Chadar Winter Trek
The journey to Chadar Trek starts right at Leh in Ladakh, which is one of the popular treks of Himalaya. It is medically recommended for Chadar trekkers to take at least 2 days buffer period to acclimatize in Leh before you proceed to Chadar trek. There are some basic health checkups like physical fitness, trekking strength etc. that every trekker must pass in order to start your journey. In the middle of the journey towards the valley you can view the confluence of the rivers Indus and Zanskar. After a complete 2-3 hours drive along the Zanskar valley, it will lead you to the trail road. Walking or trekking on a frozen river is a bit tricky and sometimes becomes dangerous. After a mix of slipping, falling and gathering your balance you will encounter your 1st camping site called Shingra Koma, which is around 10,400 feet above sea level. After a glimpse of the vast snow carpet that is covered along the path you will reach Tibb, which is the next camp site. After moving further from the camp, you will witness an iconic site of the frozen waterfall called Nerak. And this will finally reach you to the next destination, Chadar.
Brahmatal Trek
Brahmatal trek, the first site which comes for Himalayan trekkers, is located in Uttarakhand. If you are staying in Delhi, then you must surely try this trek and for this you must reach Rishikesh or Haridwar to reach Lohajung, which is the base camp of Brahmatal. Lohajung, which is about 9000 feet above sea level, can take a very long time from Rishikesh to Lohajung. From here you must travel to Bekalthal, which is another base camp. The trek from Bekalthal will further lead you to Tilanti Camp but after Bekalthal, you can see the slow entry of snow and ice covering all over the land especially in Winters. From here on, you must be careful to take every step with utmost attention as the ground would be slippery, and the track to hike gets narrowed due to heavy snowfall. However, you can unlock a heavenly facet of mother nature in Brahmatal.
Gangotri Gaumukh Tapovan Trek
Gangotri, a holy town, is the starting point of the Gangotri Gaumukh trek. From Dehradun in Himachal Pradesh you can travel via road to reach Gangotri. The destination is standing at a height of 11200 feet above sea level. You must take a day to acclimatize in Gangotri and then you will be heading towards the first campsite called Chirbasa, which is a 9 kilometers trek, on the next day. In Chirbasa you will come across Gangotri National Park. You will notice that Bhagirathi River accompanies you throughout the trek. Instead of just viewing the river you will also get the chance to camp on the banks of it. The trail from Chirbasa is not a well laid one, and you must cross the river on the way via a pulley-trolly system to reach Bhojbasa. After a 9 kilometers trek from Bhojbasa to the summit you will feel the accomplishment of the journey. But you must note that the last day of the trek is the longest trail in the journey because you must take a to and fro journey from the summit completing 18 kilometers in one single day. But after a hard trail on the rock moraine of the snow bed consisting of huge boulders, the magnificent views of Mt. Shivling will take your breath away for a moment.
Friendship Peak Trek
Friendship Peak is located in Beas Kund as part of Pir Panjal in Himachal Pradesh. The peak is standing at an altitude of 5300 meters above sea level. It is placed as a difficult level trek so you must be thoroughly good at physical fitness. It could become more challenging for beginners but if you have the strength and willpower you can easily surmount this. This is popular even among foreign tourists. An interesting thing is that it offers spectacular panoramic views of the surrounding mountains like the Hanuman Tibba, Indra Asan etc. The trail starts from Solang valley, which has amazing oak trees, boulders, moraine and of course the glaciers. From Manali your journey starts towards Dhundi village by road,which goes via Solang Valley. Bhakar Thach is the first campsite and for which you must come from Dhundi village. Dhundi has a special feature that it is the place where the Beas river meets its first tributary between Rohtang pass and Beas Kund. From Bhakar Thach you will then be heading towards many halting places like Beas Kund, Lady Leg, etc which will then take you to Summit Camp.
