Beas Kund Trek – A Hike To The Origin Of Sacred Beas River
Beas Kund is the origin of the Beas river and it is a belief that Sage Vyas used to take bath while he was there for meditation. It is situated at a high altitude of approximately 3700M surrounded by towering Himalayan peaks from all sides.
Beas Kund trek, finally we have a new adventure to write about, otherwise from last one year, as you all know we were caged. This pandemic was a test of our patience and also it taught us to be patient and optimistic.
Just after our last trip in Jan 2020 to Landour, which was a sort of leisure get-away, this pandemic hits and the complete lockdown was imposed, everything was shut, work from home became the new normal now and being a part of the IT sector, the advantage we got is, we can work from anyplace. From last year, we were only planning for our next adventure and it was already decided that we will be doing the Beas Kund trek next.
Eventually, the situation was started to become normal and also we both were partially vaccinated so, we had decided to finally hit the road.
We chose the month of September for our journey in the thought that might be till then things will be more normalized and yes they did. We were going out somewhere after exactly 18 months so, we thought of making it a long get-away, as we both were working from home so it became feasible and we decided to make it a 15 days trip which includes our three-days Beas Kund trek and 12 days “Work From Mountains” experience.
Preparations For The Trek
As I mentioned we were going for this trek after a long gap so, we had to prepare ourselves physically and mentally because of that pandemic negativity and lots of ups and downs which we all faced during that period.
We started regular running and doing exercise in the morning, due to no physical workout for a year, we had lost our stamina, which we knew might cause the problem but no worries, that was the reason we started our preparation two weeks before our journey.
We had decided that on 15th September we’ll leave for Manali so, we started our packing accordingly, booked our bus tickets two days prior, now we were all set “with all the mandatory precautions” which needs to be taken care of after the pandemic.
Journey Begins
Finally, the day had arrived and we were at the Majnu Ka Tila to catch our bus, bus staff took all the precautionary measures, checked the vaccination certificates, sanitized our hands before boarding and also the bus was very clean and must be sanitized.
Reaching Manali
After a long time we woke up in the mountains, we got thrilled, Manali was just 3 hrs away. We decided to book the accommodation, we knew that was the offseason so, finding an accommodation won’t be a problem and we were right we got a pocket-friendly deal of 15 days’ stay in just 13 thousand in Ram Cottage located near Hadimba Temple.
We reached Manali at around 1 PM, then hired a taxi to our cottage which cost us Rs 600. We got surprised after reaching our cottage because we didn’t know that we booked a whole apartment with a functional kitchen at that price, lucky us.
Quickly we settled our luggage got freshened up and started our offices.
Work From Mountains
So, now we were ultimately working from the mountains. We had two weekdays before our Beas Kund trek in which we had to wrap up our official work so that we could enjoy our coming leaves without any hindrance. In Ram Cottage they do have a wi-fi which was giving a good internet speed but doesn’t know how my Airtel’s mobile network was working better though, might be because it’s a postpaid connection. Most of the time I used my mobile’s internet and hadn’t faced any problem not even on Teams/Skype calls.
Waking up around 7-8 AM, seeing the mountain views, sipping tea or coffee on the balcony then after freshening up, either call in the breakfast or go outside, doing office works while soaking sunrays, listening to the soothing music sometimes to enjoy the peacefulness, it became the daily routine of ours there, some of the unforgettable and magical days those were.
Like this, we spent two working days and were anxiously waiting for the weekend, now it’s the time for the long-pending, much-anticipated Beas Kund trek.
18th Sep 2021, Day 1 – Dhundi To Bakarthach
That was a lazy morning, we woke up at around 8 AM got freshened up had aloo parantha and cuppa noodles for breakfast also packed some for the hike too.
Reaching Trek Starting Point – Dhundi
At around 10:30 AM we left, we had to reach Dhundi from where the trek started. Auto is the all-time available mode of transport we could get from Hadimba temple so we went there and luckily got the direct auto to Dhundi, asked price was Rs 1100 but we negotiated it to Rs 900.
We were on the Solang valley road and the map was showing around 20 KM of distance from Manali, it was a long way than we predicted. Neither we nor our auto driver exactly knew the place so we asked a few locals in between and finally, we reached our first milestone. Dhundi didn’t seem like a village it was more of a construction site, some water pipeline project was going on there.
A Heated But Essential Meeting With Forest Department Officials
We were passing by the construction site and we saw a jeep coming, we stopped and stood aside to give it way, but all of a sudden it stopped and a few guys started asking questions like where we came from, do we have a permit for the trek. At first, we got surprised that how come anyone could have asked all these questions, then we asked them about their authority they told us that they are the members of the Manali hiking association which worked for the rescue operation in collaboration with the forest department.
