Family treks

Travelling the hills

Just an idea floating around: all the blogs i have read or browsed thru, are about individuals travelling through the hills. I have found very few ideas or destinations which involve a bit of trekking or maybe whole lot of trekking which a family can do. By family i mean mother, father, brother, sister, uncles and aunts , i mean you get the picture.Can i have some ideas please? I got one though, Almora to Jageswar pretty easy i heard,around 3-4 days of plain land walking. I would love some more please.

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wind_chariot

I have not been there, but khalia top near munsyari is my destination...8-9 km hiking, camping there for a night with family and kids and enjoying beautiful views is just soo perfect!!! i guess though i have to wait...i am still single

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jituyadav

Trekking is trekking, families are not barred from doing the treks With exception of treks passing through glaciers and steep slopes in higher reaches, families can do all treks. There are so many treks like the one you mentioned, Dehradun to Mussorie, shitlakhet to bhowali, kathgodam to all the major tourist spots. These are treks that locals use and connect small villages to each other and towns. The problem is that these treks are less frequented and availability of usual stuff like tea and snacks on the way is a problem so you will have to be careful and carry water, food etc while doing these treks.

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spicetrekker

Frankly, I dont think it is the trek but the family that is the barrier i.e. how many members in your family are interested in the rough and tumble involved - mind you I am not even talking of tough treks but even in easy ones there is some amount of hardship involved which all members in the family may not be interested in.

All my treks have been with my family members (but not everyone joined in) and we have been to even Tapovan with my father who at that time was 75 yrs.

If you have a family who has enough members interested in trekking some treks I recommend are:

1. Kedarnath : reason 14-15 kms oneway all facilities available, the religious angle may spur the older generation also plus you stay there for 2 nights and you can do interesting side trips
2. 4 of the 5 panchkedars : In addition to Kedarnath, the other three kedars which I recommend are Tungnath - short trek from chopta but take you to a great spot with great himalayan views. Madhmaheshwar suits your bill as it would take 4 days to complete with enough places to stop by as you go along, you can decide your pace. Kalpeshwar : very short one day trek. Only one I have left out is Rudranath as this one is a bit tough
3. The lakes on Gharwal: Deoria Tal: Short trek but carry your tent along, another short trek is Nachiketa tal a short walk from the road head at Chaurangi khal near uttarkashi. Dodi tal slighly tougher but doable
4. Gaumukh - again doable in 3 days (easily at a rleaxed pace) you can try tapovan also but even going till gaumukh is great
5. VoF

I am sure our friends in IM can add many more. I also suggest you read the thread on tea-house treks on IM

Khans

I had done that last year, was pretty good and will suit family needs.

One of my clicks

Travelling the hills

thanks for all the replies, spicetrekker i think you are right, it is the family which is the barrier not the treks.I have been trying to inspire my mother for quite some time, father being quite game. thanks for the suggestions all the same, i am planning a few probably next year, let`s see how it goes. wish me luck.

spicetrekker

If your mother is religiously inclined then try Gaumukh trek, in fact you and your father can then even make a day trip to Tapovan, though ideally one should stay at Tapovan

trooooon

That is really something! Its one intimidating glacier!

Another option I could think of is basing yourself somewhere like Dalhousie or Mcleod Ganj and doing a bunch of day walks . . . it gives the elders the flexibility to join on which ever of the walks they feel inclined towards!

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jyotipg

Agree with you. My kids are 3 and 5 years old respectively. Probably 2 year from now, I may introduce them to trek. The one in my mind to start with is:

1. Tunganath and Deoriya Tal. They are both beautiful and low on risk.

2. Madhyamaheswar: Good one but 4 days may be long. May be not ideal for a introductory trek.

Kedarnath: It involves step climbs and the air after Rambara becomes thin. I would be worried if the kids are still not grown up to say that they running low on breath. So, would avoid it.

Some more I have in mind is the Jungle treks around Binsar.

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jyotipg

Other ones in Himachal can be:

1. Churdhar Peak : Sirmaur: The only worry is that when I went there in 1997, there was no proper route to the top. Hopefully it is done now.
2. Nag tibba trek: Mussoorie
3. Hatu Peak : Shimla
4. Triundh : Dharamshala. Nice beautiful, easy trek. Easy approach and close to all facities in McLeodganj. Probably you can put it high on your list.

Travelling the hills

awesome choices jyotipg, i was thinking Kalpeswar through Helang,now if only i have a advice to inspire my mom enough. We did CharDham last year and while going to Kedarnath had godawful rain.I did get my mother a duli however she was the one who acutually faced a landslide and had a terrifying experience.Now she has gone completley off mountains, specially poor Himalayas. any inspiring ideas?????

samya.indya

There is a short trek in Sikkim which is a family trek.Hiley-Barsey trek.I have done this in may and it was awesome, though I was unlucky that I couldn't see a rhododendron and the weather was also not with us.But it was a very good experience for both me and my family.

My snaps

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smakkar

The trek to Saryolsar Lake (my spellings might be wrong) from Jalori Pass (central Himachal, between Kullu & Narkanda) is also wonderfully simple and small, but gives you the feeling of a full trek... Overall a simple 2 hr walk each way...

In winters the lake is frozen..!! So added advantage

Attached Thumbnails

 

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Travelling the hills

hi smakkar, seolsar lake from Jalori Pass, the distance is for 5 kms right?? or that`s what i read, and there are camping facilities beside the lake or do i have to come back ?

smakkar

Yes, that's the approx. distance... No camps as such, but you can take your own....