The First ever trek of my life: Trek to Har ki Doon – Ruinsara

          On my first-ever trek, I yearned for novelty. This longing led me to picturesque mountains. Through Google, I found Himalaya Shelter, their site and Instagram page piquing my interest. Among the season’s best treks, Har Ki Dun Trek captured my attention. As a first-timer, I craved a mesmerizing, memorable experience, confirmed by YouTube videos. Discovering Ruinsara Lake’s inclusion through the Himalayan Shelter solidified my decision for the Trek to Har Ki Doon Ruinsara.

Itinerary of Trek to Har ki Dun Ruinsara-

Day 1: Dehradun to Base Camp Sankari

                 So, we finally reached Dehradun and we stayed the night at a hotel. We were very excited for the next morning as our journey and first experience was about to begin. We got a call from Shiv Bhaiya that our vehicle would be at the pickup point at around 7 am. Even after going to bed, my mind was already in imaginings of mountains. In the morning we reached the pickup point where we got in touch with our brother who was our driver for the day to reach the Sankari basecamp.  We saw our fellow trekkers as it was everyone’s first meeting no one was talking to each other everyone was looking at each other with some curiosity, eagerness and shyness in their eyes.  On the trek from Dehradun to Sankari, some of us were Har Ki Doon trekkers and some were from Phulara Ridge.  We were travelling together as our base camp was the same. Finally, our journey started and we were initially going through the roads and traffic of Dehradun.  After travelling for some time, we reached the mountains, I remember the scene when I saw the first mountain we were passing.  The view from that mountain was mesmerizing, the beautiful green forests, the blue clouds, the huge and huge mountains side by side, the birds on the trees chirping to welcome us to their mountains.  I was amazed that such a thing could even exist in this fast and noisy world.  I was enjoying the fresh air from the window, the wonderful views, the rain and every little thing about those mountains.

                The trip was very beautiful through the wholeheartedly welcoming mountains.  We also took a break for lunch mid-way where we chatted a bit with our fellow trekkers.  After 7 hours of travelling, we reached Sankari which was our base camp.  We got down from our vehicles and took our luggage to the general hall where the wonderful staff of Himalaya Shelter were waiting for us.  We had our welcome session, had some snacks, and got our room allocation and dinner instructions.  Then we went to our room, the rooms were very comfortable, big and very clean.  The view from our room was amazing as it directly faced the huge mountains full of trees. 

            We were overjoyed when we saw some snow peaks from our room balcony which was amazing and gave a major Himalayan vibe.  We chilled in our room for a while, chatted with our fellow trekkers, enjoyed the scenery and clicked some very beautiful pictures.  As instructed, we reached the general hall at 8 pm for dinner.  The dinner was very tasty with a beautiful view of the mountains.  We came in contact with a group from Maharashtra, we shared a table with them while having dinner and they were very polite and nice.  We interacted with them and we got to know that our treks were different they were there for the Fulara Ridge trek as they were experienced trekkers so they gave us some tips for first-time trekking.  After finishing our dinner, we had our briefing session for the next day.  We found that Mukesh Rana Bhaiya and Rishi Bhaiya were our two trek leaders. They explained to us the entire trek, the key points required and the level of trekking.  We also interacted with Bachchan Rana Sir as he was there, he was very polite and helpful to us. Then we got some instructions about offloading luggage and timings for the next morning’s trek. Then we took hot water and went to our room as it was very cold there at night. As the journey to the base camp was long around 190 km, we were a bit tired so with the excitement and imagination of the next day we finally fell asleep waiting for the morning of the next day.

Day 2: Trek from Base Camp Sankari to Taluka and Pauni Garaat

                        The next morning, we woke up, got ready and reached the shelter on time.  We had breakfast, we put our luggage in the vehicles as we had to drive to the taluka, said goodbye to the trekkers of the other trek and we left Sankari. The route from Sankari to Taluka was a bit scary but adventurous as the roads were very rough, small and very close to valleys.  The tall pine trees and their arrangement one after the other were beautiful.  Finally, we reached Taluka.  We were now ready with our luggage to start the trek.  We took a group photo there and started walking as instructed by Mukesh Bhaiya.  We saw that there were many trekkers belonging to different groups some of whom were starting the trek and some were finishing the trek.  As soon as I entered the mountains, I felt like a dream come true.

