Trekking in Garhwal

Friends need your thoughts on the Itinerary below.

Sept 7 Arrive at Delhi

Sept 8 Delhi – Haridwar (by Shatabdi)

Proceed toward Uttarkashi (O/N Uttarkashi )

Sept 9 Proceed to Gangotri

Sept 10 Proceed to Bhojbhasa

Sept 11 Proceed to Gaumuk – Tapovan

Sept 12 Tapovan – Gangotri

Sept 13 Reach Mandal

Sept 14 Trek to Rudranath (O/N at Panar)

Sept 15 Continue trek to Rudranath

Sept 16 Trek back to Mandal

Sept 17 Drive to Gupta Kashi or Uniana (apparently now vehicles ply till Uniana)

Sept 18 Trek to Gaundhar

Sept 19 Trek to Madhyamaheshwar

Sept 20 Back to Gaundhar

Sept 21 Reach Guptakashi and move toward Haridwar

Sept 22 Reach Haridwar

Sept 23 Reach Delhi


Questions

1. Overall is the itinerary too ambitious – we are a group of 5-6 people and we will have our vehicle and driver from Haridwar?
2. Is it possible to reach Uttarkashi from Haridwar in the same day; assuming we start at 12 noon from Haridwar?
3. Tapovan – Gangotri downhill possible in one day?
4. Rudranath – Mandal downhill possible in one day?
5. Has anyone actually trekked to Madhyamaheshwar from Uniana or is Kalimath a better route?
6. Any other suggestions in terms of schedule or other places I should see on this route.

Thanks

Hi spicetrekker,

I think u reserve at least 1 rest day after returning from Tapovan, otherwise u will be exhausted.

Tapovan to Gangotri is possible but exhausting, many trekkers do that in shortage of time, start as early as possible from Tapovan.

If u have your own car or can arrange for share zeep, it is possible to reach Uttarkashi from Haridwar starting at 12 noon. Buses take max 7-8 hrs to reach Uttarkashi. In car it should be 5-6 hrs. In that region light stays around 7:30 pm.

If u r returning to Delhi in car, means if not booked for return ticket, reserve 2-3 days more, that will be much safer.

I don't know abt the Madhyamaheswar and Rudranath, other Indiamikers will suggest u the better options.

I agree with roy supratim05 about the rest on return from Tapovan. I suggest you take a halt either at Gangotri or Uttarkashi depending upon the time and inclination.

Since you are coming from Gangotri/Uttarkashi, I suggest you to first trek to Madhamaheshwar.

I have gone to Madhamaheshwar in Sept'92 from Mansuna (8 km) by taking a share jeep from Okhimath. I have separately gone to Kalimath from Guptaksahi by trek in Oct'98. I personally liked Kalimath route. I will suggest you to go to Madhameshwar via Kalimath, come back via Uniana or Mansuna and stay overnight at GMVN, Okhimath. In that case, you will be required to stay overnight at Guptakashi on your return from Gangotri/Uttarkashi. We stayed at Ransi with a family who provided a separate room for us on the first floor. We took breakfast and dinner in their house which was very good. I think, Ransi is a better option for overnight stay than Goundhar. At Madhamaheshwar we stayed in a Dharamshala.

From Ukhimath, you start at around 6.00 a.m.,drive to Mandal and start trek to Rudranath. I think you should be able to reach Rudranath on the same day without requiring a overnight break at Panar. Rudranath is about 7 kms trek on a mountain ridge from Panar and the trek is more or less on a level ground followed by descend to Rudranath. A guide is a must on this route.

From Rudranath, you can trek to Sagar (19 kms) on Gopeshwar Road on the same day, take s share jeep to Gopeshwar (25 kms) for overnight stay. From Gopeshwar, you can reach Haridwar on the same day.

Happy trekking,

Sadanand

Hi Spicetrekker,
Madhyamaheshwar from Uniana is a nice and comfortable trek..so there shouldn't be any problems..The real beauty of the path starts after Bantoli, about one Km ahead of Gaundar..The path also gets a bit steep from there.. Have a nice journey.

Supratim, Sadanand and Travel Joy

Thanks for the information.

Regards

Hi,
Went through your plan and it seems too tight.
If running short of time go from Bhojbasa to Tapovan and get back same day. You will not have to carry camping equipment. Tapovan to Gangotri will be quite a long day. Then from Gangotri to Mandal another very big day. It takes time to reach Srinagar from Uttarkashi itself add 5 hrs from gangotri to Uttarkashi. The the route ahead. I don't think it is advisable to do so. You seem to be running and not enjoying the treks. Better look for treks in Gangotri region itself for the time in hand if possible or look for treks in Kedarnath region. Do the complete panch kedar in the time you have on hand.Then no need to hire complete taxi. Move by shared taxi.
As far Madhyamaheshwar is concerned you may see the pics on the site.
As per your present plan once you start from Madhyamaheshwar come down to Ransi for night halt.
All the best

We stayed in Ransi at this place.

