Hamta Valley & Sethan Village
Hampta is one of the most scenic location around Manali. At an impressive altitude of 2900 Meters above sea level and merely 15kms from Manali, this place is nothing short of a surprising paradise and wonderland.
Imagine reaching 900 meters above the town of Manali in merely 45 minutes? Roads which are opened throughout the year no matter how much it snows? A place which is famous for mystical snow igloos (houses made of snow)and the only place boasts of doing so? The area which undisputedly receives the maximum snowfall in Manali?
The place which is famous for bouldering, snowboarding, having the finest ski slopes in India, Igloos, mesmerizing treks, wonderful hidden waterfalls, a river at 3000 meters (10,000 feet above sea level), roads which remain always open no matter how much it snows and are safe enough to test your 4x4 driving skills. This is Hamta Valley for you, also called Hampta.
Imagine reaching 900 meters above the town of Manali in merely 45 minutes? Roads which are opened throughout the year no matter how much it snows? A place which is famous for mystical snow igloos (houses made of snow)and the only place boasts of doing so? The area which undisputedly receives the maximum snowfall in Manali?
The place which is famous for bouldering, snowboarding, having the finest ski slopes in India, Igloos, mesmerizing treks, wonderful hidden waterfalls, a river at 3000 meters (10,000 feet above sea level), roads which remain always open no matter how much it snows and are safe enough to test your 4x4 driving skills. This is Hamta Valley for you, also called Hampta.
Hampta is also famous trekking destinations for beginners as the famous hampta pass trek of Manali starts from here. Hampta Pass or Hamta Pass takes you through hampta valley of Manali through wonderful meadows while you are taking a hike alongside the hampta river which first says hello to you at jobri where the hampta hydel project is located (15kms from Prini town in Manali). Then you come across wonderful meadows and campsite of chikka which is mere 90 minutes trek along the river. This is also the first campsite enroute the hampta pass trek. From chikka you can trek the fun and adventurous route all the way to jwara and balu ka ghera.
You will have to cross a gorging river stream on the way, it’s a lot of fun and adventure. Balu ka Ghera is called so because of the sand bed on its meadow. From there on we can trek to hampta pass which offers much scenic beauty and close up views of snow clad mountain peaks like Indrasan, permanent black glaciers and magnificient views of Lahaul valley from the top of the pass.
Hampta pass is perhaps the favourite route for shepherds to cross over the kullu valley and visit Lahaul Valley and chatru village via sheoguru. Trekkers can trek all the way to chatru in 4n/5 days, visit chandratal and come back to Manali in cabs via Rohtang Pass.
Sheagoru is the third camping site on the trek route and first in Lahaul Valley after crossing hampta pass. The name Shea means cold and goru means gulley or street. Aptly titled as sheagoru is the coldest campsite in hampta pass trek and most magnificent and breath-taking as well as you are confined on a river bed campsite with tall mighty, green and sometimes barren and rocky mountains depending on the time of the year of Lahaul stretched far above you on all sides.
There are many more treks which originate from hampta valley, Sethan dome being one of them. The climb to sethan dome is tough one, you can start your climb from our campsite to Sethan and then keep climbing until you have surpassed the tree line. The views here are absolutely breath-taking as you reach the finest ski slopes in Manali covered with green meadows everywhere you can look out in summers with ice patches everywhere and green vegetation with colorful flowers in monsoon. Every month hampta has to offer you something new. These meadows are favorite spot for heli-skiers and snowboarding enthusiasts in winters, and offer a wonderful opportunity on top of manali mountains and enjoy the view in summers in pre and post monsoon season.
You can reach sethan dome in 1 or 2 days. Experienced trekkers will do the summit on the same day itself. From the top of the dome you can experience breath-taking and panaromic views on all sides.
On your front you will see Manali town and Kullu valley with the beas river flowing and mountain peaks like friendship, kaliheni glaciar, ranisui lake trek, lamadough and hotels in simsa, aleo, prini, shuru, patlikuhal etc visible from kilometers above in altitude.
On your back you will see indrasan and deotibba peaks and magnificent mountains of hampta.
On your left you will see jobri, hampta dam and chikka and the route of hampta pass trail.
The views are breath-taking from here and you can’t help but falling in love with it over and over again.
You can access hampta from prini. From this quaint little village merely 3 kms from Mall road in Manali, you would see hundreds of hotels lined up in rows. There are some really good 3 and 4 star hotels in prini, a mountaineering institute in the neighborhood village and town Aleo named after Ex PM Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee as he used to live in Prini and was vey much in love with Manali. He also has the famous Rohtang tunnel named after him as it’s called Atal Tunnel and has allowed Lahaul to remain accessible to rest of the India throughout the year via road. It surely is a boon to people of Lahaul as now Lahaul valley and the town of sissu can be accessed via road from in Manali in just an hour even in winters.
Sethan is the last and most popular village in hampta valley. It’s famous for igloos, bouldering, skiing and other winter sports.
The village has some 30-40 houses, few guest houses and some shops. It’s stretched to a mere few hundred meters. It has some wonderful ladakhi style gompas tied up with prayer flags. Most of the inhabitants in Sethan are from Lahaul valley and practice Buddhism. There is also a tiny Buddhist temple in Main Square of the village and a community hall.
The biggest hotel in Sethan is Sethan heights with around 10-12 rooms.
There are a few more places to stay in Sethan like Wilderness Lodge, Sethan Bouldering Hostel, Tushita Camps and Lodge, Hippie in Hills etc.
