A solo Backpacker's guide to Uttarakhand

21st April, I had just arrived in Mumbai after a trip to my hometown when I realized coming week is also having 2 holidays which means if I can put two more days a short trip can be planned. That’s when I started looking for options for a quick backpacking trip. It’s being Apr-May, summer at peak, the options are limited and obvious: Head North. Two destinations were in my mind 1) Chitkul: Go there, book Zostel for 2-3 days, roam around, read, relax. 2) A trip to Chopta, hike Chandraashila & Deoriatal. After few thoughts I picked option-2.

These days Chopta - Chandrashilla becoming more of more famous among travelers and there are so many blogs & wikis describing “How beautiful this circuit is” which can feed you with enough motivation to go there & explore. On this blog I am planning to focus more on the next things that you need: “A Plan”. This travel story of mine was also bit ‘HATKE’ around those aspects: #Last_Minute_Planning, #Solo_backpaacking #No_detailed _intenary #Hitchhiking #short_trip. So by the time you finish reading this blog I hope you will be completely motivated & ready with a rough plan in mind. LET’s GO

It was completely last minute planning so first challenge was to do the tickets for the larger part of travel i.e. Mumbai-Delhi-Mumbai. I was not even thinking of the travel from Delhi-Uttarakhand, after doing those roads so many time I knew how to manage that part.

Chapter-1 : LUCK

After 5 days, from the date the idea of a short trip struck me, I was supposed to be in Delhi ;). I started looking for all possible options, first one definitely being flight. 9K one-way, I was like OK, Thank you, what’s next. I wanted to save time but not with 18k for a return trip. Next Rajdhani, with number on waiting list, no hope. So the only option was to try my luck with Tatkal.

On a lighter note, a Tatkal tkt of Rajdhani always reminds me: ‘Why I should have planned the trip beforehand’. I mean 3.5K for a one way trip. At times, with a good offer, you might get a return flight to Delhi around that price range.

Chaloo, koi na….Aalsi logo ko self-realization ka moment ke liye Railways ka ek attempt I guess . Jokes apart That was definitely an option might be last & only at that point. That’s when Luck kicks in, a holiday special SF was introduced on this route, with the same travel time as Rajdhani. I grab two tkts for forward & return journey. Last minute planning always required some bit of LUCK.

Chapter-2 : UTC, Backpacker’s most trusted Savari

If you are backpacking to Uttarakhand, the options you have: 1) Take a train from NDLS to Dehradun/ Haridwar 2) Head to ISBT (Kashmiri Gate). Most of the people preferred option-2 either because you don’t find a train matching your schedule or you are doing a last-minute planning, no tkts. Here are few short notes for the UTC journey. By the way UTC stands for Uttarakhand transport.

Head to Kashmiri gate ISBT (Though there are few buses from Anand Vihar ISBT to but Kashmiri gate has more options)
Bay No 15 till 18 is where the UTC busses shelter. Note: You can also opt for Uttar Pradesh state transport busses which are there for Dehradun/Haridwar from adjacent bay. Both Volvo, AC, Non-AC busses start from these bays. Costing 200-700 based the luxury option you choose.
Approx. travel time 6 Hrs out of which more than 1hr would be just tackling Delhi traffic.
There are alternate buses to Dehradun & Haridwar/Rishikesh and at times some buses get cancelled, like it happened with me. In that case, if you are running with a tight schedule you can take any of these bus till Roorkee. From there next bus to destination.

Note: One important rule of backpacking & hitch-hiking: keep options flexi and always try to move closer towards your destination by whatever mode of transport you get. As you move closer the options get broader. For example with reference to Roorkee: Roorkee being a major hub you will find not only busses coming from Delhi but other parts of UP and heading towards Haridwar/Rishikesh/Dehradun.

Suggestion : Try to take an AC BUS where windows would be closed. The road condition of Meerut, Muzaffarnagar are always in a bad shape with occasional sand storms, dust all around. So go for an AC bus unless you are willing to take a dust bath like it happened with me :P.

There are also private bus options just outside ISBT but try to avoid unless you don’t have other options. Reason being 1) Price not fixed so if you are not good at bargain you may end up paying more 2) There is no fix time, they will slog till the bus is full.

Chapter-3 : Back to the Land of Ganges- DEV-BHOOMI

I reached Haridwar around 5pm and took a cheap hotel close to bus-stand. Got freshen up, left my heavy rucksack, pack camera in a smaller day-pack and headed straight to Harki-Pauri. I was just in time for Ganga Aarti.

