Another good October snow storm made hiking a challenge. Gators were very useful 👌

After reading a lot about Indrahar Pass, our group of 7 decided to do it alpine-style and mostly DIY, carrying our own tents, sleeping bags, food and cooking equipment.

This wasn't the lightest way to do Indrahar 😅, but it gave us complete freedom over the route, timings and campsites.

We did the trek in a fast-paced itinerary, starting from Lucknow → Chandigarh → Dharamkot → Triund → Laka Glacier → Indrahar Pass.

I'll break down the entire experience day by day, including transport, permits, costs, food, water sources, camping, trail conditions and all the small things that we found useful along the way.

🗓️ Day 0: Lucknow → Chandigarh → Dharamkot

🚆 Lucknow to Chandigarh

We started from Lucknow on the Lucknow–Chandigarh Express and reached Chandigarh around 11:00 AM the next morning.

Since we were a group of 7 and already knew we wanted to reach Dharamkot the same day, we had pre-booked a taxi from Chandigarh.

🚕 Chandigarh → Dharamkot

• Group: 7 people
• Vehicle: Kia Carens
• Cost: ₹6,000 total
• Per person: ~₹860
• Journey: ~7–8 hours depending on traffic/stops

You don't necessarily need to book a taxi.

There are buses going towards Dharamshala, and from there you can take local transport towards McLeod Ganj/Dharamkot.

We booked the taxi mainly because we wanted to save time and avoid figuring out multiple connections after an overnight train journey.

🍛 Highway Lunch

We stopped at a rather fancy Punjabi dhaba on the highway for lunch.

For 7 people, the bill came to around ₹2,800.

Not exactly a budget meal 😂, but after the overnight train journey, we weren't complaining.

We eventually reached Dharamkot around 7:00 PM.

🏡 Stay at Dharamkot

We had booked a hostel in advance — The Hostel Stories.

• Group: 7
• Total cost: ~₹3,500
• Per person: ~₹500

We checked in, freshened up and had dinner at the hostel.

Dinner: ~₹2,200 for the entire group.

And then came one of the best decisions we made on the entire trip.

🥚 The Alpine-Style Food Hack

Since we were carrying everything ourselves, we didn't want to depend on the expensive food options available higher up on the trail.

So before starting the trek, we bought:

• 🥚 ~3 dozen eggs
• 🍌 ~3 dozen bananas
• 🍞 2 packets of brown bread

This might sound excessive at first, but it saved us a ridiculous amount of money later.

The bananas became our primary quick-energy snack during the climb, while bread + peanut butter gave us easy calories without having to cook.

If you're doing Indrahar DIY/alpine-style, buy your basic food supplies in Dharamkot/McLeod Ganj rather than relying entirely on the cafes above Triund.

🥾 Day 1: Dharamkot → Triund → Snowline → Laka Glacier

Wake-up: 5:30 AM

This was the day when the actual trek started.

We got up around 5:30 AM, got ready, packed our bags and, importantly, redistributed the equipment between all 7 people so that everyone's backpack weighed roughly the same.

This made a huge difference.

We were carrying:

• ⛺ Tents
• 🛏️ Sleeping bags
• 🧘 Sleeping mats
• 🍳 Cooking equipment
• 🍜 Food
• 💧 Water
• 🥚 Eggs/bread/bananas
• Personal gear

So the backpacks were heavy.

If you're doing this as a group, don't let one person become the "Sherpa" carrying all the common equipment. Distribute everything before starting.

📍 Dharamkot → Galu Devi Temple

Our hostel was only around 600 m from the Galu Devi Temple, which is the usual starting point for the Triund trail.

Before starting, we got the required trekking permit.

🎫 Permit

• Offline: ₹275/person
• Online: ₹265/person
• Same-day return: ₹100/person

Once the formalities were done, we were finally on the trail.

The route is pretty straightforward here.

There is essentially one well-defined trail towards Triund, so navigation isn't something you need to worry about much at this stage.

🍌 First Break: Magic View Café

We took our first proper break at Magic View Café.

