Grand Uttarakhand: The Complete Himalayan Kingdom

Route: Airport – Hotel, Delhi

Your trip lead meets you at arrivals and takes you to the hotel. There is no sightseeing today. The next 20 days climb from the plains to 3,500 m and back, so today is for sleep.

A short briefing follows over breakfast tomorrow: the route, the walking days, the kit list and any medical questions for the guide.

Food

Hotel dinner. Ask for a light, early meal after a long flight.

Route: Delhi – Haridwar

Haridwar is where the Ganga comes out of the Himalaya and enters the plains, and it is the gateway to every valley in Garhwal. It is also where the BizareXpedition office sits, so you meet the team in person here.

Nothing is scheduled but the evening, so the road from Delhi is taken slowly. You check in, rest, and walk down to the river at dusk to watch the Ganga Aarti from the ghats: brass lamps, a bell, and hundreds of leaf boats going down the river.

Note on Har Ki Pauri. In January 2026 the Shri Ganga Sabha put up boards at Har Ki Pauri saying non-Hindus may not enter. Civic officials said no formal government order backed them and that the old bylaws were under review. We confirm the position on the day. If access is limited for any guest, the Aarti is watched from another ghat or from Rishikesh.

Experience of the Day

–  Watch the Ganga Aarti at dusk.

Food

Recommended: Chotiwala, the town's best-known family restaurant. Must-try: kachori with aloo sabzi at breakfast, and hot puris with potato curry.

Shopping

Bara Bazaar for brass lamps, rudraksha beads and Ayurvedic oils. The guide points you to fixed-price shops.

Activities to Do

• Ganga Aarti (evening)

• Ghat walk at sunrise or sunset

Route: Haridwar – Rishikesh

Rishikesh sits where the Ganga leaves its gorge and runs clear and fast over stones. In the morning you walk the riverbank and cross the Ram Jhula footbridge with your guide. In the afternoon you rest, because the next days involve long drives and hill walks.

In the evening you watch the Ganga Aarti from the ghat, with the river green and cold below you.

The Human Story

In early 1968 the Beatles came to Rishikesh to study meditation at the ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. They wrote many of the songs of the White Album here. The ashram stood empty for years, and the forest has grown over the buildings. It is open to visitors today as a quiet walk among ruined meditation huts.

Experience of the Day

–  Walk the riverbank and cross Ram Jhula.

–  Watch the evening aarti beside the Ganga.

Food

Recommended: a riverside cafe for breakfast. Must-try: fresh jalebi and hot chai from a morning stall.

Shopping

Cotton clothes, wooden beads and Ayurvedic soaps in the lanes near Ram Jhula.

Activities to Do

• Riverbank walk

• Ram Jhula crossing

• Evening Ganga Aarti

• Ashram ruins walk (optional)

Route: Rishikesh – Dehradun – Mussoorie

The road runs from the Ganga to Dehradun and then climbs the last 26 km to Mussoorie. The town sits at about 2,000 m on the first ridge of the Garhwal Himalaya, and you arrive by early afternoon with time to walk.

In the late afternoon your guide takes you along Camel's Back Road, a flat walk lined with pines. It passes an 1828 cemetery and ends at a point that looks over the Doon valley. Dinner is at the hotel.

The Human Story

Mussoorie is not old by hill-station standards. Captain Frederick Young set it up as a resort in 1825, after he raised the first Gurkha regiment and planted the first potatoes in the valley. The railway reached Dehradun in 1900 and the town filled with visitors from the plains.

Experience of the Day

–  Drive up the ridge into the hills.

–  Camel's Back Road at dusk.

Food

Dinner at the hotel. Ask for a local Garhwali dish if the kitchen has it.

Activities to Do

• Drive to Mussoorie

• Camel's Back Road walk

• Welcome dinner

Route: Mussoorie (local sightseeing)

Mornings in March and April are clear and cool. Your guide takes you up to Landour, the quiet cantonment neighbourhood above the main town, where the roads are narrow and the pine forest comes down to the doorsteps. The writer Ruskin Bond has written about Landour for decades, and the bakeries and tea shops of the Landour bazaar are a good place to warm your hands.

