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Kheerganga
Located at an altitude of 2950 m (9678 ft) above sea level, Kheerganga Trek is one of the most famous treks in Himachal Pradesh. Kheerganga Trek located in Parvati Valley is considered to be a beginner-category trek. Kheerganga Peak apart from beautiful and natural scenery is also associated with many mythological events.
For this reason, this trek attracts tourists throughout the year. Apart from this, the ancient temple of Lord Shiva situated on the peak of Kheerganga and Parvati Kund situated near the temple are the biggest attraction of this trek. Parvati Kund located on Kheerganga Peak is a natural hot water tank (the natural hot water flowing here is a sulfur-containing which has medicinal properties.).
According to the ancient belief related to Parvati Kund, in Satyuga, the mountains used to shed kheer here and used to fall in this pool. Even today, the main source of hot water in this pool is the natural hot water flowing from the mountains. The Kheerganga trek, originally starting from Barsheni village, is a very beautiful trek.
During the Kheerganga Trek, you reach the summit of Kheerganga, passing through a beautiful village located in the Parvati valley and passing through thick forests of vast trees, large meadows, beautiful waterfalls falling from a height and the Parvati river flowing here.
Just as the views from the peak of Kheerganga are unforgettable, similarly the views seen during the Kheerganga trek will also be unforgettable for you. If you are a beginner trekker then it will be very beneficial for you to start the arduous task like trekking from Kheerganga Trek, as there are small restaurants in place for you to rest and eat during the whole trek.
The Kheerganga trek has become very easy in the present times due to the facilities provided by the residents here. But despite being so convenient, many people have many questions related to the Kheerganga trek in their minds, which I will try to answer in this post.
01 Where does Kheerganga Trek start?
02 How long does the Kheerganga trek take?
03 What are the facilities available during Kheerganga Trek?
04 Is Kheerganga Trek Safe?
05 How much does the Kheerganga trek cost?
06 What is the best time to trek Kheerganga?
07 What is the history of Kheerganga?
08 How difficult is the Kheerganga Trek?
History of Kheerganga
A total of two mythological stories related to the Kheerganga peak are heard the most by the residents here. The first legend is related to the family of Lord Shiva and the second story is related to Lord Parashurama. Although both the stories heard here are intertwined but the events of both the stories are different. So let me tell you about both the mythologies.
Legend – 01
You must have heard many times in your childhood about the first mythological story related to Kheerganga that how Lord Ganesha circumambulated the whole world by circumambulating Mother Parvati and Lord Shiva. Now, this mythological incident is such that once a dispute breaks out between Lord Ganesha and Lord Kartikeya as to who is the dearest to Mother Parvati and Lord Shiva.
Lord Ganesha is called Kartikeya, Mother Parvati and Lord Shiva love him the most, and here Kartikeya tells Ganesha that Mother Parvati and Lord Shiva love him the most. After arguing for a long time, Ganesh Ji and Kartikeya concluded that only Mother Parvati and Lord Shiva would be able to tell who is most dear to them.
Therefore Ganesh Ji and Kartikeya go to Mata Parvati and Lord Shiva to end their curiosity and ask both of them who is the dearest to them. Mother Parvati and Lord Shiva get confused after listening to Ganesh Ji and Kartikeya.
After deliberating for a long time, Mata Parvati and Lord Shiva conclude that a competition should be held between Ganesha and Kartikeya and whoever is the winner in that competition will be most dear to Mother Parvati and Lord Shiva.
After deciding this, Mata Parvati and Lord Shiva call Ganesha and Kartikeya to their side and tell them about the competition. Mata Parvati and Lord Shiva tell Ganesha and Kartikeya that the first of them to do three rounds of the earth will be the winner and they will be the dearest to Mother Parvati and Lord Shiva.
Hearing about the competition, Lord Kartikeya immediately rides on his vehicle peacock and goes to circumambulate the earth and while Lord Ganesha stands and thinks how to circumambulate the entire earth as soon as possible. Because his vehicle is a mouse and the mouse was not able to orbit the earth so quickly.
