Legendary, Grand, Wild. Experience The Himalaya in all its glory on the Panpatia Col Trek

The Legend of Panpatia Col

Amidst the formidable yet mesmerizing Himalayan peaks, lies the challenging trek – Panpatia Col (5270m) – a path between the two world-renowned holy pilgrimage temples of Badrinath and Kedarnath. Legend goes that once upon a time there was a priest who used to traverse the route between the two holy shrines every day. His wife, upset that he wasn’t home often enough, turned to Lord Shiva for help. Lord Shiva obliged by blocking the path by placing the Neelkanth peak (6500m), pestering the route with obstacles too great for any human to overcome. 

Adventure seekers have long been drawn to this legend, searching for a new path and only a few of which have ever been successful. 

The earliest known account belongs to C.F. Meade in 1912, who reached Satopanth Col but didn’t find the route. Next came Eric Shipton and Bill Tilman in 1934, who found themselves stuck between precarious ice walls and bear-infested forest yet found their way through. 

The big question was yet to be answered - Would Panpatia Col ever be tamed for all adventure explorers?

Later, technology presented an unprecedented chance of an easier route through Parvati gully in 2007. A team led by Debabrata Mukherjee successfully crossed Panpatia Col using a route curated through Google Earth.

From Unpredictable Crossings to Commercial Trekking Expedition 

At White Magic, we wondered the same back in 2012 when we first navigated moraines, ice-falls and massive crevasses through Panpatia Col on a commercial trek and became the first adventure outfitter, not just in India but also in the world, to run it as an open departure! 

No adventure outfitter dared take their guests on a trek through Panpatia Col, but White Magic thought differently. We’d been studying possible routes for years based on past explorers’ tales, and from what we found, the road wasn’t easy - figuratively and literally. 

Panpatia Snowfield (also called Upper Panpatia Glacier) is separated from Lower Panpatia Glacier by a treacherous icefall. But when Debabrata Mukherjee crossed the Col through Parvati gully, we saw it as a possible opportunity to open up the expedition for everyone. 

Come 2012, this was our time

So, we set out on the world’s first commercially successful trek through Panpatia Col with our team and guests - Avilash and Pawan (our founders), Sankar Sridhar (award-winning travel adventure photographer and writer), Suman Dangaich and Dr Vaishali Solao (two young girls from Mumbai), Mingma twins and Late Ang Dorjee (3 strong sherpas with climbing experience of 8000m), and Sundar (the local guide who was part of Debuda’s team). 

High altitude glaciated crossings don’t always turn into successful offerings for several reasons - unavailability of proper camping locations, unsafe routes, logistical issues, and lack of permissions. But Panpatia Col blessed us. 

Our victorious crossing through this legendary route was covered by Sankar Sridhar in multiple outlets – including National Geographic, Outlook, Sports Illustrated and Action Asia, among others. Since then, the accolades kept piling on. 

Our personal best moments? The look of astonishment on climbers' faces when they enter the mystical world of Panpatia Col. 

Since crossing the Col successfully on our first attempt, there was no going back…to not crossing this route again. To not sharing this legendary experience with our patrons!

Panpatia Col - the Majestic and the Grandiose

This trek offers through incomparable views – from the lush green valleys and boulder-filled moraine to expansive glacier and majestic white peaks.

The highlight of this trek is the 7km long Panpatia snowfield (altitude of 5100m) at the foot of the mighty Chaukhamba massif (7000m). All along, we have the Chaukhamba right next to us,you can almost touch it. It's extremely rare to find such large snowfields at these altitudes and is what makes this experience really special, unique and heavenly. We camp on the snowfield for one night to soak in as much as we can.

White Magic’s Legacy of Crossing the Panpatia Col

At White Magic, we’re immensely proud to have opened up Panpatia Col for successful commercial treks. With close to a decade since achieving this milestone, and we see more and more people attempting this trek using White Magic’s itinerary, both with us as well as with other mountain-trekking peers.

We keep traversing it, operating successful treks with our guests multiple times. And each trip has been extremely fulfilling. The smiles on our guests’ faces when they find themselves in the heart of the Himalaya and surrounded by pure snow is priceless. Completing this trek is always an extraordinary experience. Treacherous terrain, thrilling weather and majestic views – adventure seekers can never have enough of it.  

​True, this trek hasn’t always brought us the commercial success we hoped for. But in times when climbing expeditions are treated as commodities to sell, we want to provide an unforgettable and safe experience above everything else. Our love for the mountains and pure passion for adventure drives us to explore new routes like Panpatia Col.

Our Promise

As we strive to bring previously unknown journeys in the spotlight, we’re also drumming up ways to continue our explorations responsibly. Commercialisation of Himalayan treks has been unkind to nature. But sustainability is at the core of our brand promise, and it provokes in us a strong desire to leave points we visit cleaner than before. Moreover, ruining the very place where locals (who we team up with to run our treks) live is wrongful behaviour. 

Having opened up Panpatia Col for profit-making trips, we also take responsibility of this pristine route.  And therefore, as we venture into the mountains again this year, we’ll be bringing back all non-biodegradable items that don’t belong like we always did, even before sustainable travel became commercially popular.

We'll be traversing this legendary route from May 28 to June 10, 2022. (the best time to pass Panpatia Col). This would be our 9th edition on this magnificent route. We’re taking on registrations from old and new adventurers alike! If you want to join our tribe, click here to know more. 

Come join the Legacy!

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