“The mountains were so wild and so stark and
so very beautiful that I wanted to cry. I
breathed in another wonderful moment to
keep safe in my heart” – Jane Wilson-
Howarth, Snowfed waters
I am S Wasim Khan, working in piping
department for the past two years. My batch
KP Vasudevan Nambeesan and I were wanting
to go to the Himalayas for a long time.
Fortunately, we came to know about the
Youth Hostel Association of India (YHAI),
which is an NGO organization promoting
travel, tourism, adventure spirit, national
integration, education and health by
providing hostels of good standards to
millions of youth. Deciding to take up a tour
organized by them, we booked our trekking
expedition to the Chanderkhani pass in the
Himalayas and I am thankful to my section
head A. Haidershariff for granting me Earned
Leave for few days. So, the trip was on and
we were so excited.
We took a flight from Chennai to Delhi on 1st
June and it was my first flight journey as well.
Delhi was like a mix of India, we could see
people from all parts of the state. Delhi
metro rail was very well planned and
constructed and the fares were very cheap
too. Then, we reached 15 mile base camp in
Manali on 2nd
June. Interestingly in Manali,
there was daylight till 8.00 pm. YHAI people
explained us the rules, regulations and the
itineraries of our trekking. We started our
tent life; each tent can accommodate 12
persons.
Day 1: The day was for relaxation and
shopping. We were also given sleeping bags
and blankets. Interestingly, we got Tent No. 3
for the next 10 days and one can see the
diversity of India in that tent.
Day 2 & 3: meant for the acclimatization to
the trekking conditions. The most important
part was that, we had to wake early in the
morning by 5.30 am. and do exercise. All
instructions will be given by blowing a
whistle by the field or camp director.
Day 4: We started from the base camp
amidst the cheering from the next batch
trekkers and our director gave us instructions
about the packed lunch, Environmental day
and the Malana village. We boarded the bus
from our base camp to the Malana dam. It
was a 2.30 hour journey covering 70 km. We
started trekking from there and the path was
very challenging and steep.
As we were supposed to visit different
campsites, each day, we had to finish our
breakfast early and pack lunch to eat
somewhere on the way. It was the
Environmental day, June 5th. As per the
instructions, we had to collect the plastic
wastes during our trekking. Like every
Technipite, HSE is my core value and I took
the responsibility of collecting plastic wastes
along with my friends Vasu and Sathish. We
collected plastic bottles, wrappers, etc. and
deposited in the dry pits kept in the camps.
The fellow trekkers also got involved in the
activity after seeing us.
The interesting part about Day 1 trekking was
the Malana village, Himachal Pradesh situated
to the Northeast of Kullu Valley at a height
of 8700 feet. This village is isolated from the
rest of the world. Inhabitants of the place are
regarded as the descendants of Aryans and
also the remnants of Alexander, The Great's
army. The People of Malana look like the
Greeks - have fairer complexion, brown eyes
and they speak Kanashi and Hindi. Their deity
is Jamdagni Rishi, who inhabited the place.
Their main temple is Jamlu temple, which will
be open only twice in a year, i.e., during
Independence day and heavy snow day.
There is no police station and government
rules are not applicable in Malana. They
consider themselves as pure, and outsiders
are not allowed to touch them or their
ancient stones. If done so, a fine of Rs.6000 is
levied. Their main profession is cannabis
plantation. They produce a unique product
called Cherus, popularly known as "Malana
Cream".
Our first campsite Yosgo (9000 ft.) was
situated on the top of Malana village. The
aerial view of Malana dam, hairpin bends
with the Kasol hills were breathtaking.
Day 5: We started walking down the Malana
village continuing our Environmental duties
and then we started climbing up the hill to
the Behali campsite (8900 ft.), situated on the
banks of the Beas River. It was very cold due
to the melting of Himalayan glacier, which
reminded me of the impact of global
warming in our world. One can see the Beas
River everywhere in Kullu. It flows for
around 470 Km and joins the Sutlej river and
finally continues into the Pakistan Punjab and
joins the Chenab river. The waters of the Beas
and Sutlej are allocated to India under the
Indus waters treaty. The word "Punjab" means
Panj (five) and ab (waters), the land of five
rivers- Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Chenab and Jhelum.
Day 6: After breakfast and taking some
photographs, we left Behali camp and
reached the Dadru campsite (9840 ft.), by a 7
km. walk. It rained on almost every day of
the trekking and the Dadru camp was very
slippery. We also enjoyed the campfire due
to the brilliance pyrotechnics of Vasu. We
walked high on the campsite to see the
mountains covered with white snow. Sunrise
in Dadru was very beautiful.
[[MMy expedition to Himalayas…way to go!
by S Wasimkhan
with the Kasol hills were breathtaking.
DaDayy 5:5: We started walking down the Malana
wewe wwereree soso eexcxcititeded.
We took a flight from Chennai to Delhi on 1st
activity after seeing us.
The interesting part about Day 1 trekking was
very challenging and steep.
As we were supposed to visit different

Day 7: We marched towards the Nagroni
campsite (11000 ft.) covering 6.5 Km. We had
a chance to see some rare species of birds
and plants on the way. It was very cold in
Nagroni as well and our camp leader served
us Gulab Jamun at 11000 feet! It was planned
in such a way that we should start walking
from 4.00 am., for which we had to wake up
at 2.00 am. due to the varying climatic
conditions.
Day 8: We started trekking towards our
destination, the Chanderkhani pass (13800
ft.). Totally, we walked 14 kms. (10 kms. uphill
and 4 kms. downhill). The terrain was full of
rocks and it was very difficult to walk, but it
gave us some good mountaineering
experience. At last, we reached the
Chanderkhani pass. It was very beautiful, one
can see snowy mountains, greeneries and
river falls - all beauties of nature at one
place. We started walking downhill to reach
our next campsite Navya Tapru (9000 ft.).
Sadly, it was our last day of trekking and we
also played dumb charades.
Day 9: We started walking down the
Himalayas, heading towards Nagar covering 7
kms. and we reached the 15 mile base camp
by gipsy van. We travelled by standing in the
gipsy and it was very thrilling to pluck apples
from the trees on the way just by raising our
hands. And the apples were really very fresh
and delicious. After reaching the base camp,
we opted for river rafting on the Beas River.
Day 10: We left the camp to Manali after
collecting our certificates. We hired two
wheelers for a ride to Solang valley - the best
place for Paragliding in our country. We also
visited Hadimba temple (which featured in
the Tamil film, Roja).
This trekking has given me some very good
experience about the flora and fauna, our
tradition, diversity, nature, cleanliness, safety
and social responsibility. The things which I
regret most and make me feel guilty is the
impact of Global warming, as we could not
see the ChankerKhani pass covered with
snow for almost 3 feet, which three years
back trekkers had the opportunity to see. It
has changed my approach towards the
environment to a greater extent. I hope that I
will continue to explore the nature in the
coming days as well.
the Tamil film, Roja).
we opted for river rafting on the Beas River.
DDDayay 111000:: We left the camp to Manali after