"One hell of a crazy trek this one. The views were just splendid, and the organisers had it all charted out, and were extremely helpful. \n\nAn initial route through the forest is what we go through which is not that tiring, but after this stretch we move on to the most difficult part of the trek, where we come across the Hidlumane falls and we need to trek in quite a difficult terrain. Post all this stressful climbing, whatever the view you get is unmatched, all that pain, even though there physically, would have vanished mentally.\n\nBest to trek during monsoon or after the monsoon has receded to an extent as the hills are completely covered in green until the eyes can see. It's a treat for the eyes to feast on watching the western ghats in full glory."
This was my maiden trek and I am glad I chose Valley of Flowers and Hemkund Saheb. I carried home tonnes of great memories from the trip that I will cherish for my life.
Serene Nature, Splendid weather, a great company of cousins, new friends we made and the team who lead the trek made a perfect mixture to cherish. While the chirpy young kept the team charged, the conviction of the others was inspirational to the rest.
I am also glad that Thrillophillia conducts this trip. The field team lead by Yogi and Sandeep was awesome. At some point or other everyone in the group were amazed with their knowledge, patience, perseverance, untiring efforts to make the trip a memorable and comfortable one for the entire team. Their daily briefing was quite interesting.
Valley of flowers amazed us with the nuances it offered every minute. The continuous rain, the chill of the breeze, narrow steep path, rolling stones, changing landscape every minute, moving clouds around you, crossing the river over narrow bridges….
The list goes on and on
Hemkund Saheb is another marvel. This place left most of the team members ecstatic. What a bliss. The only place I have seen made many people cry with joy. A place that one must visit atleast once in their lifetime. The trek(mule ride), the hospitality at the Gurudwara were breathtaking. It was a testimony to what faith can bring out of people. We could see people of all age groups from 3 to 70+ trek all the way from Govindghat to Hemkund Saheb, carrying children and luggage on shoulders and sometime on mules. Wow…
We were exposed to a new world of Ghangaria which come alive in March and sleeps over from October. A town that has everything active only for 4 months.
"It was a wonderful experience for the day. Driver was quite polite and took us to all the places mentioned in the tour guide. Even the tour organiser was quite helpful in arranging the cab as it was a last minute booking. This trip will be remembered for a long time and will surely recommend it to others(infact already recommended). "
My first ever trekking experience and I could not have asked for a better one. Booked for this trek just 2 days before, solely based on other trekkers' reviews and amazing pics they have posted on Thrillophilia website. Moreover, it was going to be a solo trek for me and quite obviously, I had so many questions and apprehensions but after experiencing one hell of an trekking expedition, what I could say is 'If you want to go for a trek, just go for it, don't think too much and you won't regret later'.
Firstly, the tempo traveller which picked us up from Bangalore was quite comfortable and clean. Colin, who was our host for the trek initiated some ice breaking sessions at the beginning of the travel itself so that we all become familiar to our co-trekkers. Once we reached homestay at the destination point, I would say the arrangements were quite decent. Of course, we could not expect lavish facilities in an economical trip but must say, it had all that we truly required, good food, hot water shower, spacious balcony for all fun activities and amazing view outside. We were literally in the middle of the forest. Only thing that was a little turn-off for me was that the bedsheets were giving foul smell and 8 of us were sharing a single room so that one had to be patient to allow fellow trekkers for the use of washroom. However, please note there were separate rooms for guys and girls.
Starting at around 10pm from Bangalore, we reached the homestay at around 5am on Saturday. We rested for few hours, had our breakfast at around 7.30 and kicked off our trekking at 8.00. To begin with, it was just a normal road with forest on either sides but soon comes the path literally through the dense forest and since it was the time of monsoon, it was drizzling a bit and the forest was full of leeches clinging onto us at every step and trying their level best to suck our blood. We were quite vigilant to get rid of them and once they were being difficult to be removed, we were using salt. Just sprinkle a little salt on them and they will detach from you instantly. After an intriguing forest journey battling those leeches, we found ourselves on a grassy open field. We then scanned our body and shoes for any more leeches and once we were clear, marched ahead through the paddy fields to the rocky terrains with water flowing by your side. Soon, we reached a small water fall area. We took some pictures at that spot and when I was thinking that we would probably go back and resume our journey from some other point, I felt quite adventurous when I came to know that we were actually going to cross the water canal and climb up to the top through the super slippery rocks by the side of the fall, all the way to the top where actually the main water fall lies. My advice is not to step on the green patches on the rocks covered with mosses, those are damn slippery and since there was nothing where you can take the support or cling onto, one have to be really careful that they don't slip through these rocks. After some uphill climbing, we finally reached to the, so far the most amazing spot, right at the main waterfall area. Without thinking twice, we rushed under the fall and trust me it felt so damn good and relaxing. It became even more thrilling when our host guided us to the small cave formed right behind the fall. It was definitely not easier to get inside with the water hitting you so hard that you could not see or breathe properly for few seconds but I felt victorious when I reached inside the cave finally and to witness the waterfall from inside the cave was a different experience altogether.
