Hamta Circle Trek

Report at Dolma Dhaba in Jagatsukh at 9 AM. After freshening up & breakfast there, we will start our trek. Jagatsukh is a small village just 7 Kilometres away from Manali and is well-known for its Apple orchards and ancient temples of Lord Shiva. You’ll cross two villages today, Jagatsukh and Bhanara village, and get a glimpse of the life of the locals in these small villages. You’ll have to climb up loads of stairs today, so mentally prepare yourself. The uphill walk from Jagatsukh to Bhanara should take around 25 minutes, and you’ll find yourself surrounded by apple trees along the way. Right after Bhanara village, you’ll walk through a partially dense pine forest, still climbing stairs, and at the heart of the forest, you will be able to spot oak, deodar and chestnut trees. You will soon come across a Shiv Temple, called Takshak Nag Temple, which is quite sacred for the locals of both the villages you just walked through today. From here you’ll walk further up, into the forest, until you come across a clearing, that is your campsite for the day. You will have plenty of time to explore the area, so relax and enjoy the view. Your first hike is over.

Prepare yourself for epicness today. Today you’ll walk further up, through the forest, traversing through the hills, until the trees disappear and you come across vast meadows with huge boulders right in front of you. You will get two epic views today, one is of Hanuman Tibba and second is the view of the entire city from your campsite. Depending on the weather, you might come across a few Gujjar make-shift huts today, and locals collecting herbal plants and roots before Tilgan. The gradient of the trail is moderate, ascending all the way up till Saraha Baggi. Camp over night at Saraha Baggi.

If you loved your campsite yesterday, you’ll absolutely get blown away with your campsite today. Your trail with start with a carpet of yellow flowers and honey bees buzzing and camouflaging amongst these flowers. An hour into the trek, you’ll come across a waterfall, and right after that you’ll start your ascend into the forest. The path after the waterfall is quite narrow and could get muddy and slippery, so be extremely careful today. You’ll walk in and out of the forest today, gradually ascending and descending along the way. If the ground is not snow-covered, you’ll find loads of fallen chestnuts covering the ground. You’ll be camping at one of the most beautiful campsites today, so brace yourself. The beautiful lush green hills, the massive mountains in the background, and the shepherds grazing their flock of sheep/buffaloes make this place something of a dream. Overnight camp at Sarotu.

This is going to be the shortest day on the trek, but it’s descend all the way till Jobra, so it could get quite taxing for your knees. You’ll traverse through the hills of Sarotu, cross a stream, and reach the Jobra Dam, which is the end of the trek for you, but the beginning of the trek for people heading for the Hampta Pass trek. The descend is not too steep, just zigzag your way down the hills and you’ll be okay. You’ll meet shepherds close to Jobra, and will find a lot of small restaurants in Jobra for refreshments. A car will pick you up from Jobra and the drive to Manali will take about an hour. The road to Manali has quite a few hairpin bends, so just a word of caution for people who tend to get car sick. Overnight stay in Manali.