Thanks VSK and Sadanand. I also thought that the itinerary was a bit tight - having said that. I actually have a couple of days buffer in terms of my return to Mumbai for Delhi, which I had kept to accomodate dealys for landslides, vehicle breakdowns. I guess I will atleast incorporate one of the additional days in the itinerary itself which will leave only one reserve day. If that is not enought worse case all of us will report to our offices one day late - which I am sure will not lead to any significant reduction in the Indian GDP

As for the suggestion to undertake the PanchKedar trek - I have been to Kedarnath twice, Tungnath thrice (including once to Chandrashila)and once to Kalpeshwar. Given the time I have it is not possible, though if I dont end up using my reserve days I will try and stay at Chopta for one night - I just love the place.

thanks once again

Hi spice trekker,

had recently been to Nandanvan via Haridwar. Went thru your itinery. Here are my thoughts :

Haridwar to Uttarkashi - 8 hrs drive. So, the earlier you start the better. We'd started at 9 AM and reached Uttarkashi at 5 PM without traffic. Infact there is a train from Delhi which leaves for Haridwar at 11:30 PM and reaches Haridwar at sharp 4:00 AM. So, you can attend the early morning 'aarti' at 'Har-Ki-Paudi' and leave for Uttarkashi.

Gangotri To Bhojbasa - Better to start early. 'Coz it gets really cold in the evening. So better to be in your tents rather thann face the cold while trekking.

Bhojbasa Camping : Best to camp is beside the river. There is ample of space to pitch in tents. There is a GVML guest house and an Aashram also beside the river. Although there are 'Dhabas' where you can spend the night, they provide you with 'gaddas' and 'kambals', but the site of the riverside down below the trail is too good to be missed.

Tapovan To Gangotri - can be done in one day, but is really hectic. Infact, we did Nandanvan to Gangotri in one day. Were really exhausted. We started at around 9 in the morning and reached Gangotri by 7:00 in the evening. I believe Tapovan is still below Nandanvan, so you'll avoid the boulder walk which took a lot of toll on us. Again, earlier you start the better. As others have suggested, better to halt and enjoy some photography on your way back and take it easy.

As far as the remaining part of the trek is concerned, donno much.

Cheers !

Mayur

Hi, I agree with you. Since you have time in hand then there is no problem. All the best and enjoy the lovely trails. At Madh do go to Buda madh for lovely view of Chaukhamba and Mandani.

All

Just came back from a lovely trip to Tapovan, Madhyamaheshwar and Rudranath. Had lovely weather all thru till Mandal; however rains finally caught up with us at Anusuya on the Rudranath route. Still trying to figure out how to load the pictures on this site - will try and do this in the next couple of day.

Once again thanks to all for the advice and encouragement.

It is not difficult to hike/trek across the Middle Garhwal Himalaya.

In Sep-Oct, 2007, I did the following 20-day hike.
(Carried my own tent, hired local guides in some areas.)

From HANUMANCHATTI (on the Yamunotri Route) eastward to DARWA TOP (Altitude: over 4000 m) – BAKARIA (over 3500 m) – DAYARA BUGYAL (over 3000 m) – RAITHAL – BHATWARI (Altitude: about 1200 m, located on the Uttarkashi-Gangotri Road) – MALLA – SILLA – KUSHKALYANI (over 3000 m) – KYARKI – SAHASTRA TAL (over 4500 m) – KALYANI (the one on the Khatling Trail) – GANGI – PANWALIKANTHA (over 3500 m) – KINKHOLA KHAL – MAGGU CHATTI (over 3000 m) – TRIYUGINARAYAN (about 2000 m) – UKHIMATH – CHOPTA (over 2700 m) – CHAMOLI – PIPALKOTI (on the Chamoli-Badrinath Road) – TAPOVAN (the one near Joshimath, and not the one beyond Gaumukh) – KHULARI – KUARI PASS – JHENJIPANI – RAMNI – GHAT.

You may like to do only one section of the whole route in one holiday. But if I were you, I would definitely find the time to do the whole thing at a stretch.

In September (post-Monsoon), there will be thousands of wild flowers in the Bugyals of the Bakariya, Kushklalyani and Panwali-Maggu Ridges, with the majestic snow-clad 6000- metre-plus peaks in the backdrop. In spring / early summer, one may see musk deer, bears and snow leopards on this route.

Warning:
Don’t do this trek/hike in the SW Monsoon Season (June-August) or in Winter (November-March).

Please feel free to ask me anything about the hike.

Hi,
You did a good trek and it must have been great. How about posting the photos and some more detail of the SAHASTRA TAL – KALYANI section and who was the guide on this section and how much time it took.
VSK

Great trek

Congrats!

I will definitely scan and post all the photos. Unfortunately, I have only 6 photos of the Sahastra Tal - Kalyani segment.

I had a guide till Gaumukhi Tal (a deadly 3 hour climb from Sahastra Tal). He was a 30 year old farmer from Silla, who had been there earlier. I don't remember his name. We paid him Rs. 600 and all meals (Haldiram snacks and chocolates) + Rs. 100 for the 3 days + 3 hours on the Silla - Gaumukhi Tal stretch.

Beyond Gaumukhi Tal was a terrible westward descent (Thank God there was no rain!) to a point on the Kalyani-Kharsali trail, which was 1.5 hours beyond Kalyani. We were able to do the entire Gaumukhi Tal - Kalyani stretch in 8.5 hours without a guide only because we knew that (insha allah) by carefully climbing down, we would reach the Bhilangana River, which was at the base of the valley in the west.