Trip Advice - Hyderabad to Dehradun to Auli

Hello,

My wife and I are planning a trip to Uttaranchal end of March. Our plan so far is to leave hyderabad on 29 March and return to Hyderabad on Thursday 3 April. We're planning on flying to Delhi Saturday morning and from there catch the train to Dehradun. We had a few questions and it would be wonderful if we could get some answers to these questions we had:

1. Does anyone know what times the train runs from Delhi to Dehradun, and how much it costs for AC 1st class?

2. My wife wants to visit Auli/Joshimath as well, how long and how much is the cost to go from Dehradun to Auli?

3. Should we prebook our Hotel for Auli/Joshimath, or book it after we get to Dehradun? Our budget is around 1000 rupees per night.

4. Are the roads safe to travel by taxi/bus that time of the year to Auli?

5. Is there any other places near Dehradun that offer awesome views of the Himalayas?

Thanks so much!!!!!!

1. For all your rail-related enquiries u can go to http://indianrail.gov.in . Click on 'Trains between important stations'.
There are day trains and night-trains. U'll get the fares also at the a.m. site.

2. Dehradun to Joshimath is 297 km. I.e., a long hard haul for one day - 10 hours just driving. If u want to do it in one go, better to hire a car for yourself. Otherwise Rudraprayag is a nice place for a night-stop. U can calculate with Rs. 7-8 per km.
Auli is 14 km from Joshimath.

3. U can actually arrive at Joshimath without pre-booking, but if u prefer u can book it from DD. U'll get plenty of rooms in the off-season at a discount, for 1000 bucks u'll get a very good room.

4. Yes, certainly less traffic than in the peak-season.

5. Mussoorie.
Which reminds me, why do u want to go to DD anyway? It's not usually first-choice for most folks. There are no mountain-views to be had, it's in a valley. Mussoorie is 31 km away.

Thanks so much for all the advice, most of the hotel rates are per room, not per person, right?

Right - in general prices are quoted for a double-room (double occupancy).
Single occupancy is then negotiated separately.