Deo Tibba: Meadows, pastures and Gods

What do you think can beat an exhilarating trek amidst the mountains and the rewarding spellbinding views to top it? Absolutely nothing! The Deo Tibba trek is hands down, an exceptionally rewarding and cost-effective trek with challenges and tricky terrains that add richness and flavor to the overall experience of trekking in the state of Himachal Pradesh. With the summit situated at an elevation of 14,700 ft approximately, the expedition to the peak begins at Manali, a popular and easily accessible hill station in the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh that serves as an easy base camp for excursions to the summit. This excursion to Deo Tibba is not conventional; it is one of its kinds with a pleasant and usually stable temperature, challenge worthy distance evenly distributed across a few days of the excursion and the mind-boggling as well as soul-stirring views of the landscapes resting within the Pir Panjal Range of mountains. The peak which is rather a dome in shape is known for the mythological belief of having been a place where the Gods are said to have assembled and that is precisely where the name ?Deo Tibba? seems to have come from, since the word ?Deo? happens to mean God and the word ?Tibba? is known to mean hill. During the expedition, you are sure to come across many interesting tales that are narrated by the localites of the village of Chikka, which make the trek nail-biting, interesting and equally thrilling. Subsequently, the village of Jogi Dugh, the Bhandara Cave and the sight of the Chota Chandratal Lake remain the key highlights of the trek with a tad-bit complex terrains that pull adventure enthusiasts to venture into the world of mountaineering. Starting with the dense forests of birch trees, to mesmerizing grasslands covered with snow, milky white meadows, to gigantic glaciers; the expedition remains tricky, challenging and lies at the moderate level on the difficulty spectrum. The best time to do the Deo Tibba trek is between the months of June and September which is when the trail tends to be most interesting and exhilarating. 

The itinerary of the expedition is simple, usually spanning over 14-15 days. All you have to do to get started is pack your belongings and shoot your shot to reach the exceptionally beautiful hill station of Manali where you can unpack, refresh and chill for the day to energize for the long and tedious yet interesting expedition to the Deo Tibba summit. Wake up and drive to the village of Sethan, the next day.  Sethan is where you will begin your trek towards the village of Chhikka that lies in the lap of mighty majestic mountains. Bless yourself with the serene beauty of the surroundings and enjoy the blissful frames of the valley before you. The trek from Sethan to Chhikka is short and serves as a good start for the expedition. You can halt here for the day and continue with the expedition, the next day. To get started, you will have to trek for about 6km to reach the village of Seri from Chhikka. The trail passes through forests and opens into fascinating bright green grasslands. You will be elevating from a height of 10,171 ft to an altitude of 12,632ft within a span of 5-6 hrs, this day which will be tiring enough to call off the journey at Chhikka for the day. On the fourth day, you will have to reach the Deo Tibba base camp. The ascend from this part of the expedition becomes steeper and tricky as you climb higher; you will cut paths with the iconic Tainta Cliff, moraines and ridges before you to reach the campsite at Tainta glacier.  This is where you will rest for the day. Here, it is absolutely necessary to acclimatize and rest for another day to maintain a good health and to thoroughly enjoy the expedition. You will resume the expedition on the sixth day with Load Ferry to Camp 1. For this, you will have to carry your gears and equipments to the Deo Tibba Base Camp situated at a higher altitude, leave the materials at the camp and return to Camp 1 the same day to rest for the night. The next day, you can begin by retracing the past day?s route to reach the same camp, this time with a steady pace. The distance between the two camps is usually covered in about 5-6 hrs. Load Ferry will be repeated on the 8th day to regulate acclimatization. Begin a steady trek, next morning, retracing yesterday?s path to trek uphill with patience and grit to reach the summit camp. The 10th day usually remains the most anticipated and sought after day of the entire expedition; you will attempt the summit this day. You will cross a gully, withstand a steep climb and use a couple of mountaineering techniques to finally reach the summit top. Enjoy the soul-stirring panoramic views of the surrounding and admire the snow-covered stretches that will leave you feeling priceless and infinitely small amidst the nature?s bounty. Retrace the same trail to return to Camp 1, the next day. You will embark on a 14km long trek on the twelfth day to reach the village of Chhikka.  After resting here for the night, you may hop onto your vehicles next morning and drive back to Manali to complete the expedition.

To facilitate flexible planning, be sure to include buffer days in your itinerary. These days are utilized in unfortunate cases wherein the summit attempt may have halted due to unfavorable weather conditions.