From Lal Tibba, the highest point in Mussoorie at 2,275 m, you look north over the snow peaks of Garhwal on a clear day. Later the cable car takes you up Gun Hill at 2,024 m.

The afternoon is yours. Snow in Mussoorie is rare at this time of year, and this day does not depend on it.

The Human Story

Above Happy Valley the Tibetan community has lived since the first Tibetan school opened in 1960, and about 5,000 Tibetans now live in this part of Mussoorie. Your guide takes you to a Buddhist temple and a café there.

Experience of the Day

–  Landour walk in the morning light.

–  Lal Tibba for the snow peaks.

–  Gun Hill cable car.

Food

Recommended: breakfast at a Landour bakery, and hot momos in Happy Valley. Must-try: hot chocolate and fresh bread at the bakery in Landour.

Shopping

Woollen shawls and Tibetan handicrafts at Happy Valley and the Mall Road stalls. Your guide points you to shops with fixed prices.

Activities to Do

• Landour morning walk

• Lal Tibba viewpoint

• Gun Hill by cable car

• Happy Valley Tibetan temple

Optional Nearby Excursions

• Kempty Falls, a 12 m waterfall 15 km from town.

• A private candlelit dinner at the hotel, arranged in advance.

• Dhanaulti forest walk.

Route: Mussoorie – Dehradun – Rishikesh – Devprayag – Srinagar – Rudraprayag – Ukhimath – Chopta

This is the longest day of the first half of the trip and it is planned as a slow one. You drive down through Dehradun to Rishikesh and then follow the Ganga upstream. At Devprayag the Bhagirathi and the Alaknanda meet, and from that meeting the river is called the Ganga. The road passes Srinagar in Garhwal and reaches Rudraprayag, where the Alaknanda meets the Mandakini. Your guide stops for lunch at a riverside place, and the driver takes breaks wherever the road allows.

At Ukhimath the road turns off the main valley and climbs the last 30 km to Chopta. It is narrow and runs through dense forest. Chopta is at 2,608 m, in the Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary, with views of Trishul, Nanda Devi and Chaukhamba. In March snow can still lie on the meadows and the last stretch of road. From late March the rhododendron forest begins to flower. You arrive in the late afternoon to a lodge with a heater, hot water and a bonfire.

Late snow can shut the last stretch of road for a day. If it does, the plan holds your night in Ukhimath or Rudraprayag and drives up as soon as the road is cleared. Your guide checks the road every evening before you leave.

Note on the road. Distance sources for Mussoorie to Chopta range from about 215 to 285 km, and we treat 280 km and 9 hours as the working figure. Your guide and the ground team confirm the road status the evening before and the plan adjusts.

Experience of the Day

–  Stop at the confluence at Devprayag.

–  Watch the road climb through oak and rhododendron to Chopta.

–  First night by a bonfire.

Food

Lunch at a roadside restaurant in Srinagar or Rudraprayag. Dinner at the lodge is hot and simple: dal, seasonal vegetables and roti.

Activities to Do

• Devprayag confluence stop

• Drive to Chopta

• Bonfire evening

Optional Nearby Excursions

• A short forest walk near the lodge before dinner.

• Star gazing on a clear night. Chopta has little light at night.

Route: Chopta – Tungnath trail – Chopta

The trail to Tungnath starts at Chopta and climbs 3.5 km to the temple, and Chandrashila lies 1.5 km beyond it at over 4,000 m. In March and April patches of snow can lie on the upper trail, and the temple itself opens for pilgrims only around early May (2 May in 2026). A local guide joins you from the village, decides how far you go, and turns you back where the snow or the weather says so.

The point of the day is not the summit. It is the slow climb through oak and rhododendron forest, and the moment the ridge opens and the Himalaya stand in front of you. Nights at Chopta stay cold in spring, so you start after breakfast, carry hot drinks and turn back by early afternoon.

