Harkidun

Har Ki Dun is one of the most beautiful valleys in the Western Himalayas. The trail through alpine meadows, glacier basins, pine forests and ancient villages gives you spectacular views and a chance to experience an intriguing slow paced local lifestyle. The Har ki Dun trail takes you back in time. The cradle shaped valley is populated with ancient villages that are over 3,000 years old. Get an intimate look into lives of villagers as they pass you by. The Har ki Dun valley is accessible through Govind National Park in both summer and winter. This is a valley trek where you trek along the Supin River to Har Ki Dun valley. The trail to is known for its rich variety of flora and fauna. It was 2 am on 29th November, when a group of 30 students left Roorkee to start their journey to Har ki Dun. Sankri is a small village which was the base camp and is situated at 1950 meters above sea level. It took 10 hours drive to reach there from Dehradun. Although the drive was tiring and exhausting but once having reached Sankri everyone got totally refreshed by the mesmerizing view over there. The group made a stay at Sankri in the guest house. The delicious local food served in the small and simple restaurants made everyone starved and won the hearts over. This embarked the beautiful journey. The next day chirping of birds, chillness of the air and a beautiful view of misty mountains wished everyone a good morning. Everyone sipped tea with a blanket wrapped around, whilst enjoying the view of the snow covered mountains. A light but energy rich breakfast energized everyone. For the trail ahead, the group carried energy bars and big water bottles. Taluka village is situated 2410 meters above sea level. The journey took them through chestnut, walnut and chinar forests. The village was beautiful and perfect for camping and Bon fire. Following the Bon Fire, everyone crawled into the sleeping bags in the tents, enjoying a sound sleep. The next day, the trek was continued to reach Osla. Osla is situated at 2560 meters above sea level. With every step ascended, the atmosphere grew thinner. The trek involved a small visit to many places and lush green grass with wild orchids. Now started the most pleasant trekking. The trail was a little steep but constant view of lush green grass and beautiful wild flowers kept everyone energized. As everyone kept on climbing up, the beautiful snow covered peaks were more clearly visible. The Swargarohini peak and Jaundhar glacier were visible after having reached Har Ki Doon. The pleasing ambience took all the pain and tiredness away. Everyone strolled leisurely on the soft grass with cold wind rushing against the face. Beautiful and clean snow with small patches of green made the place nothing less than a picture perfect scenery. The group camped there and stayed for the night. The last day was a return journey. Everyone was in the campus by 12 a.m. cherishing the memories of the this thrilling and beautiful trek.