Pin Parbati Trek

Detailed itinerary:

DAY 01: MANALI – KASOL (1539m) – BARSHENI – KHIRGANGA (2707M)

Drive: 01 hours  Hiking: 05 – 06 hours

After breakfast, we drive to Barsheni, start point of the trek and from here hit the trail leading to Khirganga. Today’s walk is through a wooded region and is not very demanding. Khirganga is a beautiful meadow with sulphur springs and a few dhabas (eating joints). Overnight in tents.

DAY 02: KHIRGANGA (2707M) – Tunda Bujh (3320M)   Hiking: 06 – 07 hours

Today you walk through meadows negotiating several ascents and descents. The trail for most parts is through forested area and then you come out into open meadows of Tunda Bhuj. Here you can’t miss the massive granite cliffs overlooking the meadows. And this will be the campsite for overnight.

DAY 03: TUNDA bHUJ – THAKUR KUWAN (3320M)  Hiking: 06 – 07 hours

The hike today ascends gradually, in the morning through the grooves of Pink Rhododendron and tough Birch trees last of the tree line. Those who trek in early season (June) they have the benefit of avoiding infamous ‘Patda Dhank’ or a narrow cliff trail above gushing Parvati.

Many snow clad mountains today comes face to face as we come closer to Thakur Kuwan. Just befor the arrival at the campsite, you will experience the joy of crossing the river using a Jhula pul (Pulley Bridge). Overnight in tents.

DAY 04: THAKUR KUWAN – ODY THACH (3600M)  Hiking: 06 – 07 hours

Today we will have to make a couple of tricky river crossings before reaching our destination for the day. The first river crossing is over an exposed boulder on a side stream and then over the Parvati River over the Pandu bridge which is a gigantic boulder with a stone staircase on one side. One will need to maneuver carefully and with assistance from our guides and we might put ropes, if required.

Ody Thach is again a massive meadow with the majestic Kullu Eiger peak overlooking it. Here you are sure to meet a few shepherds and get first-hand information on the condition of the trail leading to the pass. Overnight in tents.

DAY 05: oDY thach – MANTALAI (3930M)  Hiking: 04 – 05 hours

Today the trail is flattish and along the river. Towards the end of the trail there is a climb up a lateral moraine which can take some effort. After the climb you reach the flat lunar landscape of Mantalai and here is a small monument with some flags from where Parvati commences its journey down the Parvati valley.  Walking through the maze of small rivulets we reach our campsite. The campsite is located right below the narrow gully towards our left which we will be our route ahead. Overnight in tents.

DAY 06: MANTALAI (3930M) REST DAY

This day is to give our bodies a good rest so that we are fully acclimatized and charged for the next 2 days when we will need to push our bodies a bit. Today enjoy the experience of not doing a thing! Overnight in tents.

DAY 07: MANTALAI (3930M) – PIN PARVATI PASS BASECAMP (4450M)  Hiking: 06 – 07 hours

The adventure begins today as advance through a narrow rock gully. Once out of this area, we will continue the climb through a steep terrain where the trail is not well marked and some sections where it is missing in parts or completely. Towards the end, we will traverse through a moraine section to reach a snow field. We camp for overnight on the hard-packed snow. The landscape around the campsite is beautiful with glaciers, snow fields, moraines, and the sounds of an odd avalanche. Overnight in tents.

DAY 08: PIN PARVATI BASE CAMP – PIN PARVATI PASS Advance BASECAMP  Hiking: 08 – 09 hours

Early morning breakfast followed by quick departure will be the part of itinerary for today. Fresh snow on snowfields can decrease the speed of hike. Negotiating through crevasses and fragile snow bridges will be time consuming.

Arriving closer to the top of the col. we traverse to the right onto a flat area and it is used as advanced base camp for Pin Parvati Pass.

Camp for overnight with stunning views of numerous snowcapped peaks here.

DAY 09: PIN PARVATI PASS Advance BASECAMP – PIN PARVATI PASS (5300M) – TIYA (3870M)

Hiking: 07 – 08 hours

And early start with a further traverse from our camp brings us to the foot of Pin Parvati Pass. A short eighty degrees of steep ascent bring us to the top of Pin Parvati Pass.

From here we will descend through long snow fields and moraine sections. After about an hour of hike and slide we arrive to the foot of valley with mammoth glaciers converting into gushing Pin River.

With crossing River Pin, a gradual descend along river on a narrow trail finally brings us to our concluding Campsite at Tiya.

This is the end of we reach the campsite and relax. Enjoy a hot cup of tea along with various pass stories doing the round. Overnight in tents.

DAY 10: TIYA (3870M) – MUDH (3740M) – KAZA (3800M)  Hiking: 07 – 08 hours Drive: 02 hours

The hike today is long but very gentle and beautiful with typical Spiti landscape all around. There are multi colored mountains and vast open grasslands with the beautiful Pin River flowing along. You will pass by a few shepherd camps and cross a few streams along the way with the last one needing to be handled carefully. From the trail we get a view of Mudh village far away with its barley fields, at the base of a big and barren mountain. On reaching Mudh we spend some time in this quaint village before driving to Kaza. On reaching Kaza we check into a hotel and enjoy a much deserved hot shower. We celebrate the successful completion of the trek with a party in the evening. Overnight in the hotel.

DAY 11 kAZA (3800M) – MANALI (2000M)  Drive: 08 hours

After breakfast, drive to Manali via the Kunzum pass and Rohtang pass.