couple of hours till sunset. Due to my little adventure in the pool I was late now. There was no way I could go to Guna Devi temple and return back to McLeod Gang before sunset. I had to turn back from here itself. Before leaving I sat there for a while admiring the beautiful valley and the stream flowing down.
On my way back I came across the pool again. The family was now out of the pool sitting on side of the trail. They were having some snacks which they had probably backpacked with them. The family was seated in a circle with the girl facing my direction and her dad with his back towards me. As I reached closer the girl noticed me, it was a good thing that her Dad was not facing me. There are certain moments in our lives which a person never forgets. This was one such moment of my life. The girl was staring at me with a grin on her face and a twinkle in her eyes. Her smile was a mixture of a naughty grin and an innocent shyness both at the same time, something I had never seen before. I returned her a smile and proceeded towards McLeod with the beautiful memories of the bear valley, my stupid adventure in the stream and of course that girls enigmatic smile.