We discovered a gem and we are amply excited to tell you about it! Continuing on from the popular Har ki Dun trail, the route for Borasu Pass, which takes you to a height of 5,200M, opens up to grander views through scantier crowds. It takes you to the higher mountains to land into a greener state. What we like most about this high mountain pass which lies along the border of Tibet, is that it is barely explored and hence extremely pristine. The lack of a proper route for being an unmapped territory only adds to the thrill of the trek, also lending to raise its overall level of difficulty.
This ancient trade route between Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh provides some of the best views of the historically relevant Swargarohini peak – the peak climbed by the mighty Pandavs (of the Mahabharat fame!) to get to heaven. But that’s only one of the half dozen reasons why you should consider this as your next adventure!
We are super thrilled to list down from our experience, everything that makes this untouched trail a fresh delight!
1. Drive to Sankri:
Sankri is a trail head for a lot of trekking routes and is bustling with trekkers across the year. Popular trails such as Har ki Dun, Baraadsar Lake, Bali Pass, Kedarkantha, Dev Kyara, Phulara ridge to name a few, all start from this scenic village centered in the background of some of the most splendid mountains in the region.
The drive from Dehradun takes you on scenic mountain roads. The ever-changing landscape with each turn, make this long journey go by in a jiffy. Tall trees, massive fields and entire mountain faces cut into steps for farming are views you wouldn’t want to miss for some shuteye. The drive takes you through some very big towns but also alternates between small patches of busy roads with village shops and long empty stretches with nothing but the sound of the wind and the birds.
The constant shift between the noise and the calm has a sense of serenity attached to it. What’s even better is that breakfast and lunch, on local dhabas along the way ensure that you get to indulge your taste buds in some locally popular cuisine. The last two hours of the drive take you through a smooth road lined with thick forests on both sides. The sparkle of the forest is enough to refresh you from the long drive to get to our destination. Sankri is a trail head for a lot of popular treks and hence is not short on facilities. Although there is no phone network in Sankri, you can probably find a shop in the market which will be happy to loan you wi-fi in case of urgent need.
Waiting for you, at the end of the trail of this back-breaking journey will be a warm, wooden homestay with cozy rooms and a home cooked meal.
2. The Road Less Travelled:
This ancient trade route between Uttarakhand and Himachal offers you a variety of landscapes that are sure to leave you awestruck. Passing through small mountain habitations of Taluka, Gangaad, Dhatmir, Seema and Osla, the trek takes you through dense forests rife with chestnut, walnut, willows and chinar trees. It passes through an assortment of landscapes such as terraced mountain fields, massive patches of tall grass and thick coniferous forests. Our favourite part about this high-altitude pass, which at an elevation of 5,200M lies barely explored, is that it provides for the best views but will make you sweat for them!
A stunning mix of green meadows and vast fields of snow, packed with jumpy rivers and solemn glaciers, Borasu Pass gives you grander views with smaller crowds. This trek which allows you to continue on the beautiful and crowded Har ki Dun trail sees the crowds of the two-legged sort thin out and lets you own the view as you go deeper into these virgin lands.
3. Campsite for Every Terrain:
For the assortment of landscapes that it takes you through, Borasu pass gives you an experience of every kind of terrain. From the mossy to the green to the dry and the rocky – you get to camp each night on a different sort of ground in a different sort of environment. From the soft music of the river to the sound of flowing winds to the rumbling of the rocks, you will find yourself lulled to sleep with a different sound with each campsite.
While all the other campsites are fairly comfortable, the one at the base of the mountain is a peculiar and, hence, our favourite! Uneven and full of rocks, to say that it is compact and tricky to set up would be an understatement. Take it from us when we say this is not going to be one of your most comfortable nights in the mountains! The pass hides behind the many folds of the glacier in this area. The campsite here is exciting because it is protected by rockfall by a dip in the terrain. While the dip can keep the rock away, there is no way to stop the continuous sound of the rumble of rocks falling hither thither. Fair way to keep things interesting, you’d think!
4. A Visual Delight:
The fresh water streams with fantastical views of the forest and mountains, deep gorges with streams(nalla) flowing underneath, the nip in the air, Borasu Pass is a visual delight through and through. It starts at a small mountain village named Taluka which is bursting with colours. The trail then takes you through tall trees with a strong smell of the forest in the air, lush landscapes adorned with waterfalls by a half dozen with the grayish blue of the boisterous Supin river following alongside as a faithful companion. The shiny dots you see covering the mountain faces on the opposite side of the trail, are houses of entire villages resting precariously on these rugged slopes. The campsite at Har ki Dun introduces you to unobstructed views of the mythological giant, Swargarohini and the exquisite world guarded loyally by a heap of rocks. All this while you are still recuperating from the magic that was the beauty of Black Peak and Bandarpoonch which you saw on your way here.
Morinda Tal is yet another exciting feature not many get to witness despite it being so close to the popular Har ki Dun valley. This lake which sits still bang in the middle of the restless winds, swaying grass and rocks wanting to go places stands out as much for its tranquility as for its turquoise colour. This wide, open field is home to abandoned stone structures used by shepherds as shelters. The landscape from the lake suddenly takes on a new form and color, turning brown with short blades of dry grass with no shrubs.
Further ahead the clouds roll idly past the high mountains before they slowly dissipate into thin air. To witness this phenomenon, on loop, is nothing short of magical – but that’s just our experience!
From the campsite at the base of the mountain, if you chance upon clear skies, do not forget to look down to get a bird’s eye view of the many glacial lakes sitting idly in the distant landscape.
