A small breakdown of my experience at the Rupin Pass Trek, Himachal Pradesh, one of the most scenic Himalayan treks in India
In the second week of October, I finished my fourth Himalayan trek, The Rupin pass with IndiaHikes. "The Rupin Pass" as our trek-leader Alveera liked to call it and by the end I got to know why. We were a group of 23 amazing people in total. I was coming in a group of 6 people whom I had met in previous treks.
The Rupin Pass is a 7 day trek including the drive to the basecamp and measured a total of 34km. It starts at 7,630ft from Jiskun and reaches an altitude of 15,279ft before descending back. This was a unique experience in the midst of nature with grand scenic views and mesmerising vistas and high altitude challenges.
The trek had plenty of challenges with long walks and some steep climbs, the main challenge being the altitude reaching 15,207 feet at the highest point though nothing too challenging except the summit push day. There we had to do over 2,000ft of steep climb and then descend to the other side for a total of 12kms over 11 hours. The mountain gods were with us and weather was nice and dry througout except some rain in day 2 while we were sleeping.
The journey began from Rohru, Himachal Pradesh to our first basecamp at Jiskun 85km away. The ride was very scenic and in between we crossed ChainSheel pass which had excellent views of the mountains and lush meadows. 3km before the basecamp there was a small landslide and we had to start our trekking journey a bit earlier to reach Jiskun.
I was coming in a group of 6 people whom I had met in previous treks and at Rohru met with a lot of other trekkers as well.
The following day we had about a small 4km trek from Jiskun to the village of Jakha (8,860ft.) which is the last village of the Rupin pass trek. The trail descended in the beginning and went through a forest and small streams until we reached a small wooden bridge after which the trail ascended up to the mountain and appeared to be cut out of a rock face. In about an hour we could see the Jakha village come into view.
In the evening we had a small tour of the Jakha village, their local temple and the Kathkoni architecture. In the architecture the houses are built entirely of cedar and pine wood. They are said to last for upto 100 years and keep the houses warm in harsh winters. There is no stone used in this architecture and everything is made of wood.
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Day 3 we had to cover a distance of around 7km and gain an altitude of around 2,000ft. The trail was through a lush forest, one of the best forest sections I have seen in any trek. After the forest the view changed completely into a wide river basin with a small stream going through it, full of small stones. We took a small trail beside the river and reached the campsite at Saruwas Thatch(10,770ft).
The next day was a very short day with a 1,000ft of ascent and 3km of distance. It was more for us to acclimatise to the high altitude. In between we had a stop at a small stream of the Rupin river and did some fun activities there (pushups :D). Then we had a meditation session with our eyes closed amidst the nature and only our trek-leader speaking and guiding us. It was very peaceful and a highlight of the trek for me. Everyone sitting in silence with eyes closed among the nature, pure bliss. After that we reached the campsite at Dhanderas Thatch(11,700ft) and we could see the waterfall we had to climb the next day.
In the night I saw more stars than I have seen in many many years. I could see the faint milky way from naked eyes!!
Day 5 was a 1,700 ft climb to upper waterfall campsite(13,275ft). It was a short but steep climb and the views were magnificent. There were three levels of the waterfall to climb and turning back we could see the gorgeous valley which we had climbed so far. We reached the upper waterfall campsite soon and it was one of the most beautiful campsite I have ever seen. The valley from above looked spectacular and the night sky was something else.
The summit day we had to get up and move super early at 4:30am. It was freezing cold and pitch dark we had a long day in front of us. Up we went with out headlamps and high morale. There was a steep climb of 2,000ft in front of us to the Rupin Pass. The trail was rocky and the sun was nowhere to be seen on our side of the pass. It was cold and slowly we moved on.
Just before the pass there is the Rupin gully - the hardest 200 mtr of the trek. Very very steep and rocky part. But at the end, there is light, there is sunshine and there is "The Rupin Pass". All the preptions, all the grind, all the runs for this moment and it was freaking worth it. We had a moment of joy, of celebration at the top. Everyone was hugging each other and a lot of people were in tears. Had some celebratory battle cries and some peace.
We marched on to the next campsite Rontigad(13,005ft) after an about an hour at the summit. From the summit , there is a sharp descent to the endless meadows.
Next day was a short trek to Sangla Kanda for about an hour and then a cab to Simla. This concludes my journey of the trek. I had an awesome experience.It was hard, it was mesmerising and it was worth every second. I met some pretty cool people, had a lot of fun conversations, had an amazing time amidst the nature and stars.
Extremely greatful and happy that I did this trek. I hope that you've enjoyed this comprehensive blog post.
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