Pin Parvati Pass

Day 1 - Getting to base camp – :Kaza (12,467 ft); 10 -12 hours drive

Take an overnight bus from Delhi and reach Manali the previous day. Pick up will be arranged from Manali at 6.00 am. The Rohtang and Kunzum passes are known for their notoriously bad traffic jams, making it all the more necessary to leave by 6.00 am. Drive out of Manali, and towards Batal via Rohtang pass on the Manali-Leh Highway. The road is not too good and is bumpy all through. From Gramphu, take a diversion towards the Gramphu – Batal – Kaza road. From Batal the route winds through the real Spiti Valley. Quaint little villages, tucked away in the mountains and arid mountains dotted with green and yellow patches of peas and barley fields. The route from here is straight out of a picture postcard. You will be camping along the Spiti river in Kaza. The acclimatization process starts today.

Day 2 - Local Sight Seeing

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Day 3 - Drive to Mudh. trek from Mudh (12,283 ft) to Tiya (12,795 ft); 2 hours drive + 2-3 hours trek

From Kaza, drive down to Mudh village which is at a lower altitude. The drive will take you about 2 hours and covers a distance of 49km. Once you reach Mudh village start trekking to Tiya. You will reach Tiya in 2-3 hours.

Day 4 - Tiya (12,795 ft) to Shia (14,763 ft); 5-6 hours

A long day for trekking with beautiful views of Spiti Valley. An early start is important to ford the multiple glacial streams today- which will leave your feet numb. A couple of these tiny streams are also drinkable. Starting on the left bank of the Pin river, the first section is an undulating walk on loose, sedimentary rocks. After this section, you descend to the river, cross it and ascend up the other side. There are a couple of tricky sections - narrow scree-laden ledges over the river that need navigating. After you've trekked some distance, the Pin Glacier becomes visible high up, in the distance.

Day 5 - Shia (14,763 ft) to Pin base camp (15,780 ft); 5-6 hours

Start your day by crossing the Pin river. You will have to remove your shoes. However, this is not easy to cross barefoot as there are a lot of stones and pebbles on the river bed. If the flow is strong and not manageable, you will have to go 2 km ahead and cross it over the glacier

Day 6 - Pin base camp (15,780 ft) to Mantalai (13,440 ft) via Pin Parvati pass (17,457 ft); 12 hours

Depending on the weather, an early start for the Pass is crucial. The Pass should not be traversed after noon as the weather always deteriorates in the second half of the day. The ascent to the Pass is tough, mainly because of the of the altitude - the glacier section is on a gradual incline. There are no crevasses to worry about on Pin side of the pass. The older and originally considered Pass can be seen to the left of the ridge. The Pass used nowadays is at a higher plane, above the one at the left.

Day 7 - Rest day at Mantalai (13,440 ft)

Rest and Explore the sounding.

Day 8 - Mantalai (13,440 ft) to Odi Thatch (12,517 ft); 4 hours

The route towards Odi Thach swirls towards the left side of the valley and it becomes easily the prettiest day of the trek. The flowers near Odi Thach give you slopes which are completely decked in red, blue and purple colours. It really hits you, coming from the barrenness of Spiti valley. Every 100 metres after these slopes, you will feel like camping. The swamp land - with a very peaceful Parvati river which branches out to streams - culminates into a plateau and then goes through boulders till you reach level meadow - Odi Thach. A little ahead of Odi Thach is Jwari Thach where we camp.

Day 9 - Odi Thach (12,517 ft) to Tunda Bhuj (10,499 ft); 8 hours

A difficult day like this one would surprise you at this stage after the trek to Odi Thach. It starts out gradually over the meadows and goes lower into the valley to the Parvati river through boulder -strewn fields and streams. You will see a series of waterfalls on your right side and Parvati river flows on your left. Notice Mt Kullu Eiger in front of you to your left along with some un-named peaks and glaciers surrounding the valley. Then you descend down to Pandu Pul which is a natural natural bridge over the river formed by large, misshapen boulders. Tunda Bhuj campsite is a bowl on the mountain surrounded by cliff faces, higher up from the river.

There are a series of waterfalls on these beautiful cliff faces and descending into mist. The lush greenery feels luminescent after the moonlands of Spiti. Pin Parvati is an experience that grows better after each campsite – with a layers of greenery adding on and following the various moods of the Parvati river.

Day 10 - Tunda Bhuj (10,499 ft) to Kheerganga (9,120 ft); 4 hours

Today’s trek to Kheerganga is a steady descent to the gorge below where Parvati River is coming down at your right side. The trail will take you through many pasture lands, inside silver birch trees. You will also notice a series of lovely waterfalls on the huge mountain walls at the right side of the trail. These waterfalls, as they cascade down jagged mountain faces dissipate as mist. It is quite a sight.

Day 11 - Kheerganga (9,120 ft) to Barshaini (7,251 ft); 3 hours

Trek for 7 km from Kheerganga to Barshaini. You will reach Barshaini around 11am. The trek ends at Barshaini. Indiahikes will arrange for transportation from Barshaini to Kullu. The cost of which will be additional and is to be paid to the drivers directly. It takes roughly 3 hours to reach Kullu. You can take the afternoon bus from Kullu to Delhi the same day.