Har Ki Dhun - Trek along the valley of Gods

Har Ki Dhun Trek - 3rd to 11th April 2021

This was the first trip/vacation planned after a long gap of 1 year where I wanted some time away from what is happening around the world and a break from working long hours at home. So, thanks to my travel buddy again for instigating and helping me book this trip. We booked this trip through WOW (Women On Wanderlust) Club due to several reasons they offer us – comfort, safety, well planned arrangements, accommodations etc. 

Before I take you all on my journey, here is a little background of this place where we are heading to. Har stands for Hari, or Lord Krishna and Dun means valley. It is located at an altitude of 3566m, lies in the westernmost Himalayas of Garhwal is dominated by the Swargarohini Peak (6096m). One of the oldest Treks in the Himalayas, known as the 'Valley of Gods', some believe it's the same route taken by the Pandavas in the Mahabharata on their ascent to heaven.

This moderate trek takes you through one of the least explored regions where civilization has not affected the lifestyles of the simple hill folks here. You will get a complete detoxification of mind and body. 

DAY 1: Saturday, 3rd April 2021: Arrival at Dehradun

We arrived from different cities of India to Dehradun airport. On arrival (by 12:00 PM), we checked in to Hotel Lemarq to get ourselves freshened up. Evening we set off to explore Dehradun city, watch tower, local market and relished the savories at Kumar Sweet home. 

Later we came back to the hotel and saved our energies for the long drive next day.

DAY 2: Sunday, 4th April 2021: Dehradun - Sankari

After breakfast we all set of on our onward journey to Sankari (155 kms distance; 5 – 6 hours approximate time). 

On the way we took a pit stop for lunch and savored authentic Uttarakhand Thali which had 1 Ragi rotti, 1 Jawar Rotti, Red rice and chole masala. Since it was served hot on our arrival, we hogged to our heart's content. 

Sankari village offers ecstatic views of the Himalayan skyline and a plethora of mountain peaks, gazing at you from a distance. 

We were put up at Hotel Nature View Himalaya and this property was luxury in its own way in this small village. Thanks to WOW Club for choosing the best of properties as always. This day was at leisure for us to acclimatize at the region. 

DAY 3: Monday, 5th April 2021: Sankari - Seema/ Osla via Taluka

We started our day with an early breakfast and began our journey by driving for approximate distance of 10 -12 kms towards Taluka in a local vehicle. Please mind that the stretch wouldn’t be plain, as there would be ups and downs. You can make it even more adventurous by hopping onto the rooftop of this vehicle and enjoying the bumpy ride thereby admiring the flora and fauna as you passby.  

We were stopped at the forest check post/entry point and were requested to furnish our Aadhar cards and COVID negative certificates here. After a joyful roller coaster ride, we reached Taluka which is the base camp of the trek.

Actual trek begins from this point. We started trekking from here towards Seema through deodar forest which is world’s largest pine tree forest and along the Supin river. Plan was to cover about 14 kms this day thereby getting immersed with mesmerizing views of the valley.

Packed lunch was provided for the same journey. We were accompanied by our porters who looked after our luggage, pitched our tents, and even cooked food for us every day. They used to move ahead of us to make sure that everything is setup before our arrival.

We also had a special companion cum guide who accompanied us from Taluka through the entire trek and ensure we all returned to Taluka back safely. Well it was no other than our beloved doggy 😊. At crossroads he would wait for us to guide us through the correct path. He was just like other trek companions for us.

After half way through our trek, we could get first glimpse of snow clad mountains. 

We reached Seema around 4 pm and we saw that our tents were already in place. Hot soup was given to us. 

We soaked our legs in chilled water along the stream flowing down which acted as a natural massage therapy for us. 

We then had dinner at around 7 pm which had roti’s, dal, rice and a sweet which was luxury in itself on a trek trip. We prepared ourselves for the next day’s trek and slept cozily in our sleeping bags.  

Camping is the most exciting part of trekking where you are closest to nature. Away from the luxuries of your home, you are required to push your boundaries when on a hike and there is nothing better than sliding into your sleeping bag at the end of a tiring hike. In this trek, we mastered the art of using this gear, sleeping comfortably, and folding the same for use next day.

This was the first camping experience of my life and It was a indeed delightful camping near a flowing stream and a sound sleep hearing nature’s own music.

DAY 4: Tuesday, 6th April 2021: Seema/Osla- Kalkati Dhar

Post early morning breakfast we started our trek towards Kalkati Dhar today which was about 3 kms before Har Ki Dun. The climb was a bit steep today. Today we had to cover a totl distance of (12-14 Kms approx). 

When we were on top of Kalkati Dhar we felt strong chill winds lashing us which made our climb tough. After descending, we saw snowflakes. Time to get our ponchos out. 

By now we were hungry. We took a pit stop at a stall, had hot Maggie and tea which is a must when on hilly treks along the north. 

After this break, we again started our trek towards our camp site. 

