Skip to main content

Churah Valley - An Untouched, Beautiful place in the Himalayas

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”― Mark Twain

 I would like to highlight the trek to Churah Valley and the things that happened there. It is an amazing place that you should most definitely visit.

 Although the trek was arduous, the thing that fueled us was what was coming up in front of us. And when we reached the summit, the view was breathtaking and totally worth it.

Day 1
The day started with us reaching Pathankot early in the morning, and having a short stay in the guesthouse, where we freshened up, had delicious parathas, tea and then started off in the bus towards Bhanjraru. The journey there was fun, with the company of friends and beautiful views that opened up before our eyes with every turn that the bus took around the mountain.

We continued the journey and reached our destination, the rest house by nightfall.



Day 2
We got up early in the morning and did some light stretching exercises to loosen up our muscles for the long trek ahead of us. We left the road pretty quickly within the first ten minutes. We took the first fork out of the road and started the steep climb on the mountain.

After sometime, we reached a helipad atop the mountain. It was a refreshing sight as it meant that we were near a village. Soon after, we stopped for our breakfast. We continued our trek, and soon were climbing the mountain and gained altitude. Soon we were getting tired easily as the oxygen content was low at higher levels.

We trekked along the path, and every new turn in the mountain opened up new vistas to our eyes.



Day 3
Around 10, we decided to start again and trudged along the mountain side. After a climb uphill, we reached a beautiful meadow. I don’t know if the arrangement was man-made, but the breathtaking untouched beauty of the place was a sight to behold.


We continued onwards and continued on terrain that was breathtakingly beautiful. We soon started climbing downhill. We routinely came across aquifiers, whose water we were initally hesitant to drink from, but the locals told us that it was perfectly safe to drink from. We kept drinking from them, filling up or bottles every few hours.

We crossed over a mountain and climbed it for another half hour or so and visited another school from where we met another bright set of kids. We had our lunch, climbed down and continued onwards on the road for our next stop - Devikothi


Day 4
From the school, we trekked higher up and reached a guesthouse. Here we had our lunch and had many group activities. We passed by many schools on the way one thing the stood out was the creativity of the children, their inquisitive nature and drive to succeed..



Day 5
We woke up refreshed in Mangli and had a meditation session and started on our way back. It was a different experience to be in an area that does not have cellular network coverage. The previous night's interaction where the village folk showcased their musical instruments was really good as was the experience to interact with them and understand their day to day lives.

“Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference” – Robert Frost

I cannot stress enough about the beauty of the place. One should most definitely visit the valley once. It is an untouched beauty that you will sorely miss after you leave.

“A ship in a harbor is safe, but it not what ships are built for.” -John A. Shedd

 Do get in touch with the good folks at NotOnMap (NotOnMap - Contact Us)





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Churah Valley – Witness Nature in Its Pristine Form

Churah valley is located a remote corner north of Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh. It is one of the few places which has maintained the nature in its pristine form. The place shows us the stunning view of the majestic Himalayas which cannot be captured by any camera. It is a 6 to 7 hour drive from Pathankot which is the nearest railway station connecting the valley. The valley has the following key attractions which will be present in the bucket lists of people when it comes to tourist places. The valley is one of the must go destinations for trekkers who like to unpack their tents in the wild. The place is mostly safe as there is no animals which are dangerous to human beings. During the trek you can see some of the most amazing visuals which will stay with you for your lifetime. The trek will be physically exhausting and will be satisfying for people who want to push their limits. Even though I mentioned that it is not possible to capture the beauty of Churah, it is one of ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Churah Valley - The Roads Less Travelled

     Offbeat Destination, Simple Culture, Majestic Mountains      An Authentic Experience     Churah Valley, the hidden valley of Himachal, is located North from the district headquarters of Chamba.  This year as part of the 'ShodhYatra'- course offered at IIM Ahmedabad, we visited this la nd of  Majestic Natural Beauty.  T he beauty of Churah Valley and its simplicity made the relentless climbing and walking worth by providing some of the most picturesque scenes.  Natural Beauty One starts witnessing the natural grandeur at the beginning of the journey itself while traveling from Pathankot to  Bhanjraru to reach the Churah  Valley  -  The   criss-cross roads in the mountains offer views as serene as the one below. Churah in literal terms means four paths. Walking along the dense forests and mountains,  the silent, sublime and awe-inspiring char...
Post a Comment
Read more

Journey to Churah Valley

            Mountains are the best place to go when you need a break from your routine, there is something about them that brings sort of calmness, serenity in you. I found out about this during one of my course trip to Churah Valley in Himachal Pradesh.  Himachal is known for its beautiful mountains that have yet remain unaffected by human activities and indeed it is true most of the mountain that we went during this trip had a thick forest cover and its wildlife intact. I think this is something special about churah valley, So If you are truly looking for an experience that is filled with beauties of nature churah valley is the place to go Day 0: Delhi to Bhanjraru We started our journey from Delhi taking a train to reach Pathankot from where we were supposed to take a traveller to reach our destination Bhanjraru. One of the best things about the mountain is that you enjoy the journey as much as you enjoy the destination the same was...
Post a Comment
Read more