Lamkhaga Pass Trek

This ten-day traverse crosses Lamkhaga Pass from the opposite direction to the more commonly documented Kinnaur approach, beginning instead at Harsil, the apple-growing town on the Uttarkashi-Gangotri road, and concluding on the Himachal side at Sangla, a route that follows an entirely different set of approach camps up the Jalandhari Gad valley before joining the pass from the Uttarakhand flank. Arrival day is kept deliberately light, allowing the group to settle into Harsil's already meaningful altitude before committing to the trail, and a short afternoon walk through the town's well-tended apple orchards, planted originally under a Raja who once held authority over this stretch of the Bhagirathi valley, offers a gentle introduction to the region's distinct character. The Bhagirathi runs wide and relatively calm here compared to its narrower, faster profile further upstream near Gangotri, and a riverside stroll reveals small ITBP outposts that reflect this valley's proximity to sensitive border terrain further north. Permit and registration formalities specific to the Lamkhaga crossing are completed this afternoon, a necessary step given the trek's passage through protected forest and eventual crossing into Himachal Pradesh, and the expedition leader uses the process to brief the group thoroughly on the ten days ahead, emphasising that this Harsil-side approach, while different in character from the Kinnaur route, carries an equally serious technical demand once the glacier sections begin. Local shopkeepers, many depending heavily on the short apple harvest season for their annual income, are typically happy to share stories about Harsil's relatively recent opening to wider tourism, a contrast to Chitkul's longer-established position on the Kinnaur trekking circuit. Evening temperatures drop noticeably once the sun clears the western ridge, an early hint of the far colder camps awaiting deeper in the Jalandhari valley, and the group turns in early, aware that proper rest tonight matters more than it might elsewhere given the demanding fortnight ahead.

The trek proper begins today, following the Jalandhari Gad upstream from where it joins the Bhagirathi near Harsil, the trail climbing through dense deodar forest that shades much of the morning's walk before the valley narrows into a rockier gorge stretch requiring careful footing on damp, moss-covered stone. This valley sees considerably less trekking traffic than the more commercially developed routes around Gangotri, and the near-total absence of other groups gives the walk a genuinely quiet, exploratory character rarely found on Uttarakhand's better-known trails. Birch gradually replaces deodar as height is gained, and several waterfalls drop from unseen side valleys, their spray occasionally reaching the trail during the wetter stretches of the monsoon shoulder season. The gorge eventually opens into Jalandhari Bugyal, a broad meadow shelf that gives this valley its name, ringed by forested ridges on both sides and fed by multiple small streams braiding gently across the grass. Shepherds from Harsil and neighbouring villages still graze sheep here through the short summer window, their temporary stone shelters scattered across the meadow's lower reaches, and the relative isolation of this pasture compared to more famous Uttarakhand bugyals is immediately apparent in the complete absence of any permanent infrastructure. Camp is pitched on a flattened section near the largest stream, chosen for reliable water access, and the guide team uses the evening to explain how this Harsil-side approach converges only much later with the terrain crossed by trekkers approaching Lamkhaga from the opposite, Kinnaur direction. Views back down the valley toward Harsil, now considerably distant, offer a useful measure of the day's progress, and the noticeably cooler evening air at this bugyal signals the trek's steady move toward genuine high-altitude terrain.