Seven friends together on a rocky viewpoint beneath a winter sunset during the Laka Glacier trek

One of our trail stories · Winter 2025

Laka Glacier

When we went11–14 December 2025WhereHimalayasDays out4 daysOur group7 friendsStory statusStory added

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Seven people. Two cars. One very new friendship.

Car one carried Amit, Gaurav S, Srijan and Paras. Car two carried Gaurav P, Zaibi and Dilip. At that point we had known one another for only a few months, which apparently felt like enough preparation for four winter days in the mountains.

This was our first trek together. We left as seven fairly new friends and returned with a shared Maggi rescue story, an unnecessary amount of tent-related comedy, and a permanent rule about keeping track of Dilip.

Day by day

Four days that gave us a group history.

Dharamkot · Tibetan dinner · bonfire

Seven almost-strangers head north

After a day-long drive, we reached Dharamkot in the evening and discovered that checking into Zostel would take a little longer than planned because of a document hiccup on their side. We were exhausted, but not quite exhausted enough to stay in.

We went down to the Dharamshala market, took far too long to decide what to eat, and eventually chose Kalimpong Restaurant because everyone wanted to try Tibetan food. Thukpa, thenthuk and several unfamiliar orders later, dinner had already started doing the work of turning seven new friends into a group.

Back in Dharamkot, some showered, some slept, and the rest gathered around the bonfire beneath the stars. Amit opened the first bottle of the trip, we talked with other travellers staying there, and discovered that quite a few people around the fire could happily spend the night naming stars. The trek had not started yet, but the trip definitely had.

The seven Laka Glacier trekkers gathered around a table at Kalimpong Restaurant — The dinner decision took time. The group photo did not.

Friends and fellow travellers sitting around the Zostel bonfire in Dharamkot — The first bottle, the first stories and a sky full of stars

Dharamkot → Triund

Maggi, wind and a very distant campsite

We got ready, made the short hike to the starting point, and met Adi and the guide team for the trail briefing. The plan was Dharamkot to Triund. The guide was supposed to lead; Amit Rawat had other ideas. He moved uphill so quickly and easily that, for stretches, he became the unofficial person out front.

Lunch kept moving further into the day, which left Zaibi increasingly hangry until a bowl of Maggi arrived and restored a reasonable level of civilisation. We reached Triund around 5 pm in cold, heavy wind—then learned that our tents were still another half-hour away on the other side of the hill.

That night gave us a sky packed with stars, cameras pointed upward, dal-chawal that tasted like the best meal available on earth, and Uno inside the tents while the wind worked overtime outside. Five of us shared one tent; Paras and Srijan took the other. That entirely normal sleeping arrangement supplied the group with months of entirely unnecessary jokes.

Amit sitting in the morning sun before the trek to Triund — Amit, shortly before making uphill look suspiciously easy

A bowl of hot Maggi held against the mountain valley view — The bowl that prevented a full hangry incident

The rocky Triund trail with the campsite still visible on the next hill — We had reached Triund. Our tents had not.

Triund → Laka Glacier → Triund

The steep way to Laka

Morning began with a not-great-but-still-best-available breakfast, the first serious confrontation with mountain bathroom logistics, and a sunrise good enough to make everyone forget both. Golden-hour photographs done, we left for Laka Glacier knowing the trail ahead would be steeper and the day longer.

Lunch kept getting postponed again, but this time the logic was sound: we needed to reach Laka and return to Triund on the same day. When we arrived in the afternoon, the place felt quiet and barely touched. One small tent stood there with a single person inside preparing our food while we somehow found another round of energy for photographs.

Our host and cook looked after us generously; a few people even fitted in a quick nap before the descent. We reached Triund again in the early evening and found it transformed. The weekend crowd had arrived, the hillside looked like an overgrown mushroom colony of tents, and the clear stars were gone behind cloud. We still had Uno, another long night of conversation, and plenty left to learn about one another.

All seven friends standing together in front of a bright orange Triund sunrise — Cold faces, excellent sunrise

Seven friends looking down toward a camera on the rocky Laka trail — Another round of energy, reserved exclusively for photographs

A trekker taking a quick nap beside folded blankets at the Laka food shelter — The quick nap before the return to Triund

Triund → Dharamkot → home

Downhill, dense fog and one missing Dilip

The last sunrise was still breathtaking, and we started the descent early. Downhill was not the easy victory lap it looked like: an old foot injury kept twisting my step and made me reconsider how good I thought my trail skills were. Even so, after two and a half days across unfamiliar terrain, the descent carried its own top-notch feeling.

Then Dilip took a wrong turn and briefly disappeared. We found him, but not before the AirTag jokes were fully developed. To this day he remains the group’s official “put an AirTag on him” guy. We reached Dharamkot around 11:30 am, started looking for food, and Dilip briefly managed to get lost again—just to protect the legend.

We did a little shopping and left through the McLeod Ganj rush. By the time we reached home on Monday morning, the road was wrapped in dense fog. Four days earlier we had barely known one another. Now we had a trek, a group history and enough jokes to last until the next one.

The seven friends standing close together above the valley at sunrise before descending — One last sunrise before heading down

Three friends paused on the descending trail with Dharamshala visible below — The downhill that refused to feel easy

All seven Laka Glacier trekkers posing together after completing the descent — Seven back down. Eventually.

