Hamta Pass Base camp trek - Chika

Recently, we visited Manali-one of the most beautiful places in the state of Himachal Pradesh, INDIA.

We Stayed in 'Casual Monks Wooden house and Cafe' in Manali which was booked by my friend Anita, and it turned out to be the best stay so far with wonderful views of Pir Panjal range (in the lower Himalayan Region) and great hospitality. One must try hot chocolate here. It was the best.

We went for a one-day trek to Hamta Pass- Chika. 

Hamta Pass is a corridor in the Himalayas, between the Chandra Valley in Lahaul and the Kullu valley of Himachal Pradesh, India. The pass is named after Hamta Village, below Sethan village. 

Lower Himalayan shepherds use the pass in summer for its high-altitude grasslands in the summer, when the desert of Lahaul is barren.

The pass includes vertical rock walls, waterfalls, hanging glaciers, pinewoods, rhododendron forests, open meadows, and small lakes.

 

                                                Akshaj and Mohisha plucking strawberries.

        

                                                

                            We had a wonderful time enjoying and exploring nature.

“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.” – Ashley Smith

SAAL Steps/ DEVIL STEPS

Saal Mountain, also known as Jabal Khoneh is a mountain in the village of Saal located in the outskirts of Muscat.

And this is famously known as Sa'al steps or the Devils steps. As the name says, yes, it is the most challenging trek ever experienced so far in and around Muscat in Oman.

Here is the google link to reach there -  

https://goo.gl/maps/oNvfqc9jjF6m9aR4A

We started our trek at 5 AM in the morning. And it took us around one and half hour to two hours to reach the summit. 

Total distance walked is 1.8 km and elevation gain are 355 metres. One needs good physical stamina to complete this trek as 95% of the trek is climbing stairs. 

                                        My Team-Happy feet Oman!

Beautiful sunrise, mesmerizing mountains and picturesque natural terrains everything was captured by our eyes in our memories. What a great start of the day!

We had wonderful memories and many lessons learned in the process - reaching the summit as a team, LOL's, pain, not leaving any of the teammate behind and at the end enjoying the taste of successful reach to summit.

                                            Happy hiking!

This famous quote of Edmund Hillary reminds us to overcome our inner fears before conquering the world.

“It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves”.

Ghala Hike, Oman

 

Ghala Hike View Point

                                                             Beautiful date farms 

                                                                

This weekend (5.Mar.21), we explored a new hiking point , Ghala in Muscat.  The Uniqueness of this mountain in Ghala is, the landscape slowly unfolds step by step right in front of  you  and reveals its beauty.

                                                                    Starting point 

                        

From the foot of the mountain , it looks like a small one and can finish hiking in 30 min but as we reach the 1st visible place from foot of it, there is one more peak , this way we continued around four steps of the mountain until we see the flags, however it didn't end there, its a  huge continuous mountain as you hike ,it unfolds its secret paths and breathtaking views to you. We had an awesome hiking experience here.

                                            

One can check their stamina doing hiking on this very unique mountain and its totally good for beginners.

                                                        Picture courtesy Ramya

Here is the link to reach there.

https://goo.gl/maps/AG8zRZYjqXavmb4N6

It is recommended to start the hike early in the morning around 5.30 AM to avoid the skin burn in this summer. Happy Hiking guys!