Once we were done with the waterfall, came the part of journey which involves a lot of steep climbing through the forest and mostly the trails were on the edge of the hills, where we had to be careful not to slip not unless if you want to experience a free fall :-) And soon we were out on the open area again but this time it was on the steep slope of the hill and it was quite tiring to reach to the peak of the hill fighting with the muscle cramps. Nonetheless, each part of journey was fun and even more pleasing when we got to see diverse landscapes. Once we reached the peak, rested for a while, had our lunch and then started our descent downwards. The lunch box which included tomato rice was provided at the homestay in the morning itself. Soon, we were again under the attack of leeches but must say we fought bravely one more time. We then resumed our trek through a much easier lane to reach to a tea point and had a tea break. Then, came the last part of our trek, which was 1.5 kms uphill climbing to reach to Sarvajna Peetha, a small shrine dedicated to Adi Shankara. This part was even more fun as it rained heavily and the entire area was covered with fog that we could hardly see few yards ahead. Moreover, the wind was blowing so strong that sometimes I felt that it would carry me away with it. Since that spot was where our itinerary ended, we all felt so jubilant, took some pictures and then again descended back to the tea point, where a jeep took us all the way down, back to our homestay. Not to forget, the jeep ride was so damn fun that it sure would give you some chills and adrenaline rush, the reason being there's no proper road and the way the jeep's driven through the rocky, muddy and bumpy surface, it would be a memorable ride.
Once we reached homestay, took bath in hot water shower and got rid of our wet clothes. We then played no. of group games like Mafia and Uno, had the dinner and called it a day. Woke up next day (Sunday) with few body aches, cramps and leech bite marks but eh! nothing could ever beat the amazing experience we had the earlier day. Wounds and pain will heal but the memories will last forever. We then had a breakfast at around 7.30 and departed back to Bangalore at 8.00. We stopped at Nagara Fort at around 30 kms from homestay, took some pics and resumed our journey.
So all in all, it was a great experience getting close to the mother nature and far from these modern gadgets for a day. Besides the amazing trek we had, I would always cherish the camaraderie I shared with my co-trekkers in such a short span of time and I would really like to thank Colin, our host for organising such a wonderful trek and making us so comfortable throughout the entire trip. Colin was associated with the vendor team and as a satisfied customer, I will definitely look forward to more of such trips with the same vendor for sure. With all this, I would happily recommend my all trekking enthusiasts to go for this trek and I can vouch that you will come back with nothing but all smiles and tons of fascinating memories with you.
We had a wonderful experience with Thrillophilia
Out tour was Leh-Ladakh 6N7D, which includes Leh Sightseen, Nubra Valley Overnight Stay, Pangong Overnight Night.
1. First of all you should know that Thrillophilia doesn't have its own Travel Team. Thrillophilia actually linked up with several local Travel Agency. Once your Tour is booked Thrillophilia tagged one local Travel Agency for your Tour and that particular travel agency will take care of your entire tour.
Our travel manager is Lobzang Tseldon. She is very helpful and you will not face any problem in your entire tour.
1. Hotel provided in Leh: Ladakh Heights.
The hotel was very good,neat and clean.It is a new hotel so you don't found any pics in the internet. But lobzang will send you the pics of the Hotel. There is a canteen within the hotel where you will be having complimentary breakfast and dinner.
Non Vegetarian please let Lobzang know that you want non-veg items as well.they generally prepare veg items only.but on request they will provide you omlette in breakfast and chicken/mutton in dinner.
So if anyone wants to book Thrillophilia please ask Thrillophilia to tag you to the travel agency that offers non veg items too.
The Hotel Ladakh Heights is a bit far from the main city but don't worry Lobzang will provide you car for visit to Leh market whenever required and she will not charge you for that. You will get a beautiful view from this hotel but if you want to stay near the main city you will not get any view from the hotel.
2. The stay at Nubra Valley was awesome. They have Royal Camp in Nubhra and it's is a nature-friendly camp. You will love it, I can guarantee you.
3. They stay at Pangong was okay. You can understand that at that altitude you will not get luxury.so the camp provided at Pangong was good for 1 night stay.
Overall my experience with Thrillophilia was very good. We enjoyed a lot. Thanks a lot to Lobzang Tseldon for the wonderful arrangements of our tour.
An exhilarating life-changing experience. If you are able bodied, a biking lover, a landscape / scenery admirer and a crazy adventure seeker, this is a must try for life. Our group of bikers were fun-loving yet very responsible riders. We became friends on the very first day and all of us enjoyed every moment, giving mutual respect at every instance, having each other's backs at every dangerous turn. Even elderly couples in the group made amazing memories with all the young folks! The Ladakhi food, the heritage site visits, the campfire dancing, the photos, the market shopping, the music, the hikes, the snow, even the adorable mountain dogs, furry yaks and double-hump camels, every-bit was amazing. The road team was extraordinary, specially Tani (captain) and Shashi (bike repairman). They were very friendly, accommodating, knowledgeable and also helpful at every step. We had a truck carrying our luggage all along, running behind us all through the roads, making sure no one is left behind. Jigmet has a lot of local connections, so you will be well taken care of at camps and hotels (even Jain food, on request).
