UT/23 - Active Himalayan Holiday - Ex-Dehradun / Haridwar

Views from Chopta

Highlights

• Luxury Camping and beautifully located resorts.

• Spectacular Himalayan panorama at Chopta, Auli and Riverside beauty at Kund.

• Wildlfe and Bird watching at Rajaji National Park

• Wide Ranging of activities - Trekking, Biking, Birding, Sightseeing, Climbing, Rafting & Kayaking, White water rafting

• Remote Himalaya and countryside experience

Itinerary

• Day 01: Haridwar - Rishikesh - Kund (1350m, Drive 195 kms / 5-6 hrs) - Arrive early in the morning and drive initially along the Ganga and then Alaknanda & Mandakini to reach Himalayan Eco Lodges(HEL), Kund. In the evening drive/walk for a short distance to the Ukhimath temple to see the evening ceremony. Also you can spend time next to the river. Relax by the bonfire and an al fresco dinner. 

• Day 02 - Kund - Guests have the option of activities or do sightseeing. There is cycling, rock climbing, rappelling, bridge slithering, Jumaring & valley traverse in activity options. All activities are meant for families. Sightseeing options comprise Guptkashi, Kalimath & Narayan Swamy temple complex. Guests have the option of taking a helicopter ride and visiting Kedarnath. Late evening enjoy bonfire and an al fresco dinner.  

• Day 03 - Kund - Sari - Deoriatal (7300+ ft asl) - Kund (drive 40 mins, round trek (horse ride) for 2-3 hrs) - After breakfast take a 40 mins drive to Sari village and from there trek or take a horse ride for about 2 kms to reach the spectacular lake, Deoriatal. The lake with meadows around it is surrounded by forests and mountain ranges. After having lunch walk back to Sari village and drive back to the lodge. Towards late evening enjoy a barbeque around the bonfire. 

• Day 04: Kund - Chopta - Tunganath Temple (11000 ft asl) ) - Chopta (Round trek (horse ride) 3-4 hrs) - Auli (7000 ft asl drive 4 hrs) - An hour long drive to Chopta. Chopta is renowned for its meadows and views of the snow clad Himalayan ranges. After a cup of tea climb up or take a pony to the highest Shiva shrine at Tungnath (3680m). It-s one of the most beautifully situated temples. After taking a short rest climb down to Chopta. After lunch and depart for Auli and sporting excellent close range himalayan views all round the year. Overnight in Himalayan Eco Lodge, Auli

• Day 05: Auli - Rest / Exploration Day
  After breakfast guests can stay back and enjoy the wonderful locales of Auli or start hiking/pony ride and cross the forest over Auli and get on to the Gorson meadows, an awe inspiring view point. One can also enjoy a ride in the Ski lifts at Auli. Bonfire and barbeque in the evening. 

• Day 06: Auli - Jayalgarh (drive / 4-5 hrs) - After an early lunch drive for about 4-5 hours to get to our fixed river camp at Camp High 5 - Jayalgarh. The camp is set on the banks of river Alaknanda and has open views of a few villages set scenically in the nearby mountains. 

• Day 07: Jayalgarh - Rishikesh - Haridwar (Rafting 2-3 hrs & drive 3-4 hrs)
  After breakfast and a briefing on the rafting techniques guests will be taken on an exciting river rafting trip. Along with rafting one can also try river swimming, body surfing & cliff jumping. After the rafting trip drive down to Haridwar via Rishikeh. Check into a hotel and do sightseeing in Haridwar. One can attend the evening aarti at Har Ki Pauri.

• Day 08: Haridwar - Rajaji National Park - Delhi
  Early morning wake up and straight away go for a round of jungle safari into the nearby Rajaji National Park. Park is renowned for wild elephants and birdlife. After safari have breakfast. Post breakfast guests can either the train/flight/road trip back to Delhi

Note 

• This itinerary is flexible and one can play around with the difficulty level of each activity to suit requirements. Also one can choose the activities.

• All the activities are managed by experienced and qualified professionals with international standard equipments.

Climate

• This region experiences a heavy rainfall in July which subsides by about first week of September. 

• This time between July to early September is the best time for flower blossoming and many people trek to places like valley of flowers, braving the rains.

• Summers start by about early April and one can venture into certain valleys starting this time.

• Most of the regions opens for trekking by about May. Summers in the foothills can be harsh but in the mountains day temperatures hover around 20 deg Celsius. 

• Post monsoons, starting early September sees more settled weather with clear views. Winters in this region start by about November.

• So two good seasons for trekking here are the pre monsoons (April - June) & autumn (Sep - Oct)