TRIUND - a Trek, above the Clouds

**phone rang
" I am coming to Delhi for 3 days and we have to plan a trip somewhere ", my ex office colleague
( from Bengaluru ) said excitedly. I added four others to the call and we started discussing ( fighting actually ) over the places we can plan our trip to. Options raised were Solang valley, or Jaisalmer or trek to Triund, **a silence followed and suddenly we all shouted in chorus " Triund Trek ", that's how we planned to land up in Triund Valley.

" while on the journey of life, I suggest you to take some curvy roads too, they maybe difficult, challenging, but will definitely give you the best version of yourself, and what better than Mountains to teach how to travel on curvy roads " - Quote credits to Me 😎

Triund - famous for its 22 Curves

The evening finally came, Feb 21, 2020, We were all ready to leave our beloved city Delhi and to go on a journey to explore the Himachal's own little Lhasa McLeodGanj. (If you are beginner at trekking best season for Triund trek is from April-June, September - October).

Coming back to our journey, We left Delhi around 2000 hrs taking the route NH 44 till Ambala city, NH 205 and NH 503 till our final destination. Well talk of NH 44, Delhi Ambala highway and not taking a halt at Amrik Sukhdev is NEVER justified. So following the great tradition, we stopped at Amrik Sukhdev Dhaba at Murthal, grabbed some delicious butter filled parathas (for which we were craving since we left Delhi), few selfies and obviously CHAI 💓.

How to reach Mcleodganj from Delhi:
I forgot to mention early, we booked a private Taxi from Delhi itself from a known taxi driver. Otherwise there are multiple options to reach Dharamshala and then Mcleodganj by Volvo Service at Majnu ka Tila, Delhi ( this is the Best option ) or you can opt for train till Pathankot and then, shared taxi to Mcleodganj ( this is the cheapest option )

After making our stomachs bowl-shaped with maximum parathas intake, slept like pandas in adjustable place, we left for Mcleodganj and reached at about 0600 hrs.

Imagine, opening your eyes to this mesmerizing view

I still remember the hillside view of the radiant, yellow and delightful morning, kissing the huge snow filled mountains, curvilinear empty roads, it just felt like I am alive again, away from the noises of the city. After reaching, We found a budget hotel just to get freshen up, a little rest and we moved for the arduous trek. We were so charged up, We didn't even care to rest for the day, frankly speaking, We got ready in about 2 hours and left to find our trek guide.

View from The Hotel

Never miss the beauty of ROADS, While looking for the Destination

I prebooked the tour guide online from a famous website ( there are a large no of options though ). Incase you don't want to hire a guide online, you can come over here and find countless travel shops to provide you one. (although not necessary, but having a trek guide will less your burden for night dinner, easy stay and somewhat, trek too 😜)

Standing at Mcleodganj square 6,831 ft above sea level, the guide gave us a look and in heavy tone, he said " aaiye shuru karte hai ". With the classy view of Bhagsu Nag waterfall and rocky hills around, we started our trek with narrow, broken, starry path (it was quite steep). As usual the path was covered with a number of tourists clicking selfies, chilling on the mountainous stairs, a few good cafes for your hunger or thirst needs and interestingly, a huge number of sheep perfectly balancing on the sloppy terrain, grazing. [You can also opt to start your trek from Gallu Devi temple (for single day  up and down) or Dharamkot].

It was overall 9 kms of challenging trek and each step We put forward, We witnessed a new, well defined landscape, decorated with the beautiful Oak and Deodar tress, views of ice capped Dhauladhar range, Dharamshala valley, that were enough to increase the adrenaline rush in our bodies and highly motivating.

But maybe this wasn't enough for our thrill, our adventure reached even a high level when out of sudden, black clouds covered our head (Although it was a relief from the scorching sun). Well to our luck, it didn't rain, but the weather got so cool.

 The trek in the beginning was moderate, but as you  keep moving further, the level of difficulty rises. After hiking from about 5 hours, exhausted us were about to say " bhaiya, ab land karao ", to our guide, but after few minutes of further hike, there it was, waiting for us, in the midst of moving clouds, our TRIUND CAMPSITE (10632 ft), lavish green, a bit foggy , (finally) a clear and amazing view of the glowing Mighty Dhauladhar Range. (and we shouted , " or ye hum aasmaano ki uchaaiyo me, kohraa hi kohraa ")

Somewhere in the clouds

For a moment, I did nothing, I just sat there and looked around, it felt like, " Earth is getting alive, having a heartbeat, and it is rising through these immensely sacred ranges". I bet many of you too, atleast once had gone through this moment, where " you don't do anything, you are so tired of hustle and hard work, you just want to sit and relax, take a break, gain your energy for a powerful comeback ", exactly what we did at that time, gained energy for something more...

" the best view comes after the toughest climb ", they said, but we weren't satisfied even with this view (itne me nahi maan ne wale the hum), and we decided to go even more, INDRAHAR PASS (14245 ft) to be continued in next BLOG. Till then, for you Triund Trek Video .

Music in the video:

Music: Walk In The Park
Musician: music by audionautix.com
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

Music: Acoustic Guitar 1
Musician: music by audionautix.com
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
Music: Winter Foe

URL: https://icons8.com/music/