Hampta Pass Trek
About Hampta Pass Trek
Hampta Pass is one of the famous trek in the state of Himachal Pradesh of India. Hampta Pass considers as a moderate trek and a trekker with good fitness can complete this trek without any hurdle. Hampta Pass works like a bridge between Kullu Valley and Spiti Valley. Trek starts from lush green Kullu Valley and ends at semi barren land of Lahaul Valley.
Starting point of Hampta Pass trek is Jobra – few kilometers away from Manali, A hour’s drive can you to the that point. Before reaching Chikka you can enjoy noodles and tea in the middle of the way. With sun set, you can observe or listen the different sounds like flowing water, fox, wind and silence. Balu ka Ghera is the second day campsite which is 10 km away from chikka. At some points, you need to take out your shoes to cross some water streams. You can easily see the change of colour on land from green to brown. Trail looks more beautiful in the month of august or at the time of monsoon because flowers start blooming and animal came out for grazing the green grass.
Location
Hampta Pass Trek is situated in the Pir Panjal range in the Himalayas. It is one of the walking highway between Lahaul Valley and Kullu valley. Altitude of Hampta pass is 4270 m (14009 feet).
Distance
Hampta Pass trek distance is just 26 km but it has variety of difficulties like Water streams which is difficult to cross because the water flows in that streams come from glacier and some steep patches to climb. Manali is the point where trek starts and end, distance between Delhi and Manali is approx 536 km.
How to reach
All three options are open to reach Manali
By Air: The nearest airport is Bhuntar in Kullu. one can fly from New Delhi to Bhuntar and then take a taxi from there to reach Manali. Distance between Bhuntar to Manali is 50 km (Approx)
By Train: Jogindar Nagar is the nearest railway station from Manacle, which is situated at a distance of 166kms. The other convenient rail heads are at Chandigarh, Ambala and Pathankot.
By Bus: This is best and most convenient option to reach Manali. You can take overnight volvo AC buses or non AC buses to Manali from Janpath , Kashmiri Gate , R K Ashram Metro Station and Majnu ka Tilla (New Delhi).
Maximum Altitude
Trail gain the maximum height of 14009 feet.
Level of trek
Trail comes between easy and moderate. As day 1 is so easy but day 2 is little difficult because of long distance trekking.
Region
Hampta pass is the part of Pir Panjal Range of Himalayas, It covers Kullu Valley and Spiti Valley.
Duration
5 Nights/ 6 Days
Map of Hampta Pass Trek
Mobile Connectivity & ATM
Mobile connectivity is zero on this trek beyond Pirni, so do important call before Pirni. Manali is the best point to withdraw money from ATM, but you forget to withdraw then do at Pirni.
Activity
Trekking: Trekking is one of the way to explore unexplored Himalayas.
Photography: If somebody forget to carry camera on Hampta pass trail it means he made a biggest mistake because trail a.
Camping: Stay under the stars, you can stay in the guest house but camping is more famous.
Itinerary
Day 01: Arrive at Manali
Distance: 536 KMs (Delhi to Manali)
Altitude: Manali (6400 ft)
Time Take: 10 hours approx. (Delhi to Manali)
Activity level: Easy
If you take an overnight bus from Delhi then you can reach Manali in the morning around 9:00 am. Move to your hotel and check in, you can explore mall road as the weather is so amazing there or you can go to Solang Valley which is green in summers but if you want to enjoy your day with ice ball and want to through on your friends the move to Rohtang, which is 50 kms far from Manali. You have so many options to enjoy the way you want, some can spend their evening beside river and can recall their whole life or can talk to themselves. Mountains are beautiful so it makes every to remind beautiful time of life. Day is yours, explore the way you want.
Day 02: Manali to Jobra and trek to Chikka
Distance: 3 KMs (Manali to Jobra)
Altitude: 9800 feet to 11075 feet
Activity level: Easy
Rani river is the symbol of starting point of the trek, Drive to Jobra from Manali by SUV or any other mode of transport. Tomorrow was the day when your body got enough time to acclimatize because acclimatization is required before starting this trek. Two hours are enough to reach Jobra, you will cross forty or forty-five pin turns while your drive. Next three or four hours will spend on trek trail where we will walk to reach our campsite.
