The Buran Pass trek begins at Janglik, a little village off road from Shimla. The Buran Pass is very less travelled and this is the reason for its virgin beauty. It is more concealed part of the Himalayas. The route goes through some of the mysterious natural monuments such as vertical snow walls, dense cedar forests, thrilling river crossings, numerous meadows, strings of snowy hills and most of all sky high waterfalls. This trekking gem can be discovered only by walking on a foot wide walkway, well-trodden through centuries by the shepherds and nomadic tribes. It also gives the trekkers a chance to try their hand at rappelling, rock climbing, and walking on snow. At the end of the Buran Ghati lies the Barua village, a habitation that still feels antique. The Buran Pass is set at 4580 m, which is a very high altitude and an excellent opportunity to discover some of the rarest species of plants and animals. The journey from Janglik, till you touch the road again demands you to be photo ready.
Brief Details: The day starts early in the morning. If you are in a small group and wish to reach early, you can take the press vehicles which leaves around 5 in the morning to deliver newspapers. This will help you reach Rohru easily and conveniently. It is a long drive to reach Janglik but the thrilling roads and views of Himachal keep you engaged before you reach Janglik, a beautiful village amidst the greens.
Accommodation: Homestay/ Janglik
Brief Details: We begin our trek on day 2 and as we walk towards our next destination, we are gifted by the pleasures of greens but in varied shades. A typical Himalayan trek through the high rising conifers and small openings in the thick and thin forests, following up the Pabbar River. Some shepherds’ huts on the way offer you a glimpse of tough rural life, high up in the hills.
Dayara is a beautiful expanse of loft green meadow in the valley encircled sparsely by conifers. The flock of sheep grazing around with their shepherds and humps of mountains rising high on both the sides make it a picturesque location. Early in the season, snow can add a different element of beauty to the sight. It makes a perfect campsite.
We spend the rest of the day exploring the site and soaking in the view, through our eyes and camera. Do have a conversation with the shepherds you meet on the way. It will enlighten you a lot on the perspective they have on the surrounding world.
Accommodation: Tents/ Dayara Thatch
Brief Details: The 3rd day will be beautiful indeed. We start lazily and would like to reach our next campsite for lunch. We follow the Pabbar River with a marvelous view of the mighty Gunas Pass ahead of us. A gentle traverse on the grassy mountain with a mixed climb on the meadow through occasional forests and multiple stream crossing brings us to the Litham Thatch.
You have the rest of the day at your leisure. This will be our campsite for the 2 nights and serves as an acclimatization ground for a successful crossing of the Barua Pass.
Accommodation: Tents/ Litham Thatch
Brief Details: Early morning on day 4, we start our trek to explore the other valleys on our left side towards Chandranahan Lake. Chandranahan is a lake system fed by glaciers and underground spring water. It is a very pious place for the locals and legend has it that the local God of Rohru - Shikru Devta is supposed to have taken birth here. As per the legend, no one is supposed to venture closer to the lake with shoes or slippers or wearing any stuff made from leather.
The stream originating from the lake is a tributary of the Pabbar and is named as Chandranahan Nala. The trek is indeed refreshing and during early May can have a good amount of snow cover. Otherwise, it is a walk up on moderately rough terrain with occasional flat meadows and requires trekkers to cross streams multiple times. Snow covers the lake, but if snow cover is not adequate, you can see up to 3 lakes, which are not too big or deep either.
We return back to Litham for the day.
Accommodation: Tents/ Litham Thatch
Brief Details: Day 5 is the penultimate day before the crossing of the pass. The trek climbs up moderately to the base of the Buran Pass where the two passes - Buran and Gunas offer you a tempting challenge to undertake. Behind your back, the view of the entire valley is awe inspiring. To the right, on the other side of the mountain divide runs the Rupin Valley and the trek to the Rupin Pass.
Early May can be difficult in this region and it depends on the amount of snow, the area has received. It is better to bank on the experience of the local guides on location to camp for the day so that crossing the pass becomes easier and successful, the next day.
Accommodation: Tents/ Dunda
Brief Details: Finally we come close to reaching our objective and the challenge is right ahead. All our previous days were meant to acclimatize ourselves to the best of our capabilities and get in sync with the mountains. Today we tackle the steep climb to the top of the Buran Pass.
A steadily increasing intensity of climb up on snow takes us to the top. We reach in about 2 hours to the top. Rest and feel the place where you have trekked yourself to see for yourself, on what you have achieved. it is amazing. Thereafter, trek back to Litham Thach.
Accommodation: Tents/ Litham Thach
Brief Details: Day 7 is the end of our beautiful trek. Start early so as to reach Janglik in the nick of time. It takes about 4 hours of descending to get us to Janglik Village and the road ahead.
From there, we can either go to Rohru, Rampur or back to Shimla.
Accommodation: none
