Himalaya Trekking: Everything you need to know about Hampta Pass

Himalaya Trekking

“Some say that I’ve changed after my trek in the Himalayas, others say I’ve grown… however, I believe that I have rediscovered myself.” Himalaya Trekking is life changing experience, and everyone should go at least once in their life.

On the brink of completion of five years of law school, my best friend (and roommate) and I decided that graduation was only secondary – what we really needed was a trip, an adventure. What came naturally to our mind after that decision was a trip to the snowy mountains of Himachal Pradesh, possibly a trek in Manali? Of course, there were several obstacles that followed right after; we’ve never even been to Manali before, let alone trek in the mountains; and what about our complete lack of physical fitness? How would we survive trekking in the high elevation of the Himalyas?; and of course, the elephant in the room – as students who have just graduated, we naturally had no savings or parents willing to bear the cost of extravagant trekking trips.

A quick Google search led us to the Hampta Pass trek. The trek is considered to be one of the easier ones undertaken by beginners and nature lovers. The highest point of the Hampta trek is at 14,035 feet – which sounds like a lot, but is actually one of the lowest trekking point packages offered in the Himalayas. Make no mistake though, low or not – if you go in the right season, you are sure to come across a beautiful, enchanting expanse of snow! It sounded like the perfect answer to all our problems.

Life changing Experience on Himalaya Trekking at Hampta Pass, Manali

Thus began our planning phase. For me, the most heart thumping stage of a trip is the planning. The sheer joy of looking for the right kind of gear, the right kind of clothes, the tickets which need to be booked, the route map, all set my soul singing. The tiniest mention of the magic words – trekking, snow, Himalayas – would get my imagination going. Of course, BanBanjara, our tour company, took care of most of that planning for us, but we still had a lot to look into.

Our primary concern was what is the best time to go for trekking in Himachal, especially the Hampta trek? The trek is open for the months of June – through July, August and September – to early October. Besides keeping our personal schedules in mind, we had various other factors to consider – which season has just the right amount of snow?; what if it rains?; what is the ideal temperature for trekking in the Himachal?; and most importantly, the Chandratal Lake is only accessible in certain months. The weather towards the end of June seemed ideal for us – the glowing snow and the clear, glittering waters of the Chandratal Lake were inviting enough to quell all further questions.

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The next question that came to mind was – how do we get there? We tried to locate Hampta pass, determine the distance of Hampta Pass from Delhi, Manali and the like, to determine what would be a sane beginning point for the trip. It was at this stage that BanBanjara proved its mettle. Being two girls on a tight budget, we couldn’t travel very far on our own and this is where the customization offered by them came handy. This was the first show of their constant and instantaneous response to our needs. We had been in touch with their representative, and she understood our apprehension immediately – our pickup point was adjusted to our comfort, and our travel to the point was included within the entire package at great prices! This was a great help in our major concern of the overall Hampta Pass trek package.

The trip began with the travel to Jobra. We were giggling with excitement throughout the two hour ride, unable to take our eyes off of the buildings of Manali – growing smaller and smaller in size the further up we went, until finally we could see them no more. After the ride, we walked to the Jobra base camp through a luscious forest which had the clean smell of pine and spruce pervading it. Here, we had a short break and then were told to get ready for the trek. Before embarking, we were given precise instructions by the trek leader: Do not skip meals, make sure your medi-kit is ready, inform immediately in case of the slightest signs of any breathing problems, etc. Then began the trek to Jwara. It was at this point that the overwhelming sensation of actually being there hit us like a wave. We were on our way!

Hope you got everything that you need to know about Himalaya Trekking at Hampta Pass, Manali

The journey was awarding and the view breathtaking. We were extremely glad and thanked the stroke of luck which put the idea of Himalaya trekking in our minds. I would thoroughly recommend that everyone should go for a trek in the Himalaya at least once in their lives. It is an experience that will stay with me for all my life.

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