Ganga Aarti don’t have a fixed time all around the year. It’s depended on Sunset timings so plan accordingly.
Staying Haridwar/Rishikesh: No need of pre-book unless you are travelling with family. There are hundreds of option: Maths, cheap hotels, luxury hotels. Price ranging as cheap as Rs150(maths) till 5k-8k(Luxury hotels). While you walk/ take a rickshaw from bus/Railway station to Harki-pauri you can find all these stay options in line.
Govt Bus stand, GMOU bus stand, Railway stands are adjacent to each other so it really doesn’t matter which transport option you are choosing.

Chapter-4 : Destination CHOPTA

The distance from Haridwar to Chopta is approx. 230Km which you might have to covered in multiple chunks and using multiple travel options. This also depends on which season you are travelling.

Note: This is only for those who are doing solo backpacking. If you are with a group you better hired a private vehicle directly from Haridwar/Rishikesh. And if you are doing so than don’t hesitate to give lift to that ‘bichara :P’ backpacker who might be hitchhiking and would be need of your help

Some major pitstops en -route Chopta : Why it is important to know ? Rem. I mentioned the rule of backpacking : It always important to keep moving towards your destination by whatever options you get till the next pitstop.

Haridwar <> (95km) Devprayag <> (35km) Srinagar <> (33km) Rudraprayag <> (20kms) Agastyamuni <> (10kms) Kund – (6kms) Ukhimath <> (30kms) Chopta.

Note: Start as early as possible. This is really important, reason being 1) In those mountains you will find more travel options in early morning. As day progresses the options get limited and you will struggle to find one as evening approaches. 2) The roads are completely unpredictable with hundreds of landslide prone zones where landslides are more frequent. This may completely ruin your plan. You can’t avoid this but starting early can buy you some extra time to deal with such situations.

I, myself face 2 landslide blocks with total delay of approx. 2Hrs and this was not on a day with bad weather but with clear sunshine. So be mentally prepared and plan accordingly.

I took a 3:15am GMOU bus heading to Joshimath which will drop me at Rudraprayag. There was a 5:15am bus which was going to Gaurikund which could have dropped me at Kund 30km from Rudraprayag and more closer to Chopta. Kund is where the road bifurcate for Kedarnath & Ukhimath/Chopta. These bifurcations might be bit confusing I am dropping a simple drawing below to clear it out.

Why I took such an early morning bus when I have an direct option? : Rem. I mentioned to start as early as possible.

How it helped me?: I later come to know the particular landslide near Dev-Prayag which halted us for more than an hour happened again later and this time at a larger scale. Which paralyzed traffic on that route for more than 3-4 hours. If I would have taken 5:15, I would have definitely in a mess. Luck ? May be !!

GMOU(pronounced “Gemu”): Gharhwal Motors Owners Corporation is like the Uttrakhand Roadways which is spread all over the Gharhwal Region. They have daily services from Haridwar and Rishikesh to all over Gharwal especially towards Joshimath, Badrinath, Gaurikund, Uttarkashi.

Check for schedules: http://www.tgmoc.com/ (There might be an update to this schedule better call and check for updated time table). There Office is just outside the Govt Bus stand.

I reached Rudraprayag around 11am. If I haven’t been halted by landslide I would have reached by 9:30-10. I had breakfast here and headed for the next segment of the road trip i.e. Rudraprayag – Ukhimath stretch.

Note: I was doing this trip in the last week of April so the Char-dham yatra was yet to commence. Once the yatra starts the option of local transports are more which might look like an advantage but it has its own disadvantage too: 1) With increase tourist inflow the traffic conditions worsen 2) Even some of the offbeat locations get crowded and lose its peace and tranquillity for which you might be travelling there 3) More traffic, more road vibrations leading to more landslides.

Immediately I got a shared sumo going towards Guptkashi which can drop me at Kund where the bifurcation happens.

Note: Agastyamuni which is 20 odd kilometres from Rudraprayag and 10km before kund is also a moderately large township, having some good connectivity from Rudraprayg and to Ukhimath. So you can further split your journey accordingly.

So the journey to Kund started. The road condition is in a bad shape here because of restoration work going on after the Kedarnath tragedy. Most of the roads in these areas were washed away. The road continued parallel to Mandakini river. At-times, through the valley of the gushing river itself, which is scary. There is a patch after Agastyamuni where this temporary road drops directly into the valley and what separates you and the furious river is few heaps of boulder. Exciting ?? Phaat gayi thi yaar.

