Trekking in India

[Oli]

I've not yet visited India or been trekking in the Himalayas outside Nepal. And with this TRC nonsense I am wondering if I might try that next year. So after a quick flick through a Lonely Planet guide I am starting to make some contingency plans.

May. Fly to Delhi, travel up to the Uttaranchal district, by train to Rishikesh then bus to Joshimath. Spend a couple of days hiking up to the Bhyundar Valley (Valley of the Flowers. Trekking on the "Curzon Trail" over the Kuari Pass. If all goes well this can be combined with a trek up to to Rup Kund and finish at Mundoli, classic trek routes in the area around Nanda Devi. There is limited scope for 'teahouse' trekking here so camping will be required, but it is likely to be very good trekking.

Has anyone here done this trek and have a few hints and tips? I'd be particularly interested to hear of the state of the trekking industry in Joshimath - would it be as easy to find a guide (& donkey?) as it in Pokhara?

[Sujoy]

Hi Oli

I have trekked to Rupkund. The infrastructure is poor you need a tent, have to carry your own food and be self sufficient. There are a number of trekking companies in Joshimath some good and some bad who can all provide porters/guides etc.

I will be going in Oct to the Garhwal primarily due to the issues in Nepal and will do two small treks:

from Gangotri to Tapoban and nandanvan on the glacier ( 5 days) and then to the outer sanctuary of Nanda devi from Joshimath ( 5 days). They dont allow you into the inner sanctuary.

I can give you a feedback after I am back end Oct.

[perfil]

Hi Oli!

We've trekked from Joshimath to Wan in October 2004. Unfortunatelly the weather was pretty bad for that time of year, and we couldn't go to Rupkund - there was too much snow in Bedni and higher in the mountains. But the trek was very nice, although a bit strenuous. The distances posted in LP TRekking in Indian Himalaya were very optimistic. We walked fast 8-10 hours every day with very short stops, cooking only breakfast and dinner.

The trail is steep at times, so trekking poles are very helpful, especially if you carry your rucksack. Waterproves and good tent are absolute musts (we would have soaked without them).

We hired a guide in Joshimath, but we had to split the group after Kuari pass, when two guys fell sick and he took them down. It was good to have him, because he saved us time on orientation and carried our fuel (5 liters of very bad kerosene). We saw some groups with donkeys and cooks on the way. In some stops we had a pleasure of campfire from dry wood collected around the camp. I would advise you to buy gasoline in Delhi and take it with you. In the mountains you can only get diesel or kerosene of very poor quality.

You can get some simple food in some villages like chapatti and dal bhat, but better to have sufficient supplies with you just in case. Water was abundant all they way. Lodging is not always available even in villages, so sometimes we slept in barns or school classrooms. There are nice GMVN lodges in Kunol and Wan (when we were there the Kunol one was closed).

Other highlights of that trip were beautiful landscapes, marijuana fields and hashish sold openely in village shops at 20 rupees for 5 grams, hords of monkeys, good time in Rishikesh on the way back. You can take a fast train from Delhi to Haridwar and take a bus or hire a jeep from there.

That's all I can remember now after all that hashish... But if you have any specific questions, I'll try to help. We might be going to Ladakh next September. You are welcome to join if you have time.

Good luck!

perfil.

[Oli]

Thanks guy I appreciate both your replies.

I'm something of a Shipton & Tilman fan so I'd love to see Nanda Devi, even if we can't visit it's sanctuary. I appreciate that this would be quite different to teahouse trekking in Nepal, but I'm happy to hire a guide & kulis to help find me lodgings and have a tent & food for when we need to camp.

I suppose that the tricky bit will be getting hooked up with an agency who can provide the right guide to suit my trek requirements, then agree a fair price and we just have to hope for clear weather. :)

Sujoy, whilst you are in Joshimath.... can you please keep an eye open for any trekking company that seems to be 'doing the right things', and if you can get their contact details and pass them on to me that would be most useful, thanks in anticipation. I hope that you have a wonderful trek, I look forward to hearing about it.

Perfil, I'd love to join you in Ladakh but I do need another holiday in much less than a year from now, but thanks for the offer anyway. Useful tips on the kerosene etc, I think I want a guide to sort all that out for me, and if he wants to cook on bad gas then thats his problem, as long as I don't have to do the cooking I don't care. I'll be too busy with the weeds & monkehs :cool:

[Sujoy]

I am in touch with a guy who runs a trekking outfit in Joshimath.. if I find he is reliable then I will refer him to you. Guess there will be others in Joshimath also.
Its quite a bit of effort to plan for food, logistics, tents , stove , kerosene etc after being used to picking up a back pack and walking the Nepal trails with no hassles whatsoever!

[Lars]

I would advise you to buy gasoline in Delhi and take it with you. In the mountains you can only get diesel or kerosene of very poor quality.
You don't really mean gasoline, do you?

:confused: