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This four or five day trek can be extremely dangerous and
difficult although it might, superficially, seem like an attractive way of
making a round trip Padum-Phugtal
Padum. The route from Padum runs to Thonde then eastwards into the
mountains and across the 5,492-metre Thonde la. To the top of the pass the
route is quite easy but from there it's hell through the gorges.
The route has not been regularly travelled for years so the path has
deteriorated and much dangerous clambering plus river and mountain
crossing is necessary. Horses are unusable! There is only one tiny
village, Shadi, on the whole route and even that is in a side valley. Many
stretches are dangerous due to the vertical rock walls and the loose rock
slopes high above the turbulent rivers winding their way far below the
trail. From Phugtal (also spelt as Phuctal or Phugthal) one soon rejoins
the usual Padum-Manali route.
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