Dharamshala has always been the go to place when it comes to family vacations and short trips. Most of the people who visit here surely make a visit to the cricket stadium, tea gardens, Mcleodganj market and the monasteries. However, being an adventurer, Dharamshala has been my comfort place when it comes to short treks.
Dharamshala is very easy to approach because of great connectivity and all-weather roads. For backpackers, Dharamkot and Mcleodganj are the places to be at. The hostel culture and activities make you feel very comfortable. Sitting in the lap of the Dhauladhar range, Dharamshala makes the center for a number of treks in the mountain range.
If you have seen Game of Thrones, you would relate to the term “the wall”. Sitting in the stadium and looking at the Dhauladhar range, I call it “the wall” of Kangra district.
Well looking from afar, this “wall” looks like a nightmare to climb. Not many people are aware but this range is the home to several passes which connect the Kangra valley to Chamba valley. Some of these passes include Indrahar Pass, Minkiani Pass, Kundli Pass and many more. Most of these passes are at an altitude of 14,000 ft. These are hard to climb because of the steepness and exposed boulders. This side of the Dhauladhar range offers some of the most famous treks such as Triund trek to the least known “7 Lakes of Dhauladhar” trek. All of these treks have different levels of difficulties depending upon the season. I have trekked this side of Himachal Pradesh more than half a dozen times and have experienced something new in every trek.
I will now take you along on my journey in the Dhauladhar range over these years covering the best treks near Dharamshala.
Triund – Snowline – Laka Glacier – Indrahar Pass Trek
Triund trek needs no introduction because of its popularity in recent years. It has been the first trek for most of us. “Triund” comprises “Tri” and “Und” meaning three peaks. The significance of Triund is that you can see three of the most beautiful peaks of the Dhauladhars from there. These are the Moon Peak, Gauri Junda (also called Dhauladhar Matterhorn), and the Camel Peak. I have been to Triund more than a couple of times in different seasons and I have explored some of the most offbeat spots in that trek.
You will find hundreds of articles on Triund trek but this article won’t be the same!
Triund trek has many starting points, mainly Gallu Devi temple and Bhagsunag waterfall. The Gallu Devi starting point had a forest check post and there was a long queue of trekkers waiting for their turn. The officials checked the backpacks for prohibited items and it took around an hour for our turn to come.
The trek from Bhagsunag waterfall was tough and the trail was continuously ascending. However, there was a third entry trail from Dharamkot village where the motorable road ended. There was no check post nor the climb was steep. It joined the Gallu Devi trail somewhere before the magic view cafe. That trail went up to Triund Top. The view from the top was fascinating because you get to see the Dhauladhar range on one side and Dharamshala from a bird’s view. Camping was allowed for many years on the ridge but it has been banned by the government in recent years due to pollution.
Trekking upto Triund was easy and anyone could do it. But for adventurers like me, the journey doesn’t end there. We planned to go further till the snowline cafe. To reach the snowline cafe, we had to trek two hours through a forest patch and traverse the side face of the mountain. It was not very tough but I did not see many people going there. Once I arrived at the snowline cafe, the view opened up and that sight was the prettiest sight I had seen of the Dhauladhar range.
Our plan was to trek up to the Indrahar Pass so we started our trek from Dharamkot in the morning and made it to Laka Glacier before sunset. Laka glacier was an hour more from the snowline cafe. We camped overnight and the next day started our trek to Lahesh caves which served as a pitstop enroute Indrahar Pass trek.
The trek from Laka glacier onwards was a steep ascent with boulders. We went in April so there was still snow on these boulders which made it even more difficult. We somehow managed to reach Lahesh caves after trekking for an hour. We analysed the situation and realised it was not all safe to move forward in that amount of snow.
Another couple was attempting the Indrahar pass and the woman slipped down from the glacier. She was gliding down the glacier and fortunately saved before hitting a boulder.
We descended back down to Laka glacier and packed our stuff and moved to Snowline cafe. We took a detour from the triund trail and moved towards the Kunal Pathri temple. The Kunal Pathri temple is one of the shakti peeths where it was believed that the skull of Sati had fallen. The main temple is in Dharamshala but the original old temple is said to be on the top of the triund hill.
If you stand on the triund ridge and look towards the top of the same hill, you will see a small white temple. That was the Kunal Pathri temple and it is said to have a stone which is always wet. It took us 45 minutes from the snowline to reach the Kunal Pathri temple and it was such a magnificent sight to look at. After returning to the snowline, we descended all the way back to Dharamkot.
The crux of it is that the Triund trail is not limited only till the Triund ridge, it further goes up to the Indrahar Pass which is a tough trek. Trekkers cross the pass and move towards Chamba on the other side. If someone has to summit the Moon Peak, they have to climb the Indrahar Pass and then summit the peak. Based on the level of the difficulty, you can choose your goal.
