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Lone Trek to KhirGanga

An urge to break away from the fetters of materialism and concrete civilisation and to experience tranquillity prompted me to go on a trek to KhirGanga in Himachal Pradesh. Soon after the calling, I scheduled a three-day trip, 3-5th April, ‘into the wild’. With a thought to set out and explore, start every day with the faintest outline of an agenda, discover things never seen before and make new friends, I set out on an adventure unknown. Since the plan was sudden, I couldn’t ask any of my friends to come along.

Lone Trek to KhirGanga

My bus started at 7 pm on the 2nd of April from Majnu Ka Tila, Delhi. While inside the bus, I started chatting to a guy who sat next. The gentleman owned a hotel in Manali and had his reservations against a lone trek in Manali. We had a quick bite in Bhuntar around 9 in the morning. Without wasting much time, I began for Barshaini on a local bus. It was raining all the way and the bus took us till Manikaran. For the journey ahead, I took a shared with an Austrian and a French guy and reached Barshaini around noon. After having a delightful cup of tea at Barshaini, I started walking towards Tosh. The walk to Tosh was a pleasant 2 km stretch next to hills. Next morning, I headed towards Pulga from where I had a trek to KhirGanga.

Red Bull

I just had one thought, not to think much and keep walking watching the ground, instead of worrying about the distance. As the quote says, “Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” As I started, I met a few people from Gurgaon who were carrying a full camping kit with them. Casual chat started and soon we were friends. We kept walking, taking quick halts and enjoying nature and tea. On the way, there were few treacherous snow patches where an error could lead to death, so I had to be careful Paving my way. I reached KhirGanga around 3, with the help of Snickers and Red Bull.

KhirGanga Trek

Having taken rest and discovering a place to set up the camp, we commenced towards the Hot water springs, the ultimate aim of the trek. It was a small pool with hot water coming out from somewhere in the mountains. After a quick dip in the pool, we started to move down towards a restaurant for dinner. Against expectations, the restaurant was well equipped, with electricity and exceptional music. After dinner, we left for the tent to get a much-needed nap. After reaching the camp, we started a fire to keep ourselves warm, and before you know, it started snowing. I was witnessing snowfall for the first time, and the encounter was surreal. After enjoying the snowfall for an hour, we went inside the tents to arrange for our bedding and sleep.

Lone Trek to KhirGanga

After a chilling night, I woke up to an equally freezing morning. After freshening up, I started to get down towards Bhuntar from where I had to catch a bus at 6 pm. With a pleasant feeling and a positive vibe, I kept walking while guiding people trekking towards KhirGanga. After reaching Barshaini, I took a cab to Bhuntar and also took a break to visit Gurudwara Manikaran Sahib at Manikaran. I reached Bhuntar at 4 pm and waited for the bus till 6 pm.

Mountain Dog

During the entire trip, I got motivation from being all by myself in the midst of nature, away from the city, having time for introspection and self-discovery while also interacting with strangers and making new friends.

Expense = INR 6000 (Approx.)

One Comment

  1. Kiara Kiara July 19, 2020

    This sounds so thrilling and fun.. thanks for sharing your experience 🙂 🙂 🙂 it takes too much guts for solo travelling and once you get the flavour of it …no going back.

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