Thursday, December 21, 2006

Bara Bhangal Trek - 8-17 Oct 2006:

It all began on a rainy afternoon, sometime in June. I had been asking Sandeep about our next Himalayan Trekking trip and as usual he was procrastinating. Almost seven months had passed since our last tryst with the Himalayas and it was time to start preparing for the next adventure. From our experience with the Kuari Pass trek we knew that it would take us about three to four months of preparation before we were ready to hit the mountains. But then again aren’t the actual preparation for a trek, the planning, map reading, researching the available resources equally enthralling. Last minute planner as he is, it was almost August when Sandeep and I finally decided on this years trek.

So exactly after a year we are back in the Himalayas, again seeking the feeling of a great adventure. This time we are in the beautiful state of Himachal Pradesh. After talking to various people and doing some research ourselves we decided to do the Bara Bhangal trek. We decided to go with Kaushal Desai who runs a trekking agency out of Manali. Kaushal himself had suggested this trek as an option initially. Although a lot of fellow trekkers suggested that the time was not right, we decided to brave it out. And boy! We did brave it out in the end.

I had never heard of this trek before but Sandeep was well aware of this trek. The Lonely Planet rates this trek as a “Demanding” trek. After we decided on this trek, I started reading about this trek and gathering more information. The more I read and the more I knew, I began to wonder if mid October was indeed a good time to do the trek. However, as I said earlier, we decided to rough it out and I was pretty sure this time again that we were going to have some real adventure at hand.

My vacation started before Sandeep’s, and in a very luxurious manner I must say. I stayed at a five star in Delhi. I started for Delhi on 4th Oct since I wanted to visit the US embassy for my visa. Sandeep started on the 6th. As usual, we met at Anju Maushi’s place. The day when Sandeep reached Anju Maushi’s place, Chingu didn’t want to go to school and a day before when Sandeep was in Bangalore she asked him to call her mother and tell her it would be alright if Chingu skips her classes for the day. Some trick!

For the fear of repeating myself, I don’t want to say it, but then again they don’t say it for nothing, Anju Maushi is the greatest cook in the world. We ate and then took a break and then we ate again. In between the meals, during the break, we ate again.
And then as usual we gossiped till late in the night and played cards. Sandeep and Chingu showed me some trick with the playing cards and made some real fun.

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5 comments:

Unknown said...

hi, i am impressed by your adventures. wow its great i am regular visitor of manali wildlife sanctuary. you are not that brave.........your trek tour doesnt thril me 1%.
you know why..?
1. you dont go at your own(without guide).
2. Have you caught bear digging ground there, no ? right its not possible untill u trek without crowd & with silence.

chaitanya said...

Hello,

I am great fan of your couple, its very interesting and inspiring to see that in spite of working individuals you are taking out time to enjoy the nature.Last but not least you are a great writer.

I am also a avid trekker,love to trek especially in the Himalayas.After reading your travelogue i decided to go for bara bhangal trek this 18th.

Keep Going and Happy Trekking,
Chaitanya.

chaitanya said...

Can u send me the details of the agency/people who organized the trek for you and their fares???

Also what is the recommended Travel Kit and Baggage required for this trek.

My E-mail is: chaitanya.mgit@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Please send me details of the agency/people who organized the trek.
Also would you recommend them or anyother team.I am planning the same trek.
Thank you
lathishc@gmail.com

Anonymous said...
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