After thinking for a long time, Lord Ganesha makes three rounds of Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva and sits at their feet. Shortly after the circumambulation of Lord Ganesha, Kartikeya also came back after doing three rounds of the earth and felt victorious because Lord Ganesha was sitting where Kartikeya had left him. But Mata Parvati and Lord Shiva were very surprised by the circumambulation done by Lord Ganesha.
That’s why he asked Lord Ganesha why he didn’t go around the earth. On this, Lord Ganesha gives a very beautiful answer to Mother Parvati and Lord Shiva that “For me, the whole world is you, so whether I revolve around the whole world or you both have the same thing for me”.
Hearing this, Mata Parvati and Lord Shiva embrace Ganesha. Here Kartikeya gets very disappointed because Ganesh Ji becomes victorious in the competition on the strength of his intelligence without any effort. Due to this despair, Kartikeya leaves that place and goes to Parvati Valley and becomes engrossed in meditation there. Mother Parvati is very worried after receiving information from Kartikeya that Parvati is meditating in the valley.
Mother Parvati sheds a river of milk at the place where Kartikeya was meditating so that there should be no inconvenience to Kartikeya while he is meditating. It is believed that Mother Parvati shed the river of milk at the place where Lord Kartikeya was meditating. Which was then known as Dudhganga. Now there is a different legend related to how Dudhganga came to be called Kheerganga.
Legend – 02
In the first legend related to Kheerganga, we get to know how Kartikeya Parvati comes to the valley and becomes meditative. And there is no inconvenience to Lord Kartikeya while meditating, so Mother Parvati sheds a river of milk in the Parvati valley. And because of this, the place comes to be known as Dudhganga.
Now in the second mythological incident, we will know what happened that Dudhganga came to be known as Kheerganga. According to the second mythological incident, after sometime when Kartikeya is about to leave this place after completing his meditation.
When Lord Shiva comes to know about this, he becomes very worried about one thing, that after the departure of the place where Kartikeya was meditating, the Dudh Ganga flowing at the place in Parvati valley will be misused.
To solve this problem, Lord Shiva calls Rishi Parashuram to himself and tells him to take some remedy so that the river Dudhganga flowing at the place of meditation of Kartikeya is not misused.
After much deliberation, sage Parashuram thinks of making kheer offerings at this place. When sage Parashurama was about to eat the kheer made using the milk flowing in the Dudhganga, suddenly the cup of kheer fell from his hand with a jerk.
Sage Parashuram gets very angry with this incident and takes out his axe. When sage Parashurama suddenly became so angry, all the gods come to him and ask the reason for his anger. On this, sage Parashuram tells that whoever has insulted him and his food, he will punish that.
Now to rectify the situation, Lord Shiva comes to sage Parashurama and suggests to him that he should seriously try to understand the situation. According to the suggestion given by Lord Shiva, sage Parashuram comes into a state of meditation. While meditating, he learns that the Milk Ganga flowing here had made a mild joke as a little girl.
But this light joke is not liked by sage Parashuram and after knowing that he and his food have been insulted by the Dudhganga river himself, then curses the Dudhganga river that from today the milk flowing in the Dudhganga river flowing here will turn into water. And this will be known as Kheerganga.
It is said that from that time onwards this place came to be known as Kheerganga. Even today you can see white grains in Parvati Kund situated on Kheerganga Peak.
Kheerganga Trek
One of the most famous treks in Himachal, Kheerganga Trek is open for tourists throughout the year. Kheerganga trek located in the Parvati valley is also called nature’s paradise. However, whenever there is a lot of snowfall here, this trek is closed for some time during the winter season.
Apart from this, this trek becomes very beautiful even during the monsoon season but due to excessive rains, the slippery increases greatly on the whole trek. For this reason, if possible, do this trek only if it is very important during the monsoon season. The total distance of the Kheerganga trek is 14 km which starts from Barsheni village.
