Trekking

Kheerganga Trek: The Milky Way To A Water World

You know something, there are days when you really feel like running away from everything. You just want to be alone and by yourself or go somewhere where nobody knows you. Somewhere you can breathe easy in silence and where there is no other sound to hear but that of nature.

Well, last week I felt exactly the same way when my boss stood behind my office desk, freaking out and yelling at me like for eternity while trying to make a mountain out of a molehill.

I looked at him and thought to myself “It’s time to go buddy.”

Manikaran to Barshaini

Early next morning I was heading for Kullu aka the valley of the gods in Himachal Pradesh. I wanted to first reach the Parvati valley and then trek up to Kheerganga. I spent the night at a motel near Kasol, another beautiful place on way from Bhunter to Manikaran that doesn’t require any introduction.

Next morning I took a bus first to Manikaran, a place of pilgrimage for Sikhs and a mine for hot water springs, and from here another one to Barshaini, a small place around 20 kms from Manikaran from where the trek starts.

It was my second trip to Kheerganga after say around four years and Barshaini wore a completely different look. There is this big dam coming up on Parvati river here and when I checked, locals informed me that the construction work is almost complete.

Once this dam gets going, Parvati river would almost dry up beyond this point towards Manikaran and Bhuntar. Damn! Makes me kinda feel really sad when I come to think of it.

Back to the ground.

Trek to Kheerganga

The trek to Kheerganga is one of the most loved ones as a comparatively mild effort of four to five hours (depends on how fast or slow you are while trekking) takes you straight into the charming forests of Kheerganga where the only sound you hear is that of the white water.

I’ll tell you something here, if you are really into waterfalls and love to see the water gushing down big rocks of a mountain, you must trek up to Kheerganga.

I saw at least over half-a-dozen of them on my way. Even the place has been named Kheerganga because of the hot water springs up there and the word can be roughly translated as ‘the water as milky white as Kheer (a sweet dish)’ or simply ‘white water’.

Man! There is so much of water here because of this place’s closeness to the mountain glaciers you can see on your way up.

The sun was shining bright as I walked in the deep forests and watched rays filtering though the Deodar trees. With no one around and no sound other than that of the mighty Parvati river piercing its way down, It was kinda mesmerizing walking alone in that light.

Kheerganga

All my way up, the sound of water –- either from a waterfall or the Parvati river – never left me. It was like music to my ears. There were some steep stretches, a couple of meadows where I sat down and had a little chat with these shepherds, who had travelled on foot all the way from Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh with their flocks of sheep. I kinda really admire these folks. They are like true trekkers, who walk to the mountains with their sheep in search of the grasslands in summers and in winters walk back home. Always on the move, come rain or sun.

Anyway, I reached Kheerganga around noon after trekking for over four hours and by this time the sun had disappeared behind clouds.

In kheerganga, the locals have pitched tents where you can stay and also can get food here, though priced unreasonably high. There is a temple right at the top and adjacent to it are the hot water springs where you can bathe.

I spent a couple of hours here, took a walk beyond Kheerganga on a path that leads to Pin Parvati Pass, a kinda difficult trek, lied down under a tree in the forest near the Parvati river and closed my eyes. I was like tired, and most of my thoughts had vanished. Finally, I was all alone, by myself and at peace. And at that moment, I realized what I had run away from.

And then suddenly, it started raining. I jumped up, put on my backpack and ran for cover, laughing out loud.

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