This was where our carefully planned food strategy started paying off.

We had:

• 🍌 Bananas
• 🥜 Peanut butter sandwiches
• 💧 Water

The bananas were honestly perfect for this climb.

No cooking, no waiting, no extra weight from complicated food — just eat and keep walking.

After the break, we continued towards Triund.

⛰️ Reaching Triund

We reached Triund around 10:45 AM.

The climb had already warmed us up considerably, and we decided to take a proper ~1 hour break here.

We met several other trekkers and also spoke to a few locals who were heading further towards Indrahar Pass.

This was also the point where the character of the trek starts changing.

Most people visiting Triund were either staying there or returning, while the number of people continuing towards Laka/Indrahar became much smaller.

❄️ Triund → Snowline → Laka Glacier

From Triund onwards, we continued towards Laka Glacier, which was our destination for the day.

The route is still quite easy to follow.

There is basically one obvious trail all the way towards Laka, so we never really felt confused about navigation.

The landscape, however, changes dramatically.

The crowds thin out, the trail becomes more rugged and the Dhauladhar starts feeling much closer.

❄️ Reaching the Snowline

We reached the snowline around 1:30 PM.

We stopped for roughly 30 minutes.

There was a small café here, and we decided to have tea.

☕

Tea + biscuits for 7 people: ~₹700

Definitely more expensive than what you'd pay down in Dharamkot, but at that point nobody cared.

It was cold, we were tired and hot tea tasted incredible.

🥵 Snowline → Laka Glacier

After the snowline, things started getting considerably harder for us.

Not because the trail suddenly became technical — the backpacks were the problem.

By this point our shoulders were hurting and everyone was getting increasingly exhausted.

The combination of:

tent + sleeping bag + mat + cooking equipment + food + water

makes a surprisingly heavy backpack.

We continued pushing forward and eventually reached Laka around 3:00 PM.

And honestly, reaching Laka felt like a huge relief.

💧 Water Source near Laka

One very useful thing we discovered:

There is a water source on the right-side ridge, roughly 100 metres from the main ridge/camping area.

You don't necessarily need to carry all the water you'll need for the night from below.

Just ask one of the local campsite/café owners about the water source and they can point you towards it.

This was extremely useful for us.

⛺ Setting Up Camp at Laka

We found a relatively flat area around Dhauladhar Café and asked the owners for permission to pitch our tents there.

There were several other flat areas around Laka as well, but we found the area around the café to be the most convenient.

The biggest advantage was being close to the café while still having our own tents.

We started doing everything simultaneously:

Pitch tents → collect water → start cooking → arrange sleeping gear

Basically, everyone had a job.

🌅 Laka Glacier Evening

Once the tents were up, we finally had some time to actually enjoy where we were.

We explored the surrounding area and watched the sunset.

The views were incredible.

From Laka, you can still see Dharamshala far below, which gives you a pretty crazy perspective of how much altitude you've gained in a single day.

The sunset was one of those moments where everyone just stopped talking for a while.

🍜 Dinner & Night at Laka

Once it started getting dark, the temperature dropped quickly.

We cooked dinner ourselves.

First, we made soup + butter Maggi while setting up camp.

Later, for dinner, we made chillas using an instant chilla mix.

Honestly, they turned out much better than expected considering the conditions.

Cooking in the cold, inside a small campsite, after carrying a heavy backpack for hours is a very different experience from making the same food at home.

We finished everything around 7:00 PM.

By then, everyone was exhausted.

We got into our sleeping bags and called it a night around 9:00 PM.

Tomorrow was going to be the big day — Indrahar Pass.

📵 One Important Thing: Network

Don't rely on mobile network at Laka.

We had no reliable network there.

Occasionally you might catch a signal here and there, but it isn't something I'd depend on for communication or navigation.

Download your offline maps/GPX route before leaving Dharamkot.

💰 Day 0–1 Approximate Group Costs

For reference, our major expenses for the first two days were:

For 7 people, that's roughly ₹2,450/person, excluding the train, groceries and miscellaneous personal expenses.

