Three Friends One Trail and a Himalayan Morning, Solang valley, India

In today's post, you'll read how three of us friends reached Kothi Village from the Solang Valley, from where we planned to hike to Kothi Top. Let's explore the challenges we faced on this Himalayan journey.

Himachal Pradesh, also known locally as "Devbhoomi," is located in northern India. Within this Devbhoomi lies the Kullu district, home to the Solang Valley. Situated at 2,450 meters, it's my favorite valley. This is because the confluence of two mountain ranges so close to the road feels like reaching out and touching the snow-capped mountains.

We arrive in Solang after a road trip from Delhi. We have dinner, and it starts raining in the spring. The weather forecast proved true, as it rained continuously for two days and snow fell in the upper mountain ranges. We were stuck in the hotel, but that's a different matter. We spent two days drinking Starbucks coffee, which was a good decision.

Two days later, when the weather cleared, we left our hotel at 6:30 a.m. and walked to Kothi Village, which was 4 km away. It took us about an hour and a half to reach there. Even if you want to, you can't walk fast in the mountains, because your heart rate increases so much that you have to either stop or slow down.

Solang Valley is located at 2450 meters, and we three friends are currently standing at an altitude of 2500 meters. Our target is 8 km from here, at the top of the mountain. Above Kothi Village, there is a mountain called Kothi Top, its height is approximately 3200 meters, meaning there will be an elevation gain of approximately 700 meters from here, and we are prepared for it.

We've brought chocolates, candy, and a liter of water. There's only one water source on this mountain, which is 3 kilometers away. We'll refill our water bottles there. It's 9 o'clock by the time we start the hike. As we cross the village boundary, the sun rises behind the mountain in front. The mountain in front is very special because it houses Bhrigu Lake, a sacred place among the locals and for me as well.

We start to feel hot as we walk, while the cool breeze below us made us feel like ice cream. Going a little higher, we feel satisfied with the breathtaking view of Kothi village below. The trail is rocky and unpaved. It's only used by shepherds, so it's not well maintained. I know this route because I visit here at least once every year.

There's green grass nearby; since winter has arrived, the grass is turning from green to yellow. After about an hour and a half, we cross a stream, stopping to breathe and refill our water bottles. After a 5-7 minute break, the walk feels good; our bodies have acclimatized to the altitude.

As we walk, we see the mountain towering above the Anjani Mahadev Temple, and behind us, we see the glittering houses in the Manali Valley and the Beas River. For the next two kilometers, we walk slowly, without stopping, resting, enjoying the views, and clicking many photos with our phones. Now, only 3 kilometers remain...for which we will have to put in a lot of effort.

We reach Kothi Top at 2 o'clock. There is light snow, a grassland, and sheep and goats grazing nearby. The Shepherds' dogs are enjoying the sunshine and giving us friendly looks. We stop here and talk to Shepherd, who tells us that nature has tested us these past two days. So much rain and snow fell that staying in a tent at such a high altitude became extremely difficult. We couldn't even burn wood to protect ourselves from the cold because the rain had soaked everything.

So this was our 8-kilometer journey, which began in Kothi village and ended at Kothi Top, located at 3200 meters. I'll write about the journey from here onwards in my next blog. I hope you enjoy the landscapes in this post.

Disclaimer: This post is originally written in Hindi and I have used Google Translator to translate the Hindi text in English. All the photos have been clicked by me from One Plus 13R, and post thumbnail created in adobe photoshop.

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