Dharol is a surprise for most trekkers. It is nothing but two wooden houses facing each other at the end of the dirt track. Unload your gears while the friendly shopkeeper of one of the two houses prepares tea for your team. Fill water at Dharol though you get some clear streams on the way.
The trail to Kugti is wide and is an extension of the dirt track. Step out of Dharol past a small apple orchard on your left. Fifteen minutes later, watch the trail dip sharply into a fold of the mountain and cross a quaint wooden bridge, that is nothing but a few logs joined together by planks. Climb gently out of the fold to find the Budhil rushing below you. On the other side of the river, a dense pine forest climbs high into the mountain only to be broken by a waterfall or a stream running through it.
The trail hugs the side of the mountain, veering just over the river, but is wide enough for trekkers to walk comfortably. Shepherds with their flock of sheep often move down the slope; and you are likely to be caught in the middle of one such caravan. The sight of hundreds of sheep passing through your legs is a delight.
Walk up the now gentle undulating trail with pines as company. A wide curve of the trail and a bend later, the view opens out to the first construction of Kugti. Below and on the other side of a stream that crosses your path is a large grey building. It is a primary school under construction.
It is a sharp short switchback decent to the stream, before rejoining the trail that widens out to a flat straight walk through a thick canopy of pines. The school passes below you. Twenty minutes later watch for a tributary that joins the Budhil below you, signaling the start of the Kugti village. The trail veers sharply to the left and around a bend the entire Kugti village opens out in a picturesque settlement.
Do not enter the village, but ask the locals for direction to the Forest Rest House. It is directly above the trail at the entrance of the village. Located in an idyllic setting the Kugti Forest Rest house overlooks the entire Kugti village. With the Budhil flowing below through a gorge, the Kugti village looks perched over a high cliff. On the other side of the river, the thick impenetrable pine forests still continue to overlook the setting. The caretaker of the Forest Rest House can fix you up a room quickly (ideally booked at Bharmour) or use the grounds of the FRH to set up your tents.
The trail continues to climb intermittently for the next forty minutes. Around a bend, watch for a waterfall cascading over the trail, take a swipe under it and continue over the trail now dug out of the rock face of the mountain. The trail immediately climbs sharply upwards and rounds a bend to come under the shades of giant Cyprus trees. So large are the trees in their girth that it would take many people with their hands outstretched to encircle one of them.
Catch your breath and take a swig of water as this spot mark the half way point to Kugti. In the far distance, towards the end of the valley, watch for the first signs of settlement. The Budhil now opens out over a wider valley, the dense pine forest continuing to keep it company on the other side of the river.
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