It takes you a total of two days to complete the Kheerganga trek. Apart from this, you can also trek the Buni-Buni pass located a few kilometres away from the Kheerganga trek. You have to keep an extra day with you to track the Buni-Buni pass. Because it will take you a day to complete the track from Kheerganga to Buni-Buni pass.
By the way, if you want, the track of Kheerganga can be completed in a day too, but it becomes a very tiring program for you. And because of this, you are not able to enjoy this track completely. During the entire trek, you reach the summit of Kheerganga by crossing the dense forests of Parvati valley, rivers and springs flowing throughout the year.
In the recent few years, there has been a lot of tourist movement on this track, due to which the residents have started getting very good employment opportunities here as well. During the Kheerganga trek, you get all kinds of facilities like food and accommodation very easily.
Throughout the trek, you will find small and big restaurants and cafes at a short distance apart from camping facilities for a night stay. The fee for a tent built at Kheerganga Peak starts from Rs 1000/- which includes dinner and breakfast. If you have brought camping equipment with you, then you can also stay here by paying dinner and breakfast charges.
If you are an experienced trekker then you can easily complete the Kheerganga trek alone but if this is your first trek then my suggestion would be for you to do this trek with a trekking agency or a local guide. Although the Kheerganga trek is considered to be a very easy trek and it is said for this track that the Kheerganga trek is the best for the beginner trekker.
But it is not known when the conditions change in the mountains, that is why trekking with an experienced person is always considered a good option. Although it takes you two days to complete the Kheerganga trek, apart from that you have to keep extra time to reach Barsheni village and return home.
Kheerganga Trek Day one
We assume that you will start your journey for the Kheerganga trek from Delhi. Now you have to keep in mind that direct bus service will not be available to you for Kheerganga or any of its nearby villages. To reach Kheerganga, you must first reach Bhuntar with the help of government and private buses running from Delhi to Manali.
The distance from Delhi to Bhuntar is 505 km. After reaching Bhuntar, reach Kasol with the help of a local bus service and taxi. After reaching Kasol, you can book a hotel or tent for yourself in Kasol or nearby villages.
Apart from this, if you have some extra time left, then you can visit Manikaran Gurudwara located just 5.5 km away from Kasol. Now if you are doing this trek with any tracking agency then they will give you all the information in advance.
Note:- There is also an airport in Bhuntar which is known as Kullu-Manali Airport.
Kheerganga Trek Day Two
The next day morning from Kasol, one has to leave for Barsheni village to trek Kheerganga because the starting point of the Kheerganga trek is Barsheni village. You can easily reach Barsheni village from Kasol with the help of sharing a taxi cab. The total distance from Barsheni to Kheerganga trek is 14 km.
There are three trek routes to reach Kheerganga, out of which two routes start from Barsheni and one route starts from Tosh. The three trek routes are as follows.
Kheerganga Trek Route
Route 01 – Bhuntar – Kasol – Barsheni – Kalga Route – Kheerganga Top
Route 02 – Bhuntar – Kasol – Barsheni – Nakathan – Rudranag – Kheerganga Top
Route 03 – Bhuntar – Kasol – Barsheni (For Tosh you have to take Barsheni taxi) – Tosh – Kheerganga Top
In these three trek routes, most of the tourists prefer to go more than the route from Barsheni to Kalga. The rest is up to you, which of these three routes you would like to go till Kheerganga Top.
Now it is about the route, from whichever place you start this trek, then you will take at least 6-7 hours to reach Kheerganga top. After reaching Kheerganga top, you can book a tent for yourself for a night stay there. Breakfast and dinner facilities are also provided to you along with tent booking.
There are small and big restaurants and cafes for your food and drink throughout the trek, so even if you do not take anything to eat and drink with you, you will not face any kind of problem. Yes, if you are carrying camping equipment with you, then you will have to pay only breakfast and dinner charges at Kheerganga Top.
