- Manali to VanVaas
- VanVaas to Camp 1
- Camp 1 to Camp 2
- Camp 2 to Camp 3
- Camp 3 to The Mystical Lakes to Camp 2
- Camp 2 to VanVaas to Volvo bus stand
The Mountain Of The Broken Lake Trek
05 Nights 06 Days VanVaas, Soil Village, Manali
₹18,000.00 + 5% GST
The Mountain Of The Broken Lake Trek: An Exploratory Trek Away From The Crowds
Beyond the map: Exploring uncharted territories on the 'Mountain of the Broken Lake"
Gear up for The Mountain Of The Broken Lake trek, an exploratory trek and a holy grail for both the revered Jamdagni Rishi and the mighty Vasuki Nag.
Escape the crowds: Leave the crowds behind and delve into a landscape untouched by mass tourism.
A hidden gem: Experience the tranquil beauty of The Broken Lake and immerse yourself in the rich mythology surrounding it.
The Mountain of the Broken Lake trek is an exploratory in the Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas in the Chanderkhani region near Malana, Himachal Pradesh. The trail begins from the oldest village of Kullu Valley – Soil or Soyal Village near Manali and leads up to the open expanse of meadows where 3 massive glacial lakes along with many smaller water bodies can be seen. There are many craters in the area which fill up with rain water and add up to the count of the lakes during the rainy season. This trail is also used by shepherds of Malana village to traverse to the left bank of River Beas. The terrain is snow-packed almost all year round and because of the heavy mist there, the lakes can be rarely sighted. On a good clear day, you can see 3 beautiful crystal clear lakes, separated by short distances. The proximity of the lakes to each other also makes this sighting unique. This trail is not known to many and not even frequented by the locals mostly due to local beliefs.
The Route
Highlights of The Mountain Of The Broken Lakes Trek
- An exploratory trek on an unmarked trail through thick forest and alpine meadows leading to massive glacial lakes
- Visit the oldest village of Kullu valley and witness Himachali culture up close
- Camp at exotic locations and witness beautiful Himalayan Flora
- Majestic views of Pir Panjal and Dhauladhar Ranges
Trip Designer
Parminder
Founder, YoloO Life
This particular trail holds a special place in my heart. It’s almost as if I discovered it myself, even though I’m sure it existed long before my arrival. Local legends whisper of twelve mystical lakes veiled by clouds, visible only to the pure of heart.
Intrigued, I searched for a guide, someone who could lead me to this hidden paradise. Even Chattu, the seasoned shepherd, wouldn’t venture beyond the Feti Rewadi meadows, fearing to offend the mountain spirits. Bhadru, the horseman, echoed the same sentiment – only the chosen ones could witness the lakes. Even villagers who ventured into the mountains for herbs returned with the same tale. It turned out it was 30 years ago when the villagers had last been to the lakes for “Devta” Bath.
Undeterred, and armed with the whispers of the locals and the aid of a modern map, I set out in 2011 with a group of friends. Our quest for the elusive lakes is a captivating story, best shared around a crackling bonfire under a starlit sky.
The Mountain Of The Broken Lake, why did i name it so.. read the blog to know more
Reviews
The Mountain Of The Broken Lake: Detailed Itinerary
Pickup from15 Mile bridge, 15 km before Manali - 'VanVaas] - Himalayan village culture experience -acclimatization hike (6,000 ft, 45 min hike)
The participants will deboard the bus at 15 Mile Bridge, 15 kms short of New Manali Bus stand. A member of Team Mountaineerz will receive guests and drive (15 mins) them to Soil Village. After refreshments and breakfast, hike 30 mins to ‘VanVaas’ – The Wilderness Lodge in Soil, the oldest village of this valley. Unwind at the lodge located in an apple orchard by a glacial stream originating in the Mountain of the Broken Lake, on the edge of the forest. After lunch, explore the surrounding jungle or go angling. Unwind with the team over a bonfire and dinner. Next morning, we’ll begin the ascent through the forest to the Mountain of the Broken Lake.
