Hamta Pass to Chandra Taal Lake Trek Tour

Pickup in a car/SUV from Manali and drop at Jobra village covered by beautiful pine forests at an altitude of 3200 meters. Pass the forest in to meadow with Rani Nala flowing through it. Reach Chika and put up the camp for night.

Leave Chika camp after breakfast and follow the river. We will need to cross it once which can be easily done over boulders. We’ll reach reach Jwara, a sheltered valley kind of place. Dhauladhar mountain range is visible at some distance. We’ll keep walking along the river and gain altitude slowly. After Jwara, we’ll reach Balu-Ka-Gera ( Bed of Sand), which is covered with sand and rocks brought by the river. We’ll erect our tents and rest for the night.

Activities : Hill Stations & Valleys

We’ll pack up the camp and head towards the pass along the river. We’ll encounter first major inclination of this trek route. After a moderately steep climb of 30 to 45 minutes we’ll reach a bit of level ground. After a bit of rest and taking in the views, we’ll begin walking again to reach Hampta pass which is at an altitude of 4600 meters. The descent may be a bit difficult depending upon weather conditions. If there is snow, we can even slide down. After passing this descent, we’ll enter Spiti valley and see the river again. We’ll put up our camp for the night on the river bank in Shea Goru.

Activities : Hill Stations & Valleys

We’ll packup and start walking along side river again in the valley. The terrain here is mostly barren with occasional patches of vegetation, typical of Spiti valley. After a walk of 3 hours, we leave the mountains and enter a comparatively flat area. We’ll pass 2-3 glacial flows which may be a bit slippery. We’ll reach Chatru in between a number of small streams and put up our camp there.

Activities : Hill Stations & Valleys

We keep following the river and walk through some small settlements on the way. Most of the local population depends upon agriculture in short summers and livestock for survival. The terrain is mostly rocky and may have land slides and small glaciers here and there. We’ll reach a small settlement CHota Darra and camp for the night.

Activities : Hill Stations & Valleys

Batal is a small stop just before Kunzum La pass and Chandra Taal Lake. Most of the vehicles on this route stop here for a break and snacks. There are a couple of dhabas where you can eat and also spend the night, if you don’t want to open up your camping gear.

Activities : Camping

We’ll leave Batal after a breakfast at dhaba and start walking. There will be a bit of incline and we can take the road or a taxi. Chandrataal Lake which means Moon Lake in Hindi is one of the most beautiful lakes that you’ll ever see. The water is crystal clear and ice cold. Camps will be set up 1 km from the lake (according to rule) . There is also an option of using our campsite and tents to sleep for the night.

Activities : Camping