Guide Costs

tarilta

We will be leaving Rishikesh on about April 21 To do the trek to Nandavan & Tabovan. Would appreciate advice on cost of guide and where is the best place to hire one. Has anybody done this trek at this time of year and was the weather OK.

rajkumar

hi,

I am afraid the trek will not be posssible in April. First of all,
This year we had a heavy snow fall. The Gangothri temple might be opened in the first/second week of May. Beyond Gangothri, you can expect lot of snow. GEnerally these areas( Gomukh, Tapovan, Nandanvan) are covered by snow till the end of May. ( weather patterns change from year to year ).
So far I have n't heard of anyone doing this trek in April. I did it in July/Aug,2002. It is best to visit the area in Post monsoon season. In May you will find continuous flow of pilgrim traffic going upto Gomukh.
Please check the weather conditions before you trek from Gangothri. Even in May there might be freak snowfall.Finally, you should have posted the message in UttarPradesh and Uttaranchal section as Tapovan and Nandanvan, Rishikesh are all located in Uttaranchal, NOT in Himachal.
best wishes,
Raj

tarilta

Thankyou Raj for your reply. It was a bit of a bombshell as everything we have read didn't mention this. We will have to reassess and change our plans. Can you suggest a trek in the Himalayas that we could consider in late April taking into account the snow conditions this year? We are prepared to camp and be self sufficient and have done several long distance multi-day treks in Europe and Australia in the past (we are in our 50's). Your advice would be very welcome. Thanks again.

babuchand

hi,

if u can go to eastern himalayas.... its accessible during this pre monsoon seasons...... go to Sandakphu-falut (8days calcutta to calcutta) or to Dzongri in sikkim (10 days). u can see a thread posted by me in this forum about sandakphu. click here

Destination Sandakphu-Falut

eastern himalayas are in good shape in march -april. but monsoon comes here fast..... from 2-3rd week of may.....and u cant go to most of the places of uttaranchal before june....so choose yourself.

babu

tarilta

Thank you Babu,
I will look at maps and read more about the area. Do we need to obtain a permit before arriving in India?
We fly into Delhi and out from Delhi would you advise train travel to the start.
Your advice is appreciated I hope I can return the favor to anyone travelling to Australia.

babuchand

ofcourse i will contact u if in any case going to australia.

from delhi it takes 14 hr journey to calcutta(now kolkata) by rajdhani exp(luxary train fare 1400INR minimum). u have to get ticket bit early i think.....can trito contact indianrailway site or any indian railway authorised travel agent. (dont know if foreigners have any special reservation quota)

best is to book for a flight.....if u book early enough(1 month)...it will cost INR5000appox. then u can spend some time here at calcutta before going to siliguri to plunge into the trek. see this link for some travel info in bengal.
http://www.wbfdc.com
www.wbtourism.com
and in this forum.....http://www.indiamike.com/india/forumdisplay.php?f=32

Siliguri is 12hr train journey from calcutta(getting ticket-reservation is a prob)
cost INR700 for ac.
on contrary u can go again by airplane........ 1 & a half hours....
cost appox INR3000.

babu

indiaguide

From Delhi you may fly Bagdogra( near to Siliguri,gateway of Eastern Himalaya).
on the way back you can spent some time at Kolkata.
By tain
You may go to New jalpaiguri directly from Delhi. Yes, there is a special QUOTA for Forginers.
more information you may PM to me.

himadventures

You can do some treks in Garhwal and Kumaon -although you won't be able to go to very high altitude in this month. But you can certainly add some color to your visit in thse areas by visiting:

1. Jim Corbett
2. Binsar Sanctuary

I personlay reccomend BINSAR as it provides a panoramic view of 350 kms. of himalayas-if you have good binaculars-you can watch lot of peaks and places from there.

TravellersCompanion

Dear Tarilta,
I beleive you need to decide on the place you are rellay looking forward to visit, if it is trekking, i suggest you to make up your mined regarding the place first, it will help you to focus on the supporting service you require.
Though i have no idea about trekking in Garwals by TREKKING in EASTERN HIMALAYAN destinations viz SANDAKPHU-PHALUT route, YUKSOM-DZONGRI-RATHONG Glacier route, YUKSOM-DZONGRI-GOECHA LA route or even THAMBENG TREK in ARUNACHAL PRADESH can be good options

you can visit http://travel-agents.indiantravelpor...m/gangtok.html

tarilta

Really appreciate all the advice.....I have worn my map out looking at all the sugestions. Binsar at this stage is my main option as we land in Delhi. More research is needed so any good links will be apreciated.