by Fred Triep

General description of the Area

The Garhwal (west) and Kumaon (east) forms the mountainous state Uttaranchal. The state Uttaranchal contains a large part of the Indian Himalaya. The state Uttaranchal is bordered to the north by Tibet and to the east by Nepal. On the west side it is bordered by the state Himachal Pradesh and on the south side by the state Uttar Pradesh. Before 2000 it was the mountainous part of the state Uttar Pradesh. Since November 2000 this part of Uttar Pradesh has become a separate state, Uttaranchal.
In the Uttaranchal part of the Himalaya there are a lot of large mountains above 6000 m, e.g:
Gauri Parvat (6590 m), Gangotri (6614 m), Panch Chhuli( 6910 m), Nanda Devi (7816 m), Nanda Kot (6861 m), Kamet (7756 m), Badrinath (7140 m), Trishul (7120 m), Chaukhamba (7138 m) and Dunagiri (7066 m).
The mountainous area of Garhwal is the origin of the Gangga and a lot of its tributaries. One could make some high mountain treks in this region, e.g. the Gangotri trek to the source of the Bhagirathi (also called the source of the Gangga), but then you have to be here in the summer season (half May till the end of september).

General description of the trek

We made this trekking wit a taxi (with taxi driver) and a guide for five days. The trek was arranged by Silvia Baratta (Swami Rama Sadakha Grama), in cooperation with us. At first we would like to make a trip in the high Himalaya, e.g. the Gangotri trek. But in April in all the high mountains roads are closed till the beginning or medium May. So we decided to make a trip in the middle Himalaya (between 2000 and 4000 meter).

Detailed description

I have made this trip with Margriet. In this report I give some information from my Garmin GPS. The information with * is a minimum distance. Because sometimes contact failure of the GPS apparatus in the dense woods, the information is not complete. So the walking distances could be a little more.
Because of the broken down of my camera, the pictures on this webpage have been made by the camera of Margriet: sometimes the picture has been made by me, sometimes by Margriet.

Saturday 8 April

At 7.00 o’clock we were picked up by the taxi at the reception of the Swama Rama Sadhaka Grama. At  the end of the afternoon we arrived in Okthinath. On the way to Oktinath we made two little stops on viewpoints. The first viewpoint was before Deoprayag, where we had an overview of the confluence of the rivers Bhagirathi and Alaknanda. From that point on the river continues as Gangga. This is also a holy place with ghats (where one can take rituel dip). The second viewpoint was at the confluence of the river Mandakini  in the river Alaknanda. 

Large photo left is 143 Kb and right 128 Kb Left: The confluence of the Bhagirathi (left) and the Alaknanda (right) to Gangga Right: Tthe confluence of the river Mandakini (back) in the river Alaknanda (in front) Photo's: Margriet van Kampen

From there we drove through the Mandakini valley to Oktinath.  

The large photo's are respectively 66 Kb, 143 Kb, 146 Kb and 173 Kb Left: View to the north from the guest house in Oktinath through the valley Right: Young girls of Oktinath, who collect grass for the animals at home Photo's: Margriet van Kampen

We slept in the Tourist Rest House Uktinath in Uktinath (Altitude:1300 meter )

Sunday 9 April

We went by taxi to the marketplace of the village at 1400 meter. There we started our hike.

Large photo left is 91 Kb Left: The marketplace of Oktinath Photo: Margriet van Kampen

From the market a mountain path, first rather steep, later on more flat, leads us to Lake Deoria Tal. On the way up, we meet several people and animals. We had also nice views on the valley behind us.

	The large photo's are respectively 117 Kb, 165 Kb, 153 Kb and 112 Kb Left top: Climbing the path, we had a good view on the village of Oktinath Left bottom: On the path up, we meet donkey's and donkey drivers Right top: Should this be the family of Fred Triep? No, this a school class on the school beside the path Right bottom: Denzil and Fred climb the steep path up, on the background one can see the village Guptakashi on the other side of the valley Photo's: Margriet van Kampen

Around 12.45 o'clock we arrived at the lake. On the shore of the lake was a Tea Stall and a few tents, which can be rented.

The large photo's are respectively 70 Kb, 135 Kb and 94 Kb Left: View on Lake Deiria Tal from the tea stall (Photo: Fred Triep) Right: The lake and the tea stall from the path to Oktinath (Photo: Margriet van Kampen) Totally right: The lake and the tea stall from the path to Sauri (Photo: Fred Triep)

Information about the trip (from my watch and my Garmin GPS), traject 1 on the map

The tea stall was already two weeks in function, in general the tea stall is in function from the beginning of April till the end of October (precise times depends on the weather of snow conditions). Denzil told us, that there was a lot of snow around the lake two weeks ago. Now the surroundings were totally green.

We slept in one of the tents and we used dinner and tea at the the tea stall.

Monday 10 April  

In the morning we went along a very good path from the lake to Sauri. We went on a very easily accessible and curved path, paved with large stones.

	The large photo's are respectively 151 Kb, 127 Kb, 139 Kb and 138 Kb Left top: We went on a curved path with large stones down to the village Sauri Left bottom: On the curved path down to Sauri we meet donkey's and donkey drivers. Right top and right bottom: On the curved path down to Sauri we also meet women carrying faggot or hay Photo's: Margriet van Kampen

Information about the trip (from my watch and my Garmin GPS), traject 2 on the map

The taxi was waiting at the road. We were brought tot Chopta (2900 m), where we first took a breakfast in our hotel there. 