Meals: Lunch, Dinner (choice of vegetarian/non-vegetarian in Dinner)
Stay: Stay in comfortable rooms at VanVaas
Travel: Drive to Soil (15 minutes), Hike to ‘VanVaas – The Wilderness Lodge’
Trail Course: Haripur - Soil - Camp 1 , Max. Altitude: 10,000 ft, Duration: 6 - 7 hrs trek, Assemble at our base in Haripur by 8:00 am
The ascent to The Mountain Of The Broken Lakes Trek trail begins from our base at VanVaas in Soil (or Soyal Village). The trail can get tough to navigate, especially during monsoons as the vegetation is very thick and grass and thick shrubberies need to be constantly cut to make a path.The trail is fairly easy in the beginning and leads up to a beautiful lush meadow called Guhad which is a popular grazing ground for the village cattle. From here, trek through the deodar forest to a vast expanse of meadows with forests of Kharshu, Walnut, Chestnut, Bhojpatra etc. This region is very rich in himalayan flora and fauna. There have been sightings of brown bears, leopards, foxes, porcupines, hyenas, jackals and many more. Many varieties of pheasants such as Khaleej, Jujurana, Monal and many more can be spotted.. A trek for another 3 to 4 hours will lead us to the first campsite which is in a thick forest. In the evening, unwind around a bonfire and early dinner.
Meals: Breakfast, Packed Lunch and Dinner (Vegetarian)
Stay: Camping tents
Travel: Hiking
Trail Course: Camp 1 to Camp 2, Max. Altitude: 12,500 ft, Duration: 5 - 6 hours trek
Enjoy a nutritious breakfast early in the morning and begin the climb towards an open meadow. The treeline will end after climbing for about 2 hours.The forest starts to thin out a bit as the meadow comes into sight. This region is laden with various rare plants and herbs like Karu, Chora, Patish, Gugal, and wild Garlic etc., which are known to have high medicinal value.The walk on the ridge turns into a sharp ascent over boulders and you will reach a vast meadow where you will set up camp for the night. It is a popular home for the gaddis and the flock of thousands of sheep during their 6 months of grazing on the mountain. The meadow is huge enough to easily host 3 – 4 gaddis (shepherds) with many thousands of sheep, a few horses and gaddi dogs. Camping here is a unique experience as you get to see Mt. Hanuman Tibba and many peaks of the Dhauladhar range on one side and peaks heading to Parvati valley and Chanderkhani pass on the other side along with the experience of camping with the gaddis and the sheep. Have dinner around a bonfire, if the winds permit. Turn into your tents after dinner..
Meals: Breakfast, Packed Lunch and Dinner (Vegetarian)
Stay: Camping Tents
Travel: Hiking
Trail Course: Camp 2 to Camp 3, Max. Altitude: 12,000 feet, Duration: (3 - 4 hours)
After an early breakfast, start the hike across the open meadow. The trail is great to walk on as it is all open and vast all around. It can be considered to be the best walk in the entire trek.The snow rarely melts here and can be a great short snow trekking experience even in summers. It is an alpine trek through open meadows full of alpine flowers and soft alpine vegetation. After hiking along a stream on the vast grassland, reach the last campsite by a glacial stream. It is one of the most beautiful places to camp in. From here, you can go for a short hike down the valley along the stream. Camp here for the night with a bonfire by the stream.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner (Vegetarian)
Stay: Camping Tents
Travel: Hiking
Trail Course: Camp 3 to Lakes - Camp 3
Today, after breakfast, trek for about 45 minutes to reach the first lake ‘Batarunaag Saur’. A short walk will bring us to another lake; ‘Vasukinaag Saur’. A short distance from here is one of the most beautiful glacial lakes, ‘Futta Saur’. Near it lies Mata Kotli Saur. If it’s been raining, you can see many other smaller lakes which seem to fill up the entire mountain. The lakes are generally covered in mist and it is only by some luck that one can see the lakes, an unparalleled sight. Trek alpine style to the lakes
The terrain here is a bit rocky and not very suitable for camping. So, our tents will remain pitched a short distance before the lakes.Trek back down to Camp 3 for the night.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner (Vegetarian)
Stay: Camping tents
Travel: Hiking
Trail Course: Camp 3 - Camp 1, Max. Altitude: 12,000 ft, Duration: 4 hours trek
Start the descent back to civilization. It is a descent for about 4 hours to Soil. After lunch arrangements will be made to drop participants at 15 Mile bus stand for their onward journey.
The Mountain Of The Broken Lake Trek ends here.
(Guests are welcome to extend their stay at VanVaas, Soil Village near Manali. From here, after your stay, we can arrange for you to drop by the bus stand at Patlikuhal.)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch (Vegetarian)
Essential Information
Quick Scan of the Landscape on The Mountain Of The Broken Lake Trek
- The trail is marked till a meadow frequented by a shepherd after that it’s kind of a virgin trail to the lakes. You are unlikely to find any other group of trekkers on this trail.
