Category: Moderate Adventure.
The Kuari pass trek is amongst the best in the Garhwal Mountains. The trail takes you through lush green fields, remote villages and virgin forests. The close range view of Mt. Nanda Devi along with numerous other peaks is the reward that awaits the trekker atop the Kuari pass! Add to this the fact that this combo trip also offers a river expedition down the River Ganga as well. It too offers you some days of trekking first which will take us to our finish point at joshimath. Most treks would end here with a drive from Joshimath to Rishikesh, but you instead will have the luck to drive to Devrayag and then raft downstream Devprayag to Rishikesh. There is just so much a trekker and a rafter can ask from a trip…and you get it all in one!
Note:
- 50% advance payment confirms your booking.
- We will transport all your belongings for you so that you only have to carry your day pack with camera, water bottle and jacket.
- We serve three meals a day including snacks and drinks. We provide a variety of tasty healthy food including Indian, Chinese and Western meals with lots of vegetables and fruit.
What is included in the tour
- Road transportation from Rishikesh to Rishikesh by car.
- Accommodation in tents on twin share basis during trekking.
- All meals (Day 1 Lunch to Day 10 Lunch)
- All camping gear including tents and sleeping mattress. Kitchen, Dining and toilet tent
- Permits and Entrance fees.
- Good English speaking guide, cooks and porters, mules.
- Rafting Equipment and Rafting guides including safety kayaker.
What is NOT included in the tour
- Accommodation in Rishikesh.
- Personal Insurance.
- All alcoholic beverages and personal expenses.
- Good down sleeping bags can be provided at an additional cost of Rs.100 per day.
- Auli- a winter Ski Meadow
- View of Nanda Devi- 7850m
- Ghuni, Jhinji and Pana Villages
- 3 Days rafting expedition with camping on river side beaches
- Devprayag- Confluence of Alkhnanda and Bhagirathi River
- highest point 4800m
Day 01 :
DRIVE FROM RISHIKESH TO GHAT: 9-10 hours:
Drive to Nandaprayag and to Ghat and then to Chefna (the starting point of the trek). We camp for the night at Chefna.
Day 02 :
TREK FROM CHEFNA TO GHUNI: 3-4 hours:
Finish with breakfast and then devour on this nice walk next to the river followed by an ascent through coniferous and mixed forests. The walk by a wooded ridge takes us to a village called Ramni (2550m). It is a typical Garhwal village with friendly people and attractive houses with heavy slate roofs and paved alleys surrounded by fertile fields. It is very commendable to see that this entire village is mainly run on solar power. Night stay and meals at camp at Ghuni.
Day 03 :
TREK FROM GHUNI TO SEMKHERK MEADOW (2,600 mtrs) 5-6 hrs:
This is a long but rewarding day. From the campsite you climb steeply for 1,000ft/300m on a zigzagging track to emerge on an open, grassy, grazing meadows. Snow peaks begin to emerge above the forest to the north. The path continues up through forests of rhododendron, pines and oaks with more pastures for summer grazing with shepherds huts. Flocks of sheep and goats are there to keep you company as you keep moving along the track. The highest point, reached in 2¼ hours from the camp, at 3,064m/10,053ft, is the Ramni Pass, also called Binayak Top. From here it is possible to make out the Kauri Pass, which we will cross on Day 8. From now on there may be a chance to see the multi-coloured monal pheasant but they are very shy, being hunted by the locals for pot. The trek is now gentle, mainly through open pastures into forests of horse chestnuts and walnut trees complete with fairy tale waterfalls.
Lastly, a zigzag downward trail will bring you down to the overnight camp at Semkherk.
Day 04 :
TREK FROM SEMKHERK TO PANA (2700m approx.) 6 hours:
Day starts with a descent to the colourful village of Jhinjhi. The trail carries on down past small farms, through some woods to the spectacular suspension bridge at 1,840m/6,037ft across the Birehi Gorge, which currently is inhabited by a large number of monkeys! From here however it’s a very steep climb up to 7,382ft/2,250m, where the track eases only after arduous ascent of 1 ½ hour.
After this, you can relax a bit as the path becomes almost flat and you pass under the cool shade of the rhododendron forests with long tailed magpies flitting about. There are many streams and waterfalls as the route contours round many deep ravines. If you look down to the deep gorge below you can see the landslide and the Gauna Lake, which burst and flood the whole of the Ganga Valley down to Rishikesh in 1898. After going round the head of a horseshoe valley you reach two lovely rivers cascading down under the path. From here there is a short climb to a spot called Kaliaghat, which is a good campsite near the village of Pana. It is here where we camp overnight.
