Satopanth Trek

Joshimath is almost 300 kms. away from Dehradun. It takes about 10-11 hours to get to Joshimath via taxi. So, make sure you get to Dehradun the night before so you can leave for Joshimath early morning the next day, and get a few hours of rest. Taxi’s usually left for Joshimath early morning. Once you reach Joshimath in the evening, you can explore the local bazaar. The popular skiing slopes of Auli are lso very close to Joshimath town.

Today, we will drive from Joshimath to Badrinath. Badrinath is a Hindu pilgrimage site famous for being one of the Char Dhams. The road initially descends to the valley floor, before climbing along a steep gorge to the pilgrimage site of Badrinath. We will spend the rest of the day acclimatizing at Badrinath. Mana, the last village of India towards the Indo-China border at ManaPass, is just 4 km away from Badrinath. Overnight in hotel/guest house at Badrinath.

We start our day with an easy walk up the Alakananda river towards the Somtoli meadows. You will see the mighty 400 ft Vasudhara falls on the opposite banks after a while. The trail climbs gradually till Somtoli, crossing a landslide section. You might find few shepherds here or their vacant caves. From here, a small walk through a boulder section takes us to our campsite marked by a cluster of Bhojpatra trees on the slopes. The campsite has great views of Alkapuri, the snout and starting point of Alaknanda river and the Balakun peak.

The trail gets more challenging today. We will start with a sharp ascent through boulders and scree to Sahastra Dhar. As we climb up the valley, views of NIlkanth, Balakun and Chaukhamba open up. Once we reach Sahastra Dhar, we will cross a little stream and walk across a flat area with dozens of streams flowing and merging with each other. Then, we start traversing the left (true right) lateral moraine of the glacier coming down from Chaukhamba at the head of the valley. The trail climbs steeply again after Sahastra Dhar, followed by a short level walk across the upper snow slopes to reach our campsite at Chakrateerth. We will camp in Chakrateerth for the night.

Although today’s trail is short with an easy ascent, the trail goes through tricky boulder sections along the left (true right) lateral moraine. We will cross two spurs coming down from the slopes of Nilkanth to our left (true right) to reach Satopanth Lake – a beautiful blue triangular lake. Throughout the day, we will have imposing views of Chaukhamba and Nilkantha, and a bunch of small glacial lakes to our right. After spending some time at the lake, we will return to Chakrateerth for the night.

We retrace our track today and reach Somtoli, where we will camp for the night.

We will finish the remaining descent today and then drive from Mana to Joshimath. Overnight
stay in hotel/guest house

Today, you will leave from Joshimath for Dehradun and onward.