Kheerganga Trek Day Three
Although this is the last day of the Kheerganga trek, on this day you can wake up early in the morning to visit the ancient temple of Lord Shiva built on the Kheerganga top and also enjoy bathing in Parvati Kund, which is considered to be the main attraction of Kheerganga.
Parvati Kund is a natural hot water tank. For which it is said that bathing in it cures many diseases, apart from this Parvati Kund also has religious significance. If you have an extra one, you can also track the Buni-Buni Pass, located just 05 kilometres from Kheerganga.
Otherwise, you can leave for Barsheni after taking bath in Parvati Kund and having breakfast. If you have come to Kheerganga from the Kalga route, then while going back to Barsheni, you return from the route of Rudranag and Nakthan. The return route from Kheerganga to Barsheni is considered to be the best route with Rudranag and Nakthan.
After reaching Barsheni, you can take a taxi to Kasol. After this, you can return to your home from Kasol.
Note: – If you have extra time and if you do the Buni-Buni pass trek, then you will take one more day to complete the Kheerganga trek.
Best Time for Kheerganga Trek
By the way, you can go to the Kheerganga trek anytime throughout the year. Now it depends on you when you want to go trekking here. By the way, it is believed that the time from March to June is considered to be the best time to trek to Kheerganga.
Apart from this, if you want to do the winter trek of Kheerganga, the time from January to March will be the best for you. However, there is a lot of snowfall here in winter and the facilities available here are also very limited. Apart from this, you will have to bring all the safety materials related to the trekking while doing the winter trek.
If you love photography, then September and October are considered to be the best months after the monsoons. Monsoon trekking can also be done here but for this also you have to be extra careful because during monsoon the entire trek becomes very slippery and there is a risk of landslides.
Temperature of Kheerganga
01 Kheerganga Temperature in Summer
April to June month – Max: approx 37℃ / Min: approx 13℃
02 Kheerganga temperature in monsoon
July to September month – max: approx 22℃ / min: approx 32℃
03 Kheerganga Temperature in Winter
From October to February – Max: approx 0℃ / Min: approx -4℃ and less
Kheerganga Trek Cost
Many such trekking agencies in India organize the Kheerganga trek summits throughout the year. All these trekking agencies have experienced trek guides to help you complete the trek safely. It takes you 02 days to complete the Kheerganga Trek, if you want, you can add 01 more day to complete the Buni-Buni Pass trek.
Almost all the trekking agencies provide trek for Rs 5000/- to 7000/- and if you add knit-woven pass track to Kheerganga trek then you will have to pay 1000/- to 2000/- extra. Overall, the cost of your Kheerganga trek can go up to Rs. 10000/-. The Kheerganga trek cost also depends on the facilities provided by the agencies during the trek.
Therefore, whenever you do this trek with any trekking agencies, then you must take complete information about the itinerary from those people. Apart from this, if you want to do this trek on your own, then you should assume that the travel cost will be around Rs 4000/- during the entire trek if you travel by Volvo bus.
If you go to Kheerganga by ordinary bus and government bus, then this cost can go from 2500 / – to 3000 / – rupees. Apart from this, the cost of your accommodation and food in Kheerganga and Kasol should be around 2000/- to 2500/-.
Note:- 01 The cost of the Kheerganga trek is different for almost all the trekking agencies.
02 All the costs mentioned above are approximate, on which we are not liable in any way.
Tips For Kheerganga Trek
01 Identity Card
02 muffler
03 water bottle ( 3-5 litres)
04 Dry Fruits and Packet Food
05 Warm Clothes ( Sweater / Jacket / Pull Over )
06 Poncho / Rain Coat ( For Rainy Season )
07 Sunglasses
08 Extra Battery for Flashlight / Power Bank / Camera
09 Camping gear if possible. ( Mat / Sleeping Bag )
10 Waterproof bags to protect electronic items from rain.
11 lemon and salt or electrolyte powder/drink (Electoral/Gatorade/Glucon D)
12 Tracking Shoes / Tracking Paint / Quick Dry Tshirt / Cape
13 whistle (for emergency)
14 First Aid Kit:- Scissors, Sunscreen (SPF 50+), Band-Aids (Water Proof), Analgesic Spray (Relispray, Volini), Antiseptic Liquid (Sevlon, Dettol), Antiseptic Powder (Povidone-Iodine Based Powders like Cipladine, Savlon) ), bandage, cotton, crepe bandage etc.