Back at the lodge you rest by the fire. Dinner is by a bonfire.

The Human Story

Tradition says the Pandavas were searching for Shiva to be forgiven after the war at Kurukshetra, and he hid from them as a bull. Where the bull's parts came up in five places, five temples were built, the Panch Kedar. Tungnath, said to be where the arms appeared, is the highest of the five.

Note on temple access. The Badri-Kedar Temple Committee resolved on 10 March 2026 to bar non-Hindus from 47 temples, and reports name Tungnath among them. In March and April the temple is closed for the winter, so the question does not arise on this walk. The trail and the Chandrashila ridge are open to everyone. If you travel when the temple is open, we confirm the rule before you go.

Experience of the Day

–  Forest walk on the Tungnath trail with a local guide.

–  Views of Trishul, Nanda Devi and Chaukhamba.

–  Bonfire dinner.

Food

Hot tea and soup on the trail, and a hot lunch back at the lodge. Must-try: a bowl of khichdi with ghee on a cold evening.

Activities to Do

• Trail walk (guide decides the distance)

• Photography at the ridge

• Bonfire dinner

Optional Nearby Excursions

• Deoria Tal, a lake at 2,350 m, if the road allows.

• A rest day at the lodge, with a book and the fire.

• Birdwatching in the sanctuary forest at first light.

Route: Chopta – Gopeshwar – Chamoli – Joshimath – Auli

The road drops from Chopta to Gopeshwar, 38 km away, and follows the Alaknanda valley to Joshimath. From Joshimath the road climbs to Auli, at between 2,500 and 3,000 m, and this is the stretch that can be closed by frost in bad weather. Your vehicle and driver are chosen for this road.

The Joshimath–Auli cable car has been shut since 5 January 2023, when land subsidence appeared near its first tower, and a Rs 480 crore replacement was still in planning in 2026 reports. There is no cable car ride to Auli now. You arrive by road.

Your hotel is on or beside the slope. In the late afternoon you walk out to the meadow's edge and watch the light go off Nanda Devi and Trishul.

Experience of the Day

–  Drive along the Alaknanda valley.

–  Sunset on Nanda Devi and Trishul from the hotel terrace.

Food

• Lunch at Gopeshwar or Joshimath. Dinner at the hotel. Must-try: hot soup and a plate of momos after the cold air.

Activities to Do

• Chopta to Auli drive

• First walk on the meadow

• Sunset views

Optional Nearby Excursions

• A short walk to a ridge above the hotel before dinner.

Route: Auli (slopes and Gorson Bugyal)

The ski season here runs from late December or January to March. If you travel in early March and the slope still has snow, a private instructor takes the two of you through the basics on the gentlest slope, with the gear on hire. This is not a ski course. It is a morning to fall over and laugh. In April the slope is bare, and the day becomes a meadow walk with a chairlift ride.

After lunch you walk into Gorson Bugyal, a meadow of about 3 km. It lies under snow in March and turns green and open in April. From there Nanda Devi and Trishul stand above the forest. The afternoon ends with a hot drink at the hotel.

Snow depends on the year. If a season is dry, the slopes are thin and we say so before you travel, and the lesson becomes a walk.

The Human Story

Auli is small. It is a slope, a meadow and a few hotels, and it lives on the Joshimath valley below it. The 2023 subsidence in Joshimath stopped the cable car, and the slope now runs by road.

Experience of the Day

–  A private ski lesson in early March, if the snow allows.

–  Walk into Gorson Bugyal.

–  Chairlift ride.

Food

Recommended: dinner at the hotel. Must-try: hot chocolate and soup after the walk, and a plate of rajma and rice.

Activities to Do

• Chairlift ride

• Gorson Bugyal walk

• Ski lesson (early March only)

• Rest in the afternoon

Optional Nearby Excursions

• Chattrakund, a small water body in the forest above the meadow, if the trail allows.

• A rest day with no walk at all.

• A visit to Joshimath town in the afternoon.

