Uttaranchal tour in December

debjit

Dear All,
I have planned to tour Uttaranchal between 20 Dec and 2nd Jan along with my friend. I know this is not the right time to tour Himalayas, but cannot help . I have not thought about any specific place, neither I am too fussy about which places to visit. Just wish to sit in the hotel balcony looking at white mountains and greeneries around . Would that be possible in the chilling winter? Which places will be open to visitors? Any input will be useful, specially from locals.

Regards,
Debjit

spicetrekker

Why do you say Dec is not a good time to visit the hills, trust me it is , in fact for the purpose you are suggesting i.e. sit in the balcony and look at the mountains winter is much better time than summers when the mist and clouds spoil the view.

You can look at binsar, Cahukori Munsiyari and mukteshwar as a few suggestions

debjit

Thanks spicetrekker for the valuable comments. Could you pls be a little more specific whether roads will be open, any chance of snowfall/landslide etc

hvkumar

The entire northern region - Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri - will be closed beyond places like Uttarkashi, Joshimath and Ukhimath. You can visit Auli for some delightful snow skiing slopes any time. In the lower reaches, places like Dhanaulti, Gwaldam, etc also receive snowfall from time to time to time, but roads remain open barring a few temporary shutdowns.

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tilak2909

agree with spicetrekker that it can be a joyful time,
if you are going as a tourist then it may not be a right time but if you are a traveler then it can be enjoyed much more...besides what spicetrekker suggested, you can go till harshil/dharali and enjoy snow with beautiful landscapes. chakrata is also a nice place to enjoy.

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jyotipg

Try Kumaon. December is the time when you get clear views of the snow laden peaks.

Chill out in Binsar..or even in the Hilltop TRC in Nainital.
Mukteswar, Kausani, Munsyari are goood options too.

On the Garhwal side, you can plan to vist Auli and see some snow there.

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spicetrekker

Lanslides I cant predict but usually chances are remote as these happen more in monsoons. all the spots I mentioned will be accessible though I doubt you will get snow at that time in these locations

kingkortobbo

Just saw the message regarding visit to Uttarakhand in December. Would like to add that Auli is the best place to go now. Nigam is upgrading its hotel. They have installed a snow making machine for the slope in Auli. So even if the snowfall is not adequate you can be assured of a good snowy slope from the machine. Besides Club Mahindra is also building a hotelin Auli. GMVN has a hotel in Auli and the place is turning out to be wonderfull after some renovations. also for stay GMVN Joshimath is a good place. The cable car to Auli is about 500 bucks to an fro with 50 minutes on the top.The road from rishikesh has become so good that one can reach Joshimath in about 7 hrs. So happy

Sujit

Hi Debjit
a couple o years back I went to Chakrata around the same time and was completely bowled over. There's a phenomenal forest rest house which can be booked from anywhre. We stayed there for a couple o days and proceeded to Dhanaulti, near Mussourie. With the advent of snowfall the place turned magical. But let me also warn you that the GMVN Hotel which is best located had everything but electricity. We were in the middle of a week long power cut, Hence the nights were rrrreally cold without the heater. If in case you decide to head towards Koushani, Chaukori, Munsiyari etc. you'll be greeted with even more spectacular views of the lofty peaks. Munsiyari, in my opinion is a must do and a stay at the Zara resort could make it even more enjoyable, not to mention the breath taking view of Mt Panchhulli at almost a stone's throw distance
Pls get a good driver 'cause there could be a lot of snow patches you'd need to cross to reach Munsiyari.
Wish you a great time
Cheers !
Sujit