The forests were very peaceful and quiet.  Now we started interacting properly with our co-trekkers.  We found out that a family from Australia was with us till Ruinsara and a family from Mumbai, an uncle who came alone from Punjab and two brothers from Kolkata just for Har Ki Doon.  We also interacted with Mukesh Bhaiya he was so polite, funny and nice that we really enjoyed his company.  Since it was our first trek, we were very excited so we were walking ahead of everyone Mukesh Bhaiya told us that we all have to walk together so we were waiting for everyone from time to time.  Mukesh Bhaiyya told us about the river passing through the valley which was the Supin river.  It is a tributary of the river Yamuna.  The river was so big, wide and full of water.  I still remember that sound of running water which is like any therapy for your mind which fills you with peace. I was wondering when I will reach those beautiful snow peaks to enjoy every little thing about them.  It felt like you were on your way and those white snow peaks were white flags to mark your destination.  But as we say the journey is always more beautiful than the destination.  Gradually we started seeing the beauty of the forest like beautiful birds, colourful flowers, some unique types of trees and plants, beautiful butterflies, small noisy waterfalls and many more.

                We stopped at a tea stall midway for lunch as we got our packed lunch in the morning.  Lunch was amazing sitting on those rocks and surrounded by so many trees and nature.  After finishing our lunch, we started walking again.  After enjoying the trek for about 4-5 hours we finally saw our camp.  The campsite was amazing, it was by the river.  The beautiful Supin River was passing right next to our campsite and the sound of the flowing water was unforgettable.  The campsite was also surrounded by mountains on all sides.  We finally arrived at the campsite and we were given some instructions on how to use the tent, sleeping bags, got our tents and we went to our tents.  The tents were very large, comfortable and well laid out.  It was my first time getting into a tent, sleeping in a sleeping bag on the floor and the feeling was amazing.  As instructed, we went to the common tent for some snacks where we all had a really good time talking to each other.  Then we went to the riverside which was like wow!  I felt like I wanted to stay here forever.  We took some very good pictures, sat there on the rocks and enjoyed the sunset with the calm and peaceful atmosphere.  Then we went to dinner and here for the first time, we had Subhash Bhaiya’s food.  Oh my god, what food it was.  I have never had such delicious food in my entire life.  I felt that I should stay with Subhash Bhaiya for this meal.  Then we sat next to the bonfire as it was very cold and enjoyed our conversation.  Finally, we went to our tent and slept in our sleeping bags.  However, it was my first time in a sleeping bag that first night was very uncomfortable for me but somehow, I managed till morning.

Day 3: Pauni Garaat to Boslo

As informed, we had to leave early that day as the third-day trek was longer compared to other days.  Early in the morning, we woke up to the chirping of birds in the hills and the wonderful sound of flowing water from the Supin River.  We had our breakfast, packed our stuff, got our luggage and we were ready to start.  Rishi Bhaiya was leading us that day instead of Mukesh Bhaiya but we didn’t know the reason at that time.  We left Pauni Garaat and started walking towards Boslo.  On the way, we had Maggi from a tea stall as suggested by Rishi Bhaiya while crossing several bridges over the Supin River.  We also saw some villages, the architecture, culture and lifestyle in the village were very different from the rest of the world.  The villages were built entirely of wood and rock houses, their clothes were so colourful and beautiful, I felt like I had entered another world.  I really want to mention that the people of these mountains are very helpful, polite and open-hearted.  Whenever we ran out of drinking water, we would ask them to refill our bottles at the tea stall and they would do it with a huge smile on their faces even knowing that they have to walk and fetch water from a long distance which is not easy.  Even when walking around with people, we always had a big smile on their faces when we met, some of them saying hi to us from their balconies, some very cute and innocent kids trying to talk to us and it was so sweet.  As we moved towards Boslo, the snow peaks were getting closer and closer to us.  We saw some very beautiful waterfalls, amazing rhododendron flowers which were red and pink in colour and also saw the well-known snow peak of Kedarkantha.  Due to a small misunderstanding on this day, we lost our way and split into two groups as even Rishi Bhaiya is not very experienced.  Later JD Bhaiya and Rishi Bhaiya had a conversation and they managed to get us together.  Later we came to know that Mukesh bhaiya was not well as his leg was injured so he had to leave us due to an emergency and Rishi bhaiya and JD bhaiya were guiding us.  At the next tea stall, we had our lunch and got some energy and started walking again.  I remember everyone’s faces that day it was a very long road and everyone was very tired and that day’s trek was a bit difficult compared to other days.  Finally, somehow dragging ourselves, we reached the campsite which was Boslo.  The campsite was beautiful as it is completely surrounded by snow-capped mountains and very close to the Supin River.  As everyone was tired, we went to our tent and came back refreshed for some snacks.  We met three other trekkers there who had returned from Har Ki Doon.  We had a conversation with him which was good.  As the day was ending, the weather was getting colder.  Rishi Bhaiya arranged fire for all of us and we were blessed.  Then we met our new trek leader Suresh Bhaiya who returned with the three trekkers from Har Ki Doon.  He was going to guide us for our next trekking days.  Then we had our dinner, enjoyed the bonfire with a beautiful view of the starry sky, we also saw the satellite train which was amazing and finally we went to our tent and slept because the day was so tiring.

