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Bharadsar Lake – Rahul Prabhudesai’s Notes:
23 oct 2011
Get off at Dehradun and drive along Mussorie, Purola, Mori and Naitwar to reach Himri. The drive
takes a full 12 hours on winding mountain roads. Watch out for the pine forests after Purola and
the journey by the Tons river after Mori. This is one of the best mountain drives of our country.
Himri is the basecamp for the Bharadsar taal trek. Himri is 3-4 kms before Dhaula – the base camp
of the Rupin pass trek. Needless to mention, Himri is also on the banks of the Rupin and your
campsite is nestled amidst the pine and other coniferous trees. Himri gets its name after the Himri
trees found abundantly here. Himri is at an altitude of 4820ft.
24th Oct 2011 3,000ft 8 kms, 5 hours Himri to Saaru Taal 4,500ft to 7,500 ft
The destination for the day is a tiny village called as Bitri. Bitri lies up on the mountain ridge and
Himri at its base. It is a steep climb of 2700ft to Bitri. The climb starts amidst the pine forest and is
steep right from the start. An hour into the climb and 1800ft higher is your first break point Kujraili.
A steady 4 hour climb on mostly defined mountain trails with some forks here and there, brings
you to Bitri at 7300ft. The village houses a little more than 100 families. Enthusiastic young kids
come running to see who the visitors to their village are. A quick walk through beautiful wooden
houses brings you to the center of the village. A school and a temple make the village center. It is
an open school with a blackboard in the courtyard.
The village temple is a major attraction of Bitri . It is carved in wood with shields heralding its doors.
There is a beautiful pagoda like structure besides the temple. It serves as its storehouse. The temple
is built in a typical Kinnaur architecture. Though you are still in Uttarkhand, the influence of Kinnaur
is strong. Lady trekkers may be disappointed as women are not allowed inside the temple. Biren
Nag and Mahasu are the 2 idols worshipped here.
Make the shade of the Moruban tree a few meters ahead your lunch point. Your campsite for the
day is an hours walk ahead. A large meadow with a lake right in the center – Saaru Taal is your camp
for the day. The lake is devoid of water for most months of the year and your nearst water source is
a stream almost a kilometer away.
Another interesting sight that can catch your attention are the dogs. All the dogs of the village have
metal strips with spikes as a protection from leopards.
25th oct: Temp at 6 Am, 3.2 deg. Saaru Taal to Badang 4 hours 7.2 KMS, 7500ft to 9700ft
Wake up to a beautiful morning at Saru taal and get ready for another stiff climb to Badaang.
Badang is along the slope of the same mountain but a little higher. It is going to be a moderate trek
with a height gain of over 2200ft over a distance of 7km. An hour’s rocky and steep climb brings you
to a small stream which marks your entry into the Deodar /Pine forest. The trail eases out beyond
the pine forest. A stone laden trail gets you through the forest before the last two kms to Badang
which again becomes a bit of a climb. Spot the Himalayan langurs and the many vaieties of birds in
the forest.
Badaang campsite located on a beautiful meadow surrounded by a beautiful deodar forest. The
camp site has a stream flowing right next to it.
Strenuous and long would be the two words to explain the trek from Badang to your 3 rd campsite
Dhal Dhar. Start the days trek through the Oak forest just outside your campsite. 3 hours of trekking
through the forest with a couple of stiff climbs, brings you closer to the ridge with the forest
beginning to thin. The forest opens into the meadows and this is Masundha Dhar. From Masundha
Dhar the trail goes as a ridge walk from one mountain ridge to another. 20 mins into the meadows,
the views open up beautifully. The massive peaks of Swargarohini and Ralgan appear right in front.
On either side of your trail are Rhododendron shrubs growing in abundance.
The ridge walk carries on and on for 4 more hours. The sky in front has a 180 degree panaroma of
mountains set up for you. The trail continuously climbs from one ridge to another with a few small
intermittent descents.
The village Liwadi is also in sight. The Dhal Dhar campsite is perched in a narrow valley. The hill
opposite the camp site is covered with white Rhododendron bushes . There is a absolutely no water
on the entire trail. With more than 5 hours of trek being on ridge top with no tree cover, its easy to
feel dehydrated and tired. Carry 2 litres of water from Badang and sip it wisely along the way.
27th Oct:
Alt : 11300 ft.
When the sun goes down at the Dhal dhar campsite, temperature starts going down rapidly. It was
already -0.7 deg C by 7 Pm. Another amazing thing I forgot to mention was I spotted the Himalayan
black bear but from a great distance. It was foraging I guess. The temperature fell to -4.7 dec C at
1.30 Am. Probably the min recorded.
The trek to Dev Bhasa is a very short one lasting about 2 hours. An initial climb of 500ft in half a
kilometer followed by a gentle descent brings you to the campsite. The campsite is situated on a
very small plain adjoining 2 mountains. The area is rocky and you are in for a bumpy night.
