Uttarakhand: suggestions needed

Dilliwala

Hi Shajara,

I recommend NO days in UP and split them between UA and Himachal, but that's just me.

1. Maybe, maybe not. 3 out of the last 4 monsoons, August has seen the heaviest rainfall with attendant landslides and road-blocks. But things get moving after a day or so, mostly after a few hours. You just have to be mentally prepared for this without letting it weigh on you. Otherwise it'll be imposs to travel.

2. All of what you depict are possible, no one can predict in advance what any one August will be like. E.g. I've had 3 days of luck at a stretch in Mussoorie where the rains eased up for the duration but no sunshine. In Nainital, rain before lunch 3 days in a row, eased up after lunch every day, moved to Ramgarh valley thereafter and even got warm sunshine.
But you can consider going into the rain-shadow areas of HP like Kinnaur or Spiti. You'll have to pass thru the heavy-rain areas of Shimla district, with possible attendant road-blocks, but once you're clear, it'll be much better. You can think of Kalpa for snow views directly in front, almost touching distance. Kalpa does get more rain than Spiti though, for instance. The Baspa valley is also good.
Other than that, the rains can also clear the sky long enough anywhere along the entire line so as to allow spectacular views. It's a lottery though, as you can understand.

3. Refer above. Take your pick, it's a lottery. But at a pinch, I'd say go to Kalpa or the Baspa valley, or both - you'll have the time. Spiti is also a good idea, there's this big fair in the middle of the month which you might find interesting. Centuries old, people come from all over the district to trade, dance and generally have a good time

4. Navdanya's main setup is in Dehradun. They also do organic farming there. Also in a few villages in Garhwal, but I can't name them (there's one or two in the Har-ki-dun area).
There's also a thread in the HP sub-forum about 'Home stay in Spiti' giving info about an NGO organising this in the area, in cooperation with the local people. Do take a look.

Any more Q's, fire away. Cheers.

Almoraboy

hello and welcome to indiamike.

as Dilliwala stated, skip UP and spend all the days in the hill states of HP and UK (uttarakhand) -- but people like us belong to the mountain lovers' club and hence offer such advice

1). ok, the monsoon would well and truly be in force in the UK area in august. yes, roads can be bad....but transportation still moves on. usually, if one route to a place is blocked, people use the other alternative route. but that will be in a few isolated spots. about 90% of the roads will still function normally. however, for your own travelling comfort, i would recomment that you guys hire a cab for your travelling.

2). monsoons can inhibit views of snow clad peaks, but on the other hand, the hills are lush green at this time. also, you can enjoy lots of fruits which come during this season, like plums and apricots. you should also get strawberries, etc around bhowali, nainital and ramgarh.

3). ahh..love this question. you can get good views from chaukori and munsyari (provided the clouds part) in kumaon. the best time to catch them is early morning or late evening. the hills are covered with clouds for the rest of the time, even if it is not raining. you can also try narayan ashram if you have time to travel further up. it is a lovely place - though it might be a bit crowded as the pilgrimage season will be going on.

Check this for trip reports on UK: http://almoraboy.blogspot.com/2006/0...himalayas.html

You can check out the links to bedni bugyal. it is one of the most beautiful places in the monsoon season (though you might have to trek around 11 kms for this place from the road head). a lush green meadow streching for kilometres and kilometres, full of grass and wild flowers.

you can check the milam trek report - as it was also done in monsoons : http://almoraboy.blogspot.com/2007/0...home-page.html

or if you want to check the views from chaukori: http://almoraboy.blogspot.com/2008/0...nter-2008.html


4) well, not much idea on this, but am sure the others can help. last time, when i was visiting UK, i took 3 big bags full of old clothes, which i gave to lots of kiddies on the way. definitely better than letting them go to waste at home.

