From Saga Dug to Solang valley, Hiking Through Heaven’s Backyard

Himachal Pradesh is known as Devbhoomi (The Land of Gods) and every day this state welcomes lakhs of tourists on its land. For the last several days, I have been enjoying the natural views of Solang Valley located in Himachal Pradesh. Yesterday you read how I and my two companions summited Kothi Top while walking from Solang Valley. The journey from Kothi village to Kothi Top was very difficult because the sun was very strong. Today the path is going to be easier than the previous day because today the whole path is full of descent. So let's go on this wonderful journey.

Before starting the hike, let me tell you that there are two brave and adventurous people with me who climb the mountains towards the sheep and goats. The real adventure started on the climb to Kothi Top. Entering the dense forest of pine and oak without any weapon or safety, the rays of the sun filtering through the trees, the chirping of birds, the rustling of leaves and the surrounding forest is reminding of the wild animals living inside it. In the forest, we saw the Monal in microseconds, which is also the state bird of Uttarakhand.

The altitude is very high here, the wind is very light and because of this our legs and conversations have become very slow. To keep @naveen.jogta and Ved in high spirits, I tell them a joke:

“Why don’t I go to mountain school?”, to which neither of them wants to answer. Seeing their disappointed faces, I complete the joke and say that “the mountain does not go to school because it cannot bear the pressure”. After listening to my joke, both of them can only say this much that “Okay, let’s stop and drink water”. While drinking water, we are admiring the amazing view from here: In the north stands the huge Hanuman Tibba, whose forehead is kissing the sky. In the east is the climb to Patalsu Peak where I went a few days ago.

And below, the Solang Valley is shining, where green grass appears like a carpet everywhere. The Beas River is flowing like a snake. We have reached Khobi, which is at an altitude of 3400 m. It is easy to descend from Khobi as the entire route is full of descents. This place is a Shepherd's base, here the cattle herders stay with their sheep and goats for many months and feed their animals high altitude grass so that their growth is more and faster.

Khobi serves as a summit camp for the adventurous hikers going to Mount Patalsu Peak Summit. Go to Patalsu and increase the stamina of the lungs while descend from Khobi and see the thighs trembling. After getting back on my feet, I try to make my companions in a good mood so I tell another joke: "Even small things cause a lot of pain", Ved asks on hearing this line that which small things, to which I answer looking at Naveen's face "Example - We can sit on the mountain but not on the needle".

Both of them are unable to digest my low level joke and just want to reach the hotel quickly. After 2 km we reach Saga Dug campsite which is a very famous campsite like Khobi. The tall grass of Saga Dug welcomes us, from here we get precious views of Friendship and Shitidhar peaks. As we are moving towards Solang, the forest is decreasing. The reason for the decrease in forest is Solang village from where people cut trees from the forest and take them away for winter.

Solang village is the last village of this valley, here we refill our water bottle and drink water to our heart's content. This village is located at an altitude of 2850 meters. The village has houses made of wood, mud and stone which are introducing the rural life here. By the time we reached Solang valley, both our legs and mind were tired. This challenging climb and then dangerous descent certainly tried to break us but I also entertained my companions by telling them bad jokes.

Anyway, if a hiker is looking for a trek that is physically challenging as well as soul-soothing, then you should come from Kothi village to Kothi and from there to Solang valley via Khobi. That's all for today. We will meet tomorrow at some other wonderful place located around Solang valley. Who will be with me there is in the womb of tomorrow. I am leaving. Take care and keep smiling.

Disclaimer: This post is originally written in Hindi and I have used Google Translator to translate the Hindi text in English. All the photos have been clicked by me from POCO F1 android smartphone and edited in deskstop software adobe lightroom. Thumbnail created in dekstop adobe photoshop.