Trail is cover with forest of pine trees or other trees like maple, deodar, toss and oak. Trail is so refreshing and picturesque. After 20 or 30 minutes, you will cross a bend that looks like a lush green meadow with small rock. The Rani Nalla flows between from that meadow. You can see some shepherds on the way with their sheep’s or other mammals. Chikka is not so far from this point just climb the mountain and when you descend down you will arrive at Chikka. Chikka is our campsite with huge space and also green enough to make you more exited. Overnight in tents at Chikka.
Day 03: Chikka to Balu ka Gera
Balu ka Gera is little far because you cannot see our next campsite from Chikka. Now it’s time to wake up and get ready for today’s trek. Enjoy hot serve breakfast or you can cook also. Trail will go along with the bank of river. The trail will show you some slope of boulders and rough terrain, that make this route more adventurous. You will find Rhododendron trees lined up on the bank of river in your entire stretch. In the middle, you will find a small clearing where you can find different colour of flowers like pink, purple, yellow etc. Rhododendron trees cover the lower region but when you get to see silver birch trees cover the upper region. When you reach at the end of silver birch trees, just turn around and look at the entire range of Dhauladhar snow clad peaks in front of your eyes. You have only a word to say “WOW”. Take out your camera and click some pictures as the view is very picturesque. A stream or small water fall will come at the left after some distance, you can take out your empty bottles to fill.
Move forward from the water fall, now it’s time to take out your shoes because we have to cross the rivulet. The water is super cold and will definitely give you a little shock when it will touch your feet. If you are physically fit then you have another option to go on the other side, you just need to jump from one rock to another in the stream and get to the opposite side. Now you have entered to Jwara and it shows, you have covered half of the distance of today’s trek. Jwara is a beautiful sheltered valley, it has huge snowcapped rocks at one side and the beautiful valley on the other side which goes down to river. Trail will follow the river side which take us to the rectangular valley. You will reach at the end of the valley in next half an hour, which is the finishing part of Jwara. The next path is either covered with snow or green depend on season or the month of visiting. You will reach Balu ka Gera, the name has nothing to do with the place. Balu ka Gera is a flat campsite that you will cross on your next day. Overnight in tents at Balu ka Gera.
Day 04: Balu ka Gera to Shea Goru Via Hampta Pass
Today you may face little difficulty in the early stage of today’s trek but it will end with the easy patch. You can divide the trail into two stages – the moderate level climb to Hampta pass and the steep easy descent to Shea Goru. Start your day to follow the river side trail, the mountain to climb to reach Hampta pass is just an hour far from our campsite. Make a target to have lunch at the top of the pass, so you can get enough motivation to climb that patch. Start your day with a river side trail and after an hour you can reach to actual climb to Hampta Pass. Start climbing, you will walk over first plateau for an hour then second plateau and then to a ridge. Now Hampta Pass is just 15 -20 minutes away from the second ridge but the climb to Hampta Pass is vertical and little hard to climb. Enjoy lunch at this beautiful pass. Now it’s the time to go down to the base of mountain. The best way to get down from the top is either by sliding down the slope or you can use ropes for support. Trek from the base of mountains to Shea Goru is easy on flat land. You will find flowing water in the form of river again. Choose a nice camp site near to river to spend your night. Overnight stay in tents.
Day 05: Shea Goru to Chhatru
Altitude: 12254 feet to 10898 feet to 14100 feet
Time Taken: 4 – 5 hours
Distance: 7 KM
Wake up in the morning and wash you face with the fresh water of river. Start this day by crossing the ice cold Shea Goru Nala, temperature is so low so take out your woolen clothes to keep yourself warm. Today’s trek is so gentle from Shea Goru. Trail will follow the river side between the mountain ranges. After an hour trek, you can see the Chhatru road. Cross Chhatru glacier to set up a campsite. You can move to Chandratal, which is just 2 hours away from Chhatru. Overnight stay in tents at Chhatru.
Day 06: Chhatru to Chandratal to Manali
Wake up and start your journey little early because you don’t want to miss the sunrise at Chandrataal Lake, second name of the lake is Moon Lake. Chandrataal is just 70 km by road. Explore nearby area of Chandrataal lake and then drive back to Manali. You will cross Rohtang Pass when you come back. Overnight in hotel at Manali.