While I was about to reach kund another Sumo was behind us which was coming from some other location. Our driver identified it to be an Ukhimath transport and patch me with them.

That’s why “keep talking” is very important if you are doing solo-backpacking. Be it locals, be it driver or co-passenger you can be bestowed with those information which otherwise is not listed on any books or social media.

With a further 30km journey to be covered for Chopta, I finally reach Ukhimath around 12:30-1.From here the straight road goes to Chamoli via Chopta and further half km uphill road to Ukhimath market place. I got down there. From here to Chopta transport is bit of a challenge. There are limited public transport options which are all in early morning. So I had two option either book a private vehicle which will cost 1000 bucks for 30km journey or get down to hitchhike and give luck a chance. I thought of giving option-2 a try if no luck, take option-1. After waiting for 10-15 mins, to my luck, a private vehicle going that direction stopped. I inquired and they were a family of five, heading towards Chamoli. Though it was an Innova but the back side was completely packed with stuffs so no place to adjust. Par wo kehte hai na ‘Dil mein jagah hona chahiye’ and who else can be better at that than the Pahadi s- people from the mountains, Himalayan lands. So they adjust few stuffs here and there and make some space for me & my 50ltr rucksack and dropped me at CHOPTA. I get down, thanked them and started looking for shelter.

I got a cheap road side motel with the extended view of Himalayan ranges. Offload my heavy rucksack, had some yummy parathas and lights out. No no wait…it was supposed to be ‘lights out’ after a hectic travel schedule but it was not. The real adventure was still pending for that day.

I wanted do a compact blog to help fellow solo-backpackers with all required info but it seems no more compact the actual treks yet to be covered. So I will stop here with this blog with the required info on How to reach ? Where to stay ?

I will compose another write up for the Chandrashila & deoriatal hike. It would be unfair to put these two places in a single blog along with travel itinerary.

All you need to know before going there :

Travel :

Check GMOU Bus Timings : http://www.tgmoc.com/
Route info : Haridwar <> (95km) Devprayag <> (35km) Srinagar <> (33km) Rudraprayag <> (20kms) Agastyamuni <> (10kms) Kund – (6kms) Ukhimath <> (30kms) Chopta.
Bus from Haridwar to Rudraprayag will cost you approx. RS: 300/-
Sumo From Rudraprayag till kund RS: 60/-, Kund to Ukhimath RS: 30/-
Ukhimath to Chopta private cab RS: 1000/- if lucky to get public transport not more than RS: 50/- else hitch-hike.
There are ATMs till Ukhimath, but better to herd some cash.
Midway between Ukhimath & Chopta there is a left diversion going uphill(3Km) which will take you to Sari village which is the base for Deoriatal trek.
Return Journey: There is daily direct bus from Ukhimath to Haridwar at 5:30am. If you miss that you can take any transport till Kund and you will find buses to Haridwar. There is even a bus from Gaurikund to Delhi but it’s not regular as per locals.

Stay & local contacts:

Haridwar: lots of options, price ranging as cheap as Rs150(maths) till 5k-8k(Luxury hotels). If you are preferring Rishikesh, along with these you can add Hostels (Zostel, backpackers panda, Moustache) to the list.
Chopta : It’s a small place still have quite a few options. Mostly roadside Dhabas. You will get one for 200-300 bucks. Local contact: Umid (9411737835), can help with stay and trek guide if need one | Sujan Singh: (9927590165)

In Winter most of the stay options in chopta are closed you have to stay at Duggalbitta which is few miles down. If you are travelling in summer you can also go further up on the trail to tunganath and stay at one of those dhabas near the Bugyal or even at Tunganath. There are stay options.
Deoriatal: Camping near the lake is closed. There are dhabas close by the lake offering stay and food. Cost: 200/- to 1000/-.. Or you can stay at Sari Gaon. Local contacts: Heera Singh Negi (9410241543), Sunil Negi (9456516606)

This was definitely not the itinerary that I thought of but then that’s the whole fun of backpacking trip. Itinerary are just rough work to guide you and with a disclaimer: “subject to change”.

Few Important Points:

Don’t spoil those beautiful landscapes by littering.
Along with all required gears additionally carry a pair of crampons if you can. You may need them on the slope of Chandrashila summit. Specially if you are doing an early morning summit.
My Day-2 & Day-3 (above) has some back to back climbing. It's endurance, so it is important to assess and listen to your body and plan accordingly. Rem. you are already at 8000ft above MSL and Chandrashila is at approx. 13000 ft.