Need Advice- Traveling to Himalayas May 13th-17th

I need some advice on traveling to the Himalayas. I am traveling with a group of 10 college friends to India this summer (Early May-late June)and we are planning on arriving in Delhi May 12th, spending the night, then on May 13th heading up to the Himalayas for a few days. May 13th and May 17th we are planning on traveling from Deli to given area and to Delhi from given area, so we have three days of site seeing/trekking available once in the Himalayas.

1)Is there a location we should visit? Right now we are planning on traveling to Joshimath, Uttarakhand, to the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve. It seems like a good place/accessible place to travel in and out of along with site seeing options (valley of flowers, Nanda Devi Mountain, etc).
2) Best means of transportation to given areas in the Himalayas?
3) Must do/see treks and site seeing options in given amount of days (3)?

Again, we have to be back in Delhi by May 17th. Hopefully this is not to confusing, sorry if it is.

Thanks for the help in advance,

Jeffrey Byl

as you have short time so valley of flowers and nanda devi is not possible.
you can do deoriatal,chandrshila-tungnath trek around chopta and ukhimath
these are small treks better for 3-4 days.

You have very short time for good trek. Deoria tal and Tungnath-chandrashila are good but too short for trek (just 3 km each) and most of the time you will spend traveling to reach there.

Why dont you look up the kyarkoti trek. I have not been there but looks more interesting. I am also planning to be there next.

thank you for the reply's, I really appreciate it. Is getting to Joshimath from Delhi possible in a day and what is the best method of transportation? Also do I find porters for those treks in Joshimath? Then if so, do you know what a fair price is for those treks per person (10 people). Sorry for so many questions, just my first time on IndiaMike let alone my first time traveling to India

All the best,

Jeffrey Byl

I am having trouble finding where information on the kyarkoti trek. Any advice?

delhi to joshimath in one day its not possible..
best transport will be take train from delhi to haridwar and then haridwar to trekking point joshimath or ukhimath
yes you can find porters and guide for deoriatal /tungnath and chandrashila these treks you can do in around 1100/rs per day per
person

as you have only 3 days for trek i will suggest you for deoriatal/tungnath-chopta trek its best trek for limited time

I may agree with the gentleman suggesting Kedar Valley, please do remember that the month of may is peal time for Pilgrims specially first forty - fifty days of opening of the shrine. Trek to Madhmaheshwar site would be interesting, but high altitude trekking is just not possible with time line you have. You may opt for uttarkashi and get in touch with Monal Lodge, Uttarkashi guys, i know for sure that Deependar Pawar does great job.

as they have only 3 days to trek so they cant go for long treks
i have suggested small treks but its beautiful spend night at deoriatal and next day trek to tungnath and chandrshila and 3rd day for chopta..
and there are few more trekking options

I have not tried Delhi to Joshimath but Delhi to Ukhimath is definitely possible in a day. I did it last year only. I was driving myself and was with my family including 2 kids. Also had stops for food and snacks. We started at around 8:30 am and were there around 7:30pm. You can get both porter and guide if you need for Deoria taal and Tungnath-Chandrashila. For Tungnath, you can also get ponies as it is religious place and frequented by people but beyond, you will have to walk.

If you are carrying your own equipment, then you probably only need a porter and I paid Rs 300 per day plus food and tip last year. Otherwise, you can get both guide and equipment on rent too. The person I had hired was Jaspal Singh Pawar. He was actually a porter but also helped with the kids, setting up the tent, collecting wood, preparing fire etc. In all I was happy with the person. He left me the following numbers incase I needed him again... +91-9761352362, +91-9718101251, +91-9456534072

Also I had met a person called Murli Singh Negi who claimed to be NIM trained guide. He lives in Sari village which is base for Deoria tal. He does the complete travel arrangements if needed. I did not use his services except his restaurant. In case you want to get in touch with him, his number is +91-9458491488, +91-9411534715, +91-9456534062. He has equipment, vehicles and lots of people. Even otherwise you will find a lot of people who will work for you as porter/guide. In Sari, every boy will claim to be a guide.

Oh I just realized that you are not an Indian... then I guess that in most probabilities you do not know the language too. I would say that in such a case you stick to more literate people like Negi.
BTW, NIM is the National Institute of Mountaineering at Uttarkashi.

10 people should not be an issue but dont expect luxuries. Higher up in the hills, accommodation is very basic and so is the food.

For Kyarkoti, just check Google. As you might have noticed, I am also new to this forum... so info just on this forum I am not sure. However the base for this one will be a place called Harsil. This is also reachable in a day from Delhi. Both Tungnath and Kyarkoti are called trek for beginners.

I travel with kids and have done Tungnath, Chandrashila, Deoria tal. I plan to go for Kyarkoti this year.

BTW forgot to mention that you will need to carry cash in these places as the plastic is not acceptable.

Dont forget the intense heat of delhi in may or june. Youll be in cold climate fora while and as soon as you come back to delhi, it will be exactly hot. So be ready for sun burns or what ever worse effect from sun.

So the tentative itinerary for the Deoria Tal /tungnath and chandrashila trek would be???-

May 13th: Leave Delhi for Hardiwar via train..then car to Ukhimath... possible make it to Sari??? Spend the night in either Ukimath or Safi??
May 14th: Either Ukhimath then take a car to Sari...or start at Sari and trek to Deoriatal..stay the night in Deoriatal???
May 15th:Trek down from Deoriatal to Sari...take a car to Chopta...trek to Tungnath..Stay the night in Tungnath??
May 16th:Trek to Chandrshila for sunrise....then come down to Chopta..take a car to Haridwar. Spend the night in Haridwar??
May 17th- Leave for Delhi via train

Does this make sense at all??? Would we be able to find guides/porters in Ukimath or Safi?? Unfortunately, we are not going to have any equipment on us (tents, sleeping bags, or food).

I cannot thank you enough for all the help!

You said you are 10 people. In Tungnath you will be able to find rooms... basic but functional. No equipment needed. For Deoria Tal, You can ask for the equipment at Sari. Even if you reach Deoria Tal without the equipment, there is a shop 50m before the actual tal that will rent you the equipment. I have no idea for the cost but you will get it. For the guide, you actually dont need any, only a few porters. They will show you the trails.

The only point in your itinerary that is doubtful is the train to Haridwar... Most of the people who take train, take the night train. You may in this case need to take the train on 12th night. I guess you know the train booking site, www.irctc.co.in.

Forgot to mention that in India, trains need advance booking. For more info on trains in different countries, check seat61.com

Updated-

May 13th: Leave Delhi for Hardiwar via train
May 14th: Arrive at 4:00am in Hardiwar..transfer to Sari via bus/car...trek to Deoriatal..stay the night in Deoriatal.
May 15th:Trek down from Deoriatal to Sari...take a bus/car to Chopta...trek to Tungnath..Stay the night in Tungnath.
May 16th:Trek to Chandrshila for sunrise....then come down to Chopta..take a car to Haridwar. Spend the night in Haridwar. Possibly leave for Delhi
May 17th- Leave for Delhi via train

thanks for the train advice!!