I’ve been in Manali for about a week and during this time took a 3 day trek in the Himalayas to Bhrigu Lake.
Bhrigu Lake is a holy lake where it is said that Maharishi Bhrigu, one of the seven sages created by the God Brhama, meditated while he wrote the Bhrigu Samhita. It is located at an altitude of 4250m (~14,000 ft) and the trip from Manali (at 2000m) is done over 2 nights and 3 days. It was probably the most physically challenging thing I have ever done in my life.
Day one started at 9am and we ascended up to 3800m in about 4 hours, during which I realised I am not as fit as I thought I was and that altitude sickness is no myth! During the ascent we stumbled across a herd of mountain goats and a sheppard, who was kind enough to let me hold a baby goat :).
Once we reached camp we were greeted with hot chai and food. The views over the Himalayas at this altitude are amazing and because we were camping make for possibly the best toilet in the world.
The next day we made the chilling ascent up to the lake. This involved snow trekking up the edge of the mountain which meant that the guide had to use his ice axe to carve out steps for us. It gave me a real adrenaline rush as if you slipped you could very well slide half way down the mountain. Due to this, I couldn’t find an opportune moment to take a picture of this. After about 4 hours of this we finally reached the lake and I must say it was worth it as it is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.
