Ghepan Lake in Spiti Valley: A Whole Guide

Ever heard that? Well yes, there is definitely a lake like that in the lap of Lahaul Valley in Himachal Pradesh. Most glacial lakes change their colour with the changing directions of the sun rays, but not the Ghepan Lake. Situated at an altitude of 4140 m Ghepan Lake has a picturesque trail of glacial waterfalls cascading from the snowy peaks, lush wild meadows strewn all along the hike and at the end of your trek, the Lake itself will take your breath away. Ghepan Lake is neon blue in colour and the view of the lake surrounded by snow-covered mountains is a sight to behold! If this sounds exciting then let Spiti Trip Packages guide you in planning your Spiti Holidays.

It is set deep amidst the mountains and can be reached after trekking for 2-3 days which starts from the village of Sissu, located in the Lahaul Valley, Himachal Pradesh. The trek takes you through different villages such as Labrang village and Retil village. 

Ghepan Lake Trek in Spiti Valley

From Khopati, you will be following the trail beside concrete channels. It’s a short distance trek with a level walk with an ample amount of water sources which will take you to your final destination of Gorduk for the day in one and a half hours. You will be camping the night here in the vast meadows amongst the majestic snow peaks and nature. From Gorduk, you will start early morning to reach Alias Camp which will take you 6 hours to reach. 

This bit of the trek from Tori to Alias is tricky because there are landslides along the trail with loose stones. Hence one needs to be extremely careful and totally focus on the trail. You will be camping again amongst nature for the night once you reach Alias Camp and then from there on you will start the final leg of your adventure towards Ghepan Lake. This entire trail you will witness nature’s magic wand doing wonders at every corner. You will encounter glacial icicles hanging at the mountain edge and wildflowers blooming wherever they can, making you wonder how resilient nature can be and how much we can learn from it, the Sissu River provides you company all along your journey, meandering through the middle of the valley.

After about half a day’s trek you finally reach Ghepan Lake, which is named after one of the Great Kings of Lahaul. This blue glacial lake in Lahaul valley is surrounded by barren peaks soaring above 5500 m. The speciality of these peaks is that each one of them is holding a glacier in its lap. A waterfall flowing from the glacier meets the lake. The Ghepan glacier is receding at a fast pace.

Around Ghepan Lake, you will notice a black iced moraine that stretches across 400 m. This trek will not only bring about a sense of bewilderment in you for accomplishing this feat but also sense of calm will prevail knowing that in the end nothing is greater than nature itself: silent,resilient, never demanding and always giving, it has the tenacity to destroy everything in minutes and yet it chooses to only give.

With this sense of humility you will start your descent from this yet another mesmerising trekking trail laden with nature’s bounty. 

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