Curzon\'s Trail - 18 days

Day 01 Arrive in Delhi

Meet upon arrival and transfer to hotel. .

Day 02 Mussoorie

Catch early morning 7am Shatabdi express from New Delhi railway station to Dehra Dun-0715/1230Hrs and drive 1 hr. uphill to Mussoorie. Mussoorie is a beautiful British time hill station at 6000ft. And has a choice of nature walks for acclimatization. Overnight Hotel or Guest house.

Day 03 Mussoorie.

Around Mussoorie. Overnight Hotel or Guest house.

Day 04 Mussoorie-Srinagar 

Breakfast. Drive (approx 6 Hrs.) Mussoorie through beautiful ridge road for Srinagar. On way we’ll cross the famous Tehri Dam which is almost on the verge of completion after 32 years, the lake which has been formed after damming the famous Bhagirathi River and Bhilangna has drowned the ancient town of Tehri built in 1815 and was the seat of the king of Garhwal. Overnight in a beautiful guest house at Srinagar.

Day 05 Srinagar-Lohjung

We drive into the Garhwal Hills (approx 6 Hrs.) Drive following the Alaknanda and Pinder rivers to the road head at Lohjung situated at 6560 ft. The drive is along the banks of Ganga, Alaknanda and Pinder rivers partly on the pilgrimage route of Badrinath and Kedarnath. The road passes through several small views of the mountains forest, valleys, and villages. Overnight simple village hut.

Day 06 Lohjung-Tolpani (9512 ft) 

We set off walking along terraced hillside alternating with conifer forest, passing the occasional small village. The trek goes steep downhill till we cross a stream and then uphill to camp at Tolopani. The local villagers also camp at this place with their cattle during summer and Monsoon.

Day 07 Tolpani-Bednibugyal (11480 ft)

The climb gets steeper in places, but we are rewarded with spectacular views of the Nanda Devi group, Trishul (23360 ft) and Nandaghunti (21000 ft) being especially prominent. Most of the walk in order to reach Bednibugyal is all along the ridge with silky grass and provides excellent view all over. Eventually we emerge into the lush green meadows at Ali bugyal and Bednibugyal at a little over 11480 ft. We camp at Bednibugyal.

Day 08 Around Bedni 

From our camp we have wonderful panoramic views of the great Himalayas with Badrinath group of peaks on the left and Mt. Nandaghunti, Mt.Trishul and Mt. Mrigthuni groups of peaks on the right. Some of them are above 22960 feet.. We can make an excursion to the ridge at Kalwavinayak at about 13500 ft. for even better views of Trishul, Nandaghunti and Mrigthuni range of peak rising sheer above the Shilasamudra glacier. The more adventurous participants can continue the walk up to the Mystery lake of Roopkund situated at 14500 feet. However the walk up to Roopkund shall be entirely optional.

Day 09 & 10 Bednibugyal-Kanol-Dakhindhar (9512 Feet)

These two days take us from Bednibugyal along Shipton & Tillman’s trail into the Nandakini valley. Nandakini River originate from Mt. Nandaghunti. We descend down the village of Wan and then climb again towards Kanol passing the Kukin Khal. The route is through dense forest of Rhododendron and Silver oak and cultivated terraces with occasional villages. There are many fine viewpoints. Water is likely to be a bit short at our campsite on the last night but the beautiful location should make up for this! Camping

Day 11/12/13 Dakhindhar-Village Panarani-Kanukharak-Dhakwani

The trail now takes us across the valleys and ridges, which run off the west side of the Nanda Devi group, with alternating, stretched of meadow and forest. The walk gets a little tougher, as we begin the approach the Kuari Pass. At Sartholi Kharak we get our first views of the peaks to the north of the Kuari Pass. All over the Sartholi Kharak have the wonderful 180* panoramic view of the Garhwal Himalaya. More stretches of up and downhill bring us up to Dhakwani, the last settlement on the southern approach to the pass at about 11,000 feet. These are the longest days of the trek. Camping

Day 13/15 Dhakwani-Kauri Pass (12460 Feet)-Gorson (11480 Feet)

We continue our walk and complete the trek to the Kuari Pass, at 12200 ft., one of the high spots of the trek. There may be snow in the pass, but the view from the summit will more than compensate for any difficult on the trail. Almost the whole of Garhwal Himalayas is in view- the great Badrinath groups of peaks to the north and to the west the Nanda Devi sanctuary; Dunagiri; Bethartholi; Hathi Parvat, Kamet, Nilkanth; Manna and Trishul are among the peaks we expect to see. Now we see the most impressive Mt. Nanda Devi (7916) at the stone through distance! Camping

Day 16 Gorson-Srinagar  (Approx 45 Minutes).

Short walk brings us down to Auli the longest ski slopes of the country. We take our transport from here drive down to Srinagar (approx 6 Hrs.). Overnight at guest house.

Day 17. Srinagar/ Rishikesh

A 4 hours drive takes us to the holy city of Rishikesh. Afternoon visit Swargashram area and later in the evening, witness Ganga Arti. Overnight Hotel.

Day 18. Rishikesh/ Delhi. 

Morning visit few more temples around Rishikesh and then drive 1 hour to Haridwar. Afternoon sightseeing around Haridwar and later drive back to Delhi International airport.

***End of our service***