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The Trail Guide

Knowledge for the road ahead.

A growing library of routes, stories and field notes for those who carry the mountains with them.

01 · Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand

Kedarkantha

Altitude
3,800m
Difficulty
Moderate
On foot
4–6 days
Base
Sankri

The one most people in India walk first. It gives you a genuine snow summit without needing technical skill, and the treeline sits low enough that you camp among pines rather than on bare rock.

When to go
  • JJan — good month
  • FFeb — good month
  • MMar — good month
  • AApr — good month
  • MMay — out of season
  • JJun — out of season
  • JJul — out of season
  • AAug — out of season
  • SSep — out of season
  • OOct — out of season
  • NNov — out of season
  • DDec — good month

A winter trail first and foremost — deep snow from late December through March.

What you pass
  • Juda ka Talab — A small lake that freezes solid in deep winter, ringed by pine.
  • Kedarkantha summit — Sunrise from the top opens onto Swargarohini and Bandarpoonch.
  • Sankri — The base village, and the last place with a proper shop.
02 · Govind Pashu Vihar, Uttarkashi

Har Ki Dun

Altitude
3,566m
Difficulty
Moderate
On foot
6–8 days
Base
Sankri

A cradle-shaped valley walk rather than a summit push, following the Supin through some of the oldest continuously inhabited villages in the range.

When to go
  • JJan — out of season
  • FFeb — out of season
  • MMar — out of season
  • AApr — good month
  • MMay — good month
  • JJun — good month
  • JJul — out of season
  • AAug — out of season
  • SSep — good month
  • OOct — good month
  • NNov — good month
  • DDec — out of season

Green and full of water after the snow melts; crisp and clear post-monsoon.

What you pass
  • Osla & Seema — Villages built in traditional Garhwali wood-and-stone.
  • Swargarohini — The peak that closes the head of the valley.
  • Supin river — The trail follows it almost the whole way in.
03 · Chamoli, Uttarakhand

Valley of Flowers

Altitude
3,658m
Difficulty
Easy–Moderate
On foot
4–6 days
Base
Govindghat / Ghangaria

A UNESCO World Heritage site and a national park, carpeted with hundreds of alpine flowering species for a few weeks a year. It is the rare Himalayan walk where the reason to go is underfoot rather than on the horizon.

When to go
  • JJan — out of season
  • FFeb — out of season
  • MMar — out of season
  • AApr — out of season
  • MMay — out of season
  • JJun — out of season
  • JJul — good month
  • AAug — good month
  • SSep — out of season
  • OOct — out of season
  • NNov — out of season
  • DDec — out of season

The park opens roughly June to October; the bloom peaks through July and August.

What you pass
  • The valley floor — Several hundred flowering species recorded here.
  • Hemkund Sahib — A glacial lake and gurudwara at 4,300m, a day trip from Ghangaria.
  • Pushpawati river — Runs the length of the valley.

Before you go — National park entry fee and permit required; camping inside the valley is not allowed — you stay at Ghangaria.

04 · Chamoli, Uttarakhand

Kuari Pass

Altitude
4,264m
Difficulty
Moderate
On foot
5–7 days
Base
Joshimath / Auli

Often called the Curzon Trail. It buys you one of the closest, most unobstructed views of Nanda Devi available to a walker, and the meadows on the way up are enormous.

When to go
  • JJan — good month
  • FFeb — good month
  • MMar — good month
  • AApr — good month
  • MMay — good month
  • JJun — out of season
  • JJul — out of season
  • AAug — out of season
  • SSep — good month
  • OOct — good month
  • NNov — good month
  • DDec — good month

Walkable most of the year — snow-bound and quiet in winter, wide open in autumn.

What you pass
  • Gorson Bugyal — High meadow above Auli, endless in every direction.
  • Nanda Devi — India's second-highest peak, in full view from the pass.
  • Auli — Ski slopes and a cable car, at the trailhead.
05 · Chamoli, Uttarakhand

Brahmatal

Altitude
3,734m
Difficulty
Easy–Moderate
On foot
4–6 days
Base
Lohajung

A gentler winter alternative to Kedarkantha, through oak and rhododendron forest, with two lakes and a ridge that looks straight across at Trishul.

When to go
  • JJan — good month
  • FFeb — good month
  • MMar — good month
  • AApr — out of season
  • MMay — out of season
  • JJun — out of season
  • JJul — out of season
  • AAug — out of season
  • SSep — out of season
  • OOct — out of season
  • NNov — out of season
  • DDec — good month

A winter trail — the draw is snow and frozen lakes.

What you pass
  • Bekaltal — The lower of the two lakes, in dense forest.
  • Brahmatal — Frozen through most of the winter season.
  • Trishul & Nanda Ghunti — Both visible from the ridge for much of the walk.
06 · Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand

Chandrashila & Tungnath

Altitude
3,690m
Difficulty
Easy
On foot
2–3 days
Base
Chopta

The shortest way to a genuine Himalayan summit view. You can start after breakfast and be on top for sunrise the next morning, which makes it the usual first trek for anyone testing whether they like this at all.

When to go
  • JJan — out of season
  • FFeb — out of season
  • MMar — good month
  • AApr — good month
  • MMay — good month
  • JJun — good month
  • JJul — out of season
  • AAug — out of season
  • SSep — good month
  • OOct — good month
  • NNov — good month
  • DDec — good month

Rhododendrons in spring, clearest skies after the monsoon.

What you pass
  • Tungnath — The highest Shiva temple in the world, on the way up.
  • Chandrashila summit — Panorama from Chaukhamba across to Nanda Devi.
  • Deoriatal — A lake that mirrors Chaukhamba on a still morning.
07 · Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand

Nag Tibba

Altitude
3,022m
Difficulty
Easy
On foot
2 days
Base
Pantwari

The closest real trek to Dehradun and Mussoorie — a weekend that ends with Bandarpoonch on the skyline. It's the trail that talks people into booking a harder one.

When to go
  • JJan — good month
  • FFeb — good month
  • MMar — good month
  • AApr — good month
  • MMay — out of season
  • JJun — out of season
  • JJul — out of season
  • AAug — out of season
  • SSep — out of season
  • OOct — good month
  • NNov — good month
  • DDec — good month

Walkable nearly year-round; a light dusting of snow in deep winter.

What you pass
  • Nag Tibba summit — The 'Serpent's Peak', with a small shrine below the top.
  • Bandarpoonch — Fills the northern skyline from the ridge.
  • Pantwari — Roadhead village, a few hours from Dehradun.
08 · Chamoli, Uttarakhand

Roopkund

Altitude
5,029m
Difficulty
Hard
On foot
7–9 days
Base
Lohajung

The glacial lake known for the human skeletal remains found at its edge, reached across two of the largest high meadows in the Indian Himalaya.

When to go
  • JJan — out of season
  • FFeb — out of season
  • MMar — out of season
  • AApr — out of season
  • MMay — good month
  • JJun — good month
  • JJul — out of season
  • AAug — out of season
  • SSep — good month
  • OOct — good month
  • NNov — out of season
  • DDec — out of season

Pre-monsoon and post-monsoon only; the approach is snow-bound otherwise.

What you pass
  • Ali & Bedni Bugyal — Vast alpine meadows above 3,300m.
  • Trishul & Nanda Ghunti — Both directly overhead for the upper half.
  • Roopkund lake — Small, shallow, and frozen for much of the year.

Before you go — Access to the lake has been restricted by order of the Uttarakhand High Court to protect the site. Check the current position with the forest department before planning anything.

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