Day 05 :
TREK FROM PANA TO DHAKWANI VIA SARTOLI (11,000ft/3353m approx.) 5-6 hours:
This is another long but spectacular day. The route traverses above the village and then starts a steep climb up into a rhododendron forest. It is a broad, well made track and after a number of small summits a Col is reached at 9,842ft/3,000m. The path now descends gently, traversing along the valley to open meadows with views across to the Kuari Pass. We continue downhill through the valley along several streams, before it plunges down a very steep and loose section, much of which has been washed away by the monsoons. At the bottom, you will see that the river has cut through a deep rocky, dramatic gorge to your right showing just how naturally scalped the entire region is. From the river, it is a very steep climb of about 3,000 feet (900 m) with a small break about half the way up to cross a large stream. A final climb brings you above the tree-line to the campsite on the large pastures where sheep and goats graze in summer, with the Kauri Pass towering above. Camp overnight.
Day 06 :
TREK AROSS KUARI PASS (12,000ft/3,658m) TO TALI - 5-6 hours:
it is a short day today meaning that you have enough time to take breaks on the pass to simply stare in awe at your surroundings. The thrill of standing at such a height, with the cold wind hitting you across the face is a feeling that cannot be surpassed. We aim to cross this pass today so that you will have the benefit of the clear early morning the following day. For this we have to walk a bit more to gain more height, with the highest point of the trail being at a cool 4000 m high and is just half an hour from the Tali Pass ahead. Once, we have had our fill of the mountain view (which is highly unlikely) we walk down to our camp which has been set up for you across a small stream.
Day 07 :
TREK FROM TALI TO AULI (8,250ft/2,500m/) AND DRIVE TO JOSHIMATH:
Most of summer treks finish in Auli and early summer/early winter treks finish in Tapovan because of the icy conditions on the trail to Auli. It is a 3-4-hr walk to either place. It is a gradual descent to Auli down through woods and pastures and we meet our car waiting for us at Auli to drive us to Joshimat. Auli, although having none of the elegance of its sister hill resorts, does have a charm and beauty of its own. It is the site where the famous Adiguru Shankaracharya attained enlightenment before beginning his campaign for the unification of India and the revitalization of Hinduism. There is a temple here called the Na Singh where the statue of Na Singh involves a legend that when the arm of the idol finally breaks, the road to Badrinath will be blocked. Interestingly, the statue’s arm has been getting smaller every year. Auli is also the centre of the Indian ski scene, and the cable car up to the resort of Auli starts in the middle of Joshimath.
We stay overnight at a hotel in Joshimath to wash off the fatigue and get a comfortable sleep.
Day 08 :
DRIVE JOSHIMATH TO DEVPRAYAG AND RAFT DOWN TO AMARASU:
A normal trekking expedition would get over at this point and would result in you driving back to Rishikesh from Joshimath but in this combo trip we instead drive till Devprayag where we will meet our rafting team which will prepare both us and our gear as we start our way downstream. The rapids are few and of low grade giving you an opportunity to simply swim, body surf or sing while oaring your raft. In a span of 1 ½ hour we reach Amarasyu where we camp at the beach for the night.
Day 09 :
RAFT DOWN TO KODIYALA (4-5 hrs):
Again an easy day for rafting where we negotiate a few small rapids on our 30 km way to our beach camp at Kodiala.
Day 10 :
RAFT DOWN TO RISHIKESH (4-5 hrs):
Kodiala is a very popular area for rafting and you get to cross some fine grade III rapids such as “Daniel Dip”, “The Wall”, “Three Blind Mice”, “Crossfire”, and the “Body Surfing rapid”. Covering 35 Km to reach Rishikesh where after lunch we make our way across a few more exciting rapids such as “Roller Coaster” and “Golf Course” to make it an appropriate and exciting end to a grand adventure. The ends at the arrival at Rishikesh.
Driving Direction
From Delhi to Red Chilli Adventure office in Rishikesh >
Take Hamilton Rd/Zorawar Singh Marg to NH44 in Kashmere Gate 4 min (850 m)
Continue on NH44. Take Outer Ring Rd and NH9 to Sonia Vihar - Pushta Rd in Rajiv Nagar 17 min (6.8 km)
Continue on Sonia Vihar - Pushta Rd. Take Saharanpur - Delhi Rd to NH334B in Baghpat Rural Hamedabad Mill 47 min (31.6 km)
Continue on NH334B. Drive from NH334 to Tapovan, Rishikesh 4 h 56 min (214 km)
Turn right at Travel Partner. Destination (Red Chilli Adventure) will be on the left 36 s (85 m)