Bhrigu Lake (4,180 m): Across Endless Meadows to a Sacred Alpine Lake

I reached Manali on 3rd July. I had some time before heading further into the mountains, so I thought of doing Bhrigu Lake. Hampta Pass was quite crowded at that time, with most people choosing the same route, while Bhrigu had multiple routes and felt comparatively quieter. I decided to go up from Vashisht via Panduropa and descend through Kulang.

Day 1: Vashisht to Bhrigu Theli

On 4th morning, I woke up early, but it was raining outside. I waited for a while, got ready by 6 AM and as soon as the rain slowed down, I left the hostel. It started drizzling again while I was walking, but I kept going, hoping the weather would clear. Thankfully, it stopped after some time.

I walked till Vashisht Temple and picked up the trail from there. I knew there was a significant climb ahead, so I wasn’t planning to rush. My plan was to reach around 3,400 metres for the day and camp there.

The trail initially has a lot of steps before turning into a normal mountain trail. It was green everywhere, with some sections passing through trees. The trees were still holding water from the rain, and whenever I brushed against a branch, the water would fall on me and make me wet again. In a few places, water was flowing directly through the trail.

I took small breaks whenever needed and kept walking. There were a few apple farm huts along the way, and slowly the houses and activity around Vashisht disappeared behind me.

At around 2,900 metres, the trail splits. One route goes left towards Kulang and eventually joins the trail coming from that side. The other continues straight towards Panduropa and is steeper. I took the latter.

The trail was quiet, and for long stretches I couldn’t see anyone around. It rained again for around ten to fifteen minutes at one point and then stopped. Most of the day remained cloudy.

Around 1 PM, just before reaching Panduropa, I met a local man carrying a goat towards Vashisht. He asked where I was coming from, where I was going and where I planned to camp. When I told him my plan, he suggested that I camp near the shepherd huts. I had already climbed around 1,500 metres by then, so that was more or less what I had in mind.

I moved ahead, enjoying the change in landscape as the forest gradually opened into meadows. I found one shepherd hut, but they were leaving that evening. Before I could figure out where to camp, someone from higher up noticed me and shouted that there was another camp further ahead.

I continued and eventually saw the camp. It was slightly below the trail coming from Kulang, so I had to descend around 100 metres to reach it. I spoke with the camp guys and pitched my tent a little away from their camp.

The place was Bhrigu Theli.

I rested for a while and later went to collect water. I also spent some time chatting with the camp guys. By evening, the weather had improved and the views had opened up. The meadows looked beautiful, and there was hardly anyone around.

I cooked dinner and sat outside my tent, eating while looking at the mountains.

It was one of those simple mountain evenings where there isn’t really anything to do, and you don’t feel like doing anything either.

After dinner, I packed things for the next morning and went to sleep.

Day 2: Bhrigu Theli to Bhrigu Lake

The next morning, I woke up, had breakfast and started packing. By around 7:30 AM, I was ready to leave. I left my tent and some extra things at the camp and started towards Bhrigu Lake.

On the way, I met Kabir Bhai from Vashisht. He likes calling himself a shepherd, although he is actually a businessman. He suggested that I gain some height by walking diagonally uphill through the meadows for a while instead of following the initial traverse.

Since the terrain was open and grassy, it was fairly easy to do. After gaining some height, I connected back to the main trail.

The trail was marked with arrows at several places, so even though the weather kept changing, navigation was fairly straightforward. The arrows eventually brought everyone towards the same point.

After crossing around 3,900 metres, I started feeling the altitude. My pace became slower and the distance started feeling longer than it looked. I took short breaks whenever needed, waited for my breathing to settle and continued.

At one point, the clouds came in completely and it was almost a whiteout. Visibility dropped, so I slowed down and paid more attention to the trail markings.

Soon, snow patches started appearing. I was around 4,050 metres by then. I passed alongside the patches and continued towards the highest point.

And then I got my first view of Bhrigu Lake.
It was a surreal feeling.

After walking uphill for hours, suddenly seeing the lake surrounded by snow patches and the high mountain slopes felt completely different. I crossed the remaining snow patches and reached near the lake.

Bhrigu Lake sits at around 4,180 metres and is considered a sacred alpine lake. It is associated with Maharishi Bhrigu, who is believed to have meditated here. The landscape around the lake changes significantly with the seasons. The lower approach is through vast green alpine meadows, while higher up, as you approach the lake, the landscape becomes more barren and rocky, with snow patches depending on the season.

I sat there for a while, looking around at the lake, snow patches and the mountains.

There is always something special about reaching a high point after a long climb. You have been looking at the trail for hours, concentrating on every step, and suddenly you can stop and just take in the surroundings.

A large group coming from the Gulaba side arrived just as I was preparing to leave.

I started descending. The marked arrows made navigation easy, and after dropping around 200 metres, I met a group ascending with a guide. We had a short conversation, wished each other well and continued in opposite directions.

The difference between ascending and descending was quite noticeable. It had taken me more than three hours to climb up, but I reached the camp in around one and a half hours.

Descend via Kulang

At the camp, I had dal and rice. I had asked the camp guys to prepare it earlier, and after the morning climb, it tasted really good.

The camp guy suggested that I take the Vashisht route back since the Kulang route was longer.

But I wanted to try a different route, and I had enough time.

So I chose Kulang.

I packed my remaining things and started descending. The trail initially passed through shaded sections, which felt good after spending the morning in the open meadows. My legs were tired, though. The climb had started catching up with me.

After around thirty minutes, I reached the Moridugh campsite. There was a large group of trekkers there, so I had a short conversation with the camp guys and guide before continuing.

On the way down, I met people from the same large group still making their way uphill. Some were walking together in smaller groups, and they would ask me how far their camp was.

“How far is the camp?”
I would tell them, “Just five to ten minutes.”
They would immediately look relieved and excited.

The trail then continued on a long traverse. I actually enjoyed this section. With tired legs, a long traverse felt much easier than continuously descending on a steep trail.

After around one and a half hours, I reached the diversion. One trail continued towards Kothi, while the other went towards Kulang.

From here, the descent became steeper and rockier.

I expected this section to take around thirty minutes, but it took longer. My legs were tired by then and the rocky trail needed a little more attention with every step.

Finally, at around 4:30 PM, I reached the highway.

There was a small shop nearby, so I asked an uncle about the bus to Manali. He said it should arrive in around thirty minutes and asked me to sit comfortably and wait.

I sat there for some time, a little tired but satisfied.

After a while, the aunty at the shop suddenly looked towards the road and told me the bus was coming. I was amazed by how she had spotted it from so far away.
She was right.
The bus appeared a few moments later.
I got on and reached Manali in a while.
And the trek ended with Jeet’s chole samose. After two days of walking in the mountains, they tasted even better.

Looking Back

Bhrigu Lake turned out to be much better than I expected.

The route from Vashisht had everything I enjoy about being in the mountains. A quiet trail, changing weather, forest, streams, shepherd huts, open meadows, snow and finally the lake.

But the meadows were probably my favourite part.

I have walked through many different landscapes, but the alpine meadows around Bhrigu felt different. There were long stretches where I could walk without seeing another person, with only mountains, clouds and endless green slopes around me.

I also liked having the option to take different routes. Going up through Vashisht and Panduropa and coming down through Kulang gave me two different experiences of the same mountain.

Bhrigu Lake may be a well known trek around Manali, but the quieter trail, the camping, the changing weather and those long stretches of empty meadows made the experience feel much more personal.

Sometimes a trek doesn’t need anything extraordinary.
A good trail, enough time, changing weather and the freedom to walk at your own pace are enough.

That was Bhrigu Lake for me.