Garhwal Trek-n-Raft

Arrive Dehradun Airport by 7am. Board waiting vehicles to be driven straight to Atali Ganga for breakfast. Thereafter, drive onward to Pipalkoti (7hrs). The drive takes one into the rugged countryside of the Garhwal along the Alaknanda River. Drive past a few holy confluences, and break for the night at a basic transit hotel in Pipalkoti.

Post breakfast drive 48kms to Auli, one gets to see a distinct profile of Nanda Devi at the head of the sanctuary. The walk takes you through old forests of oak and rhododendron to reach the picturesque meadows of Gorson. We camp at Gorson, and go for afternoon walk to explore the vast meadows.

Have a relaxed start. Post breakfast carry on towards Tali. The trail climbs diagonally up on the Gorson Bugyal and then traverses down to the forest. We camp a little ahead of a small water body at Tali.

Today the trail ascends the ridge above Tali. Just below the high point on the ridge, the trail leads through a large meadow affording spectacular views. North of Joshimath is the Chaukhamba range, Nilkanth (6596m) and Narayan Parbat (5965m), while Mana peak (7272m), Kamet (7756m) and Abi Gamin (7355m) extend to the Tibetan border. In the middle foreground, the main Himalayan chain in the vicinity of the Bhyundar valley and Hem Kund includes Nilgiri Parbat (6474m), Rataban (6166m), Ghori Parbat (6708m) and Hathi Parbat (6727m). Dunagairi (7066m) dominates the peaks to the north of the Nanda Devi Sanctuary. Catch some patchy phone signal here and then descent an hour to the base camp at Khulara.

Have an easy start. After breakfast get ready in your climbing gear and start plodding up towards the high camp. Most of the walk goes on a moderate gradient on the snow covered North face with great views of the high mountains. A short traverse will bring us to the advanced base camp.

Wake up early to be up on the summit to see the sunrise on a wide Himalayan panorama. The walk up to the summit at 4575m would take a couple of hours and we descend to be in time for hot lunch at base camp. Evening party!

The last day of the trip is a descent all the way down to Tapovan. It’s about a 3-hour drive from here to the comforts of the hotel in Pipalkoti.

An early start today, we drive an hour to Chamoli and begin our river trip after a comprehensive safety check. We raft 25 kms with nearly 40 rapids today, including a possible portage at Hillary Fall. This is the spot where Edmund Hillary’s famous “Ocean to Sky” expedition ended, being unable to travel up this rapid. Lots of paddling, lots of scouts, this is the quintessential river day.

Today we raft from Nandprayag to Gauchar, rafting down a series of nearly 20 Class 3+/4 rapids over a 4 hour day. We camp near Gauchar, 7 kms upstream of the confluence of the Alaknanda with the Pindar at Karnaprayag.

Today we raft till below Rudraprayag in a 5 hour day covering 30 kms of Class 3+/4 rapids, including a portage at “Kakar Fall”. Drive back down the valley to arrive at Camp Aquaterra for dinner. You can alternatively stay at Atali Ganga. Please ask for options.

Relaxed morning at Camp. 24 KM rafting trip to NIM Beach. Post lunch transfer to Dehradun Airport to board the flight home. Trip ends.