Travel style · Garhwal
Pilgrimages in Garhwal
Char Dham, Hemkund, Muktinath and the high shrines
The Himalaya is sacred ground for Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs. We plan the Char Dham Yatra, Hemkund Sahib, Muktinath and monastery circuits with registrations, helicopter or pony options and honest notes on altitude and crowds.
Photo: Arpita Tripathy · CC BY-SA 4.0 · CommonsPilgrim routes are crowded in their short seasons and almost empty outside them. Kedarnath and Badrinath open in late April or May and close around Diwali, on dates fixed each year by the temple committees, so check current status before you travel.
Garhwal is the western half of Uttarakhand, where the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rise and join to become the Ganga. Come for the Char Dham shrines, Valley of Flowers, Tungnath and Rishikesh. Go May–June or mid-September–October; avoid July road travel. A saver week by UTC bus and GMVN dorms costs about ₹2,000–3,000 a day.
Trips
Pilgrimages trips in Garhwal
Photo: McKay Savage from London, UK · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Comfort
Kedarnath, Tungnath and Badrinath by car
Private car with driver
Photo: Paul Hamilton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Comfort
Landour, Harsil apples and Gangotri
Private car with driver
Photo: McKay Savage from London, UK · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Saver
Deoria Tal, Tungnath and Chandrashila
UTC and GMOU buses, shared jeeps and a shared taxi
Photo: McKay Savage from London, UK · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Saver
Valley of Flowers and Hemkund by bus
UTC and GMOU buses, shared jeeps and walking
Photo: McKay Savage from London, UK · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Signature
Kedarnath by helicopter, Badrinath and Ananda
Private car with driver and helicopter shuttle
7 places
Where to go
Photo: Arpita Tripathy · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Badrinath & Mana
Vishnu's shrine on the Alaknanda, and the village before Tibet
Photo: Alok · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Chopta & Tungnath
Meadows, rhododendron forest and the highest Shiva temple
Photo: gbSk at Flickr · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Gangotri
The Ganga's temple town, and the trail to its glacier source
Photo: Sharmaprakharr · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Kedarnath
The highest Jyotirlinga, a 16 km walk above Gaurikund
Photo: McKay Savage from London, UK · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Rishikesh
Where the Ganga leaves the hills and the yatra begins
Photo: Original: Rohit Sharma Derivative work: Unpeti… · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Valley of Flowers & Hemkund
A UNESCO hanging valley that blooms in the monsoon
Photo: Atarax42 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Yamunotri
The Yamuna's shrine, where rice cooks in a hot spring
Experiences
Days that fit the style
Photo: Anubha khare · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Tapt Kund dip and Badrinath darshan
Bathe in the hot springs of Tapt Kund, then join the queue for darshan of the black stone Badrinarayan image in its gil…
Photo: Deepak 13 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Mana village walk to Vyas Gufa and Bhim Pul
Wander the stone lanes of Mana, a Bhotiya village 3 km beyond Badrinath at about 3,200 m, then climb to the cave shrine…
Photo: Gouravmsh · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Walk to Vasudhara Falls from Mana
A stony trail of about 5 km from Mana past the Saraswati temple and up the Alaknanda valley to Vasudhara, a slender wat…
Photo: AjitK332 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Sunrise climb to Tungnath and Chandrashila
A pre-dawn climb on the paved path from Chopta to Tungnath temple, then the steep last 1.5 km to Chandrashila, above 4,…
Photo: MMohanty · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Morning walk to Deoria Tal from Sari
A 2.5–3 km climb from Sari village to a forest-ringed lake at 2,438 m, where Chaukhamba reflects in still water early i…
Photo: Vvnataraj · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Birding for monal in Kedarnath sanctuary
Walk the forest edges and meadows around Chopta at dawn with a local birding guide to look for Himalayan monal, Uttarak…
Photo: Asish Das75 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Evening aarti on the Bhagirathi at Gangotri
Watch the evening aarti of the goddess Ganga at her temple and on the riverbank as the gorge falls into shadow, then wa…
Photo: gbSk at Flickr · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Trek to Gaumukh, the Gangotri Glacier snout
An 18 km trail inside Gangotri National Park from Gangotri via Chirbasa and Bhojbasa to Gaumukh, the ice cliff where th…
Where to sleep
Stays in these places
Photo: McKay Savage from London, UK · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Budget
Zostel Rishikesh (Tapovan)
A backpacker hostel in Tapovan, between Lakshman Jhula and Ram Jhula, with dorms, private rooms, a rooftop cafe an…
Photo: Original: Rohit Sharma Derivative work: Unpeti… · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Budget
GMVN Tourist Rest House, Ghangaria
The state tourism corporation's rest house in Ghangaria, the base village for the Valley of Flowers and Hemkund Sa…
Photo: AaS · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Budget
GMVN Hotel Devlok, Badrinath
GMVN's hotel in Badrinath, one of the state corporation's two properties in the town, with plain heated rooms with…
Photo: Roliwrites · CC0 · Commons
Mid
Aloha on the Ganges
A riverside hotel on the Badrinath road in Tapovan, near Lakshman Jhula, with rooms and apartments facing the Gang…
Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/peem/ · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Luxury
Ananda in the Himalayas
India's first destination spa, opened in 2000 on the 100-acre estate of the Tehri royal palace at Narendra Nagar, …
Photo: Sutharsan Shekhar · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Luxury
Taj Rishikesh Resort & Spa
A Taj resort on 13 acres above the Ganga at Singthali, about 30 km upstream of Rishikesh, with rooms and villas fa…