The water source is about 2kms away from the Dev bhasa campsite. The camp is surrounded by
rocky mountains on 3 sides and is quite windy. Gangothri range can be seen from Dev Bhasa ( alt
11800-11900 ft.)
The trail to your destination can be seen from dev Bhasa.
It was too short a trek which if extended by a couple of km or even 3 km would make the final trek
to Bhardsaar lake less tedious.
But due to the almost vertical face of the mountains beyond which lies the Bharadsar lake a camp
further ahead is not possible.
The trek from Dev Bhasa to Bharadsar camp is undoubtedly the longest and the toughest trek
amongst the 6 days. There are 2 routes to Bharadsar camp. The longer one which goes left round
about the mountain and then comes right. The shorter one is a steep ascent crossing a pass and
getting down straight to the Bharadsar campsite.
On the longer route, a 4.5 hour climb brings you to the cross over point or the ridge. The Bharadsar
camp is 3 hours away from the pass. The path on the other side of the ridge was made of layers of
rocks with snow here and there and also gaps in between hence making a risky trail.
Bharadsar lake can be seen from a point well above the Bharadsar campsite. The lake looks partly
frozen and dark in color mainly due to the shadow of the rocky mountains surrounding it. A 4 hour
trek over a rugged trail takes you to the Bharadsar lake from the camp.
The terrain on the other side of the ridge is extremely rugged and could be even called hostile and
the weather chill to the bones.
The Bharadsar lake is not visible from the Bharadsar meadow campsite. You get a distant view of
the lake from the ridge you came from.
The lake is a couple of hours away from the Bharadsar meadow camp. It’s a trek over rocks and
morrains which requires you to step carefully.
From the Bharadsar lake, retrace your steps till the campsite. From the camp, take the straight path
to the ridge top. If there is snow, it will be an easy climb up to the ridge which takes an hour. The
descent on the Dev Bhasa side is steep and slippery. The direct ridge route is much shorter than the
round about route. Take the direct route to the ridge even on the way up.
A 3 hour trek from Bharadsar camp, brings you back to Dev Bhasa.
It’s a steep descent to Upper Rehala from Dev Bhasa. The loose stones and rocks tend to take a toll
on everyone’s knees.
After the initial 2 hours, the trail enters the meadows again and then goes though a beautiful pine
forest. The camp at upper Rehala is situated in the small patches of the terrace farm belonging to
one the villagers. The altitude is considerably less at 8,840 ft though it is quite higher than your base
camp at Himri. There are herds of sheep constantly moving above and below your tents grazing
while the dogs keep barking the entire night to ward against any danger to the sheep.
The camp at Upper Rehala marks your entry into civilization. A 4 hour trek through the villages of
Rehala and Karla bring you to Jhakol the road head.
The night was pleasant except for the barking dogs. The camp at upper Rhala marks our entry into
the civilization and is the last camp of the Bharadsar lake exploratory trek.
Today we move to Jhakol through the villages Rhala, Karla . It is going to be a 4 hr. walk and is the
last one of this trek. We bid farewell to the Himalayas tomorrow.
My conclusion about this trek is a very short one:
This trek is commercially not viable and if being advertised , it should be made clear that the trek is
not an easy one and is meant for avid trekkers in the Himalayas.
I had a great experience here, especially this being my 1st exploratory trek there was some
responsibility to be shouldered ( writing this diary in my case). The group was amazing. My fellow
trekkers were wonderful people and lot of knowledge was shared among the members of the
group. All I can say is I will always look forward to trekking with these very same people again. (
Prashanth, Sanjeev, Neha, Anjali, Shikar, Sarang, Ronald, Sudipta, Aneesh)
Day 1: Drive from Dehradun to Dhaula (12 hrs drive)
Get off at Dehradun and drive along Mussorie, Purola, Mori and Naitwar to reach Himri. The drivetakes a full 12 hours on winding mountain roads. Watch out for the pine forests after Purola andthe journey by the Tons river after Mori. This is one of the best mountain drives of our country.
Himri is the basecamp for the Bharadsar taal trek. Himri is 3-4 kms before Dhaula – the base campof the Rupin pass trek. Needless to mention, Himri is also on the banks of the Rupin and yourcampsite is nestled amidst the pine and other coniferous trees. Himri gets its name after the Himritrees found abundantly here. Himri is at an altitude of 4820ft.
