Firsthand experience, narrated by Ayan Das
What a wonderful and refreshing feeling to pen down my experience of Kuari Pass trek! If you want to plan your first trek in the Himalayas, then you can prioritise the Kuari Pass trek in your list, where marvellous views of the Eastern Himalayan peaks welcome you with open arms.
Kuari Pass, 3815m/ 12516ft, located in the Garhwal Himalayas of Chamoli District, Uttarakhand is one of the best hiking routes if you are planning to step into trekking in the Himalaya for the first time. In 1905, Lord Curzon crossed the Kuari Pass, also referred as ‘Kumari’ Pass, which means ‘Door-way.’
The Kuari Pass trek is highly varied and scenic which provides a wide panoramic view of the eastern Himalayan peaks of Nandadevi(7816m), Kamet(7756m), Trisul(7120m), Dunagiri(7066m), Hathi Parbat(6727m), Ghori Parbat, Mana(7272m), Mukut(7242m), Nilgiri(6474m), Nilkantha(6596m), Saf Minal(6911m), and a small portion of the Changabang top(6864m). The trek passes through Pristine Rhododendron, oak and deodar forests.
We, a team of 10 from Himapathik, a mountaineering club from Kolkata started in October and reached Haridwar the next day via Doon Express. We stayed at Kalikamli Dharamshala at Haridwar and planned our ration for the next 7 days. The very next morning we started for Joshimath (1875m/ 6150ft) and travelled via the Panch (five) Prayags – Devprayag, Rudraprayag, Karnaprayag, Nandaprayag and Vishnuprayag. We planned to start the next day from Auli and crossing some alluring pastures and meadows, we had pitched our tents beside the ITBP camp at Garson Bugyal from where there was a outstanding views of Hathi Parbat, Ghori Parbat, Trisul, Chaukhamba group of peaks and Nanda Devi.
The next morning, we hiked up to a gradual slope viewing the stupendous Nanda Devi and after 4 hours, reached Tali Lake, a guitar shaped natural lake at an altitude of 3152m. At that spot a big foreign team was camping at that place, hence we had to choose alternative fresh camping area. We walked for another half an hour and camped at a side, covered with deodar trees and a water source very nearby.
That day we went for an acclimatisation walk for the next days’ hike to cope up with the temperature and altitude. So the next day’s hike was comparatively easy for us to walk through the oak forests and Bhojpatra trees and after walking for an hour and two, we reached our next site at Khullara where we found a lot of skulls and bone parts of mountain goats and other animals. Dunagiri was a dominant peak as viewed from the Khullara campsite. The changing of colours on the west face of Dunagiri was an appealing scene to cherish with. That day after having our dinner, we slept early as the next day we had to reach the Kuari Pass before the sunrise.
We started at 02:00hrs, litting up our head torches and after walking for 1.30-2hrs through a gradual steep slope at below 0° temperature, reached the pass before the sunrise as planned. There was a temple situated on the foothills of Pangarchulha Peak where we offered prayers. Finally the first sunrays fell on the summit of Dunagiri as viewed from the Kuari Pass.
Gradually, the rays spread over all the peaks of Eastern Himalaya, providing a superb sight. There we made tea at below 0° temperature on a kit which was carried by our trek leader. His dream was to have tea at the Kuari Pass viewing the Eastern Himalayan peaks.
We returned to Khullara after spending some hours on the pass and stayed there. The next day we descended via Dhak village and reached Joshimath and the day after we started for Haridwar from where we boarded Doon Express and reached Kolkata the day next.