15 medicines:- Fever, headache, motion sickness, loose motion, vomiting and acidity etc.
16 Be sure to check the weather before starting the Kheerganga trek.
If you do not have experience in trekking in the mountains, then you can take a local guide with you.
18 Before starting the trek, the trekking agency with which you are doing this trek, then you must first take the information about the itinerary.
19 Before starting the trek, definitely take information about the rules related to Kheerganga Trek.
20 If you are not doing this trek with any trekking agency, then you must take a local trek guide with you.
21 If you are not an experienced trekker, then do not forget to do this trek alone.
You do not get any kind of mobile network during the
22 treks. Also, you will not have the facility to charge your electronic devices, so you must carry a spare battery and power bank with you during the trek.
23 The trek becomes slippery during the monsoon season so be a little extra careful during this time.
24 Before going on the trek, check the weather once and keep clothes and belongings accordingly.
(Note:- Before taking any kind of medicine, please consult your doctor.)
Hotels in Kheerganga
In recent years, the Kheerganga trek has become very famous among tourists, due to which the crowd of tourists can be seen throughout the year. For this reason, small and big hotels, the house stays and camping sites have come up here in recent years in Kheerganga, Kasol and surrounding villages.
Apart from this, many online hotel booking websites also provide room booking services for Kasol. If you are doing this trek with a trekking agency, then they make arrangements for accommodation in Kheerganga and Kasol in advance.
How To Reach Kheerganga
How To Reach Kheerganga By Air
The nearest airport to Kheerganga is the Kullu-Manali airport at Bhuntar. From Bhuntar, you can reach Barsheni via Kasol with the help of a taxi. After reaching Barsheni, you can trek to reach Kheerganga. Apart from this, Chandigarh airport is also the nearest airport.
The distance of Kheerganga from Chandigarh airport is only 308 km. From Chandigarh, you can easily reach Kheerganga (Kasol) with the help of a bus and taxi. You will get limited flights to Bhuntar from major cities of India while Chandigarh Airport is connected by regular air service to many countries of the country and the world.
How To Reach Kheerganga By Train
Pathankot Railway Station is the nearest railway station to Kheerganga. The distance from Pathankot to Kheerganga (Kasol) is about 270 km. You can easily reach Kheerganga (Kasol) from Pathankot with the help of a bus, taxi and cab.
Apart from this, Chandigarh Railway Station is also the nearest railway station to Kheerganga (Kasol). Pathankot and Chandigarh Both these railway stations are very well connected to almost all the major railway stations of India.
How To Reach Kheerganga By Road
Bhuntar, the nearest town to Kheerganga, is well connected by road. All the buses going from Delhi to Manali pass through Bhuntar. Therefore, whenever you are planning to do the Kheerganga trek, then you have to come to Bhuntar first. After that, after reaching Bhuntar you have to first come to Kasol.
You will get a Barsheni taxi and bus service from Kasol. Regular bus services are available to Bhuntar from Delhi, Chandigarh and many other cities of India. If you want to come to Kheerganga by your vehicle, then I will put the road map below and you can reach Kheerganga easily by looking at it.
Kheerganga Road Map
Delhi – Karnal – Ambala – Bilaspur – Bhuntar – Kasol – Barsheni – Kheerganga (12 Km Trek)
Chandigarh to Kheerganga Distance – 308 KM
Kasol to Kheerganga Distance – 22 KM
Manali to Kheerganga Distance – 97 KM
Delhi to Kheerganga Distance – 540 KM
Bhuntar to Kheerganga Distance – 71 KM
Pathakot to Kheerganga Distance – 270 KM
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