Route: Auli – Joshimath – Karnaprayag – Adi Badri – Gwaldam – Kausani

The road goes down the Alaknanda valley to Karnaprayag, then leaves the pilgrim road for Adi Badri, a cluster of small stone temples, and Gwaldam. The last stretch runs to Kausani on the Kumaon side of the divide.

This day changes the mountains under you from the Garhwal peaks to the Kumaon range, and ends with the first view of Trisul and Nanda Devi from Kausani.

Note on the road. The Karnaprayag to Gwaldam section is narrow and can be rough after rain. If it is closed, the fallback is to return via Rudraprayag and Srinagar and add a night.

Experience of the Day

–  Watch the Garhwal peaks give way to the Kumaon range.

Food

Packed breakfast, lunch at Adi Badri or Gwaldam.

Route: Kausani – Baijnath – Anashakti Ashram – Tea Estate

Kausani is at 1,890 m and looks out over Trisul, Nanda Devi and Panchachuli across a wide panorama. Mahatma Gandhi stayed at the Anashakti Ashram and wrote his commentary on the Gita, the Anashakti Yoga, there. He compared the landscape to Switzerland.

Baijnath is a group of stone temples with 17 subsidiary shrines, built between the 9th and 12th centuries under the Katyuri rulers. The main temple holds a Shiva lingam. The grey-schist statue of Parvati wears a crown of 26 miniature figures.

The Kausani Tea Estate, about 5 km out on the Bageshwar road, was started in 2000–01 and produces around 70,000 kg a year. The poet Sumitranandan Pant was born in Kausani in 1900, and a small museum shows his letters and drafts.

Experience of the Day

–  See the Himalayas at sunrise from a single window.

–  Walk through a tea estate.

Food

Must-try: Kumaoni bhatt ki churkani (black soybean curry), aloo ke gutke, and a cup of Kausani tea.

Shopping

• Kumaon shawls and Kausani tea from the estate shop.

Activities to Do

• Baijnath temples

• Anashakti Ashram

• Tea estate visit

• Sunrise viewpoint

Route: Kausani – Bageshwar – Thal – Munsiyari

The road runs north through Bageshwar, a temple town at the meeting of the Sarayu and Gomti rivers, then on to Thal, where the narrow mountain road begins. The valley of the Gori river opens ahead, and the road climbs to Munsiyari.

Munsiyari sits at about 2,200 m in Pithoragarh district, on the ridge that looks straight at the Panchachuli peaks. You arrive in the late afternoon. On a clear evening the five peaks turn pink and then grey as you check in.

Sources give Kausani to Munsiyari as anything from 100 to 165 km. We use 165 km via Bageshwar and Thal as the working figure, and the guide confirms the road the evening before.

Note on the road. The road above Thal is narrow. Late snow in March and heavy rain can close sections for hours. We start early and keep the afternoon free, and if the road is closed we hold in Kausani or Bageshwar rather than drive after dark.

Experience of the Day

–  Bageshwar on the way north.

–  The narrow road above Thal.

–  First light on the Panchachuli peaks.

Food

Lunch at a roadside place in Bageshwar or Thal. Dinner at the hotel, with hot soup and simple mountain food.

Activities to Do

• Drive to Munsiyari

• Evening at the viewpoint

Route: Munsiyari (viewpoint, Nanda Devi Temple, Tribal Heritage Museum, weaving household)

The peaks are best at first light. Your guide wakes you before dawn and takes you to the viewpoint for a breakfast in the cold, with a flask and a blanket, while the sun reaches Panchachuli. The name means five hearths, and the peaks range from 6,334 to 6,904 m. The highest, Panchchuli II, was first climbed in 1973 by an ITBP expedition, and Panchchuli III has never been climbed. They form the watershed between the Gori and the Darma valleys. One theory derives the name from the five cooking hearths of the Pandavas.

After breakfast you visit the Nanda Devi Temple in Munsiyari. Later your guide takes you to the Tribal Heritage Museum in Nanasen village, about 2.5 km from town. It was founded by Dr. S. S. Pangtey, a teacher, trekker and writer who specialised in the Bhotiya people of this valley, and it was first known as the Masterji Museum. Its collection includes tools, currency, bowls, clothes and weapons used in the old trade between India and Tibet.

