Trek to Laka Glacier is a part of Indrahar Pass Trek. Indrahar pass is a part of Dhauladhar range of Himalayas, Himachal Pradesh. It is standing at an altitude of about 4300 meters above sea level. It is very much near to Dharamshala, which is a famous tourist spot of Himachal Pradesh.
In a 4-day trek to Indrahar, the Laka Glacier can be reached on the 3rd day of the Trek. The actual journey starts at Dharamshala to Laka. The trek to Laka Glacier is at a moderate to difficult level considering its steepness and path. The trail starts at Gallumatha temple, which is a base site, and then covers the places like Triund, Snowline, and finally to Laka Glacier. Now if you are interested you can also go to Indrahar Pass by moving through Lahesh Caves, which finally lead you to Indrahar Pass.
Things to carry
There are some essential things that you must carry while trekking in Himalayan ranges. They are a pair of good shoes, comfortable clothes, and a trekking pole that would give the necessary grip required to hike the ascends of the hill. Besides these, a must-have item is a water bottle that will quench your thirst and tiredness due to the trek. You can also carry the camping gear where you can pitch in successive campsites as it is a 4-day trek if you consider even Indrahar.
From McLeodganj to Dharamkot
Now the journey starts from Dharamshala, from where you need to move on the road to reach McLeodganj, which is at an altitude of 2000 meters. You can hire a taxi or travel via bus to reach Dharamkot, which is 2 kilometers from McLeodganj. The first mark point of the trail from Dharamkot is Gallumatha temple, which is about 3.5 kilometers away. There is a check post where you must register your name and submit any plastic to the forest department that you are taking up.
From Gallumatha temple to Triund
From Gallumatha temple the trail will invite you with Rhododendron trees. The most common trees you find on the trail are the famous rhododendron, oak, cedar tree etc. It takes another 6 kilometers of trail to Triund. After a 1.5 kilometers trek you can see from the top that there are small huts dotted all over beautifully. From there you can have an opportunity to look at Bhagsu Nag, Dharamkot, and McLeodganj market places. The last part that is 1 kilometer to Triund has around 22 turns with a steep trail. In the months from December to February this area would be fully covered with white blanket of snow.
From Triund to Snowline to Laka glacier
The final trail will involve the trek to Snowline. This is also an ascending trail of about 40 degrees inclination, with rocky patches of landscape. There are numerous narrow paths in frequent intervals so even one wrong step would end you up in the valley below. However, once you reach Snowline it would be an amazing view of nature. Snowline is at an altitude of 3500 meters above sea level. You can camp there and take a rest along with acclimatization. There is also the availability of camping areas, if you didn’t bring your own camping gear. From Snowline it is now that time has come to reach Laka glacier. The midst of the trail also offers some cafes like Dhauladhar Cafe etc. Like the earlier journey, you can expect that even this path is also rocky. Overall it takes around an hour to reach Laka glacier from Snowline.
Now if you are interested you can continue your trek to Indrahar Pass, which takes around 4 to 5 hours to reach the Pass. The steep level would now be increasing to the next level. This area has glaciers on one side of the trekking path on the other. The glaciers can be found even in summers because of high altitude. After a small trail you find Lahesh Caves where many people stay here and continue their trekking the next day. After a long hard trail you will now be reaching Indrahar Pass that is covered entirely by snow and fog even in the afternoon. So you surely feel the importance of the trek and the hard journey it takes only after experiencing the Pass. However, if you want to complete the trek at Laka glacier, it would also be a good option. But you will only come to these places once in a while so why not take the opportunity to take a step further to Indrahar Pass.