One of the forest officials was also with them which we didn’t know in the beginning so we said we didn’t get the permit and also asked them if we could see any ID proof of them, this question triggered one of them and he started murmuring, I don’t want to go in the detail but after that our conversation got heated but we knew that it was our mistake that we missed taking the permit so we asked them if we can get the permit now, is there any online provision for that, one of them replied no you have to go back and do all formalities in the forest department’s office in Manali then only you can go.
I tried to calm down the situation then after a while one of the guys said ok we can hand over our official IDs to him then he will submit them to the forest office then on our way back after our trek we can pay the permit charges and collect our IDs. That was the only practical and sensible way so we handed over our IDs to him and he shared his number with us then after a light-hearted chat about the trek they headed their way.
Hitting The Trail
In the beginning, we had to walk a long way from the construction site then after around 1 or 2 KM, we crossed the Beas river and then the actual trail was started.
At Dhundi construction site – starting point
Like most of the treks, it was quite steep in the beginning but after 2 hrs of the tough hike, we were in the grasslands. On both sides, there were mountains we got so excited and enthusiastic actually, after that incident with those guys our mood got off but after seeing the views we got our enthusiasm back, we started enjoying the hike, clicked a few pictures made some videos too.
We started at around 1 PM and Dhundi to Bakarthach was around 5 to 6 hrs hike as per a few articles so we had a long way to cover to reach our destination.
The best thing about the trail so far we noticed was that the complete trek was marked properly with yellow arrows so we just had to follow them, there were no chances of losing track. After hiking for 1 more hour we decided to take the rest for a while and had a parantha and chocolate.
On the way to Bakarthatch
As we were hiking just after the monsoon so the mountains, the meadows, the trail, all were covered with the lush green grass and ferns. It was so majestic and also after such a long gap we found it more mesmerizing. As we moved further we saw two locals were coming from behind they were quite far but within 10 or 15 minutes they were beside us, wish we could get their speed and stamina, we asked them about the Bakarthach and they told us it’s just an hr or 45 minutes away, we were so relaxed then, with the slow and continuous pace, we moved ahead.
I was feeling nauseous because of that spicy cuppa noodles which I had as a first meal of the day but it was manageable so we walked and exactly at 5 PM we could see the tents just a little far from us and in 15 minutes we have reached our first destination – Bakarthach campsite.
Pitching Tent And Called Off The Day
All the spots were already taken, at that time I guess there were more than 30 hikers gathered all of them are in groups except us we were the only solo hikers there. We started looking for the place then a guy from the far suggested a place which seemed perfect, it was flat, dry and a little far from all the tents, we cleaned it a bit removed the tiny plants and pitched our tent.
It was around 7 PM, miraculously I still had the phone networks with the internet there as well so, I called my sister and showed her the view then after settling everything I laid down to take a nap, meanwhile, Surabhi was enjoying the view outside then after a while she came inside the tent and tried to wake me up for dinner but I was not feeling well so, I told her I’m not going to have anything I just went off to sleep.
She then made tea and had parantha with it. Later on, she went outside, called her family and sat under the sky, quietly gazing at the stars. I’m glad that at least one of us had enjoyed that night.
19th Sep 2021, Day 2 – Bakarthach To Beas Kund And Back
It was around 7 AM we were in our sleeping bags, last night we had a good sleep and I was feeling better. We came out of our tent, the sun was rising, some people were doing yoga some were having tea in groups and from far away somewhere we could hear a Pahadi song, the whole campsite seemed very happening and alive.
Bakarthach Campsite
We were sitting on a rock soaking the morning vibes and sunrays, a guy called us for tea first I hesitated but then on his second offer we couldn’t refuse. We went to their tent there were around 6-7 people gathered and we got to know that they were here for the Friendship peak expedition. During the months of summer the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, Manali (ABVIMAS) set up their camps here and teach their students mountaineering and ice craft. There is an entry-level peak nearby known as Friendship Peak(5200M) where budding mountaineers practice their skills. They told us we could get along with the group which would leave around 9 AM. After that tea discussion, we came back to our tent to prepare our breakfast. We had instant Poha packets and Maaza to drink, a superb combination for breakfast.
Breakfast At Bakarthach
Let’s Begin The Hike
After having breakfast we quickly packed a day hike bag and got ready for our today’s adventure. We saw a group was leaving so we thought of joining them. We followed them for about an hour and later we got assured that we just had to follow the trail marks. We stopped at a point for a while to click a few pictures and enjoyed the top view of the amazing scenery of various Himalayan peaks such as Deo Tibba, Indrasan, and Hanuman Tibba.
