Sar Pass Trek- Speed Hike - You Must Do it...

We started our hike from Kasol at 10:30 AM in Alpine-style DIY mode, carrying our own gear and planning everything ourselves. The distance to Grahan Village was around 8 km, so we decided to hike instead of taking any help. We reached Grahan by 12:30 PM.

Feeling confident, we didn’t use any navigation tools or ask the locals about the way to Min Thach. After walking about 1 km inside the village, we randomly picked a trail, assuming it would take us to Min Thach. Unfortunately, we were wrong. We got lost in the jungle for almost 2.5 hours, wandering around trying to find the right trail.

During this time, we met three other trekkers who were also lost and looking for the same trail. Together, the six of us tried to figure out the way, but we failed. Finally, we decided to return to Grahan Village and ask the locals for the correct route.

This time, we got proper directions from a local woman, who guided us to the right trail. The trail was steep and went up to 2,900 meters. The climb was difficult, especially because we were carrying heavy camping gear we were not used to. It slowed us down a lot, and we started questioning our decision to do this DIY trek.

After hours of hiking, we finally reached Min Thach around 7:00 PM. The weather had turned bad, and we didn’t know how to pitch a tent properly. Luckily, two local guides helped us pitch our tent just in time—soon after, heavy rain and snowfall began. If they hadn’t helped us, we would have been completely drenched.

Later, we met Tek Chand ji, who stays at Min Thach until the end of June. He generously offered space in his tent for two people, on the condition that they had their own sleeping bags. If we had known this earlier, we wouldn’t have carried so much camping gear.

Important Note: There is no mobile network from Kasol to Nagaru. Mobile signals may be available at Nagaru if the weather is clear, but if the weather is bad, there will be no network at all. After Nagaru, up to Sar Pass summit, there is usually no mobile connectivity either. Plan your communication accordingly.

The next day, we woke up early, shot a time-lapse, had breakfast, and began our hike from Min Thach to Sar Pass at around 8:30 AM. The distance wasn’t much, but the weather kept changing every 15–30 minutes, which slowed us down. The climb from Min Thach to Nagaru was steep and risky, especially for beginners. After around 1.5 hours of climbing, we had to be very careful—one slip could have caused a fall of 800–900 meters.

We reached Nagaru Base Camp around 12:30 PM, but the weather was extremely unfavorable. We waited in a tour company’s tent for 30 minutes, hoping for the weather to clear. The people there were very kind and offered us tea and parathas. It was a sweet gesture. Although they refused to take money, we insisted and paid them.

After that, we continued our hike and reached the Sar Pass summit by 2:00 PM. But due to worsening weather and the fact that we didn’t bring proper hiking gear, we decided to return to Min Thach. The trail had become very muddy and slippery due to continuous snowfall, and it looked scary. We descended very slowly and carefully, reaching Min Thach after about 2 hours.

We stayed at Min Thach for another day because of bad weather.

Advice for future trekkers:
If you're planning to hike solo or in a small group of two, you don't need to carry heavy camping equipment. Just bring a sleeping bag and stay with Tek Chand ji at Min Thach. He usually stays there until the end of June.

Total cost for our entire trek, including round-trip bus fare from Delhi, was ₹2,800 per person.

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