Dayara Bugyal – Simple yet Beautiful

Dayara Bugyal – The biggest meadow of Uttarakhand

Bugyal in the local mountain dialect means “High Altitude Meadow”. Trekking to Dayara Bugyal is one of the most beautiful places in Uttaranchal, situated at an elevation ranging from 10,000 – 12,000 ft. This vast meadow is second to none in natural beauty in Uttarakhand trekking circuit. The possibility of Nordic as well as Alpine skiing are immense here, since during winter it provides one of the best ski slopes in India spread over an area of 28 sq/kms, one can combine a trek and ski during winter trekking season.

Dayara Bugyal trek starts from two places Barsu and Raithal. The road to Dayara Bugyal branches off near Bhatwari- a little township on Uttarkashi Gangotri road about 35 kms. From Uttarkashi, Vehicles can go up to the village of Raithal from where one has to trek a steep incline covering a distance of about 7 kms to reach Dayara and the other route is via village Barsu, 10 kms from Bhatwari from where one has to trek about 8kms to Dayara Bugyal.

Gray langurs or Hanuman langurs, the most widespread langurs of South Asia, are a group of Old World monkeys constituting the entirety of the genus Semnopithecus.

Monal – State Bird of Uttarakhand

This is the best time for birding as all the birds descends from high altitude to lower altitudes due to drop in temperatures.

If some one wants to do this trek here is the ideal itinerary

Day 1 Dehradun to Guest House at Barsu

Arrive at Dehradun/Haridwar in the morning, freshen up, have breakfast and leave for Barsu village Lunch on the way. Arrive at Camp by late afternoon and relax with a hot cup of tea and prepare yourself for trekking in Himalayas. The camp overlooks the Himalayan peaks of Gangotri I, II and III, Jaunli, Draupdi ka Danda and Srikanth.

Days 2 Barsu – Barnala (2700 m) 4 km / 4 hr

Have an early breakfast and get ready for a trekking to Barnala lake (2700 m) about 5 hours away. Trek through the dense forest of Pine and Oak trees. Lunch enroute. Reach Barnala by late afternoon. Explore the forest around the lake and do some bird watching. Barnala is great for bird watching, the most common birds here Whistling Thrush, Red Finch, Monal Pheasant, Koklas etc. Overnight stay in tents.

Day 3 Barnala – Dayara (3250 m) 5 km / 4 hr

Have breakfast and prepare to trek to Dayara. Hot lunch on arrival. The bugyals (meadows), spread over 28 sq kms, are grazing grounds for sheep and cattle and have a 360 degree view of the Himalayas. Spend rest of day walking around the meadows. Overnight stay in tents

Day 4 Dayara – Raithal 7 km / 4 hr

Wake up to a lovely sunrise and walk a little higher for a nice view of Bandarpoonch (6500 mtrs). After breakfast, we will start trekking to village Raithal. Reach camp by early evening. Relax with a hot cup of tea and sumptuous dinner with bonfire. Overnight stay in tents.

Days 5 Raithal – Dehradun / Haridwar

After breakfast leave for Dehradun/Haridwar. Lunch on way, arrive by late afternoon and catch train to go home..

Renok Adventures is having a fixed departure on various dates 3rd November, 10th November and 29th December. For more details please follow the link  www.renokadventures.com

 

Trans Himalayan Jeep Expedition Manali to Leh

We did an amazing trip of Greater Himalayas crossing 7 Worlds highest motorable road and did some crazy adventures, all thanks to Ladakh tour organised by Renok Adventures – the great adventure company. We all reached Manali on 16th July morning the date to begin the Jeep Expedition. We had a breakfast n got fresh in hotel. We loaded our luggage in our jeep Qualis, our driver Mr. Tule Ram is an awesome driver this was my second trip and I can trust him with my life on curvaceous and tricky mountain roads.

In the first part I will be covering our adventurous journey from Manali to Leh and in Second part our excursion to Pangong Lake and Nubra Valley

We started around 11 and our first big stop was Marhi where we did first adventures activities Paragliding.

Paragliding in Manali

Marhi is a small stopover on the way to Rohtang Pass (14000 Ft), We negotiated a deal for 7 of us to do Paragliding. Yugantar had a small misadventure, his take off was not proper so he slid with the parachute for some distance. He had small bruises on hand and leg.

After doing paragliding we set cross Rohtang Pass our first high altitude pass. There was 8 to 11 ft of snow on both side of the road. Rishin was fully charged up at this point of time he didn’t know what is coming in next few days.