How to make yourself fit
The Hampta pass trek comes under moderate trek. You will gain the altitude of over 14035 feet while on trek. Your journey will start at an altitude of 9800 feet at Jobra and reach the highest point of Hampta Pass at 14035 feet.
Cardiovascular endurance
Trek requires a physically fit personality with good amount of cardiovascular endurance. You can start with jogging every day. Start jogging with a slow pace and then increase your pace day by day to meet the target speed. Distance also matter in trekking so we concentrate on distance in given time, target list below
Distance target
5 km in 45 minutes when you just begin, then increase the distance to 7 km in 65 minutes and the last stretch is 10 km in 90 minutes.
Speed
Speed help you to be with group while trekking so start jogging 5 km in 35 minutes and then increase 3 km patch and add 20 minutes more.
Strength
Strength is another area which should be there in you. You need to build strength in your muscles and in your core body. Do some squats to strengthen your leg muscles and you can do 3 sets of squats and also do few crunches.
Flexibility
Flexibility is required to conquer this trek as some of the patches are little steeper. For this, you can do some stretching exercises – stretch your hamstrings, quadriceps, hip flexors, lower back muscles and shoulders regularly. Carrying a backpack, however light, can become a strain after a while. These exercises will help you to be in good shape before the trek.
Working out indoors
If you can't go out and jog because of time and other reasons then follow this video and make yourself fit.
What to Pack for this trek
Monsoon months are the best to conquer this trek, you can encounter rainfall or snowfall on your trek. Carry your poncho or rain coat to cover yourself, carry bag cover as well to save your clothes to get wet.
Bare Necessities:
Trekking shoes: Don’t get confused between trekking shoes and sport shoes, Carry only trekking shoes. Several patches will be slippery and will require shoes with good grip and ankle support.
Backpack (40-60 litres): A backpack with sturdy straps and a supporting frame is required for the whole trip to make it smooth. Carry rain cover along with your backpack
Daypack (20 litres): This is a crossover trek, you would only need a daypack if you hire a porter.
Clothes
Three layers of warm clothes: Carry two fleeces or sweater, and a good padded jacket. If you are more susceptible to feeling cold, add another layer.
Three trek pants: Carry light cotton trek pants. One of your pants can be skinny so that you can wear as an inner layer while trekking, especially on the Pass day. Keep one trek pant as spare.
Four collared t-shirts: Carry light, preferably quick-dry, full sleeved t-shirts that prevent sun burns on the neck and arms. Change t-shirt in two days, body tends to sweat a lot in winter as well. Some of the trekkers don’t change their clothes with fresh clothes, and they face little more challenge to complete this trek
Thermals: wear thermals (Top and Bottom) at night only to keep you warm. While trekking, don’t wear your thermals
Accessories
Sunglasses: Sunglasses are mandatory. In June, there will be abundant snow on Hampta Pass, and you would need it to protect yourself from snow blindness.
Sun cap: At high altitude, the sun is extra harsh, as the UV rays don’t get filtered. So, carry a uncap to protect your head.
Synthetic hand gloves: Avoid woolen gloves as they will get wet if you touch snow. You can add a fleece glove as an inner layer, and wear two gloves on each hand if you’re more susceptible to cold.
Balaclava: You’ll need this to cover your head, as most of the heat escapes from your head.
Socks (2 pairs) and a pair of woollen socks: Apart from two sports socks, you can take a pair of woollen socks for the night.
Headlamp/LED torch: Mandatory
Trekking pole: Watch this video to understand why you need a trekking pole.
Others
Toiletries: Sunscreen, moisturiser, light towel, lip balm, toilet paper, toothbrush, toothpaste. If you plan to use wet wipes or sanitary napkins on the trek, make sure you carry a zip lock bag to put used tissues and napkins. Bring this ziplock bag back with you to the city and do not dispose wet tissues and sanitary napkins in the mountains.
Cutlery: Carry a spoon, coffee mug and a lunch box. We insist on trekkers getting their own cutlery for hygiene reasons.
Two water bottles: 1 litre each
Plastic covers: While packing, use plastic bags to compartmentalize things and carry few extra plastic bags for wet clothes. Carry a big plastic bag to use as a innerliner in your rucksack so that your cloth can be safe while rain or snow fall.