__________________
Trek blog over here

Shajara

Thanks to all! You've been really kind and your suggestions all precious and welcome.
I'm kinda relieved, and now I know many more places worth a visit than my Rough Guide suggested - my fear was to get on a mountain spot and then spend all the week inside my hotel becoz of bad weather conditions... that's also the reason for I added Uttarpradesh (more city-focussed area) to my itinerary, considering "if it rains all the time, we can visit museums there at least". But I see most of you are so passionate mountain lovers that made me changing my mind!
Thnaks again. Every more suggestion will be welcome, indeed...

Almoraboy

do take one raincoat and umbrella per person, as it WILL rain most of the time. torches will come in handy if you go on a hike. if you want to contact some local drivers/guides/porters, then you can check this out: http://almoraboy.blogspot.com/2006/0...formation.html

also, check out the tourist agencies of the state goverment, i.e., Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (for kumaon region) and GMVN for Garhwal region. Their sites are: http://www.kmvn.org/ and http://www.gmvnl.com/

In fact, when you plan your itenerary, do plan to ring them up and ask for the current room status. the busiest months are in April-June and October-November. The inbetween period is not so busy but still, many nature lovers hit it out during this time of the year.

Other good attraction can be the valley of flowers, etc, which are in the same district as Bedni bugyal. However, in 2006, during monsoons, bedni was awesome. we even met a leopard in the jungles...face to face, which is a totally different experience from seeing them in zoos are in national parks, where you are in some protective jeep.

The major cities like Dehradun, nainital, kathgodam, mussorie, etc will be booked. however, the interiors should be relatively less crowded. and beware of some ppl who might just see that you guys are from abroad and might to sell you stuff for higher rates.

Dilliwala

'Rain in the Mountains' is better than a museum in UP any day.



BTW, that's a real book . By "Himalayan author" Ruskin Bond.
Even reading it while it's raining outside is better than a museum in UP.
But as Almoraboy hinted, we're biased.

bclelia

My husband and I will be traveling to India (after our wedding) for the first time! We fly into Delhi and are planning on exploring Uttarankhand for 2 weeks. We are looking for some suggestions on an itineray and any tips on hotels and transportation.

We are attracted to Garhwal (Rishikesh,Mossourie....) and Kumaon (where do I begin!) but think visiting both will probably be too much. What would be the best tour of this region in 2 weeks time for two people open to anything including hiking, relaxing, yoga, people watching..?

Binsar, Ranikhet, Lansdowne, Valley of flowers all are appealing and so many more places. It's just so hard to decide without having being able to talk to people who have been, so that is where you all come in!

Thanks ahead of time for any suggestions! I have benefited so much from the rich information and experiences on this forum already!

capt_mahajan

If you want to go around both Garhwal and Kumaon, suggest hire a car and do this circuit (or the other way around)

Rishikesh/Karanprayag/Gwaldham/Chaukori/Munsiyari/Binsar/Jageshwar/Ranikhet/Lansdowne/Rishikesh. Not too rushed for 2 weeks, I think.

or after Ranikhet, Kathgodam/Haldwani and back to Delhi.

If you want to throw in a typical hill station, Nainital after Ranikhet. Dunno when you are going, but can be crowded in season.

Yoga, sorry, can't help. There are places though. Hiking is aplenty- look up the Uttarakhand forum here.

However, if you want a more relaxed time of it, choose one, Kumaon or Garhwal. And if VOF is a must(best after July), then your choice is made. In that case, Rishikesh/VOF/Chopta/Auli/Karanprayag/Rudraprayag/Rishikesh/Haridwar, is possible in two weeks. Or something similar.

Hiring a car is a strong recommendation. Stay... depends on budget, but kmvn or gmvnl have the best locations. Browse the Uttarakhand forum on indiamike and also

www.gmvnl.com
www.kmvn.org

bclelia

Thank you for the ideas and the links! Your suggestions are greatly appreciated and most useful!

What if we just stuck to Kumaon and incorporated a 1-2 night trek? What would be a suitable itinerary given our time? My sense is that it would be wiser to stick to one region or the other since we aren't set on any particular places per say,

Would it be okay to plan as we went as far as accommodations so that we can be spontaneous or is it better to plan ahead?

Best!

capt_mahajan

You don't say when you are travelling.

