c u on top - satyabrata dam

Fifty four years back at the age of 4, standing with my dad beneath a towering deodar, at China Peak (2611m), a well-known view point just above the lacustrine hill town of Nainital, I had seen with my eyes wide open my very first and my biggest dream – to travel the world and climb every mountain. We were there to watch the sun rise from across the Tibetan Plateau.  Nothing had changed in 54 years It was a cold dawn in April, the eastern sky just beginning to turn pink and while my restless eyes flitted around my dad stood silent. As the sky continued to brighten and the endless array of icy peaks to my North started punctuating the horizon, he raised his hand and pointed at Nanda Devi and said – this is the Himalaya, a part of your heritage and it is because of these mountains that you and I and this land exists. My dad was a man of few words. Yet these words drew my attention to the amazing spectacle unfolding right in front.  Slowly the sun rose further and the white summi...

  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 ...

  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...