BALI PASS (09 Days / 08 Nights)

We start early from Dehradun and drive through the villages of Damta Purola Mori Netwar and reach Sankri by evening. The final stretch is through the Govind Pashu National Park after we cross a check post at Netwar. We rest at night in a guest house or in camps.

Post breakfast we are transported from Sankri to Taluka. The drive is a bit bumpy. The trek commences from Taluka on a stony path. With the river Supin gushing through rapids beside us under the shade of walnut pine and other trees the walk is quite pleasant. Often the passing villagers greet us on the way. The path crosses over a few streams which merge with Supin. After a few hours of walk the village of Gangad can be seen towards the left across the river. We continue our hike and after about an hours walk the quaint village of Osla unfolds itself. Seema is a tiny settlement opposite to the river from Osla. We set camp here or stay in a hut with a local family in the village.

On this day we continue along the true right of the valley along the Tons river. The trail ascends through the fields and climbs high above the confluence of the Tons and Ruinsara gad. The walk through the forest is beautiful with Kalanag (6387) visible straight ahead in the valley. We camp beside the stream and close to the waterfall.

We ascend into the Ruinsara valley. There is a stark difference in the vegetation with pine and fir giving way to birch and rhododendron. Ruinsara lake is a lovely lake surrounded by meadows and rhododendron bushes. It is considered sacred by the locals. Overnight in camps near the lake.

Today we rest near the lake and spend the day exploring the nearby glaciers and valleys. This will help us to acclimatize before the next days climb to the pass. We reach Kyarkoti which is the base camp for Black peak (Kalanag) and Dumdar Kandi pass. By evening we are back at the camp.

We start the day early so as to reach before afternoon. We camp below the pass along the glacial moraine. This is the one of the best locations for a camp with the valley below and the pass behind you. Camping at this altitude is a new experience which very few treks offer.

We start very early today. The trail heads down south over the ridge. It is a fairly short but steep climb up to the Bali pass on the southern ridge. A lot of glacial scree will be encountered here. We reach the top of the pass by 8 am. You get a gorgeous view of various peaks from here especially of the Banderpunch peaks on a clear day. From the pass we descend down into the alpine zone and reach the camping grounds of upper Dhamni. This place has water nearby.

We descend to the forested trail leading to Yamunotri. After a quick visit to the famous shrine of Yamunotri we make our way down the conventional pilgrim trail to Janki chatti. Overnight in guesthouses in Janki Chatti.

This is the final day of the trip and we drive back to Dehradun.