If after mid June, you could very well plan as you went along. Peak season is over.
Be careful of the monsoon season, though. Unpredictable.

For treks, visit the kmvn site and also threads here on indiamike.
Like this one
single day trek - Uttaranchal?




Rough suggested itinerary- more possibilities which you can pick and choose from:

Haldwani/Mukhteshwar/Binsar/Jageshwar/Chaukori/Munsiyari/Kausani/Ranikhet/Haldwani.
Nainital

vinod_bhattad

Hi
I have a planned trip of 16 people from 26th may i will reach kathgodam at 8:30 am morning
There on I need a plan, including locations to stay (cheap and good) places to visit,
i have a return ticket from kathgodam to delhi on 2nd june night at 9:30 pm
so total i have 8 days
I want to cover kathgodam to binsar, kausani,Joshimath, badrinath, gopikund, kedarnath(must),ranikhet back to kathgodam no naintal will do.

Thanks in advance for your help

spicetrekker

Vinod

You seem to have picked up places from both - Binsar, Kausani (Kumaon) and badrinath, Kedarnath (Garhwal). I am by no means suggesting that both cant be or should not be attempted but you need more time -in 8 days it seem a tall order.

Assuming you are reaching Kathgodam early morning, let me see how is this possible (Please note I am not endorsing this itinerary, in fact I would not recommend it)

Day 1 - Kathogodam to Binsar (ON at Binsar)
Day 2 Binsar - Kausani
Day 3 Kausani - Karnaprayag - Gaurikund start very early - I havent done he Kausani Karnapryag stretch so dont know the roads, but with Kausani - Gaurikund (rough 250 kms) will take 8-10 hrs
Day 4 Gaurikund - Kedarnath (ON in Kedarnath)
Day 5 Kedarnath - Gaurikund may be Guptkashi
Day 6 Gaurikund/guptakashi - joshimath via chopta
Day 7 Joshimath - Badrianth - Joshimath
Day 8 Joshimath - Haridwar

This would entail the following:

1. Taking the return train from Haridwar and not Kathgodam (I am not sure if you can reach from Joshimath to Kathgodam in a day)
2. Almost necessitiating waking up early every morning
3. Your own car (i.e hired) with public transport this will be a stretch
4. No enjoyment - eg I prefer to stay at Badrinath atleast for one night

Rest is your call but serious reco would be if you have constraints of travelling to and from Kathgodam then stick to Kumaon, in the time you have in addition to binsar, Kausani, you can see Jageshwar, Patal Bhubhaneshwar, Sun Temple at Katarmal and may be Ranikheth or Nainital

grizzlyofalaska

Hello you fine folsk of India Mike,

I am going tobe stayin in a Yoga ashramin june which is on the way to Gangotri.


Can someone please advise me in the following:

1) What will be the temperature like and the rainfall
2) Will the misquitoes be a reall killer in this season?

I am currently in Himachal and is pleasent here.

Thanks,

jyotirmoy

Expect rains and heavy pilgrim rush. Where is this Ashram? I don't think you will encounter mosquitoes at this altitude.

grizzlyofalaska

Ashram is in Netala above Uttarkashi.

vinod_bhattad

thanks for your reply spicetrekker.
I have planned to drop out kedarnath.

Can you plan se a plan for the 8 days.
I have heard people suggesting stay at almora, binsar, kausani, jogeshwar, mukteshwar,
I have a plan of
day 1: from kathgodam at 8:30am to almora
day 2: almora to binsar,visit surrounding places
day 3: kausani
day 4: kausanin joshimath go to auli via ropeway. hault at auli
day 5: roam at auli in evening leave for joshimath
day6: joshimath to badrinath evening back to joshimath
day7: joshimath to ranikhet, visit to surrounding places,
day 8: ranikhet to kathgodam in between bhimat and few hours in nainital : night 9:30 train for delhi

Please do suggesnt reasonable places to stay (dormatries will do as we are group of 20 people)at various eternities, as KMVN is not avialble and also do suggest activites to carry out at those iternities,like places to visit.