Karthani Valley Trek – Another First Experience

In India, many states are known for their trekking trails. The most famous ones are Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, and Sikkim. They all offer breathtakingly gorgeous views.

I went on my first ever hike to Karthani Valley in Himachal Pradesh. Many of you might have not heard of it but I am pretty sure you know about Triund trek. This valley comes on your way to Triund hill.

Since it was my first time on a trek and was quite unsure if I would be able to complete it, I decided to choose one which was not much longer. And I felt I could complete.

About Karthani Valley Trek

Distance covered – 6.9 km (1 side)
Duration – 4 to 5 hours

Where to Start

To embark on my first trek to Karthani, we started from the Bhagsu market. To be more precise, the trek starts from Bhagsunag waterfall. This waterfall is very famous among tourists. If you visit Dharamshala, you will definitely have this place as one of the must-go places.

I booked a trekking guide from Saffarnama (Yes, the same team who organized my first paragliding experience). I had three of my friends accompanying me, of which only one had extensive experience in trekking. 

So, we five of us met at the Dharamshala market, bought some rain covers (it started drizzling), decided how to fit our sleeping bags and tent into our bags, and started on our journey.

The Trek

For me, the trek already started at Bhagsu market. This lockdown has made me a very unfit and lazy person. Even though I try to exercise, I somehow go back to my old habits and just eat and laze around. 

But it’s not my fault that I felt exhausted after a mere 2 minutes. The way to Bhagsunag waterfall is a lot many steps. Steep steps. At that too for a stretch of 1 km. Amit, our trek guide, came to me and asked if I would actually be able to go on. 

And I coolly said, “Yeah! Why not?”

We kept on going, with me whining constantly and stopping for a break every 10 minutes. Thankfully I was not the only one being so pathetic at this. My other 2 friends for whom this was their first trek too, were in the same boat as me.

The path varies from time to time. Initially, it feels like walking in a dense forest. Then suddenly you will see rocks and small steps all over. But the toughest path comes at the end, when there is no actual path but feels like just climbing the mountain.

During the whole trek, I came upon 4-5 shops, offering packaged food (biscuits and snacks), cooked food (mostly Maggi, egg, and bread), and beverages (tea and coffee). Keep in mind that the cost of anything in these shops is 4-5 times from usual. 

There is another campsite that comes halfway through the Karthani trek. I was so tempted to camp right then and there. But, it kind of made me feel that I would fail at something. Which I definitely did not want to happen.

So, I went on.

Karthani Valley Camp

The last few minutes were so thrilling. I could see the top and my friends shouting to tell me how wonderful the view is from there (yeah, I was the last one to reach). And when I reached there, all I could think was – “This is worth all the pain.”

Reaching Karthani

The snow-capped mountains were so amazing to watch. With the sun already down, we could not see much clearly but still took our sweet time to sit right there at the top and savor the moment.

We reached around 6:30 PM and it was already dark by the time we decided to set our camp. We went up the hill where all the other people have camped. 

But the atmosphere was not appealing to us. Everyone had their speakers with Punjabi songs on. We wanted to enjoy our time in peace. We went a bit high up and found a good enough place to set camp.

It was so dark that we had to use our phone lights to set the camps. It was all set within 10 minutes, thanks to Amit and all of us using our own brains to manage it. 

We asked if we could light a fire as it was so chilly here (it was Feb mid-time). Our guide quickly gathered some wood, chopped them up, and helped light it up. Oh, the warmth!

We all sat around the fire, had a few drinks to warm ourselves, and enjoyed the wonderful sky filled with stars. 

I have always lived in cities where you will not find a clear sky. But here!! Oh, the view. Wish I could have captured it. I tried my best to get a good image but I am not that good at photography. 

Dinner Time

Soon it was time for dinner. The service here allows you to have as much served as you want for a fixed price. Tonight’s dinner was comfort food for all- Dal Chawal. But we also had chicken prepared for us. We brought the meat from the market and gave it to our guide, who had it cooked.

That was one hell of a good chicken curry. We all had our fill and returned to our camp. And finally called it a day.

We rolled out our sleeping bags, tucked ourselves in, and drifted off to sleep.

The Next Morning

Aiming to see the sunrise, I woke up at around 5 AM. But it took me 20-30 minutes to decide whether to step out of the tent or not. It was so damn chilly. Since I was alone in my tent, it took a lot more time for me to get out, as no one was me to kick me out of there.

The moment I stepped out, for a split second I thought I saw snow. My heart literally skipped a beat at that view. But soon I realized it was frozen dew. And it was as beautiful as snow.

Here at Karthani, a washroom available only for women. Men need to do their “business” in the open. The upper hills were filled with guys. Trying to give them some privacy and not make them feel awkward, I simply sat facing the far away hills (opposite direction) and just enjoyed the sunrise and the cool breeze.

Breakfast was again one of my favorites- Poori with Aloo ki sabzi. Again, eat as much as you want. No rok-tok. But it was a long wait for the next poori. They were making them fresh so we had to wait for our turn.

After a hearty meal, we started to pack our stuff, thanked the team who were there, and started on our way back.

On our way back

Walking down was a bit easier and faster as well. Maybe because the slope is downwards or that my legs had enough exercise the day before. I was able to enjoy the view more as I was not feeling that tired.

We completed our trek down in just 2 hours.

Final Verdict

Even though I am a beach person, this trek had me fall in love with mountains. Somehow it was a life-changing experience (not exaggerating). And I have been craving to go on another trek.

Money spent 

• Saffarnama service (Guide, tent, sleeping bag, and food at camp) – INR 1200
• Food I had at various stops – INR 530 

So just a total of approx INR 1800, I had it all covered.

Tips

• Always carry a rain cover. You never know when the weather here might change.
• Have enough cash to pay for essentials on the way.
• Carry a few protein bars. I carried snickers and bananas.
• Plan to reach before sunset.