Day 2 : Trek from Himri to Saaru tal via Bitri village
( 3,000ft 8 kms, 5 hours Himri to Saaru Taal 4,500ft to 7,500 ft)
Photo: Prashanth UC
The destination for the day is a tiny village called as Bitri. Bitri lies up on the mountain ridge and Himri at its base. It is a steep climb of 2700ft to Bitri. The climb starts amidst the pine forest and issteep right from the start. An hour into the climb and 1800ft higher is your first break point Kujraili.
Photo: Prashanth UC
The trail in the forest forks several times at several places. Keep asking the passing villagers for the route, to avoid taking the wrong trail or getting lost. The days trail has almost no water sources. Ensure you leave Himri with 2 litres of water at least. A steady 4 hour uphill climb brings you to Bitri village. The Bitri village houses a little more than 100 families.
Photo: Prashanth UC
Enthusiastic young kidscome running to see who the visitors to their village are. A quick walk through beautiful wooden houses brings you to the center of the village. A school and a temple make the village center. It is an open school with a blackboard in the courtyard.
Photo: Prashanth UC
The village temple is a major attraction of Bitri . It is carved in wood with shields heralding its doors.There is a beautiful pagoda like structure besides the temple. It serves as its storehouse. The templeis built in a typical Kinnaur architecture. Though you are still in Uttarkhand, the influence of Kinnauris strong. Lady trekkers may be disappointed as women are not allowed inside the temple. BirenNag and Mahasu are the 2 idols worshipped here.
Photo: Prashanth UC
Make the shade of the Moruban tree a few meters ahead your lunch point. Your campsite for theday is an hours walk ahead. A large meadow with a lake right in the center – Saaru Taal is your camp for the day. The lake is devoid of water for most months of the year and your nearst water source isa stream almost a kilometer away.
Another interesting sight that can catch your attention are the dogs. All the dogs of the village havemetal strips with spikes as a protection from leopards.
Photo: Prashanth UC
Day 3 : Trek from Saaru Taal to Badang
( 7700ft to 9700ft, 4 hours 7.2 kms )
Wake up to a beautiful morning at Saru taal and get ready for another stiff climb to Badaang. Badang is along the slope of the same mountain but a little higher. It is going to be a moderate trekwith a height gain of over 2200ft over a distance of 7km. An hour’s rocky and steep climb brings youto a small stream which marks your entry into the Deodar /Pine forest. The trail eases out beyond the pine forest.
Photo: Prashanth UC
A stone laden trail gets you through the forest before the last two kms to Badang which again becomes a bit of a climb. Spot the Himalayan langurs and the many vaieties of birds inthe forest.Badaang campsite located on a beautiful meadow surrounded by a beautiful deodar forest. The camp site has a stream flowing right next to it.
Photo: Prashanth UC
Badang to Dhal Dhar
(9700ft to 11,280ft)
Strenuous and long would be the two words to explain the trek from Badang to your 3 rd campsite Dhal Dhar. Start the days trek through the Oak forest just outside your campsite. 3 hours of trekking through the forest with a couple of stiff climbs, brings you closer to the ridge with the forest beginning to thin.
Photo: Ronald Almeida
The forest opens into the meadows and you are about 1000ft higher than Badang. This is Vijay top and a kilo meter ahead is Masundha Dhar. From Masundha Dhar the trail goes as a ridge walk from one mountain ridge to another. 20 mins into the meadows,the views open up beautifully. The massive peaks of Swargarohini, Bandarpoonch and Ralgan appear right in front.
Photo: Prashanth UC
On either side of your trail are Rhododendron shrubs growing in abundance. The ridge walk carries on and on for 4 more hours. The sky in front has a 180 degree panaroma ofmountains set up for you. The trail continuously climbs from one ridge to another with a few small intermittent descents.
Photo: Prashanth UC
The village Liwadi is also in sight. The Dhal Dhar campsite is perched in a narrow valley. The hillopposite the camp site is covered with white Rhododendron bushes . There is a absolutely no water on the entire trail. With more than 5 hours of trek being on ridge top with no tree cover, its easy to feel dehydrated and tired. Carry 2 litres of water from Badang and sip it wisely along the way.
Day 4 : Trek from Dhal Dhar to Dev Bhasa
(11300 ft - 11900 ft)
The trek to Dev Bhasa is a very short one lasting about 2 hours. An initial climb of 500ft in half a kilometer followed by a gentle descent brings you to the campsite.
Photo: Prashanth UC
The campsite is situated on avery small plain adjoining 2 mountains. The area is rocky and you are in for a bumpy night. The water source is about 2kms away from the Dev bhasa campsite. The camp is surrounded by rocky mountains on 3 sides and is quite windy.
Photo: Prashanth UC
Gangothri range can be seen from Dev Bhasa ( alt 11800-11900 ft.) The trail to your destination can be seen from Dev Bhasa.
