The week long Rupin Pass Trek in Himachal Pradesh offers changing scenery almost on a half day basis. It boasts of being among the top 10 Indian Treks. Full of adventure and surprises, this hike keeps you anticipating what follows next.
This is a moderately difficult trek. The route is patched with scree, snow, swampy ground, moraines, sharp ascent, and descent. To enjoy the amazing sights, you need to be an experienced trekker with good cardiac stamina. Else, the terrain can take a physical and mental toll on you.
The journey begins from Dhaula Village (5,100 ft.) in Uttarakhand and ends at Sangla Kanda Village (8,900 ft.) in Himachal Pradesh. Here are some spectaculars you will find in your journey in the order of beginning to end:
River Rupin: Gushing over the bed of rocks and boulders, this beautiful river stays with you near or far until the Upper Waterfall Camp on day six. As you trek towards Sewa Village on day two, just around half an hour out of Dhaula, you see a full stretch of River Rupin flowing below in the green valley. Looking down from that height it makes for a picture perfect scenery. The river culminates in the legendary, high-altitude 3-fold Rupin waterfall.
Sewa Temple: Sewa owes its identity to an ancient Lord Shiva Temple, which is opened just once in 12 years. This wooden temple’s architecture has typical Kinnaur influence. The double storied building is like a clock tower or light house in shape with slanting mountain style thatched slope top. It stands tall amidst wheat fields and apple orchards. You fix your first camp at this very fascinating Sewa village (6,300 ft.).
The 2 States: On day three en route to Jhaka, you cross an old log bridge over a fast flowing Rupin stream. And you won’t believe that in traversing that bridge, you crossed from Uttarakhand to Himachal Pradesh. Yes! This dilapidated wooden bridge connects the two states!
Hanging Village: The same day you climb to the Hanging Village of Jhaka (8,700 ft.). A difficult day, but totally worth it. Towards the end of the hike you pass through thick forest of deodar and walnut. As you hike further you will see village huts dotted over the slope’s edge in an incline. The whole hamlet looks suspended on the hill side and so the name. Even the guest houses and home stays have balconies resting at the border of the cliffs!
Forests: Days 2-4 of the trek involve cruising through beautiful thick forests of Pine, Deodar, Fir, and Walnut with over 100 foot-tall trees. Some woods even host you with several streams and waterfalls.
Buras Kandi and Saruwas Thatch (11,150 ft.) Meadows: On day four, as you set out for Saruwas Thatch, past Buras Kandi, you reach an incredible meadow with multi-colored rhododendrons adding vibrancy against the green mountains. River Rupin flows nearby. As you reach the Saruwas Thatch Camp you are standing again among velvety green, majestic mountains on lush grassland with yellow wild flowers contrasting it.
Rupin Waterfall: Rupin Waterfall is spotted in May-June and in September-October. That’s also the time to trek in the region. The waterfall thunderously flows from a height of over 1,500 ft. in three levels according to visibility – upper, middle, and lower. You get the first glimpse of lower waterfall on day five as you trek for Dhanderas Thatch Camp (11, 680 ft.). On day six, you climb to Upper Waterfall Camp (13,120 ft.) and you see a massive Rupin River falling down in full force as a raging waterfall from the middle of the lush green grassy mountain slopes. The view is just spectacular!
Glacial Valley Meadow: See the beautiful glacial valley meadows on day four when hiking for Saruwas Thatch.
Snow: This trek gives you snow in full measure. On day five, you negotiate over natural snow bridges when heading for lower waterfall at Dhanderas Thatch Camp! Stretched through the valley, the frozen rivers help you cross the flowing river underneath. You also see a lot of snow slopes here. And the sense of adventure that brought you here in the first place pulls you in to glide down them. Cross three waterfalls to reach very splendid and amazing snow fields on day six at the Upper Waterfall Camp. They are vast stretches of snow with several river streams passively running across the white basin. Black mountains around add to the contrast.
Rupin Pass (15,380 ft.): You traverse through Rupin Pass Gully to reach Rupin Pass. The climb and deep snow make the stretch arduous as well as interesting. You get to spend just 15-20 minutes at the saddle shaped Pass, from where you see massive mountains all around, including Dhauladhar and Kinnaur Kailash Ranges. You come sliding down from the Pass to descend, which is pure unadulterated fun.
Kinnaur Kailash Range: On the last day of the trek (day eight), you lose height quickly due to steep descent. On your way down, you see Kinnaur Kailash Range standing tall in front of you. The trek ends as you reach Sangla Kanda.
Note: All the photographs in this article are copyright of Bikat Adventures and used here with their explicit permission.
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