Kareri Lake – Minkiani Pass Trek
Another great trek near Dharamshala is the Kareri Lake trek. It is an easy moderate trek which can be completed as a day hike too. I did this trek in the 2018 winter season. The trail has now changed after the 2021 Dharamshala flash floods.
The trek starts from Kareri village which is around 30 km from Dharamshala and usually takes an hour to reach. We reached the Kareri village by taxi at 9:00am in the morning. The trek was not very long but we decided to camp overnight in Rioti near the bridge. The Rioti bridge was almost the midpoint of the trek. There was a lot of snow around the lake in the winters and camping near the lake was not a good idea.
We started from the village and walked on the cemented road till a bridge. The trail moved in the direction of the upstream and we followed it. We trekked till lunch crossing the forests, and little streams till we reached Rioti.
Rioti marked the starting of the snow patches. We hardly found some space between the rocks for our camps but somehow managed. We camped for the night and the temperatures went as low as minus five degrees. The next morning we started at 8:00 am and trekked till Kareri Lake. We reached the lake at 11:00 am. It was fully covered by a thick layer of snow. The dhaba near the lake was also closed and we could clearly see the Minkiani Pass standing in front of us across the lake.
The trek to Kareri Lake is beginner friendly and anyone can complete it. However, I found the trek very densely packed. I did not see any mountain views along the trail. There are very few openings for camping. If you are looking for a difficult adventure, Minkiani Pass trek is the challenge for you. It was a straight climb up from Kareri Lake. There is a very hard sacred trek in the Dhauladhars called “7 Lakes of Dhauladhar”. The trekkers start from Triund, cross the Indrahar Pass and move towards the Minkiani Pass. There are six lakes in between the Indrahar and Minkiani passes namely Lam Dal, Nag Dal, Kaali Dal, Nagara Dal, Chandrakup Dal and Kali Kund. Then they descend from the Minkiani Pass and visit the seventh lake which is the Kareri lake and this marks the end of the trek.
This is considered one of the toughest treks of the Dhauladhar range and takes almost a week to complete.
We then started our descent towards our campsite and further towards the Kareri Village. We completed this trek in a couple of days comfortably. In the summer season, you can take a dip in the lake too.
Thatharna Trek – Kundli Pass Trek
Thatharna is a new trek that came into the limelight just a handful of years ago. It is an offbeat trekking destination nestled in the Dhauladhar range near Dharamshala. It is a relatively easy to moderate trek, making it suitable for beginners as well as experienced trekkers. The trail takes you through lush green forests, meadows, and breathtaking views of the Kangra Valley and the mighty snow-clad peaks of the Himalayas. The trek starts from Kharota village, about 20 km from Dharamshala, and takes around 4-6 hours to reach the Thatharna top, sitting at an altitude of 8,900 feet. The starting point for this trek is Kharota village.
I completed this trek in February 2021. From Dharamshala, we took a shared Sumo to Khanyara which takes 20 minutes to reach. From khanyara, we took a private taxi all the way to Kharota village. It took another 15 minutes. We started our trek at 11:00 am. The trail was not very clear as it was a newly found trek and not many people knew about this. The trail was moderately steep with some sections of slate.
People usually don’t know that Khanyara is famous for its slate mines. The trail passed through dense pine and oak forests, rocky patches, and open meadows, making it an exciting mix of terrain. We reached the Thartharana top by 3:00 pm and we were very surprised by the change in landscape. There was a thick Rhododendron forest before the top and it suddenly ended before the summit. On one side, I could see the Dharamshala lights in the valley, the other side I could spot the Triund top right across me. The Dhauladhar range was visible to me from a different angle. I could see the majestic Kundli Pass which is one of the most difficult passes to climb in the Dhauladhar range right in front of me. Gauri Junda was relatively closer to me than Triund and we could also witness the Talang Pass on the right side.
Thatharna trek was much better than Triund because we could camp on the top with the best possible views. The trails were unmarked giving us a sense of adventure and thrill. The views are much sharper. Thatharna is still not in news and thus there is negibile crowd on this trail. We had the whole top to us. We camped overnight and saw a great sunrise the next morning. The descent took almost 1.5 hours till Kharota and soon we were back in Dharamshala. If someone wants to take up extreme adventure, Kundli Pass can be attempted by them. It is an unforgiving pass at 4550m and completely steep.
Conclusion
There are multiple treks available near Dharamshala with varying difficulty levels. The season plays a vital role in altering the difficulty level of a trek. Triund in summers is much easier than in winters and monsoons. The higher passes should not be climbed in monsoons and winters. There may be other hikes and treks too but I have listed the major approachable areas which are safe and can be attempted for a good span of time.
Next Read: Solang Valley’s Best Treasure – Patalsu Peak
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