This day is short and would even out if extended by a couple of km or even 3kms. This would make the final trek to Bhardsaar lake less tedious. However, the climb ahead is streneous and steep. Camping anywhere else before the Bharadsar meadow camp becomes impractical.
Day 5 : Trek from Dev Bhasa to Bharadsar meadow
( 11900 ft - 13120 ft )
The trek from Dev Bhasa to Bharadsar camp is undoubtedly the longest and the toughest trek amongst the 6 days. There are 2 routes to Bharadsar camp. The longer one which goes left, round about the mountain and then comes right. The shorter one is a steep ascent crossing a pass and getting down straight to the Bharadsar campsite.
The terrain from here becomes bouldery. You may get patches of snow too.
Photo: Ronald Almeida
On the longer route, a 4.5 hour climb brings you to the cross over point or the ridge. The Bharadsar camp is 3 hours away from the pass. The path on the other side of the ridge was made of layers of rocks with snow here and there and also gaps in between hence making a risky trail.
Photo: Prashanth UC
Bharadsar lake can be seen from a point well above the Bharadsar campsite. The lake looks partly frozen and dark in color mainly due to the shadow of the rocky mountains surrounding it. A 4 hour trek over a rugged trail takes you to the Bharadsar lake from the camp.
Photo: Prashanth UC
The terrain on the other side of the ridge is extremely rugged and could be even called hostile andthe weather chill to the bones. The Bharadsar meadow campsite has neither water nor firewood. The only source of water is by melting snow. Ensure that you carry sufficient fuel for both cooking and melting snow.
Photo: Prashanth UC
Day 6 : Trek from Bharadsar meadow to Bharadsar lake back to Dev Bhasa ( 13120 ft - 11900 ft)
The Bharadsar lake is not visible from the Bharadsar meadow campsite. You get a distant view ofthe lake from the ridge you came from.
Photo: Prashanth UC
The lake is a couple of hours away from the Bharadsar meadow camp. It’s a trek over rocks and morrains which requires you to step carefully.
Photo: Prashanth UC
From the Bharadsar lake, retrace your steps till the campsite. From the camp, take the straight path to the ridge top. If there is snow, it will be an easy climb up to the ridge which takes an hour.
Photo: Prashanth UC
The descent on the Dev Bhasa side is steep and slippery. The direct ridge route is much shorter than the round about route. Take the direct route to the ridge even on the way up. A 3 hour trek from Bharadsar camp, brings you back to Dev Bhasa.
Day 7 : Dev Bhasa to Upper Rehala
(11900 ft to 8840 Ft )
It’s a steep descent to Upper Rehala from Dev Bhasa. Retrace your path to Dhal Dhar which takes a little more than an hour. From Dhal Dhar, take the trail going to the left of the main trail you came from. The initial trail over loose stones and rocks tend to take a toll on everyone’s knees. An hour into the descent, you get your first stream to fill water and another follows after one more hour. After the initial 2 hours, the trail enters the meadows again and then goes though a beautiful pineforest. The altitude reads 10,800ft. The forest ends and the trail winds through terraced farms growing Rajma and wheat. Pitch your tents in the small patches of green amidst these terrace farms.
Photo: Prashanth UC
The altitude is considerably less at 8,840 ft though it is quite higher than your basecamp at Himri. There are herds of sheep constantly moving above and below your tents grazing while the dogs keep barking the entire night to ward against any danger to the sheep. The camp at Upper Rehala marks your entry into civilization.
Day 8 : Upper Rehala to Sankri via Jhakhol
The day starts with an easy down hill walk. There are streams flowing all along. An hour later comes the village Rehala and then Karla. Another village Bitari follows within an hour. The descent from here is steep. Go down all the way to the Supin river where the Obra river joins it. A small tea shop lies here. From here its a couple of hours uphill walk to Jakhol. Have a vehicle waiting for you at Jakhol and drive to Sankri which is 16 kms away. plan to stay the night at GMVN in Sankri.
Day 9 : Drive from Sankri to Dehradun
Photo: Prashanth UC
My conclusion about this trek is a very short one:This trek is commercially not viable and if being advertised , it should be made clear that the trek isnot an easy one and is meant for avid trekkers in the Himalayas.I had a great experience here, especially this being my 1st exploratory trek there was someresponsibility to be shouldered ( writing this diary in my case). The group was amazing. My fellowtrekkers were wonderful people and lot of knowledge was shared among the members of thegroup. All I can say is I will always look forward to trekking with these very same people again. (Prashanth, Sanjeev, Neha, Anjali, Shikar, Sarang, Ronald, Sudipta, Aneesh)
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