Rishin All Charged Up

Push Up 1 2 3

After fun n masti at Rohtang top we started again and stopped at Khoksar for Lunch. We had awesome Rajma, Dal, Mutton and Rice. Kokhsar is the first village on this route in Lahaul and Spiti region of Himachal Pradesh. Here one need to stop to get police work done. Our plan was to stay at Sarchu but we got late so we will be staying in Keylong today. Our driver paid the homage to Raja Ghaipan at Sissu and we filled diesel in Tandi which is the last Petrol Pump on this route and sign clearly says next petrol pump 365 KM ahead.

We stayed in a hotel with nice view had sumptuous dinner and slept. Morning the view was amazing.

Morning Glory

Morning we started early around 6 AM after a good tea and stopped at Darcha for breakfast. Today was the toughest day of the entire journey, four of the world’s highest passes, 350 KMs and road conditions (You can say No Roads) were bad.

First pass came Baralacha La at the height of 4980 metres. The steep ascent to Baralacha La start at the place called ZingZingBar, One who loves to drink barely misses it and there is a bar by the same name in Manali. This pass connects the Lahaul district of Himachal Pradesh to that of Ladakh. The Bhaga river, a tributary of the Chandrabhaga or Chenab river, originates from Surya taal lake, which is situated a few of kilometers from the pass towards Manali. The other major tributary of the Chandrabhaga, the Chandra also originates from glacier in this region. Both the rivers originates from the two sides of the pass and meet to become Chandrabhaga River and the same river becomes Chenab entering Pakistan.

Suraj Taal

To be continued in part 2

More Photos on Facebook Album here:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.330249997060195.76819.186325284786001&type=3

 

I Support Green Hiker !! Green Hiking Tips

Green Hiker tips

HIKING

• Hike in a single file in the middle of the track to avoid further erosion.
• Keep noise levels low, especially when traveling through a forest
• Minimise the use of automobiles wherever possible

CAMPING

• Choose a homestay or a community-run camping site wherever possible
• Set camp 30m away from lakes and streams
• Set up a temporary dustbin to dispose of waste by all campers. Make sure to carry it away

FIRE

• Never leave a fire unattended this will rule out chances of a devastating forest fire
• Minimize the use of growing vegetation as firewood. Opt for kerosene or fuel efficient stoves
• Avoid burning plastic or other toxic substances

COOKING

• Carry food that cooks faster and more easily, to reduce fuel consumption
• A small solar cooker will serve the purpose keeping the environs clean too

WATER

• Never discard rubbish into water bodies.
• For washing, carry water 30 m away from the lake
• Use biodegradable organic soaps for washing and cleaning. These will minimize water pollution

WILDLIFE

• Do not feed wild animals since human food may be damaging to them
• Avoid flash photography. Take pictures from a distance
• Observe wildlife from a distance, especially at sensitive times like mating, nesting and raising young

WASTE

• Never leave behind litter while hiking or camping. Stuff the rubbish into your pocket/backpack/garbage bag to take back with you
• Try and sort your garbage into biodegradable and non-biodegradable at the base camp itself. Ensure that the mouths of the bags are tightly fastened. This will prevent the contents from scattering and emitting foul odour
• Use toilet facilities and where not available, dispose of solid human waste like this – Dig a 15cm hole in the ground, more than 30m away from the lake, campsite and track. Cover it up with soil when finished
• Opt for light, unbreakable utensils instead of plastic or Styrofoam

PEOPLE

• Respect the local people, culture and customs
• Get local guides or choose homestays so that the economic benefits remain in the region
• Help your guides/porters to follow the rules as well. They will then be mindful of them in the future

 

source:http://www.wwfindia.org/about_wwf/critical_regions/high_altitude_wetlands/green_hiker/what_you_can_do/green_hiker_tips/

 

Trans Himalayan Jeep Expedition – 16th June 2012 Join Us

Ladakh a barren, virtually rainless area is the most remote region of India. The defiance of its barren landscape, unique flora and fauna, birds, culture, clear blue skies and clean air has much more to offer than just a good holiday. Ladakh is also known as “The Moonland” and romantically as “the last Shangri La” where as Ladakh in Tibetan language means “The Land of Passes”.

Maitreyin Budha

Ladakh is surrounded by world’s biggest mountain ranges, the Himalayan range and the Karakoram. These lay crossways two others Zanskar and Ladakh range. The main watercourse of Ladakh is Indus which penetrates India from Tibet at Demchok. The highest altitude you will find here is 7637 m. At this height, the air is thin and the heat of the sun is intensely felt. That is why it is said Ladakh is the only place on earth where you can get sunburn as well as frostbite at the same time.

Ladakh has a distinct alpine, floral and faunal variety. Several flowering plants, a dozen important mammals and over a hundred species of birds are found here in this rugged terrain. You are likely to spot marmots, mouse hares, stone martens, red foxes, wolves, ibex, bharal, chiru (Tibetan antelope famous for Shahtoosh), goa (Tibetan gazelle), lynx, pallas cat, kyamg and shapu.

