Towards Chandrakheni Pass We Go!

This is exactly what I did through my trek over the Chandrakheni Pass, into the mysterious Malana village. The trek is fairly easy, quick, not too far from Delhi, and the rewards are definitely worth it. I did the trek in April, which, according to me, is the best time for the trek. There aren’t too many people there yet, and there is lots of snow.

The trek starts from Naggar, a beautiful town {it’s a little bigger than a village} about 30 km before Manali. A night Volvo got us comfortably to Patlikuhl, which is about 5 km away from Naggar. From here, taxis are easily available. This trek was being led by me, and I was accompanied by a 17 year-old boy, his mother and aunt, and a couple of people in their late 20s.

Naggar is a town filled with history. Years ago, a Russian painter, Nicholas Roerich, settled here after travelling all over Central Asia. His paintings are still displayed in the Naggar palace. Naggar is far from the hustle and bustel of touristic Manali, and has some quaint cafes with wonderful food. We got here at about 8 in the morning, and ate at the Chateau De Naggar, which belongs to a friend. Though his specialty is Italian, he also makes yummy paranthas and omelettes. After many of these parathas and lots of chai, we drove to the start of the Trek, Rumsu.

It’s a short drive from Naggar to Rumsu, along a really bad road. We had a jeep with luggage on top, and about 5 porters following in another car. We drove upto the road-head, and began the {not so} long walk. From Rumsu, it’s a steep climb for about an hour, after which the trail levels out a little. The hike took us through a beautiful forest, filled with deodhar and some pine trees. This is the heart of the Kullu Valley, which also includes Kullu and Manali, but the only people we saw here were a few shepherds and trekkers. On the first day, we didn’t need to walk too much, and made camp at a small clearing called Chiklani. It’s a lovely, sheltered campsite with a small stream running by. We put up a hammock, and spent the evening drinking piping hot chai. As the evening wore down, our cook found a huge log of wood, and got a campfire going that would last through the night.

On the second day, we packed up a little later than usual {the long evening full of singing and dancing around the fire had left us tired}, and began walking to the base of the Chandrakheni Pass. The scenery began to slowly change as we got higher. The deodhar gave way to pines, and the tiny warblers gave way to huge vultures soaring above us. A little before our next camp, we found snow! After taking some time off to slide and slip down snow slopes, we made camp at the base of the pass.

The third day of the trek is the hardest, but the most rewarding by far. A short walk of about two hours got us to the top of the pass. The walk wasn’t particularly easy, as the snow made it a little intimidating, but everybody made it through, safe and sound. The top of the pass, at 3600 mts, is a beautiful plateau, with views of the Dhauladhar and Pir Panjal ranges. Our experienced guide was also pointing to us mountains that were in Spiti! Legend has it that the pass is home to apsaras. This is also the place where Jamlu Devta, the deity of Malana Village was attacked by Rakshas. There’s an interesting story about how he escaped, and became the lord of Malana, but it’s best heard from a locals mouth!

Once over the pass, we reached the Parvati Valley. The walk down to the village from the pass is the hardest part of the trek. It’s a steep 1400 meter drop, and very tiring on the legs, but we all managed through this.

Malana is the high-point of this this trek. It’s an ancient village surrounded in mystery even now. Legend has it that the inhabitants of this village are descended from Alexander’s invading army. They consider themselves superior to everybody else, and there are strict untouchability laws in the village – but of another kind. Here, visitors are not allowed to touch the locals, enter houses and must stay on specified paths. Visitors are not even allowed into the courtyard of the temple, and anybody breaking these rules has to comply with strict fines. Even shopkeepers will talk to you from afar, and when you need to buy something, you have to throw the money down, and they’ll throw your goods back to you- seriously!

The village also sees lots of visitors for another {rather mysterious} attraction. The villagers grow a large amount of cannabis, and is famed for this. This is possibly why the two guesthouses in the village are always full of tourists who don’t even know about this village’s unique culture.

From here, the walk to the road-head was short. The next morning, a jeep was waiting to pick us up and take us back to Naggar, from where we took a night Volvo back to Delhi.

Geck & Co Adventures & LBBD are taking you for the Chandrakheni Pass trek!

More details coming soon!