- The Mountain of the Broken Lake has 3 lakes and many water bodies
- Altitude: 14,290 ft – Mata Kotli Saur
- Trek difficulty: Moderate to Challenging
- Weather Conditions: Pleasant in summers before monsoons with snow around the lakes and monsoons could be heavy on rain though incredibly beautiful. Post monsoons is just about the perfect time for this trek till about mid-october with warm days and cold nights.
Inclusions
- 4 nights in comfortable tents
- 1 Night at VanVaas: The Wilderness Lodge
- Pick up and drop from 15 Mile Bridge, 15 km before, Manali
- Services of experienced MOI/ BMC qualified lead guide and qualified assistant guide with first aid gear and medicines.
- All meals during camping on the trek (nutritious freshly cooked vegetarian)
- Kitchen equipment, cook and helper and all the camping arrangements
- Wildlife/ environmental permits and other permits & levies.
- ‘Leave No Traces’ protocol charges.
- Guaranteed amazing Himalayan experiential adventure holiday.
Exclusions
- Cost of travel to and from your city.
- Cost of any form of insurance (Personal/Baggage/Medical)
- Cost of rescue, evacuation, hospitalization, etc.
- Any expense of a purely personal nature like tips to drivers, guides, any beverages.
- Any expenses that arise due to change in itinerary and decrease/increase in no. of days because of natural forces like landslides, weather, roadblocks, flight cancellations, sickness etc.
- Porterage for personal bags @INR. 4800 per day (10 kg bag per person).
- GST at the rate of 5%.
Additional Activities
- You can stay at VanVaas: The Wilderness Lodge for a rejuvenating experience of Forest Bathing
- The Wilderness Lodge in Sethan village at 9250 feet, to experience life in the last village of Kullu valley
- If you want an adrenaline rush, then there are multiple options of paragliding and zip lining for you to choose from before or after the trek
Items to Carry
Clothing
- Trekking Shoes: Please do not wear sports shoes as on most treks as we go higher it gets harder to use the sports shoes. We recommend shoes with a good hard sole and also ankle support preferable waterproof. While we do not subscribe to any particular brand you can try the Quechua Forclaz 600 or like.
- Socks: – 2-3 pairs of cotton socks, 1-2 pair of woolen socks (best to use when in camp. Not recommended while trekking).
- Clothing – Pants: 2-3 pairs -Ideal are quick dry lightweight synthetic pants. Alternatively track pants are also comfortable to trek in. Avoid jeans/denims.
- T-shirts 2-3 pairs–Preferably full sleeves.
- Synthetic Fleece Jacket -1 pair.
- Wind proof/ Water proof Jacket -1 pair.
- Down filled / Hollow fiber fill insulated Jacket – 1 pair (optional-get this if you want to stay extra warm at camps.)
- A woollen cap for the head and ears
- Thermal liners-1 pair upper and lower
Miscellaneous
- Toiletries -Sunscreen SPF 40+, Moisturizer, Lip balm, Soap, Toilet paper.
- Repair Kit (needle and thread).
- Headlamp/ Torch.
- Camera.
- Water Bottle- Ideally keeps two bottles 1 litre each.
- Trekking Pole -Optional.
- Plastic Packing covers. (Please pack all your gear in waterproof plastic bags so that your clothes etc do not get wet while on horses or porters. Also carry extra plastic bags in case you need to pack wet clothes.)
Note: We advise you to carry all the belongings in a rucksack so that it is easy to move around in case of any emergency.
How to reach for The Mountain of the Broken Lake trek
- Delhi to Manali – Volvo Bus
- Chandigarh to Manali – Volvo Bus
- Delhi to Bhuntar – Flight (we’ll arrange for a pickup at the airport on request)
*If you need any assistance with your travel bookings, let us know and we’ll be happy to help!
Safety@Yoloo.Life
Safety & Adventure Sports
The most basic yet prominent principle of indulging in any adventure activity is to take all the necessary precautions for safety.
We at Yoloo.Life, keep it all in account and ensure maximum safety measures to pre-plan the trip and minimize any kind of risk. We plan to mitigate the risk of high altitude-related problems by preparing and acclimatizing well and staying in comfort.
We strongly suggest you keep yourself adequately hydrated- possibly double your water intake.
- Ensure that you take all your medications along to avoid any health issues.
- Inform your friends and family before you depart for the trip and let them know that this will be a ‘No-Network’ zone.
We will be your point of contact throughout the entire trip. Our complete staff is trained and certified, including our wilderness first responders on the programs. So in any case, we will be there to help you out.