In the afternoon you visit a Johari weaving household, where wool and pashmina are still spun and woven by hand. The Panchachuli Women Weavers movement, revived in 1991, works with women artisans around Munsiyari. We confirm a visit with the weavers for your date.

The Human Story

Munsiyari was a link in the old Indo-Tibetan trade route. Its people, the Johari Bhotia, were semi-nomadic traders who crossed the passes to Tibet and wove fine pashmina, and that trade is why this valley has the culture that it has.

Experience of the Day

–  Sunrise breakfast on the ridge.

–  Nanda Devi Temple.

–  Tribal Heritage Museum.

–  A slow afternoon.

Food

Breakfast at the viewpoint. Lunch and dinner at the hotel.

Shopping

Woollen shawls and stoles from the weaving cooperatives. Your guide points out workshops with fixed prices.

Activities to Do

• Sunrise at the viewpoint

• Nanda Devi Temple

• Tribal Heritage Museum

• Weaving visit

Optional Nearby Excursions

• A walk through the Gori valley village lanes.

Route: Munsiyari – Balati Bend – Khaliya Top

Khaliya Top is an alpine meadow at about 3,500 m, above Munsiyari. The walk begins at Balati Bend, about 9 km from town, and it is about 6 km to the top. It is a steep climb and takes most walkers 4 to 5 hours up, and 5 to 8 hours in all. The path is considered easy to moderate, so a reasonably fit guest can do it at a slow pace.

From the top you see Panchachuli, Nanda Devi, Hardeol, Nandakot and Rajrambha in one line. Start early, because cloud often covers the peaks by afternoon. A local guide and a porter come with you and carry the water and lunch. If you prefer not to climb, the same day can be spent at a lower meadow, or at the village.

You return to the hotel in the late afternoon.

In March, snow can lie on the upper meadow, and the guide decides the distance. If cloud covers the ridge, the same day becomes a birding walk. The Gori river basin has recorded about 319 bird species, roughly a quarter of India's total, and BirdLife International has named it an Important Bird Area. Near Munsiyari the Forest Department has also set up India's first lichen park, on 1.5 acres.

Experience of the Day

–  The walk from Balati Bend to Khaliya Top.

–  Five peaks in one view.

–  Lunch on the meadow.

Food

A packed lunch on the trail. Dinner at the hotel.

Activities to Do

• Drive to Balati Bend

• Khaliya Top walk

• Packed lunch

Optional Nearby Excursions

• A birding walk with a naturalist and the lichen park, if the ridge is in cloud.

Route: Munsiyari – Thal – Bageshwar – Almora

You drive south past Thal and Bageshwar and on to Almora, a ridge town at about 1,642 m. The drive is long, so we plan it with a lunch stop and no other sightseeing.

You arrive in the afternoon, check in, and walk in the old town before dark.

The Human Story

Almora was founded in 1568 by King Kalyan Chand of the Chand dynasty. The Chands ruled Kumaon from here for more than two centuries, and the old town still runs along the ridge they chose.

Experience of the Day

–  The road south from Munsiyari.

–  An evening walk in the old town.

Food

Lunch at a roadside place in Bageshwar. Dinner at the hotel, with Kumaoni dishes on request.

Activities to Do

• Drive to Almora

• Evening walk in the old town

Optional Nearby Excursions

• Tea on the hotel terrace at sunset.

Route: Almora – Bhowali – Nainital

Before the drive you walk through the bazaar in Almora. The town's bal mithai, a fudge of roasted khoya coated in sugar balls, is sold here, and it is worth a stop.

Nainital sits at 2,084 m around an eye-shaped lake, 1,433 m long and 463 m wide. Hindu tradition holds that the goddess Sati's eye fell here, and the Naina Devi temple stands on the north shore. The first European house, Pilgrim Lodge, was built in 1841 by the sugar merchant P. Barron.