Day 4: Boslo to Har Ki Doon and back to Boslo

This was the main day of our trek as we were to reach Har Ki Doon today.  The distance was not that much compared to the last day so we decided to go a little late around 7:30-8 am.  We woke up, had our breakfast, said goodbye to the other trekkers who were going down and were at the same campsite with us and started walking.  I was on the trek with my sister, we were so excited for the day so we wore the same T-shirts we bought for the day.

The energy of the trek was very different today as we were finally reaching what we started the trek for. The road from Boslo to Har Ki Doon was very beautiful.  We saw very beautiful little flowers which were full of colours and numerous on both sides of the track.                  Also, on this day we didn’t have to bring all our luggage with us as we were going back to the same campsite so that was a big relief.  We had a very good interaction with Suresh Bhaiya who was very gentle, humble and a beautiful soul.  He gave me and my sister nicknames which were “Fafada and Dhokla” because we are from Gujarat which was very dear to him.  We didn’t have a packed lunch that day but we had a hot lunch after we got back to the campsite.  On the way we stopped at a place that was full of pine trees on the banks of the Supin river, green soft and comfortable grass was full of small yellow flowers and snow mountains all around it.  It was one of the mesmerizing spots of the trek, it was like a dreamland.  After a few minutes of walking, we finally reached the Har Ki Doon spot.

The view I saw from the place was unbelievable to me.  I was truly amazed that nature could create such an amazing place.  The Har Ki Doon Valley was very deep, tree-filled and amazing.  Supin River was flowing through the valley next to the Swargarohini peak.  Swargarohini Peak was indescribable.  It was so huge, full of snow and unbelievable.  It was as if the tops of the cliffs, which looked black for lack of snow, were peeking out from the white sheet of snow and congratulating us on getting there.  Some of our fellow trekkers told us that it is believed that the Pandavas went to heaven through Swargarohini.  We took really cute group pictures, pictures with trek posters and videos to capture that beauty forever on our phones.  We had also heard from previous trekkers about Marinda Lake which was not that far from Har Ki Doon and worth going there.  So, we decided to explore Marinda Lake and started walking again as per Suresh Bhaiya’s instruction.  The road from Har Ki Doon to Marinda Lake was not that long but it was not that easy either.  We encountered a lot of snow on the way we were walking and it was very difficult as the snow was very slippery which made it difficult to walk on.  Finally, we reached Marinda Lake and it was WOW!

The river Supin which was with us all along was released from here by the melting of the snow.  Everything was white there, such that I cannot even describe the sight or the feeling I felt in my heart after seeing it.  I could not believe my eyes for what I was seeing.  And we are lucky enough that soon after reaching Lake Marinda it snowed.  And I felt like I came to heaven, I can’t express that feeling in words.  After enjoying the whole view, the snowfall, and clicking some good pictures, we finally said goodbye to those snowy mountains and we started walking towards our campsite.  I really didn’t want to leave that place. Then following the same route, we reached our campsite where we had our hot lunch as we reached much earlier than other days and went to our tents.  We took a short evening nap and enjoyed the evening till dinner and then went to bed.

Day 5: Trek from Boslo to Devsu Thatch

                               The next morning was a bit emotional and difficult for all of us as we were now to be separated from some of our fellow trekkers.  From here we two and family from Australia were going to Ruinsara Lake while others were going back to Pauni Garat.  After having our breakfast together, we exchanged numbers with each other, said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.  The bond created in those 5 days was amazing, it felt like we were leaving our family members some of our very best friends.  The trek from Boslo to Devsu Thatch was very different from the trek we had done for several days.  The track was passing through dense forests.  I remember that part of the forest which was mesmerizing as both sides of the road were lined with rhododendrons which were full of purple rhododendron flowers and surrounded by a precise and wonderful arrangement of long and huge pine trees very close to each other.

