Pindari Glacier Trek- May'09

charanmsrit

Hi,

We have planned to trek pindari this may (1 - 10) and now finding it very difficult to book porter and guides.. one guy is quoting Rs. 1450/ per pax/ per day all inclusive package ex kathgodam for 8 days (5 guys). we feel this is very expensive. Can someone please help us with the info on the same ASAP as we are running out of time??

Also please let us know ASAP if someone wants to join us on this date and if we can make 20 guys, we have an option to book KMVN for an all inclusive total package of 4200/- + 3.2% tax per person for 7 days/nights ex Bageshwar. This looks attractive as it's very cheap and relieves tension from booking guides/porters,forest charges/permission, hiring sleeping bags/tents/stove,food and other accessories.

Regards,
Charan

ananda2193

You definitely don't need a guide.

Might try here for porters

www.kmvn.org

Otherwise I think you can get them at Song, the town before the trek start.

charanmsrit

Thanks for the response Anand. Had you been there recently ?? What do we need to do for the food arrangements ?? There are some speculations that it will be available through out the root but some advise not to take risk as shops doesn't open during snow fall and too chilled. Please advise. We are five guys planning for it and our itenerary looks like this...

May, 1 Night train from Delhi to Kathgodam
May, 2 Reach bageshwar and arrange guide and stuff
May, 3 Bageshwar to Saung via Taxi and trek to Loharkhet - 3km and onwards to Dhakuri (9km) O/N
May, 4 Dhakuri to Khati (8km)
May, 5 Khati to Phurkia (16km)
May, 6 Phurkal to Pindari Zero Point and back to Dwali(19km)
May, 7 Dwali to Dhakuri *(19km)
May, 8 Dhakuri to Loharkhet *onwards to Bageshwar
May, 9 Bageshwar to Kathgodam -o/n via train to Delhi
May, 10 leave delhi either by flight or Train as per individual convenience.

Please advise.

ananda2193

I did it April 1998. It was still snowbound, so only made it as far as Dwali.

Food was provided by the rest houses. It was very simple. Rice, dal, omelets, instant noodles, chapati and chai was about it. There's also small kiosks that sell simple things like biscuits and such. Did manage to find some tomato's in Khati. Might want to bring a little extra variety if what I mentioned isn't enough. And I only carried a small bag with me with only a few clothes. Left the bulk of my stuff in Loharkhet at a hotel I stayed at. And I spent 3 weeks up there just hangin' out.

Might want to e-mail KMVN.ORG and ask if the food selections have improved.

And you can get a ride all the way to Loharkhet as the road goes that far.

Hope this helps.

Rajeev Bora

Guys I know of a few porters in that area. They are actually guide cum porters and should be reasonable. If you dont find anything then we can call them and work with them. For Pindari, one thing for sure, you do not need any guide etc. The trek is very well laid out indeed. Thanks!

chits007

No need for guide for sure..we did it last year..no food he took of our own..all stuff provided (maggi, thali food, egg and other regular stuff)..we took some regular stuff like Maggi /Soup etc and somehwre asked the PWD guy to cook for us.

- You might not get booking at KMVN since they conduct their own trek during season , neother they book advance..

- Take a pony wallah , who also act as a guide, as him to book PWD everywhere he find ...the problem with PWD is they dont have beds etc..luckily we went with our own Sleeping Bags and mats.Dhakuri/Khati/Dwali/Phurkiya all has PWD guest houeses.

- Khati is last village and has many other option apart from KVN and PWD for stay. Dhakuri/Dwali/Phurkiya has only KMVN and PWD. Phurikya , the KMVN group didnt arrived so we got the chance to stay..KMVN accomodation are OK and we slept very well on that night.

Dhakuri - Khati is easy down trek only, can be done in 3 Hrs only.
We did the following way..

Day 1 : Kathgodam _Loharket in 1 day..started at 6 AM ..reached KGM previous night by Uttarkhand Sampark Kranti.
Day 2: Loharket - Dhakuri ; stiff climb thoughw e reached around 3..you can reach to Khati as well
Day 3: Dhakuri- Dwali ..long trek
Day 4: Dwali- Phurkiya
Day 5: Phurkiya- Pindari and Back to Phurkiya
Day 6; Phurkiya - Khati
Day 7: Khati - Dhakuri
Day 8: Dhakuri - Loharket - Almora
Day 9- Almora- KGM- train to delhi in night

charanmsrit

Thanks for your kind info Rajeev. Can you please give us more info on the way you did, time, number of trekkers in the group, number of porters hired and it's cost, camping / stay, Things that needs to be carried etc etc.... Please. get us the porters number too...

Regards,
Charan

charanmsrit

Thats a bunch of useful information chits. Thanks for that. i have few queries as follows..
Had you booked pony wallah in advance ? How many of you were in the group ?? Is it preferable to carry tents too along with sleeping bags ?? How many pony wallahs had you hired and their hiring cost ?? Is it safe to hire stove and vessels to cook without completely depending on PWD/KMVN guesthouses ?? Where can we hire good tents and sleeping bags @ optimal cost ??
Please guide us.

Regards,
Charan

solo_trekker

No guides required Sirs...

I did it solo a few years back...
And the KMVNs are all conveniently located...
Stop at one village for lunch and rest for the night at the next.

Cheers...!

__________________

http://www.indiamike.com/india-artic...eodganj-india/

chits007

We didn't booked ..as soon as we reached by Mahendra Bolero ..they themselves came..we were 6 ..we took 2 ponies..
sleeping bags & tents ..i cant say..since we have female meber we didnt want to take any risk so we carried everything to be on our own...ofcouse we didnt took anything to cook oil stove etc since we know there are dhabas all the way...
since we regularly trek ..we have our own..
for renting their are many agencies check the forum..

charanmsrit

Thanks again Chits... Sorry for some more queries...
1. Is it required to take permission for this trek ?? if so, where and how ??
2. Can you please give us the cost structure which incurred for your trek ??

Regards,
Charan

chits007

1) No permission is required but I guess you need to pay the Forest department fee..when we were there it was raining when we crossed the post and no one was there ..their was board showing the different fee structure ..

2)We were 6 people and we did everything on our own , booked a full bolero,spent a night in Almora etc..that cost us around 6.5K per person for 10 days Delhi to delhi...these cost includes any tent/gear which we have our own..

charanmsrit

Thanks a lot for all the information Chits

Regards,
Charan

osheen_aries

HI, I m also going pindari on 23 of this april wid my husband.we are just 2, but i have not booked anyone, its an easy trek, u dont need any guide but since we wud be the first one (trekker) to go to the pindari in this season, we are thinking of hiring someone, U just reach to song/bageshwer , u will get plenty of guides/porters there, i dont suggest you to book them from bangalore. booking guide from song wud cost you aronud Rs. 500-600 a day + stay at KMVN huts (approx 400/day) +Food (minimal) , so dont plan ur trip, unplanned trip pays back you more. But i wud say "plan task for the day" how much distance you need to cover on tht particular day.
You will get fresh snow at phurkia, had a snow fall just 4-5 days back.

dont get too puzzled. Pindari is very conveneint trek.

charanmsrit

Thanks a lot Osheen. Will be waiting for your experience log here... Have a great and wonderful trek

Regards,
Charan