Dhankar: Shadow Magic

I dragged myself, defying the blazing sun and all the physical limitations induced by my nonexistent fitness regime, to finally reach a point high enough to experience the full glory of the confluence of Spiti and Pin Rivers and their glittering floodplains. Floating clouds were casting moving shadows on the distant plains but not over my head. With such views in front of me, I should have felt like gods but with all the physical exertion,

- Rohit Khatri

Reaching Dhankar:

The previous night, I explored various options for reaching Dhankar but at the end obviously opted for the least expensive option. I was told that a local Kaza bound bus will drop me at Shichilling, from where generous locals will give me lift. So, the next morning I reached the bus stand at Tabo but the bus was nowhere to be seen. There were many foreign tourists waiting there too but they lost patience and decided to pay extra and hire a car. But I stayed back, along with Mike from New York, who was on his 3rd India trip. He apparently returns to countries after decades to see how they have evolved. The bus finally arrived at around 10:30 am and left us at Shichilling after an hour. That place has a few small restaurants and even a homestay. The road goes towards Kaza but a small diversion ascends towards Dhankar. In fact the village and the monastery can be seen from the road itself. Mike and I decided to start trekking along the road and ask for lift whenever they arrive.

It was a bright, sunny day due to the late start we ended up trekking at high noon. As it can be expected in a desert, there were no trees and not even a man-made structure providing shade. My water reserve ended soon. Actually I deliberately did not carry too much to lessen the weight of my backpack. Anyways, after a couple of hours of trekking, we reached the aforementioned vantage point. The views were rewarding, especially the wild roses, but it was tiresome and we were only halfway through.