This day of the Beas Kund trek was the longest and had to hike for approx 8 hrs. We knew that already, so without wasting much time we started again, now we had to climb up a steep mountain which goes continuous for around 3 hrs after that we were on the loose boulders which seemed like floating on a glacier, lots of tiny rocks were falling and making an echo sound, it was quite frightening and crossing those boulders by stepping on them was the trickiest or I would say daring part of this trek that we both felt.
Boulder section on the way to Beas Kund
After crossing those boulders we came down and we reached the flatlands where we had rested for a while. From there we could see a vast open area in which two streams were flowing and on the extreme left, there was a waterfall too. We thought that could be the Beas Kund. So we got excited and increased our pace, now most of the trail was totally on the flatlands till we reached Beas Kund.
Crossing The Cold Stream
As we were walking, there were streams which we saw earlier and now we had to cross them. The water flow was too fast and the stream was very wide so we thought of going a little upward and yes we got right, there we found a crossing path where the width was not very much and due to the rocks, the flow was also diverting. With the help of our trekking sticks, we managed to cross the stream. We walked a little far and saw another stream.
This stream was quite faster, wider and a deeper one to cross. We decided to remove our shoes and cross it one by one. The water was cold, knee-deep and thick in texture as the grey sand was mixed in water. It didn’t look clean or clear like normal streams. After crossing this, we sat for about 5-10 minutes and soaked up our feet in the sun. We put on our shoes back and again started walking to our final destination.
Crossing the stream
Reaching The Holy Beas Kund And Way Back
We saw markings that were showing straight and not to the left where there was the waterfall. So we followed the marks and a few minutes later we saw some people coming our way. From a distance, we could also see some people gathered together. We guessed that it is the Beas Kund. Walking further we could see the holy “Beas Kund- source of Beas river”. There was a stone arrangement made as a shrine, we took the holy water and washed our face away from the Kund. The water was so clear that we could see some depth, quite terrific. The study shows that the depth of Beas Kund is still not confirmed but it is determined to be approximately 3893M deep which is more than the total altitude of this trek.
On the other side of the Beas Kund, a few small streams were falling from the top. We sat there for around 40 minutes, ate dry fruits to gain some energy and clicked a few pictures. After enjoying this moment, we then decided to head back to our campsite.
At Beas Kund
We took the same way back, except for that boulders area, we found the trail comparatively moderate than earlier. We were so thrilled and cherished after this expedition. With these feelings, we reached back to Bakarthach in just 2.5 hrs.
As we reached there, a guy called us and offered us tea. He seemed to be a kind person because he asked us whether we had lunch or not and what our plans were for dinner. We told him we have bread and soup for dinner and in the morning we ate Poha for breakfast. We had tea with him and sat in his tent for a while, then we came back to our tent.
We changed our clothes and sat outside for a while just enjoying the sun dusk and discussing the journey experiences.
It was almost 8 PM, we made corn soup and ate bread with it and later went off to sleep.
20th Sep 2021, Day 3 – Bakarthach To Manali
We woke up around 8 AM, we had the whole day to reach Manali and this last day’s hike was going to be the complete descent so without any rush we were enjoying the moments. Few of the groups who were there for the professional climbing course already left and others were packing for their hike. We prepared tea and had some biscuits with it. We didn’t cook anything because we decided to have proper food once we reach Manali.
After this light breakfast, we started packing our stuff. I should not say this but I never liked this part of camping but had to do it anyway. So, firstly we packed our sleeping bags and set our backpacks and at last, we rolled our tent.
We started our descent at 11 AM and by 1:30 PM we were at the construction site of Dhundi. After crossing the Beas river, we saw two guys and one was whom we already met on our way back to Bakarthach on the second day of the Beas Kund hike. They were carrying their camping stuff and loading it into Tata Sumo. The driver might be some known person to him so we asked them for the lift and they agreed to drop us somewhere after Solang valley main road as they were heading to some other place. We got down in between and thanked them for the help.
Now we were waiting for any convenience to Manali mall road and fortunately, after 15-20 minutes, we got a taxi which cost us Rs 400.
After reaching Manali, we straightaway headed to Forest Department. We met the forest official and paid Rs 250 for the permit. Permit charges are based on the number of days we camped and the type of tent (1 or 2 or 3 person) we carried. After these formalities, we got our IDs back. While we were coming out of the office, we were startled to see the same forest officer with whom we went to Bhrigu Lake. Once we thought to go and meet him but we didn’t as our taxi was already waiting for a long time.
We then reached our cottage, freshened up and ordered lunch in our room itself. After having lunch we went off to sleep as we were a little tired.
So that was our first trek after the pandemic and then we did “work from mountains” and explored Manali.