5. Gradual Height Gain:
Although the overall difficulty of the trek is high, it still remains manageable given that the trail allows for a more gradual gain in height as compared to some other difficult treks. The difficulty of the trek is well divided – on days when we are gaining a lot of altitude, the terrain remains fairly easy. As opposed to that when the difficulty of the terrain goes up, the gain in height on those days is convenient. The trek gives you a chance to experience untouched beauty without much of the health risks that come with climbing high-altitude passes. Height gain on each day:
Day 1: Sankri (1,920M)
Day 2: Sankri (1,920M) to Seema (2,260M): 340M gain
Day 3: Seema (2,260M) to Har ki Dun (3,510M): 1,250M gain
Day 4: Har ki Dun (3,510M) to Ratha Tho (4,110M): 600M gain
Day 5: Ratha Tho (4,110M) to Saunbhera (4,400M): 290M gain
Day 6: Saunbhera (4,400M) to Borasu Pass Base Camp (Upper Lamjung) (4,730M): 330M
Day 7: Upper Lamjung (4,730M) to Bonga (4,500 M) via Borasu Pass (5,200 M): 470M gain + 700M loss
Day 8: Bonga (4,500 M) to Chitkul (3,280 M): 1,220M loss
6. Progression of the Landscape:
This trek through the high-mountain pass is a complete 360-degree ride. Starting from greens leading into browns spilling into whites it takes a turn-around after the pass, to go from whites to browns to eventually reach the lush green valley by the Baspa river into Chitkul in the Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh.
The progression of the changing landscape is a phenomenon to be witnessed. The village of Taluka welcomes you with its bustling crowds and heaps of colour, thick with vegetation. As we move further ahead, from Seema to Har ki Dun, the tall trees disappear giving way to much wider valleys with smaller shrubs and expansive views. The warm colours of the landscape, and flowers (red orange yellow - the whole spectrum) automatically make you feel warm stripping the cold air off some of its power. The trail is rich in variety of leaves and bushes - the valley a messy wardrobe of colourful flowers scattered on the ground in no specific order. The route has you witness mountains of all kinds, from naked, vertical rockfaces using the sun as their personal reflectors, to greens on the foothills and the brown scree sliding down the gentle slopes like oily sweat.
As you go beyond the valley of Har ki Dun, the first thing you’d notice is that as the crowds on the way start to thin, so does the vegetation on the route, flipping the entire vibe of the trek on its head. There’s only scree, moraine and boulders till your eye can see - glaciers in the distance and absolutely no grass, even the dry grass would have now retired. You crossed very quickly from the tree line to dry grass to an absolute absence of vegetation. We, for one, had not expected this unfettered lay of beauty that we were now witnessing. Tiny specks of pollen flying in the air like snowflakes, streams spread across the land like veins of the earth. Triangular rocks and mountain faces with sharp edges look like Picasso paintings from his Guernica period. The sound of dry leaves crushing under your legs and the texture of the rock as you run your hands on its surface are some sensations you might want to experience. The feeling when the ground is mushy and holds you in your place like it’s telling you go no further, is surreal.
Don’t forget to take a few minutes to rest and get a bird’s eye view of the campsite of Saunbhera where veins of streams divide the land into geometric shapes – the flat ground appearing as hexagonal grasslands below. It was one sight we couldn’t tear our gaze away from.
The ground on the base where we set camp looks like fallen rocks someone pushed off a pile. Cloud forms dissipate and melt into the next form, taking on different personalities - you could spend hours looking at the shapes and structures around you. The only sound that will consume you though is the rumble of rockfall somewhere in the area once every few minutes. There is a thick layer of ice on the upper half of the mountain, you can hear the sound of water but have to go hunting to actually find it.
Once the pass has been crossed and we make our way into the next valley on the other side, the landscape remains the same – harsh, rocky and cold. However, half way through, you will welcome colour back to your field of vision with flowers now getting added to the mix of dry grass and life starting to thrive in the terrain.
The next campsite is in warmer lands with plentiful colours and a stream flowing by your tents. The temperature, however, is still low – do not be surprised if you wake up to a sheet of ice keeping you from getting to the water of the stream, like it did us!
The last day of the trek which will get you to Chitkul, takes you to the end of the challenging boulder terrain as you start to see more vegetation and finally find flat and firm land to walk on. The tree line also starts to make a reappearance. A little further and you will reach open grasslands with huge humps taking you up and down but the warmth of seeing life around you on these small hills keeps this a breezy walk.
7. Going ‘Beyond’ Har Ki Doon:
If you have ever walked the Har ki Dun trail, you will know the insurmountable beauty and the pleasant performance this valley has to offer. Har ki Dun is one of the most popular trails in Garhwal Himalayas, and with good reason. While the trek to Har ki Dun is a mere touch-and-go as it introduces you to the valley but brings you right back, Borasu Pass trek gives you the opportunity to immerse yourself in its beauty as you camp in the valley for a night. Har ki Dun valley is gorgeous to say the least. With an abundance of fauna housed by colourful birds, surrounded by splendid peaks, Har ki Dun is one of the most beautiful all-season treks in the Himalayas. Borasu Pass trek gives you the opportunity to continue on this exquisite but popular hanging valley in Garhwal Himalayas, onto the lesser explored route to the pass which allows you to experience the untouched land with all its untouched beauty!
Borasu Pass is the right mix of beauty and challenge and what’s better is that it introduces you to all brands of gorgeousness and not just the kind that could make for a pretty picture!
