Road/Traffic Conditions in Uttarakhand

DW, To the point well understood and convinced... thanks for your reply

talked to tiwariji today. he said that the roads are damaged but repairs have started. should be ok by october, when the monsoon recedes.

Road to Uttarkashi opens today after 8 days. It had washed away at the Kamand bridge (exactly at the same place where it went down last year and year before last.)All traffic was being diverted via Barkot. Which route was also closed for two days and opened just day before. No fresh veggies available here at all! Gangotri Highway still closed. Road damaged and susided in at least four places including Sukki. Taxis that are stuck between slides ferrying passangers but one still has ot trek a long way (a group that was stuck there had to cover 30 kms on foot)

At least something is disciplined!

Yeah and predictable too Jitu

Is the Rishikesh-Badrinath route open now? We will be travelling there end of next week and plan to cover Rishikesh-Badrinath in a day using shared zeep. In case the roads are in very bad shape and the vehicles need to be changed, I would plan to cover Haridwar-Devprayag/Srinagar stretch on 3rd Sep afternoon as We will reach Haridwar by 4 PM. Considering the road condition, what do you folks suggest in this regard? Do I get shared Zeep from Devprayag to Joshimath? Do I get shared zeep from Haridwar/Rishikesh to Devprayag at 4 in the afternoon?

The road condition is very bad as of now according the news. All char dhams cut off till now. Conditions will not improve in the coming days. So better to postpone the trip till Sep end or Oct start.

Thanks a lot DW ji for updating us about it.

Hello,

We are planning a Kedarnath-Badrinath trip in end Sep for 4 Adults and 1 3yr old kid. I am planning to take a luxury package of Shubhyatra travels plus a helicopter trip from Phata-Kedarnath included. First question - is this good to go ?
2. Are there helicopter rides to Badrinath as well- at what cost and from where?
3. What would be weather like in end Sep ?
4. Would the roads be still under repair, broken and patchy and heli rides a bit too risky , esp with ageing in-laws and my lil one? Would it better to do this trip in May'2012 ?
5. Is there any place between Joshimath and Haridwar where we could halt after travelling for 4-5 hours- 9hr drive from Joshimath to Haridwar looks too tough.

Please help. I usually make my plans based on the Experts' advice here .

1) How can that be answered without knowing the cost?
What I certainly can tell you is that you can save 10-20% by arranging things on your own. E.g. you certainly don't need Shubhyatra to arrange the heli ride.

2) Charter only, see here - http://www.prabhatam.net/helicopterservices.html
You can ask them for a Badrinath-only price, but it'll still be very expensive.
Pawan Hans also arranges charters Phata-Badrinath-Phata - https://www.pawanhans.co.in/upload/P...rNath_Fare.pdf

3) Most of the monsoon will be over, but you still have to be prepared for rain.

4) Yes, roads will be under repair. Why should the heli ride be more risky in Sep? If the weather is not good enough, they don't fly, period. On which note, that's something you need to clear with Shubhyatra beforehand, that you get a full refund if you can't use the heli.

5) Rudraprayag - 4 hours, Shrinagar - 5 hours.

Any update on the road from Joshimath to Chopta? Is it open now?

In june 2009, at phata, we checked the prices for helicopter ride to kedarnath. One way it was Rs.4600 per head and for the return journey it was Rs.7200 per head. So it would have increased a lot by now.

Please call in this no and get the updated road condition of that route. 09758574826 - Satpal Singh. He stays at Sagar - Joshimath/Chopta road.

All there in the pdf link - 7310 return fare, plus 1100 for priority darshan.

Hello All,
Though I admit weather forecasting is like crystal ball gazing , still can someone tell from their past experience if it rains in Sep-end, how it was in the past (heavy, light or moderate ??). Does that allow 2-3 hours of road travel from point to point (say from Mukteshwar to Binsar to Choukori)