Bali Pass – A Visual Journey 

By 6 a.m., I had arrived at Dehradun ISBT. The meeting was at 7 a.m., so I had an hour to kill. I showered and drank some hot tea. Then Rahul (the trek leader) called, and I finally met my trek companions. Except for me, there were six members in total, and I was the youngest of them all.

After that, we started our mountain drive towards Sankri in the Uttarkashi district. Sankri is a well-known village because it serves as the starting point for many popular treks, including Har ki Dun, Kedarkantha, Ruinsara Tal, Maninda Tal, Borasu Pass, and, of course, Bali Pass. Locals claim that there are approximately 50 treks available. one can do in this region. Only a few are explored as of now. There are several hotels, guest houses and shops available from where one can buy daily need stuff and trekking gear. ATM’s are also available there.

We all got ready by 8 a.m. and drove to Taluka village, which is 12 kilometres from Sankri and the last road head. The vehicle was a Bolero camper, and we were accompanied by eight porters who were responsible for transporting trek logistics such as tents, sleeping bags, rations, utensils, and other equipment.

There are two types of treks in India: those where a porter carries the stuff/logistics and those where a mule/horse carries the stuff/logistics. The former is particularly useful on difficult highs.

The former is used on altitude treks where the route is not paved or good enough for mules, whereas the latter is used on all other treks where there is a proper route and the terrain is not too difficult.

We began the day with a revitalising yoga session. Mountains, believe me, are the best place to practise yoga. It's time to get away from the crowds and explore a lesser-known trail. We started the trek at 8 a.m. after eating aloo parathas for breakfast and took the trail straight from the village into the densely forested forest. Initially, the trail was a mix of uphill and downhill sections. We had to negotiate a few tricky sections.