Large photo left is 132 Kb and right 145 Kb Left: View from our room at Hotel Raj Mahal on the restaurant of the hotel and the main street of Chopta Right: Tables on the main street op Chopta makes the outside terrace Photo's: Fred Triep

First we hiked to the Tungnath temple through the Rhododendron wood on a well accessible path of stones  (from 2900 till 3000 m). Then we hiked up through the open field. 

Large photo left is 151 Kb and right 181 Kb Left: Entrance gate in the main street of Chopta to the path to the temple Tungnath Right: Hiking through the Rhododendron wood between 2900 and 3000 m Photo's: Fred Triep

At 3000 meter there are some good flat places to put a tent, but we preferred a stay in the guesthouse. 

The large photo's are respectively 110 Kb, 119 Kb and 154 Kb Left: Denzil and Fred going to the temple of Tungnath, with on the background some good places for camping  (Photo: Margriet van Kampen) Right: View on the top of the mountain   Totally right: View on the curves of the path down  (Photo's: Fred Triep)

After arriving at the temple, we had tea in one of the houses below. The temple was closed, but opens at half May. It is the highest Shiva temple in India.

The large photo's are respectively 72 Kb, 82 Kb and 100 Kb Totally left, left and right: The temple of Tungnath, still closed in April   Photo's: Fred Triep

After the tea we took a path up till 3500 meter, where the hiking was troubled by snowfields.

The large photo's are respectively 121 Kb, 102 Kb and 106 Kb Left and right: Impressions of the little village around the temple of Tungnath Totally right: View on the little village around the temple of Tungnath Photo's: Margriet van Kampen

After that we went down and reached the hotel just before the thunder was starting.

Information about the trip (from my watch and my Garmin GPS), traject 3 on the map

This evening we slept in Hotel Raj Kamal in Chopta (2900 m)

Tuesday 11 April

In the morning, before breakfast we walked a few hundred meters outside Choptal where Denzil showed us the view on the snow- capped mountains of the Himalaya. We saw to the Northeast the Chaukamba (7138 m), to the North Satopanth (7075 m), Sumeru Parbath (6350 m) and Kedarnath Peak (6948 m), from right to left as a rim of snow (in reality they lay on different distances of the viewer).  

Large photo to the right is 149 Kb Right: Panorama picture of the snow- capped mountains of the Himalaya from a viewpoint below Chopta. Photo: Fred Triep

After breakfast we make a litlle walk along the road to the pass behind Chopta and after the pass we walked further till a viewpoint for looking in the next valley. After that we hiked back to Chopta, where we took lunch in the hotel.

After lunch we put our luggage in the car and while the taxi driver drove the car through all the bends in the road down, we make a shunt along a path down (traject 4 on the map). We reached an old house before the driver’s arrival. From there  we went further by car. We drove through Uktinath to Guptakashi (1319 m). The car stopped in the main street. 

Large photo to the right is 124 Kb Right: The main street of Guptakashi, viewed from the stairs to the Vishwanath temple Photo: Fred Triep

From there we walked up to the very nice Vishwanath temple with the water bassin before (with water from two underground tributaries of the Gangga and the Yamuna).

Large photo left is 126 Kb and right 121 Kb Left: The Vishwanath temple in Guptakashi with the bassin in front of it Right: The bassin in front of the Vishwanath temple in Guptakashi, to the left water of a Yamuna tributary (drunk by Benzil) and to the right water of a Gangga tributary (drunk by Margriet) Photo's: Fred Triep

After this visit we went to our accommodation (a bungalow) at Syal Saur in de Mandakini Valley.

Wednesday 12 April

We started at 8.30 o’clock. We went back to Rishikesh and arrived at the Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama at 15.00 o’clock. On the way we took a lunch at the rafting camp outside Rishikesh.

Large photo left is 85 Kb and right 92 Kb Left: The announcement of the ashram of SRSG on the Virbhadra Road in Rishikesh Right: The campus of the Swami Rama Sadakha Grama, where we stayed before and after the trekking Photo: Fred Triep

Guide and taxi driver

We can recommend Denzil as a guide and Mangial as a driver for such a trip. They are friendly and helpful. Denzil discuss the different options and makes everything as pleasant as possible for his guests.

Guide: Denzil, (Garhwal Adventures in Rishikesh)
phone: 0091- 9411381891
email : dreamcatcher747@gmail.com or hot_denzil@indiatimes.com

Taxi Driver: Mangial Singh (Himganga Tour and Travels in Laxman Jhula Rishikesh) phone: 0091-9837608258 or 0091- 9412115612
email: hemant_43@rediffmail.com

Literature

K.P. Sharma
Garhwal and Kumaon
Cicerone Press, Series: Himalayan Walking and Trekking, 1998
ISBN: 1-85284-264-4
http://www.ciceroneguides.com/acatalog/index.htm

Garry Weare
Trekking in the Indian Himalaya
Lonely Planet, 4 th edition, September 2002
ISBN: 1740590856
http://shop.lonelyplanet.com/product_detail.cfm?productID=2118&

Hugh Swift
Trekking in Pakistan and India
ISBN 0-340-51556-2
Out of print, but otherwise try
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0340515562/002-3969539-2044809?n=283155

Maps

India Himalaya Map 7: Garhwal (Uttaranchal)
Folded Map, Scale 1:200 000
Leomann Maps, 2005
ISBN: 0906227917
http://www.mapsworldwide.com/map_10538.htm
or
http://www.manymaps.com/shop/contents/nl/p3299.html

Badari- Kedar
Trekking Map Series, Scale 1:250.000
Survey of India

Links on hiking in the Indian Himalaya

-  We are still working on this part

This page has been made new on Monday 11 June 2007.

For additions or reactions, you can e-mail me:

email : Fred Triep