Himalayan trek : Planning

This was our plan for Himalayan trek and other places. Guru (my friend) has done lot of work before finalizing this.

Main plan :

Day 1: (Friday) : Leave Bangalore through train to Delhi. Train : Rajdhani Express ( Train No 22693)

Day 3: (Sunday): Reach Delhi at 5.50 am. Board train to Kalka ( Shatabdi Express Train No 12011) at 7.40 from another station. Rajdhani express stops at Hazrat Nizzammuddin station and Kalka train starts from NDLS. Hence need to go from NZM station to NDLS. We will go by Auto (distance is about 9 Kms).

Day 3: (Sunday) : Reach Kalka by 11.45 am. Board train to Shimla ( Train no 52455) and reach Shimla by 5.30 pm.

Day 3: (Sunday) : Leave to Base camp (Seobagh) by night if local Bus is available or leave next day and reach base camp Monday.
Day 4:(Monday): YHA Program starts. This day we rest / roam around.

Day 5: (Tuesday): YHA Program. Mostly we roam around ourselves.

Day 6: ( Wednesday ) : YHA Program
Day 7:(Thursday) : YHA Program
Day 8: (Friday): YHA Program
Day 9: (Saturday) : YHA Program
Day 10: (Sunday) : YHA Program
Day 11(Monday) : YHA Program
Day 12 ( Tuesday) : YHA Program
Day 13 (Wednesday) : Go to Dharmashala. Reach there before night. Lodge there.
Day 14 (Thursday) : Explore Dharamashala.
Day 15 ( Friday) : Explore Dharamashala.
Day 16 (Saturday): Explore Dharamashala till noon. Leave to Delhi by bus. Buses start from 6.00 pm.
Day 17 (Sunday): Reach Delhi by 7.00 am. Roam Delhi till 7.00 pm. Delhi to Bangalore by Flight.

We booked train, flight tickets and hotel in Dharmashala (except Kalka to Shimla toy train), two months prior . Otherwise getting tickets is very difficult. Kalka to Shimla train booking opens one month prior. We waited and less than an hour our ticket was booked. There was no free time as mentioned in the day 5. That I will go in detail in the trek experience and base camp.

Plan @ Kullu

Monday - Reach kullu, go to base camp, complete formalities.
Monday - After lunch, depending on altitude sickness effect visit below places.

1) Vaishno Devi temple ( near Dhalpur - 4 kms from Seobagh)

2) Raghunathji Temple ( Sultanpur - 1 km from Seobagh)

3) Bijli Mahadev Temple (10 Kms from Seobagh)

Tuesday - If allowed to go out from base camp, then few more places to see

4) Naggar Gallery house (17 kms from Seobagh)

5) Shoja ( 73 kms from Seobagh)

Wednesday - If allowed to go out from base camp,

6) Shopping. Kullu is famous for its handloom shalls.

Hotel booking :

Option 1)

Lord Krishna Residency,Temple Rd.
Expected Room rent for two - 1K per night (Without food)

Option 2)

Green Hotel, Bhagsu Rd (http://www.greenhotel.in)
Room rent for two - 1.7K per night ( Without food)

Option 3)

Hotel Misty Woods, Jogiwara Rd (http://www.hotelmistywoods.com/hotel_rooms.php)
Expected Room rent for two - 1.5K ( Without food)

Option 4)

The Dhauladhar, Kotwali Bazar, (http://hptdc.gov.in/custsw/viewuser8_hot.asp?dest=052)
Room rent for two - 1.8K ( Without food).
[It is a HPTDC run hotel with good reviews]

All hotels are in Nadi village.

But we chose Bhagsu hotel which is very near to McLeodGanj bus stand.

Plan to explore Dharamashala:

Option 1 :

7-05-2014 (Wednesday) - Reach hotel. Recycle Clothes. Roam around and see places mentioned in this link .
http://wikitravel.org/en/Dharamsala#See

8-05-2014 (Thursday) - Roam around and see places in above link. After above link, go to Naddi Village, visit Dal lake. If possible go to Kangara valley / Palampur for scenic beauty. May be we can hire two wheeler to roam around.

09-05-2014 (Friday) - Trek to Lahesh Caves. Path is hotel - Bhagsunag Fall - Triund hill - Illaqa - Lahesh Caves. and back. Distance one way is 9 Kms.

We will have to start early morning. Food is available through out the trail.

10-05-2014 (Saturday) - Shopping. Checkout at 12.00 pm and continue shopping. Bus to Delhi at 7.30 pm.

Option 2 :

7-05-2014 (Wednesday) - Reach hotel. Recycle Clothes. Hire a guide for next day trek. & retire for the day.

08-05-2014 ( Thursday) - Indradhar pass trek with guide.

09-05-2014 (Friday) - Indradhar Pass trek with guide.

10-05-2014 (Saturday) - Back to hotel from trek before noon. Checkout and shopping later until bus arrival.

Option 3:

7-05-2014 (Wednesday) - Reach hotel. Recycle Clothes. & retire for the day.

08-05-2014 ( Thursday) - Hire bike, go to Dalhousie. It is 120 Kms from Hotel. Stay overnight at Dalhousie or return back to Dharmashala late night.

09-05-2014 (Friday) - Trek to Lahesh Caves or roam around with hired bikes.

10-05-2014 (Saturday) - Early morning go to Dal lake. Come back to hotel, check out and shopping.