Driving Trip to Uttaranchal in late-May - Need Advice..

ferrari_fan

hi - i'm from Chennai, and me and my family will be travelling to Uttaranchal around mid-May as part of a 30-day driving trip we're making across India..

since our plans depend a lot on road conditions and estimates of times to travel between places i was hoping someone could help me out..

we'll be in Uttaranchal for about 6 days and the tentative itinerary we've drawn up is as follows :

Day 0 : Reach Corbett Natl. Park in the evening from Lucknow and spend the night

Day 1 : Spend the day at the Corbett NP and night also at CNP.

Day 2 : Depart for Badrinath early morning to reach by mid-afternoon/early evening and spend the night

Day 3 : My grandparents will remain in Badrinath while the rest of us will drive down to Govindghat in the morning and make the trek to Ghangharia by early evening

Day 4 : Trek to Valley of Flowers for the day and return to Ghangharia for the night

Day 5 : Return to Govindghat, take a couple of hours rest and return to Badrinath for the night

Day 6 : Depart Badrinath early to reach Srinagar or Devaprayag for the night

Day 7 : Depart early to reach Delhi by evening

do you feel this will be too rushed?

also, what is the condition of roads north of Joshimath? i heard there's a one-way system on that stretch - how does that work exactly?

what about VOF - is the last week of May an OK time to visit? will it be closed due to snow or something?

also, since we have only one day at Ghangharia, would we be better off making the trip to VOF or to Hemkund? which is more scenic?

finally, will this whole trip be too strenuous? we're all in reasonable shape but we're not in sports-star fitness.. how tough are we likely to find the going, especially the trek from Govindghta to Ghangharia?

any help would be great..

thanks

Prakash

jyotirmoy

Some how I feel that driving from Corbett to Badrinath and reaching Badrinath in the afternoon may not be feasible.
May being the main pilgrimage season there will be lot of traffic in that route. In this season a gate system is followed. Traffic starts from a gate & moves in one direction for a stipulated time and reach another gate. Thereafter traffic moves in the opposite direction. I had not been to this area for quite some time so things might have changed. So check this out.
May is really not the best time for the Valley of flowers. Flowers bloom during the rainy season of July-August. Still the trek from Ghangaria to VOF would be quite enchanting.
Accomodation at Badrinath in May gets booked well in advance. Since your parents would be staying at Badrinath for a couple of days secure accomodation at a good place. You will experience occasional rains & it would be pretty cold at Badrinath.

Dilliwala

1.Yes. Unless you're doing the trip in a Ferrari. I'm guessing you're not.

2.The road is ok but prone to rock-slides from time to time - the whole stretch from Shrinagar to Badrinath has 6-8 points where rock-slides can happen. I got stuck twice on the same trip, once in each direction. First one - 30 min. Second one - 90 min. And that was in the off-season (April) when there's less traffic. They can be longer if you're unlucky. Re the one-way system: what's relevant for u is that there can be waits of upto 3 hours to get moving. You are going during the peak-season.

3.I wud strongly recommend giving this whole leg a miss (ref point no. 1), but if you're hell-bent on going, go to Hemkund. I'm not sure, but u might be able to stay overnight there also, so if u push and make it up in one day, it'll give u some breathing space (no pun intended - the air is thinner up there!). Check with the gurdwara-cum-resthouse at Govindghat, they will know. I feel it's no point going to VOF now as it's not the best time. July-Aug, as Jyotirmoy says. Re scenery: one's a valley with flowers and a stream running thru, the other's a lake. Take your pick.

4.Refer to point no. 1. Cutting out VOF/Hemkund will allow u time for delays or breakdowns. At present u have none (A few more points I'll add at the end).
Govindghat to Ghangharia is 8 km uphill from about 1500m to over 3000m. Part of the path is paved, but I'm not sure that it is all the way. Make sure everyone carries their own drinking-water, u will need it. It is possible to hire ponies at Govindghat also, if someone prefers not to walk.

A few more things:
a) You haven't mentioned where u'll stay at Corbett. If inside the Park, the last time to enter the gate at Dhangari (18 km from Ramnagar) is 4 p.m. No exceptions. U have to collect your entry-permits (requires prior confirmed bookings) in Ramnagar from their office by 2 pm. It takes one hour to drive from Dhangari to the Tourist Camp at Dhikala. You cannot exit the Park before day-light. No exceptions.

b) If u stay outside the Park, the daily quota of vehicles allowed to enter on day-permits is 30 (15 morning, 15 afternoon). These can be booked in advance at Ramnagar upto the day before. U can take a chance at the gate (Amdanda), but u'll be very lucky if u get in, the slots are usually booked out. The morning entry is around 5.30 am, afternoon 3 pm - check and confirm.

c) U haven't mentioned what route u'll take from Corbett to Badrinath, but by my estimate the shortest (from Dhangari) is approx 320 km. This is at least 10 hours just driving - HIGHLY optimistic for one day, and may be strenuous for your grandparents. Even if u start around 6 am, u haven't accounted for the one-way wait prior to Badrinath, and u cud have more delays. I'll be surprised if u manage the whole stretch, but good for u if u do.

d) If u do not get accommodation at Badrinath, or don't reach there in time, I can give u phone nos. for lodges at Pandukeshwar and Govindghat. It may be possible to stay at the gurdwara resthouse at Govindghat also, the Sikh pilgrims generally do not arrive till June.

e) The last workshop and petrol-pump enroute is at Joshimath, the last diesel at Selang, 5 km before.