c u on top - satyabrata dam

  Singhar Pass, temple and view of Chamba side After a brief respite once again my friend Ravinder from Tangroti and I headed up to yet another Dhauladhar pass connecting Kangra with Chamba. This time our objective was the dreaded Singhar Pass, which has also been called the killer pass. To my knowledge, this is the only Dhauladhar Pass that even the Gaddis (shepherds) are bit wary of crossing. Hence trekkers crossing this pass is extremely rare. I know of only one instance before us that of two friends of mine, Rijul and Tarun, both seasoned hikers. A brief mention about the pass altitude. Figures vary about its height but according to my altimeter and referring to Army Survey maps I would place the height between 4330 to 4350m hence I would settle for the higher figure of 4350m. The pass ridge is rather long so it depends at which point you cross it. My estimate of 4350m coincides with the lowest point on the ridge, where the temple is located and to which the trail leads. Now ...

  Dalai Lama had once put it succinctly (tongue-in-cheek) that there is only one day in your lives that we can do something and that day is ‘today’. While elucidating the benefits of this one line wisdom to a bunch of sophomores at a B School in Edinburgh I did drop in my two bits by adding that we all must do something ‘today’. A flowery haired girl yet to shed her baby fat around the middle, bright eyed promptly asked: what should I do today. I stared into her face for a moment longer than necessary trying to glimpse any mischief therein, but she held my gaze and I detected nothing but sincerity of purpose. Next I glanced at my audience and told them what I am about to unfold in this post. What should I do today! And this is not a question but a self-projecting statement that is puzzling at best and perplexing at its worst. If you have been plagued too by this puzzle then you are not alone. I have a simple and practical solution to it. Just sit down with a piece of blank paper...

  In today’s world of information overload and the omniscient Google, it is rare to discover a pass, trail and a lake that is completely unknown to the outside world at large, save for a legend and folklore amongst the local shepherds and herbs collectors. Such is the way we heard about this pass along with a mysterious lake from the shepherds of Kugti during our trip to the Nikora Pass and Ravinder and I headed to discover this unknown region few days later. This trip was a real exploratory one, purely based upon some stories from the shepherds and we discovered a hitherto unknown and undocumented valley and a pass along with a marvelous lake barely a spitting distance from the popular Kugti Pass. Before retelling our journey, it is important to briefly narrate the legend of Sunni Bhunku, after whom the pass is named by the Shepherds. This name is purely local and has no mention in any survey of India maps or Google anywhere.   Natural rock formations, perhaps a geologist c...

  For long I have been fascinated with the region of Bada Bangal, nestled within, literally surrounded by high Pir Panjal Range of mountains from all sides. The only access to this remote and unique village that doesn’t require crossing a high snow bound pass is from Holi side, along the dangerous Ravi River gorge from Nayagran. This trail is arduous and dangerous. Of all the other passes that leads to Bada Bangal, Nikora is the one that I found most intriguing since this pass doesn’t find any mention in the official list of passes of Himachal Govt. notifications and there’s absolutely no mention of this pass anywhere online, no images, no reviews (now it does) except few vague mention in an obscure survey of India map and few odd places. Over the last 18 years of my exploring these mountains I hadn’t met anyone, including local shepherds who had crossed this pass from either side. At 4760m this is certainly a high pass and was perfect for my explorer’s instincts. My friend Ravinde...