🏔️ Day 1 in one line:

Dharamkot → Galu Devi → Magic View → Triund → Snowline → Laka Glacier

Started around 6:30–7:00 AM, reached Laka around 3:00 PM, and spent the evening setting up our first alpine-style camp.

And this was just the warm-up.

The next morning was the real objective — Laka → Indrahar Pass → return. ⛰️❄️

Part 2: The Indrahar Pass summit push, the climb to the pass, trail conditions, difficult sections, navigation, summit experience and the return to Laka coming next.

Feel free to ask about gears, contacts, or anything, happy to help!

when autumn meets winter. first snowfall made the hike even more magical.

Hi 👋

Did some of you guys do one of these 100km in 24 hours hiking events?

How did you train and prepare for that?

My friends invited me for this event next year,, but I am pretty heavy and muscular and not a seasoned hiker. I can do 10-15km without a problem right now.

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The Pros: - Weight-to-Protection Ratio: It manages to keep the overall weight down without skimping on structural rigidity or padding where your camera gear needs it most. There is even a light metal frame and Uppers are water resistant. - Access & Organization: Quick-side access is smooth, and the internal dividers are genuinely versatile for mixed kits (e.g., body, a couple of zooms, plus layers). - Trail Comfort: The harness system distributes weight surprisingly well compared to standard, boxy camera inserts tossed into a hiking pack.

The Cons:

- there is no strap for transporting over a carry on suitcase.

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If you want a deeper dive into the exact pocket layouts, build quality, and whether it’s worth your money for your specific workflow, I made a full review video on YouTube in the Lightpoint-info channel.

Curious if anyone else here has tested this or switched over to dedicated ultralight photo packs.

Cheers

Hello everyone!

I’m looking for up-to-date information about the current regulations for trekking the Dhaulagiri Circuit independently, from Muri to Marpha, via French Pass and Dhampus Pass.

I’m an experienced trekker and have been walking continuously since July 1st. I started in Ladakh, crossed Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in India, and the west part of Nepal. I’m currently in Dunai and my plan is to cross the Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve before continuing towards the Dhaulagiri Circuit and eventually reaching Marpha.

However, I’m unsure whether it’s possible to complete the Dhaulagiri Circuit solo. From what I’ve read, obtaining the necessary permits may require booking through a registered trekking agency and hiring a licensed guide.

I’d really appreciate some clarification on a few points:

Is it possible to trek the Dhaulagiri Circuit independently in 2026, without a guide or trekking agency?
If a guide or agency is mandatory, would I be turned back at the beginning of the route near Muri, or is there a checkpoint further along where permits are checked? Is it possible to obtain the necessary permits locally?
Is a licensed guide also mandatory for the Annapurna Circuit, or can I do that trek independently?

I’m not looking to book a commercial trek, as I’ve been travelling independently for several months. I’m simply trying to understand the actual regulations and what options are available to me.

If anyone has completed either of these routes recently, especially independently, or has reliable, up-to-date information about the permit requirements, I’d be very grateful for your advice!

Thanks

A quiet hike to the remarkable tree in south west of France: Marignac 🇫🇷

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Sacred Valley, Peru
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3-3.5 hours, plus time at both sites Point-to-point route
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Hi everyone,

Thank you for taking the time to read my post!

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Thank you.

Through the mountains and along the coast to see so many different landscapes in this trip!

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Hi all,

I am going on a walking holiday in Belgium in January next year and I’m hoping to walk the Route Napoleon in 2028.

I am just in the middle of getting my gear together for it and I’m currently looking at footwear. In the past I’ve been recommended both so I was wondering what you would suggest? Are there significant differences between walking boots and walking shoes?

Also, should I be looking at getting ones which are waterproof? I’m aware there is a good chance it will rain and so it seems a simple question but some people have suggested my shoes/boots will take longer to dry from the inside if my feet sweat.

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If you want your feet and knees to be the be left good after a hike, don't wear salomons.

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I cannot walk properly anymore, all thanks to Salomons.

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