Hampta village is a few kilometers behind Sethan but offers great views of Manali town and mobile connectivity across all networks. Sethan is yet to receive mobile towers as of yet so you have to experience no mobile connectivity in this village. Some people also miss the panaormic view of Manali from Hampta while in Sethan. The famous hotels / guest houses in Hampta are Glampeco, Nirvana Hampta Retreat, Himalayan Lounge, Escape to Hampta.
A few hundred meters ahead of Sethan is meadows of Nyar Thach. You will see an old abandoned truck always standing there in isolation. This place is a hub for skiing, tube rides, zip-line and other adventure activities.
A little further ahead there are big boulders and an adjoining tiny lake filled up of grass, there is also a cave across the lake and tall mountain cliffs on front. There is a small shack here which serves guests a place to sit and have some refreshments. On Big boards its mentioned that this place is sacred and not to litter here. The place is called Panduropa and has a mythological significance. It is said that in Panduropa, bheem use to stay in the cave and would plant rice saplings in the adjoining marshy lake, then would hike across the tall cliff towering on the other side of the road and plant those saplings and do cultivation of rice in the meadows surrounding bhrigu lake.
This place is famous for bouldering and skiing, many people climb the other side of the snow clad mountains littered with boulders for snow trek, ski and snowboarding activities.
We go a little further ahead and we will come across a tunnel with water constantly flowing from and thus forming a rivulet in the adjoining gorge. This tunnel is maintained by the hydel project engineers and staff. The view from here is beautiful but less than what’s coming ahead. As we move forward we will come across a big water reservoir, initially it will look like a giant colloseum without any columns and windows. This giant round shape building is the water reservoir for the hydel project, there is also a zipline adjoining it measures 300 meters and 250 meters (both sides). A little further hike ahead on the road we will be able to see this water reservoir in it’s full glory. In winters a portion of this water giving impression of a giant manmade lake freezes. Further ahead and we will come across more meadows and bouldering slopes akin to panduropa. This area is also referred as jobri meadows by some. Merely a few hundred meters ahead from here the road ends, there is a huge dam on the left arresting the jobri nallah (rivulet) here and tall mountain cliffs, waterfalls and glaciers adorning it. All these waterfalls on the opposite mountain cliffs are said to be formed by water coming from the bhrigu lake which is on the other side of this mountain. A short but arduous and dangerous trek can be taken by highly experienced trekkers from here to reach the top of the bhrigu lake and reach back to jobri on the same day. But it’s a tiring vertical hike which can be very tricky and risky if performed without and experienced guide.
The views from here are breath-taking, you will see flowing water on all both sides of the mountain here and this is the place where hampta pass trek begins as the road ends.
This is also called Allain Barrage, Curve 40 at Hampta, Hampta Dam, Jobri trek and camping point.
People attempting the hamta circle trek from sethan dome or jagatsukh also prefer to finally halt at jobri.
A downhill hike from here can also make you reach at beas river and chichoga area of Manali.
Hamta has started becoming a popular tourist spot of Manali as entry restrictions due to hydel project have been lifted now and tourists don’t need permission from SDM to enter this place anymore.
The road to hampta is really bad, it’s an off-road drive with lots of pot holes and muddy road but the calm and scenic views that hampta has to offer are unparalleled. If you want to stay at an amazing scenic location with lovely weather, lots of places to hike and breath-taking views away from hustle and bustle of the crowd but don’t mind giving up a few luxuries and survive on basics than hampta is a place to be.
The calm and serenity you will find here along with the views will make memories worth sharing for a lifetime.
We operate rooms and camps in hampta valley near sethan village by the name of Nirvana Hamta Retreat, our place offer wonderful cosy rooms, restaurant, camps, bonfire, room heaters, hot water, wifi, 4g network connectivity and a jaw dropping view of Manali town from 2000 feet above.
It’s a perfect place for a workation and ideal for people looking for camping location at 9000 feet in close proximity of hampta valley.
We also conduct snow treks around Manali in hampta valley (hamta snow trek), hamta circle trek, sethan dome, hampta waterfall, hampta circuit, deotibba base, hampta pass trek with or without chandratal, snow camping in manali and hampta, and activities like bouldering, igloo stay, igloo making, sethan igloo stay, zipline, snow boarding activities, skiing, heli-ski, day hikes, camping in hampta valley and sethan and much more….
Contact us for an awesome and unforgettable experience in hamta valley. Visit www.nirvanahamta.com for more details.
The road to hampta is really bad, it’s an off-road drive with lots of pot holes and muddy road but the calm and scenic views that hampta has to offer are unparalleled. If you want to stay at an amazing scenic location with lovely weather, lots of places to hike and breath-taking views away from hustle and bustle of the crowd but don’t mind giving up a few luxuries and survive on basics than hampta is a place to be.
The calm and serenity you will find here along with the views will make memories worth sharing for a lifetime.
We operate rooms and camps in hampta valley near sethan village by the name of Nirvana Hamta Retreat, our place offer wonderful cosy rooms, restaurant, camps, bonfire, room heaters, hot water, wifi, 4g network connectivity and a jaw dropping view of Manali town from 2000 feet above.
It’s a perfect place for a workation and ideal for people looking for camping location at 9000 feet in close proximity of hampta valley.
We also conduct snow treks around Manali in hampta valley (hamta snow trek), hamta circle trek, sethan dome, hampta waterfall, hampta circuit, deotibba base, hampta pass trek with or without chandratal, snow camping in manali and hampta, and activities like bouldering, igloo stay, igloo making, sethan igloo stay, zipline, snow boarding activities, skiing, heli-ski, day hikes, camping in hampta valley and sethan and much more….
Contact us for an awesome and unforgettable experience in hamta valley. Visit www.nirvanahamta.com for more details.