The late afternoon is for a boat ride on the lake and a walk on the Mall.

Experience of the Day

–  Row across a lake shaped like an eye.

Food

Recommended: Naini Lake-side cafes. Must-try: bal mithai and singori sweets from Kumaon.

Shopping

• Bal mithai and singori sweets in Almora, candles, woollen goods and Kumaoni sweets on the Mall in Nainital.

Activities to Do

• Almora bazaar walk

• Boat ride

• Mall Road walk

Route: Nainital (Naini Lake, Naina Devi Temple, Snow View)

Naini Lake measures about 1,433 m by 463 m and lies at about 1,940 m. The best hour to see it is the early one, before Mall Road wakes up. Your guide walks you round the lake in the morning light, past the colonial buildings and out to the Naina Devi Temple on the northern shore.

According to the legend the goddess Shakti's right eye fell here, and that is how the lake got its name: nain is eye and tal is lake. The temple draws pilgrims through the day, so the guide goes early.

In the afternoon the ropeway takes you up to Snow View Point, for a wide view of the Himalayan peaks on a clear day. Later a private boat takes you out on the lake at sunset, when the crowds thin.

The Human Story

Barron's Pilgrim Lodge was the first European house on this shore, and the hill station grew from it.

Experience of the Day

–  Sunrise walk beside the lake.

–  Naina Devi Temple.

–  Ropeway to Snow View Point.

–  A private boat at sunset.

Food

Breakfast at the hotel and lunch at a Mall Road café. Dinner at Gurney House or another restaurant chosen by the guide.

Shopping

Woollens, candles and handmade paper on Mall Road. The guide points out shops with fixed prices.

Activities to Do

• Lakeside walk

• Naina Devi Temple

• Snow View by ropeway

• Boat at sunset

• Mall Road

Optional Nearby Excursions

• The Eco Cave Gardens, a set of connected caves and hanging gardens.

• The high-altitude zoo, if you want a family-style stop.

• A trek to Naina Peak, for those who want a longer walk.

Route: Nainital – Kaladhungi – Ramnagar

Kaladhungi is where Jim Corbett lived in winter, and his house is now a museum. From here the road runs to Ramnagar, the gateway to the reserve.

The reserve was founded in 1936 as Hailey National Park. It was renamed Ramganga in the 1950s and then Corbett National Park after the hunter turned conservationist. It is India's first national park, and Project Tiger began here in the 1970s. It covers about 1,288 km². The 2022 census counted 260 tigers. More than 586 species of birds have been recorded.

Note on safari zones. In spring, the Bijrani, Jhirna, Dhela and Garjiya zones are open, and Dhikala and Durga Devi run until 15 June. Zones are booked in advance and the park authority decides the allocation, so we cannot promise a particular zone.

Experience of the Day

–  Visit Jim Corbett's house.

–  First safari in India's first national park.

Food

Hotel dinner.

Route: Corbett – Safari zones – Corbett

Morning safaris last four to five hours. In March the mornings are cool and the forest is dry. From April the days warm up, which pulls wildlife toward water and makes sightings easier to plan, not harder.

The Ramganga river runs through the reserve and holds gharial and mugger crocodile. Elephants number around 1,100.

Experience of the Day

–  Look for tigers at waterholes.

–  Watch for gharial along the Ramganga.

Food

Packed breakfast in the jeep. Lunch at the resort.

Activities to Do

• Two jeep safaris with a naturalist

Route: Corbett – Safari zones – Corbett

Two more safaris close the wildlife section. The naturalist can shift to a different zone or a bird-focused drive depending on what the earlier days showed.

The evening is free at the resort. Guests who want a final evening walk in the reserve buffer can ask the resort.

Experience of the Day

–  Bird-focused drive with a naturalist.

Food

Farewell dinner at the resort.

Route: Corbett – Delhi

The drive to Delhi is about 245 km and takes 5 to 6 hours. Book any onward flight for 8 pm or later.

Food

Lunch on the way.