Triund – India – August 2009

Bryan — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:07:11 +0000

Triund is seasonal pasture land located about 1000m above Mcleod Ganj and is where I spent six days just wandering around the surrounding hills, meadows and valleys, eating Maggie and drinking too much instant coffee. Initially, I was planning to trek Indrahar Pass but decided that I would rather spend my last few days in India in laid-back leisure rather than in hard-core trek. One can see Indrahar Pass in the photo below…it sits between the two peaks in the background…the steepness of this route takes the term “pass” to the next level. The weather was also being unpredictable and I wasn’t keen on being stranded on some mountain slope with a flight leaving Delhi in 7 days. I did climb halfway up the pass to a ‘cave’ that one would set up camp in should they wish to attempt the pass.

Looking down into the Indian plains. The urban area directly below is Dharamsala and the reservoir on the hazy horizon is NOT the Sardar Sarovar Project, but I’m sure it has all of the same problems (inside joke for my SURP 811 peeps).

Not a Swiss girl in sight.

Triund pasture has a few tea houses selling typical trekking staples, renting out tents and selling beer (which is apparently illegal as they are not licensed). Most people will hike up for the day, with some venturing a bit further into the hills and then returning to Triund for the night before heading down to Mcleod Ganj. I liked it so much, I just stayed in my tent and ate at the Tea Houses…I don’t think I’ve ever lived that cheaply before. New groups of people would come up each night which made for a variety of interesting campfire conversations.

I broke my camera just before Triund and because being up there without some sort of camera was not an option, I dropped my stuff and blasted back down to Mcleod Ganj and picked up my old point-and-shoot Olympus (which these photos are a product of) and went back up to Triund the next morning. Unfortunately, the SD card on the Olympus became corrupted and 75% of the photos I took are unreadable…these were the only ones that I managed to salvage.
Triund Teahouse.From Triund there are great day hikes further into the hills. The most common is up to the ‘snow-line’ which is about an hour above Triund. From there one may continue further toward Indrahar Pass or explore one of the other surrounding valleys or hills. Snowline pasture below. he remnants of an old guesthouse. Apparently 10 years ago this area was at the snout of a now deceased glacier.
Trail marker for Indrahar Pass.
Moving up toward the Indrahar Pass cave. It’s not really a cave, but rather a massive sloping rock one can take shelter under.

Last day at Triund. Amazing sunsets, nightscapes, full moons and the occasional full rainbow at 3000m. This wasn’t the last photo of India that I took (I have some crappy mobile phone shots from Chandigarh) but I like to think it is.

Northern India – 2009 :-)

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Mcleod Ganj – India – August 2009

Bryan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:35:44 +0000

Situated below the the Dhauladhar mountains (outer Himalaya range), the former British colonial outpost of Mcleod Ganj is now more famously known as the seat of the Dalai Lama and home to the Tibetan government in exile. It is also somewhat of a must-see destination on the Northern India circuit. Full of westerners seeking enlightenment in one form or another, MG is also gateway into the Himalayas and offers stunning views in the range as well as down onto the Punjab plains.

While hardly the best map, Bing does give the viewer an impression of the differences between the southern greenery and the rain shadowed Himalayans. MG is about seven or eight kilometres above Dharmasala.

I spent quite a bit of time in MG, largely because was trapped by the perpetual rains of the monsoon and I had told myself I wasn’t going to leave until I got up to the pastures of Triund. Thus, I became one of the many travellers endlessly wandering the two main streets of Mcleod Ganj and drinking endless cups of coffee waiting for the rains to subside.

Luckily, the rains did subside – if only for a few days. But enough for me to get some decent photos of the area and make a run to heights of Triund to get above the weather.

Mcleod Ganj is typical of mountain Indian villages with a very dense organic layout built directly into the hills, tiny lanes, too many vehicles taxing the existing infrastructure…and the ubiquitous urban cows. Incredibly lush and green, MG has amazing forests populated by the mighty deodar cedar. Looking down on Mcleod Ganj. To the far right of the above image is the very humble residence of the Dalai Lama. Given his popularity and unpopularity (among some), I was expecting more of a isolated and secure ‘compound’, yet his residence is incorporated directly into the town.

The still functioning and absolutely gorgeous St. John in the Wilderness Church. Built in 1856, the Church has a Canadian connection as its cemetery is the resting place of Lord Elgin, who was the former Governor General of the Province of Canada from 1847 to 1854 before becoming Viceroy of India.

He’s in there somewhere.

The Dhauladhar range beyond the hills. Triund occupies the saddle of the foreground hills. From Triund I was planning to make an attempt to go over Indrahar Pass (4375m) should the weather hold. Monkeys everywhere in MG. Moving up into the hills above MG toward Triund. The village below is not MG but a neighbouring village called Bhagsu – yet another “Little Tel-Aviv” in India.

Moving up toward TriundWeather moving in

Triund on the saddle – this was one of the last photos I took before falling on my camera.

Technorati Tags: bhagsu, dalai lama, dharmasala, himalayas, india, indrahar pass, mcleod ganj, photography, photos, tibet, travel, traveling, triund

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Triund – India – August 2009

Mcleod Ganj – India – August 2009