Confirmed route points

Dharamkot → Triund campsite → Laka Glacier → Triund campsite → Dharamkot

The route we actually walked

Four GPS tracks. One very real trail.

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● Recorded on the trek

Finding our trail…

Recorded distance0.0 km

Highest GPS point0 m

Visible tracks0

This is our recorded memory of the trek, not a navigation guide. GPS tracks can contain normal gaps and elevation noise.

Rolling out the recorded trail…

From the group chat

The messages that became part of the trek.

Curated from the group conversation. Private logistics, contacts and expenses stayed where they belong.

Before the first trek

The universal trailhead

What is the starting point of every good trek in India?

Decathlon.

The correct answer arrived eventually. The shopping trips followed immediately.

Packing priorities

A balanced nutrition plan

Zaibi
What are we packing for mid-trek hunger and energy?

Amit Rawat
Beer. And rum.

The rest of us
Dates, dry fruits, Snickers and Maggi.

Somewhere on the highway

The official road-trip era

The shared playlist had entered its Lord Himesh Reshammiya era.

Two cars, one shared playlist and no neutral musical territory.

Two weeks after Laka

The Uno cinematic universe

Uno was suggested before the trek. Weeks later, the rules were still being debated.

Srijan
Teal.

Srijan
With new background score: Tadummmmm.

A new colour, a Tudum of its own and still no universally accepted rulebook.

Our photo pile

The views—and everything between them.

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Memorable moments

The details that stay with us.

From the group record

Best view

The first clear night above Triund: a sky full of stars and the lights of the world far below.

From the group record

Funniest moment

Dilip taking the wrong turn on the descent and permanently becoming the group’s AirTag candidate.

From the group record

Toughest stretch

The steep Day 3 trail to Laka, followed the next morning by a descent that was much harder on an old foot injury than expected.

From the group record

Unsung hero

A strategically timed bowl of Maggi that rescued Zaibi—and probably everybody around him—from the day’s delayed lunch.

From the group record

Most memorable moment

Reaching the quiet Laka point together, tired but suddenly energetic enough for another full round of photographs.

From the group record

Would we return?

The official seven-person vote is still unrecorded. The fact that we still tell these stories feels like a clue.

Who came along

7 friends in this story.

A very unofficial guide to the people who made this trek ours.

The trek captain

Gaurav P

Trek captain, camera expert and resident stargazer—with a movie reference and a song for seemingly every moment.

Navigation, night skies and an endless soundtrack.

The legendary storyteller

Amit

Arrived with majestic stories, generous pours and enough material to keep an evening gathering going long after sunset.

Never let a quiet evening remain quiet.

The one who made it happen

Srijan

Turned the group-chat version of a trek into an actual plan, then kept it moving on the ground.

Planner, executor and enemy of “we’ll figure it out later.”

The surprise package

Paras

Started the trip looking like the quiet one. That theory did not survive very long.

Proof that first impressions rarely make it past Day 1.

The suspiciously natural first-timer

Gaurav S

It was his first trek, though the easy charm and confidence on the trail made that very hard to believe.

First trek; absolutely no beginner energy.

The accidental explorer

Dilip

Had a special talent for finding a different path from everyone else—an AirTag felt less like a joke and more like group equipment.

Most likely to turn a headcount into a search party.

Just happy to be here

Zaibi

Mostly trying to keep up, enjoy the views and remember enough of the trip to write about it later.

Still deciding whether building this website was easier than the climb.

People & memories

Small moments worth preserving.

Seven people who barely knew one another packed into two cars and returned with a Maggi rescue story, a shared Uno habit, months of two-person-tent jokes and one permanent rule: if Dilip disappears, check the wrong turn first.

Route & conditions

Useful details, without guesswork.

Confirmed from our notes

Route

Dharamkot to Triund, a return day to Laka Glacier, then back down to Dharamkot.

Confirmed from our notes

Daily timings

Triund was reached around 5 pm on Day 2; Dharamkot around 11:30 am on Day 4. Other exact timings were not recorded.

Confirmed from our notes

Weather

Cold and very windy on the first Triund evening; clear stars that night, then more cloud and a crowded campsite on the second.

Confirmed from our notes

Trail conditions

A sustained climb to Triund, a steeper Day 3 toward Laka, and a demanding downhill return.

Editable

Water sources

Add confirmed trip information.

Confirmed from our notes

Campsite or accommodation

Zostel in Dharamkot on Day 1, then two tents at Triund—five friends in one and Paras and Srijan in the other.

Confirmed from our notes

Navigation lessons

Stay together at trail forks. If Dilip is missing, begin with the path nobody else took.

What we learned

Notes for the next group.

What worked well?

Starting early, keeping the mood light, and making space for food, photographs, Uno and long conversations.

What would we pack differently?

Still to record after everyone compares what they carried and what they actually used.

Was the expected difficulty accurate?

Not formally recorded. The steep Day 3 and the demanding descent surprised at least some of us.

What should the next group know?

Triund can become dramatically busier over a weekend, and the assigned tents may still be another walk beyond the point that feels like the finish.

What would we change on a future visit?

Protect the lunch plan from becoming a moving target—and keep a closer headcount at every fork.

Organiser record · keep private

Trip record

This area is visually separated from the public story. Add sensitive information only in a protected version.

Final expenses

Private field — not added

Transport

Private field — not added

Accommodation

Private field — not added

Organiser

Private field — not added

Guide or trekking company

Private field — not added

Useful contacts

Private field — not added