Ilaqa Pass Trekking Experience – Day 1 & 2

We were planning this trip since February 2016 and every time our plan got cancelled due to reasons such as college placements, project presentations, sessionals, etc. but we did not lose our patience. As I am the only travel blogger in my group that’s why every one remains dependent on me to make a plan. So I made a plan just after giving the final exams of our graduation (b.tech) and four friends said yes. But it was our bad luck because one friend got fractured in his leg, one got high fever and one’s laptop got theft. So all came down. Ten days later, again I made a plan and was very determined this time. I was sure that this time if our plan gets failed, then i would go solo, but we successfully executed the plan with our group of 3 (Me, Ashwini & Rishabh). We decided to leave Delhi in the evening.

This time we chose Indrahar Pass as our destination. To make this trip successful, I read several blogs, experiences and got fully prepared for the trek. But, as people say that no one can win from nature. Due to bad weather there, landslide occurred and the route got blocked and we had to drop our plan of reaching Indrahar Pass. We went up to Ilaqa Pass and had a great and drastic experience in this trek.

About Indrahar Pass and Ilaqa Pass: 

Indrahar Pass is a highest mountain pass in this circuit. It is situated at an altitude of 4342 metres above the sea level on the Dhauladhar ranges of Himalayas. The trek starts from Mcleodganj, a suburb of Dharamshala and goes up to Indrahar Pass by passing through Dharamkot, Galu Devi Temple, Triund, Ilaqa Pass or Ilaqa Got and Lahesh caves. Ilaqa Pass is a mountain pass situated between Snowline Cafe and Lahesh Caves. The route up to Ilaqa pass is well marked, but above the pass it is much steeper and quite confusing.

A small valley of flowers situated near Ilaqa pass.

Preparations before leaving: 

As we had planned to go up to Indrahar Pass, so we decided to rent a tent from Delhi. We rented one alpine tent from Himalayan Gear located in Chirag Delhi. Though the tents were available on Triund and on Ilaqa Pass too, but we did not know about the availability and cost of the tents that is why we had brought it from Delhi. 

As usual we started our journey from Delhi. After enjoying a fresh monsoon rain, we departed from our home and reached Kashmere Gate ISBT to board the bus to Chandigarh. Our purpose of visiting Chandigarh was to attend the one day PABT class in Mohali. We took Punjab roadways bus as it’s buses were better in condition and they drive better than Haryana roadways and DTC buses. Our bus started at 11:30 PM and we reached Chandigarh bus stand at 5:30 AM. We got fresh and did our breakfast there. There were some restaurants available at the Chandigarh bus stand where we had our breakfast. After all this, we took a bus to Mohali and attended our class. 

First monsoon rain in Delhi

Day 2: Chandigarh – Kangra – Dharamshala

After attending our class, we came back to Chandigarh bus stand at 3 PM to take a bus to Dharamshala or Mcleodganj. When we reached there we found that the bus to Dharamshala had already gone and the next bus is at 6 PM. We did not want to wait so we were left with two options, i.e., either we take a bus to Dehra or to Kangra. The time taken to reach Dharamshala from Dehra and Kangra is 2 hours and 1 hour respectively. We boarded a bus to Kangra around 4 PM and it took around 8 hours to reach Kangra. Amidst the journey, we saw the huge Bhakra Nangal Dam, Jwala Devi Temple, Anandpur Sahib Gurudwara and Harmandir Sahib Gurudwara. We reached Kangra at 12 AM and then hired a shared taxi to Dharamshala. After one hour uphill journey, we were at Dharamshala. The weather was cool there and no shop or restaurant was opened and we were starving like anything. So, we decided to find a restaurant first and then any hotel. At 1:30 AM, in a new city where we haven’t been earlier, we were roaming on the streets with our more than empty stomach and the dogs were also barking at us. After 20 minutes of struggling, we found one restaurant opened, but they refused to give us food. After requesting to them they got ready. After accomplishing our first task, the second one was to find an average hotel. The owner of the restaurant called his mate and asked for the availability of a room and luckily the room was available. We confirmed the room after negotiating the price from ₹1800 to ₹850 and checked into it. The room was good. Our next day schedule was set, so we just got on the bed and slept. 

Ilaqa pass trekking experience- Day 3
Ilaqa pass trekking experience- Day 4
Ilaqa pass trekking experience- Day 5