Despite being so densely forested it was very quiet and peaceful.  All we could hear were the sounds of different kinds of birds and the sound of the flowing water of the Tons River flowing a short distance from us.  An Australian family man was a bird lover and used his binoculars to spot birds throughout the trek.  He also showed us some beautiful birds and told us some unique and special facts about them.  He showed us a bird called “Monal” which is the state bird of Uttarakhand.  He told us that this bird is differentiated into male and female.  Male monals are very colourful while females are black to grey.  After walking for a while, we came to the banks of River Tons.  Finally, we saw a huge waterfall and Suresh Bhaiyya told us that our campsite for the night was next to this waterfall and we were very much out for it.  We trekked very fast that day as we got there before our mules and camp.  So, Suresh Bhaiyya asked us to sit in a small cave there and rest for some time.  When we entered the cave, it started raining after a few minutes and we were thanking God for making this cave.  We enjoyed our lunch there in the cave together with the view of the mountains and rain outside.  Finally, after a few minutes, our mules and their camping gear arrived and they reached the campsite, we put on our ponchos and started walking through the cave as it was still raining.  On the way, we crossed a waterfall and finally reached our campsite.  Our mules and camp gear had just arrived so all our tents were not ready yet so we sat inside the common tent for a while.  After some time, all our tents were ready and we went to our tents.  Suresh Bhaiya called us for breakfast after some time and it was onion pakoras with a bonfire as it was very cold due to rain.

The pakoras made by Subhash Bhaiyya in that rainy weather were the best moments of my entire trek.  Then we enjoyed a really good conversation by the bonfire until dinner.  After dinner, we sat in our usual tent and decided to play some games.  So, we played some games with the cards given to us by Suresh Bhaiya and then slept.

Day 6: Devsu Thach to Ruinsara Lake and back to Devsu Thach After breakfast in the morning, we were all ready to explore Ruinsara Lake and come back.  Since this trek is about 4 to 5 km, we decided to go a bit late.  We were happy that we didn’t have to carry all our luggage with us as we were coming back to the same campsite.  We finally left the campsite and started walking towards Ruinsara.  It was a beautiful route full of small waterfalls, along the mighty and huge Tons River and full of adventure.  We were not too tired on this day as it was a short trek compared to our other days.  We had really good conversations with other trekkers who were from other groups.  In fact, most of them were trekkers of the Bali Pass trek as the route of that trek passes through Ruinsara Lake.  After a long time, of trekking and enjoying nature we reached Ruinsara Lake.  The view was amazing as the lake was surrounded by mountains on all sides.  The lake was not completely filled with water because the snow on the peaks of the mountains had not yet completely melted.

                      We sat there on the big rocks and enjoyed the view of the environment and the peace.  We took some good group pictures and selfies with Suresh Bhaiya.  Then we started walking back to our campsite.  We saw the large beautiful rocky flood plains of the Ton River which accompanied us all the way to Ruinsara.  Then following the same route, we reached our campsite where Subhash Bhaiya and JD Bhaiya were waiting for us for lunch.  We took our lunch and went to the tents to freshen up and came back outside to enjoy the bonfire in that chilly weather.  We had a really good conversation.  Again, we got pakoras with hot soup that day.  We captured some good pictures of the waterfall and the beautiful purple rhododendron flowers that were at our campsite.  Then after dinner with very good memories and happiness in our mind, we slept in our tent.

Day 7: Devsu Thatch to Pauni Garaat

                          This was the day we started back to our old campsite.  After having our very good breakfast early in the morning we started walking.  Honestly, the excitement was a bit low now because we weren’t going back to a new place.  Nevertheless, we enjoyed the day a lot.  We saw some very different plants, flowers and birds even going back the same way we came and I felt that no matter how many times you pass the same place, it will continue to show you different colours of its beauty.  Suresh Bhaiya also showed us a very famous mountain peak called “Black Peak” which was beautiful.  There was a very big cliff on the way and Suresh Bhaiyya climbed that cliff without any climbing equipment and jumped to the floor from there and we were all amazed.  This day we were again passing through dense forests and mid-way we changed our route which was not the same route we had come from.

Small hikes and steep trails were really tiring and difficult that day.  As we walked further, we reached a grassland called Devsu Bugayal from where Suresh Bhaiyya showed us some famous peaks which were “Black Peak” and “Bandarapunch Peak”.  He looked so huge, mighty and mysterious.  On the way we met Subhash Bhaiyya and JD Bhaiyya who had come from a different route which was comfortable for mules.  They took us to a tea stall where they asked us to try the local juice which was very sweet.  The juice was tasty and delicious made with some local flowers and fruits.  After a few minutes of walking, we reached the campsite beside the river Supin where our first camp of Tech no.  As we had packed lunch that day we went straight to the tent and came back for breakfast and hot soup.  We met two other groups there who had come straight from Har Ki Doon.  We chatted with her a bit and she was very sweet and nice.  We all had dinner together and played card games in the common tent for a while and then we went to our tents to sleep.

