Triund trek🏔 is once in a life time experience 🤓😌. Started my journey from Chandigarh by car 🚗. Going all the way from Chandigarh to Maclodganj took me about 6hrs. I had already arranged a hotel room over there near Bhagsunag temple, Hotel Akashdeep. The hotel 🏤 is really good but as it is near Bhagsunag waterfall ,the price is a bit on the higher side💰, ranging from Rs 3000-4000/- per night. The food is delicious😋 and the service is good. I reached the hotel at about 11:30pm🌌. I had already planned to start my journey 🚶early morning at about 6am, but as we all know that waking up early and that too after a long drive of 6hrs is really a hard task 🙆 so I managed to get up at 8am 😴, leaving for the trek at about 9am. There are two routes for the trek, one from the Bhagsunag waterfall and other from Dharamkot. The way from the Bhagsunag fall is more difficult🙄.I ,being the beginner in trekking decided to take the Dharamkot route. Dharamkot is about 3km from Maclodganj and with a steep road. On reaching Dharamkot I came to know that road ahead is not good and it was recommended to park the car there. But you can also take your car ahead up-to Gullu Devi Temple (from where the actual trek starts) if your car has good base clearance. There are many taxi drivers 🚕 who take the visitors from Dharamkot to Gullu Devi Temple. The distance between Dharamkot and Gullu Devi Temple is about 3Km. I talked to a taxi driver and asked about the price and it shocked me 😯. As he was demanding Rs 500/- for that 3km distance and that too for one way 😧 and another Rs 500/- for the way back, making it Rs 1000/- for 6km!!! 😱 I talked to some other guys but all were demanding same. After bargaining they came to Rs 450/- for one side, but according to me that too was very high. Then I thought 🤔 if I am trekking for 7km why not cover this 3km by foot too and save Rs 1000/- as well 🤑 . So finally I decided to go by foot😎. As I started my journey I met a 😇 kind localite who told me a shortcut that would reduce the distance by 1Km and I started from that way 🏃. Now one more thing I wanna tell you is that u can start trek from the Dharamkot route latest by 11:00am 🕒 after that the officer 👮 there will not allow you to start the trek, but there are no such timing issues if u go from the Bhagsunag route.
Now the shortcut I started was really steep 😥, but being energetic😏, I just kept on moving and saw my initial destination 🙅 “The Gullu Devi Temple”. Now in this 2Km journey ,I was accompanied by 3 stray dogs🐕🐕🐕, they were really friendly and even protected me from monkeys🐒. On reaching The Gullu Devi Temple I bought some biscuits 🍪 and feed the dogs. And yes I reached on time!! 😎
Now when you will start trek from Gullu Devi Temple there will be a room on right hand side of the road, where an Officer 👮 will ask you for the photo ID and will note down🖋 the plastic material (bottle, packets etc) you have with you and will instruct you to not throw anything above there on the trek as any plastic material missing on your way back will cost you Rs 2000/- 🤐 and he will not allow you to carry alcohol or beer (any kind of drugs)🚫 with you on the trek.
And from here starts the actual Triund trek, now just enjoy the nature and keep moving, moving, moving and moving 🚶 🚶 🚶 🚶.
Things you must keep in mind while trekking :-
1) Must carry at least 2 water bottles🌯🌯. I made the mistake of carrying only one bottle, so I didn’t get water till the mid point, Best View Cafe. Only at the mid point you will find 2 cafes where you can get water and other eatables, that too at a cost of Rs 50/- per water bottle. After that, water will only be available on the top 🔝.
2) If you are using phone 📱 for photography 📷 then you must carry a power bank. (highly recommend)
3) Do carry a disposable plastic raincoat ☔, as you don’t know when and where it will start raining🌧. So it is recommended to carry a disposable plastic raincoat, as it can fit in your pocket and it’s cheap.
4) Carry some dry fruits with you, that will provide you energy as there is not many eating options available till the mid point.At the top you will get eatables but at quite expensive prices 🤔 (Rs 10/- Maggie 🍝will cost you for Rs 80/- at the top, but the experience is totally worth it 😋).
5) Do carry a torch 🔦 with you. As while coming back if it’s very dark 🌃, so that time you may need one.
6) Official camping is not allowed🚫 at the top. So I won’t recommend to do anything unofficial and risking your safety.
7) If your jacket don’t have hood, then carry a cap, as the wind blowing is very chilly🌬 ( I went there in November, it was just freezing❄)
Now talking about the second route that goes from Bhagsunag fall. There are no time restrictions, as the one is in Dharamkot route (you can start the trek latest by 11:00am). But that route is difficult one and as there is no clear way so one can also lost the way. I wouldn’t recommend the Bhagsunag route if you are not a seasoned trekker.
Rest just enjoy the trek and the views from the top are amazing. And don’t forget to enjoy the beautiful view of snow covered Dhauladhar mountains 🏔. Sometimes they are covered with clouds and take some time to get cleared.
Some pics from the top have been attached. Hope you like them😀
Keep the place clean and be safe 😇
The World Untouched 