Har ki Dun : Part 3-The Valley

It was the day to get absorbed in the beauty of valley!! It was the day to get to witness an unforgotable moment!! It was the day to visit Har ki Dun!!

Unlike 6-7-8 for last 3 days, it was 7-8-9 on the fourth day that means we were supposed to wake up at 7, breakfast will be served at 8 and have to leave at 9, as we were waking up at 6 for past 3 days and the Valley is what we have came for so all of us were up by 6 and ready by 8 for the trek. Due to a lot of snow we had to camp around 1.5 km before the valley and with the news that there is a snow of around 4 ft at the valley created an excitement among us. For the last day we were provided with gaiters to protect our shoes from getting wet. It was around 9 that we packed our lunch and were set to witness the Har ki Dun valley.

The last leg of the trail to Har ki Dun takes you from pine forests, snow capped mountains and a couple of streams. As we started the trek and made our way through the forest we were soon accompanied by a stream and the peak was clearly visible. It is not until you reach near GMVN guest house that you can see the valley. I got another high when I finally set my eyes on our destination. The valley was here! An enormous valley completely covered with snow in the midst of enormous white mountains. The view was stunning and the sheer size of the valley was mind blowing. There was so much of space and so much of time that it would be really easy to lose track of both.

We stopped near the GMVN guest house and sat there some time. The valley was so silent and so beautiful that everyone was lost in the beauty of the gigantic valley. Some of us went down to experience the wonderful valley. It was difficult to image that the valley completely covered with snow will turn completely green in 2 months. After some time we all gathered for lunch and by the time we came back the rest of the group has already made a snowman and everyone was busy capturing a snap with him. After the photo session and lunch started the much awaited snow fight! Inadvertently we were divided into 3 groups and started throwing snow balls on one another. Initially we thought of exploring Morinda Tal as well but after half an hour of snow fight and our hands completely numb we decided to stay for a while and then return to camp site.

If you have a buffer day at Har ki Dun there are 2 places which you can explore, one is Morinda Lake which is 3 km from Har ki Dun and another is Jamdhar Glacier which is around 10 km. Jamdhar Glacier was around 7 Km from the valley but in recent time the Glacier has shifted 3 Km due to global warming. The fact that the Glacier has shifted 3 Km in recent time will make you think about the effect of our actions on nature. Though we don’t think about the effect of our actions a single incident like this will change the way you think about the whole phenomenon of Global Warming.