Day 8: Pauni Garat to Base Camp Sankari                                  

On this day we had to follow the same track that we followed on the first day of trekking.  Honestly, I wasn’t that happy to go back to the real world and real life where peace, trees, flowers, forests, rivers, birds and mountains don’t really exist.  However, we really had no choice but to come back to that world so after our breakfast we started walking.  I was looking at some of the places I saw while starting the trek and thinking that one day I was entering this beautiful world and today I was going to exit.  I was thinking that I will really miss this little world where there is only peace and happiness.  I remember a funny incident that happened to me and my sister on this day.  As we were very fast, we were far ahead of our co-trekker and Suresh Bhaiyya was also with him so we reached a place in those forests where there was no one ahead of us and no one behind us for a long time.  And I remember my sister telling me that we were lost in the forest.  Finally, a local guy came up behind us, through which we knew that was the right way to reach the taluk and we breathed a sigh of relief.  On the way very close to the taluka we met Subhash Bhaiya and JD Bhaiya who were returning again after reaching the taluka with a mule and another group.  We bid him goodbye and thanked him for a really good meal and all the services.  Finally, we reached the taluka from where we didn’t have to walk, we had to drive towards Sankari.  There we also got to know that Suresh Bhaiya was also not coming to Sankari with us as he was also going again with another group.  We said goodbye to him and put our luggage in the vehicle, sat in the vehicle and we were ready to go.  It didn’t feel good to leave Suresh Bhai there because the bond he formed with all of us over those many days was truly beautiful.  Finally, we drove the same way and reached Sankari

We met Mukesh Bhaiya again there.  He welcomed us there, congratulated us for completing the trek and we also asked him about his injury.  He then took us to the General Hall for some breakfast where we got our loaded luggage and room allocation.  Then we went to our room freshened up after so many days and went for dinner.  Also, we told Mukesh Bhaiya that your best friend Suresh Bhaiya was with us after you left us.  After dinner, we decided to leave the next morning with another group as they were leaving early and we had to reach Dehradun early.  We said goodbye to our co-trekkers in the night itself as we were to leave early in the morning, exchanged numbers and asked each other to keep in touch and slept.

Day 9: Base Camp Sankari to Dehradun

We woke up early around 5 am and after freshening up had breakfast.  We packed all our stuff into the vehicle as we were about to leave.  We bid farewell to Mukesh Bhai and thanked him for always being polite to us and told him that you and Suresh Bhai are coming to Gujarat and whenever you come tell us the need.  Finally, we left for Dehradun and said goodbye to Sankari.  We were riding the same way we had come.  I thought that I was a complete stranger to these mountains when I came here but after so many days it seemed like they were my very close friends.  As we moved forward, the mountains were receding from us and my heart felt really sad.  Honestly, I didn’t want to go back even though it was my first trek but leaving those mountains brought tears to my eyes.  But as we say we cannot change the reality.  After so many days I felt so many vehicles, people, markets, malls, cafes and noise instead of peace, forests, birds, rivers, flowers and butterflies.  Driver Bhaiyya dropped us from where he picked us up and finally, the trip ended with the Himalayan Shelter which was very beautiful and amazing.

Summary

Wow! What an experience it was. It has been a wonderful journey for me from being a stranger to mountains to becoming my favourite. Himalayan Shelter, is really a very pure and beautiful group of trekkers. The staff members at Himalaya Shelter surprised me and filled me with gratitude that I chose to join them. Whether it was the humble and funny Mukesh bhaiya, the entertaining and respectful Suresh bhaiya, Subhash bhaiya who has magic in his hands, the very helpful and hard-working JD bhaiya and Rishi bhaiya or Prabodh bhaiya who welcomed us on our first day of trek at Sankari, all of them were truly amazing. I also want to mention Shiva Bhaiya who we interacted with before trekking to know all the details he was very calm and very nice to us. We met Bachchan Rana Sir too at Sankari Basecamp and he was full of respect and helpful for us. The trek with Himalaya Shelter was so organic and free-flowing that I loved it in all aspects. Trek to Har ki Doon Ruinsara was one of the best experiences of my life. Really looking forward to having another experience with Himalaya Shelter soon. Thank you, Himalaya Shelter, for this unforgettable experience and what you guys have done for us. Thank you!

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