We reached camp site at around 5 pm. Our camp site was surrounded by snow clad mountains and it took some time for us to sink in the fact that we are so close to Himalayas. 

After reaching  Kalkati Dhar campsite, we were served hot tea. There was a small river stream flowing along stream site and we could see snow melting from mountains. We then set off on a stroll to click some pictures around this place. 

We reached back to the camp site, had good dinner, and slept well.

DAY 5: Wednesday, 7th April 2021: Kalkati Dhar - Har Ki Dun

During midnight, we heard loud thundering and saw heavy lightning also. And we could feel heavy downpour over our tents. Initially we thought that its rains. When we woke up in the morning, we could see heap of snow outside our tent. 

I was super excited to see this since I have never experienced snow during any of my treks till date. We played in snow for a while and then came the toughest part. Brushing our teeth and washing our face in ice cold water. We managed it somehow since we had no other choice. 

Our guide gave a suggestion – Trek to Har ki Dhun base point and then instead of returning to the camp site, walk along Kalkati Dhar and camp down somewhere around a safer place since the weather could get worse. We decided to go with this, but the toughest part was yet to unfold – trekking in 3 feet deep snow again a first of experience for me.

Our guide suggested us to wear sunglasses since we could see sunshine on top and snow at our feet. So, he said this combination is deadly and not wearing sunglasses may result in harm to your eyes.

We started our trek slowly watching our steps carefully. We could see some trekkers who had left in the morning had already created a path. We followed them slowly. 

We could see the Swargarohini peak from here. 

Finally we reached Har Ki Dhun base camp. The panoramic view of the snow-clad mountains around was mesmerizing. I felt like I am in Everest itself for a minute😊. 

We clicked some pictures, relaxed a bit, had our packed lunch, and started our yet another challenging descent. Challenging since the snow started melting and we had to put our steps very carefully. Many of us had a fall multiple times even though we were careful. But I felt this was the toughest descent.

Finally once we reached the path where we had camped earlier, the trek path came back to normal terrain. From here it took a while for us to reach the Base Camp on other side of Kalkati Dhar since we had to vade through the rough terrain and the changing climatic conditions ( rain, snow, sun). Totally we covered 14-16 kms today approximately and this was the longest duration trek till now.

We reached almost at 6 pm and were drained out completely today. Nature surprised us here again at the Base Camp by showering heavy rains. We were not able to get out of our camps even with Poncho since heavy rains along with wind was lashing our tents. We could hear the strong wind roaring which was little scary. Finally around dinner time weather settled down and we could venture out of our tents for dinner. Today there was no campfire since no one had the energy for some fun time. We just moved to our tents, prepared ourselves for next day and slept immediately.

DAY 6: Thursday, 8th April 2021: Kalkati Dhar – Osla

After our breakfast, we began our descent and trek towards Osla. This time we took a different route which passed through the beautiful Osla village which is famous for its ancient wooden carvings. 

Osla is the only village in India that has the temple of Duryodhana, the villagers believe themselves to be the descendants of Kaurava’s from Mahabharata. 

We took a pit stop for a tea break at one of our helper’s house. We were smitten by the hospitality.

 We clicked few pictures and then started descent down from the village. 

We reached camp pretty early today hence we decided to help our porters with dinner tonight. We really had fun cooking with limited resources and utensils available under the guidance of our expert cook.

We then had yummy dinner cooked by us, spent some time around bon fire sharing our experiences for the day and rested for the night.

DAY 7: Friday, 9th April 2021: Osla – Sankari via Taluka

After breakfast, we trekked for 10 kms to reach the last leg of our trek, Taluka. Our pace was little slow today since it was the last day. So, we were taking pit stops at every place we wanted to explore. For example: we stopped at a shop to drink the Burans juice (Rhododendron flower). This is the state tree of Uttarakhand with a showy display of bright red flowers. We also plucked some Rhododendron flowers en-route. 

Upon reaching Taluka, our pick-up trucks were waiting for us. We hopped on top of the vehicle for yet another adventurous journey. 

It took another 10-12 kms drive to take us to Sankari where rest of the day was at leisure. This was the first time in last 5 days we could take bath with water. So everyone rushed for the cleanup and to relax in the comfy beds of the hotel. Later in the evening we took a stroll around the hotel, had dinner and retired for the day.

DAY 8: Saturday, 10th April 2021: Sankari – Dehradun

After breakfast, we bid adieu to our porters and helpers who made this trek happen for us. Then we started our return journey to Dehradun.  We took a pit stop at Mussoorie for lunch. We were given an hour time to stroll around the mall road, Mussoorie. I did not find great things to buy from here or may be due to current situation not many shops were open during this time. Finally, we boarded our vehicle at the other end of mall road and reached Dehradun at around 5:30 pm. 

DAY 9: Sunday, 11th April 2021: Departure

After breakfast, we took a pit stop at Kumar’s to savor some chats and sweets. And then headed straight to airport to board our flights back home carrying a baggage full of wonderful memories of this trek.