 The avid bird watcher can spend fruitful hours by observing Bactrian magpies, grey tits, chough, raven, sparrow, kite, kestrel, Turkoman rock pigeon, chukor, finches, buntings, larks, desert wheat eaters, a many more varieties of birds. Black necked crane, bar-headed geese, ducks and several other water birds breed near the lakes in thousands. The highest realm belongs to the birds of prey and carrion eaters. These include choughs, griffon vultures, ravens and lammergeiers (bearded vultures).

During the safari we cross through two famous high altitude passes i.e. Baralacha and Tag Lang La, which is also the second highest motorable road in the world. Crossing through various tiny villages and monasteries we stop at a few and explore. We visit the famous Tsokar lake which is also known as the “White Lake” because of the salt deposited around it. The local nomads collect this salt and sell it in Ladakh and Kashmir.

What’s Included :-

• Accommodation in Ladakhi Family guest houses and tented or camping during stay in Nubra or PangongTso.
• Meals during the Safari (Only Veg).
• Permits.
• First aid medical kits .
• Qualified and experienced trek leader, Guide and support staff during trekking
• Transport

Day 1 Manali to Sarchu

Rohtang Pass

Today we start our journey to Leh stopping at Sarchu for a night. We cross Rohtang Pass (3978 m), Keylong (3350 m), Baralacha Pass (4890m) with overnight stopover at Sarchu (4253 m), border of the states of Himachal Pradesh (Lahaul) and Jammu & Kashmir (Ladakh). Photography workshop “Stop Shooting Auto” on basics of photography and how to do photography in high altitude areas. Upon arrival in Sarchu we will set up our camp for overnight stay.

Days 2 Sarchu to Leh

Car in a Situation

Leave for Leh by early morning, through Nakeela and Lachangla Pass 16,617 ft. Lunch at Pang. After Lunch drive to Leh passing through Skyangchu Thang (Biggest and Highest Plateau on Earth on Stretch of 42 Kms), Tanglang La Pass 17,585ft and Indus Valley. Upon arrival in leh you will be greeted by our CEOs (chief Experience Officers) meet our representative and check in at our Hotel.

Day 3 Leh to Pangong Lake

Majestic view of Pangong Lake

After an early breakfast we leave for Pangong Lake through Changla pass 5486 Mtrs. Pangong Lake, situated at 14,000 feet (4,267 m). A long narrow basin of inland drainage, hardly six to seven kilometer at its widest point and over 130km long, it is bisected by the international border between India and China. Enjoy the landscape in the back drop of the Lake. Evening at leisure and overnight stay on the shore of Lake.

Day 4 Pangong Lake to Leh

Morning at leisure to explore the beauty of lake and later we drive back to leh enroute visiting Hemis Gompa, the largest monastic foundation of Drukpa Kagyu Order of Tibetan Buddhism, Thiksey an impressive complex rising tier upon tier on a hill above the village, Shey Palace, The ancient capital of Ladakh & Stok Palace Museum. Drive further to Leh and check in at our hotel for Overnight.

Days 5 Drive to Nubra Valley

Khardung La and Nubra valley

After an early breakfast we drive to Nubra Valley leads through Khardungla- Pass (the highest motorable road in the world) at 18,390 ft, around 39kms from Leh. Nubra Valley is popularly known as Ldorma or the valley of flowers. It is situated to the North of Ladakh between the Karakoram and Ladakh ranges of the Himalayas. Arrive Sumur or Hunder by afternoon and rest of the day at leisure to explore beautiful village of Sumur & Hunder with a Visit to Diskit Monastery. Overnight stay at Camp.

Day 6 Nubra Valley – Leh

After your breakfast at the camp, visit the Sand Dunes to enjoy a camel safari. Later we drive to Leh over Khardung La. Afternoon rest and relax or take a walk to the local market. Overnight at hotel..

Day 7 Leh

Post breakfast we drive towards Kargil road and start our sightseeing with Hall of Fame near Leh is worth a visit for every citizen. It is a glorious museum constructed by Indian army, Kali Mata Temple, Gurudwara Patthar Sahib Nestled deep in the Himalayas, which was built by the Lamas of Leh in 1517 to commemorate the visit of Guru Nanak Dev. A drive of another 4 km took us to Magnetic Hill which defies the law of gravity. It has been noticed that when a vehicle is parked on neutral gear on this metallic road the vehicle slides up & further Driving through a picturesque landscape we reached the confluence of the Indus and Zanskar River 4 km before Nimmu village. And Visit to Basgo a certainly the most impressive of Ladakhi citadels despite its ruined state. After visiting above places we drive back to Hotel for Overnight Stay.

Day 8 Leh Depart Leh

Transfer to domestic airport to catch the flight for your onward destination, safari concludes.