Deo Tibba is a mountain located in the Kullu district at a height of 6001 metres. It is situated in the Pir Panjal Range of mountains in the Manali region of Himachal. It is very popular among the mountaineers who look for climbing peaks around Manali. In the recent years Deo Tibba base camp trek has also become popular. Deo Tibba is known among the locals as an assembly point of Devtas.

A 13 day and 12-night long expedition, 2 days of acclimatisation at the first Deo Tibba Peak Base camp, astounding view of vast snow lands, hanging glaciers and the towering peaks like Ali Ratni Tibba, Devachan, Kullu Pumori, Dharamasura (aka White Sail), Papsura and Indrasan - That's what summarises Deo Tibba perfectly!

Route followed for Deo Tibba expedition:

Day 1: Delhi->Chandigarh->Manali-> (12-14hours) Day 2: Manali->Jagatsukh->Chikka (3350m) Day 3: Chikka->Seri (3800m) Day 4: Seri->Chota Chandratal->Deo Tibba Base (4480m) Day 5 and Day 6: Chota Chandratal Lake, Deo Tibba Base (4480m) Day 7: Deo Tibba Base->Camp 1 (5200m) Day 8: Camp 1->Summit Camp (fixing ropes)->Camp 1 (Acclimatization) Day 9: Reserve Day for summit Day 10: Camp 1->Deo Tibba Summit (6000 m) -> Base Camp Day 11: Base Camp->Seri Day 12: Seri-> Jagatsukh Day 13: Departure from Manali

Itinerary for Deo Tibba:

Excluding all the time you have spent commuting to Manali, here's an itinerary for Deo Tibba starting from Jagatsukh:

Day 1: Jagatsukh to Chikka (2,050 m - 3,350 m; 5 Km, 3-4 hrs)

A 6 km motorable road from manali leads to jagatsukh village, after which the trail winds along the Bahgan Nulla to chikka which is at an height of 3350m. You’ll find amazing greenery with a variety of vegetation on this valley. Pitch your first tent at Chikka and enjoy the scenic beauty, thousands of kilometers above sea level.

Day 2: Chikka to Seri (3,350 - 3,600 m; 5 Km, 4 hrs)

Chikka to Seri is a 5km trek, completely uphill and therefore a bit challenging. On your way to Seri, you’ll catch glimpses of the Deo Tibba Peak. Seri was once a glaciated lake, but is now a meadow carpeted with an astounding variety of herbs and alpine flowers. Camp in this fairyland, beneath a clear sky, millions of stars twinkling and a mesmerizing view of the Deo Tibba, is something which you cannot miss.

Day 3: Seri->Chota Chandratal->Deo Tibba Base Camp (3,600 m - 4,480m; 7 Km, 6 hrs);

Note: This day can be divided into two if your group feels tired or doesn't have pressing time constraints. One can set the camp directly near Chota Chandratal lake.  After 2 hours of uphill trek from Seri, you arrive at Chota Chandratal Lake. Situated on a rock cliff above the glaciated valley, it is wonderful to see a reservoir of water having a bed of hard rocks. It is a lake locked by rocks from all sides. In Hindu mythology, it is said to be a holy place, the place of meditation for Dhomya Rishi. After spending some time here, you descend down to Deo Tibba Base. Chandratal to the Deo Tibba Base is a 5 hour long trek, quite challenging and offering you some splendid views of the Deo Tibba peak along with other peaks. You need to cross the river and then the trail goes zigzag up on the left slope of the valley to reach Tenta, again, a floor meadow. Here, you have to cross the river once again to the right bank. After crossing the river, you trek along the river up to a bulged out ridge of a moraine. To one side of the ridge is the snout of the glacier where the river Duhangan originates. You pitch your tent for the night on this ridge. The south-west face of Deo Tibba dominates the scene. A huge icefall descends down this face, right from the top of the peak to the floor of the valley. The ridge connecting Deo Tibba peak and Norbu peak closes the valley in the east. For high altitude peaks like this one, it is really important for you to get acclimatized to avoid Acute Mountain Sickness. So a couple of days to acclimatize will give you the opportunity to climb comfortably. Spend 2 days at the base camp and practice ascending and descending techniques on snow and ice on the Deo Tibba glacier.

Day 5: Deo Tibba Base Camp to Camp 1 (4,480 m - 5,200 m; 3-4 hrs steep climb)

[caption id="attachment_4461" align="aligncenter" width="250"] Can't take carefree selfies unless you're roped up together. PC: Kailash Rath Treks[/caption] The Deo Tibba Camp 1 is called Dhuang Col. which is marked by a saffron coloured rock over the ridge. It will be visible from your base camp. Ascend to camp 1. Camp 1 is located at Dhuangan pass and the route to it crosses through Deo Tibba Glacier and up a steep slope between 45-55 degrees, for around 300 meters. The glacier has to be traversed with care as there are a number of tricky crevasses.

''The climb up the slope to the pass is a mix of snow, rock and ice. This area is known for rockfalls. Set a watchman in the group and climb this part safely using ropes to reach Camp 1'' - Pushker Kinshuk

Camp 1 is set at the Pass, or a little further at the base of a rugged ridge known as Pitton Ridge. The Pass is generally preferred but this depends mainly on the prevailing conditions.

Day 6: Camp 1 to Camp 2/Summit Camp (5,200 m - 5,500 m; 4 hrs)

Camp 2 is actually the summit camp. Climbers can choose to pitch tents at camp 2, or they can choose to descend back to Camp 1 for better acclimatization. First hour from Cap 1 towards the Camp 2 is a walk at almost same level, followed by around 3 hrs of steep climb.   After a proper acclimatization for a day at Camp 2, many climbers make a direct ascent from here to the summit via Pitton Ridge, which faces east. The Ridge is quite steep with a few technical sections and also requires fixed rope for safe climbing for around 150 meters. An alternative route, involves ascending up a snow gully to the south-east part of the Pitton Ridge. This route involves climbing on snow and ice. Here also a fixed rope is required for around 250 meters to ensure safe climbing. Usually in June-September, the condition of snow and ice in this section is nice and stable.

Day 8 : Final summit push from summit camp/camp 2 (5,500 m - 6,001 m; 4 hrs) OR Camp 1 to Deo Tibba Peak (5,200 m - 6,001 m; 8 hrs)

Assuming two days of acclimatization, on the eighth day: For the first option, start for the summit early around 3:00 am next morning. Soon after climbing the Pitton Ridge, or ascending up the fixed rope through the gully, you’ll move on to vast snowfields. From this point, Mt. Deo Tibba and its neighbours, the peak of Indrasan would be clearly visible. For fit and acclimatized climbers moving at a good pace, it will take around one and a half hours to two hours to reach the summit. The summit of Deo Tibba is a giant snow dome and therefore it is relatively easy, final ascent to the peak has a few crevasses to deal. Just before the summit, the slope becomes steeper to around 50 degrees gradient, after which it is an easy walk to the top. The summit itself is quite wide and will be able to accommodate all climbers, and the view from the top, on a clear day, is truly breathtaking and is guaranteed to exceed all your expectations!