THE 10 BEST TREKS OF INDIA INDIA The Indian Trekking CommunityTHE 10 BEST TREKS OF INDIA Use this guide to select your next trek. These are, without doubt, the best treks in India. Some of the treks are easy, some moderate and a few moderately difficult. We have deliberately left out difficult treks from this list. When we rank treks we just don’t look at how prelty a trek is. We want treks to be a complete package. They need to be beautiful, adventurous, have surprises, be steeped in history. At the end you need to go home flying one foot off the ground with a feeling, of complete exhilaration, All of these treks make you do that. These treks also cover an entire gamut of scenery changes of our Himalayas ~- right from Kashmir to Sikkim. It would be prudent to explore our country that way doing a different trek in a new region every time Some of the treks listed here are preferably done in winter. So look carefully at the best seasons tab before fixing your trek dates. Quickly then, here are our top 10 ten treks of India. In the inside pages are reasons for our ranking Happy trekking Team Indiahikes P.S. Indiahikes runs other treks that are not part of this list. The full list of treks are on our website www.indiahikes.in.THE 10 BEST TREKS OF INDIA Rank | Trek’ Location Best Seas: Tere ist sy 1 Rupin Pass Himachal Mid May - 7 days Moderate June End; Mid — Difficult Sep — Mid Oct 2 Roopkund Uttarakhand | Mid May — 6 days Moderate June End; Mid — Difficult Sep — Mid Oct 3 | Kashmir Kashmir July — Mid Sep | 7 days Moderate Great Lakes — Difficult 4 Buran Ghati_ | Himachal June 6 days Moderate 5 | Tarsar Kashmir July—Mid Sep | 6 days Moderate 6 | Goechala Sikkim Mid April- | 8 days Moderate End May; Oct — Difficult = End Nov 7 Deoriatal Uttarakhand | Mid March— | 4 days Easy Chandrashila End June; Mid Sep - Dec 8 Kedarkantha | Uttarakhand | Mid March— | 4 days Easy Winter Trek End June; Mid Sep - Dec 9 |Hampta Pass | Himachal | June; Mid Sep | 5 days Moderate — Oct 10 |Sandakhphu | West Bengal | All year, avoid | 6 days Moderate Winter Trek monsoons, winters preferredStarts in Uttarakhan Teese W 7 days Tina Pmt Se aM CEN Himalayan treks, 0; TC CAnET ns ee Rae ere SY Eee es a om eng 4Photo: Arig Cnaerabary ROOPKUND a Wig thgemittis Rog oral aypeaitcaity indecapon trols fy sact, 1135 50 66! layer that = od with perfection of boauty fom Ihe moment they stort I isn rekkers are pam ss eur number tv tok At tho onset trekkers got inte oak and rhovdosionvtron forests vor quicsly. The jones ws aploneiel in overy way. It donee, dark and bootie! \ brown ca A Stepping oul uf the forest is lke aan ony shang. [he high slittvels meskiowes of li and Beda Bugyal com ukidenh The measlows look manicured. The undulatin meaclows are sa perfectly landscaped that tt takes offorl ta belive Inoy ate works of natare. andl Bodn Buypyal are comsicberel rb the pretties agai aiemen tones rnin Ir the nroadotes pers not reasons enonigh tere the ek, the snow Th soltings isa spot to cath the mest spectac tunsel Further on, perch inthe ‘mountains, the crater Jin are a trea ampaite or Hhagyvaasa tn shee ‘ fis a tantalizing the thn. Mos relthers break down in tears schon they reach Romp han you add the mystery around Roopkuns the information: syis tepkund com tray ohato Subhantar 8 suesKASHMIR GREAT LAKES Why the ranking: The Kashmir Great Lakes trek is undoubtedly one of the prettiest trek in India, Just for its prettiness, the Kashmir Great Lakes (KGL) is our number three trek in ranking Nowhere in treks will you come across alpine lakes that are so exquisitely beautiful, All lakes are amidst grassy Knolls and meadows. Fach of the lake has waters that are deep aguamatine blue. Tike vast open valleys of Kashmir are anotherealling, Trekkers get to these valleys by crossing three passes on the way, Each valley has a landscape that is totally different from the one before it, Even the trees on the trek are waigue. Poplar, willow, maple are unique to Kashmir. On the trek they are abunclant. The silver birch and pine forests on the trek are many centuries old, Mountain rivers and streams are always with you en the trek. Water is everywhere Trekking in Kashmir is the closest anvone can get to trekking in Europe. YEO epee Difficulty 3 Voderate— Dficulty Duration 37 days JRL INE NES SA SAI mid September the next round of winter snow mes in. That's why KGL has only a small ie aTShepherd's hut inside pine f aie PEEING (CeO simone CUGSUINE Werrene OTE en GENE FNS Minnie FUG Te Sa wT oes re ks to take fcWhy the ranking: his is where our ranking, pets difficult. It is always difficult to choose: between Tarsar and the Kashmir Great Lakes: trek, Each seem to be in hat debate about which is the pretiier eek, And our ranking, gets skewered too. Tarsar too has superb lakes. Actually three of them, which includes the hidden Marsar On the Larsar trek vou get to camp beside the lakes too ~ in setLings straight out of romantic movies. Jarsar has lovely meadow walks too, perhaps the best in the country. Little rivulets run along the meadows. Trekker hop skip and jump ov sprout in thousands across the meadows, Sometimes itis difficull to thread your way through the meadows ~ a fear that you may trample the flowers. them. Flowers Tarsar has great walks over grassy ledges too will streams falling. over them ia a series of waterfalls, arsar has to be the most romantic trek in India Neck to neck with the Kashmir Great Lakes trek, Tarsar gets the 5th spot from us Difficulty :¥ Duration : GREENE BEST SEASONSGOECHALA Why the ranking: Goechala is ane of the oldest and among the most popular treks in India, Goechala runs away with some af the While trekking in Sikkim isin itself an attractio in India can you see Kanchenjunga, the world’s third highest peak as close as on the Goechala trek, When Irekkers reach the Goecha Pass, nothing comes in betiveen them and the peak. Thev are standing al the foot of the preal Even without Kanchenjunga, Goechala has grand views of other big mountains Trekkers are in an amphitheater of big, Everything is on a big scale on the Goechala trek, The forests are big, the valleys are deep. the mountains are high, the meadow are wide, the rhododendrons are plenty, the altitudes gained are big. Goechala is always on every trekker's bucket list, and rightfully so. Just for its grandnes and big mountain views, Goechalls gets the 6th spot from w EEO EERE TEETOME SiR SNE Mea AM SABES summersApril Vid Vay) Tutumngend of September Prata=Ann Sophie Deldyeke Seinen ENGDEORIATAL CHANDARASHILA Why the ranking: Sometimes an easy trek can give incredible rewards, Deorialal is one of them, Thece are three thing 35 Uhal make Deoriatal speci First, of course, are the views, On the trek you Will see each and every great summit in the Garwhal and humaon range of Uttarakhand. Simply put, you'll see the biggest mountains of Indian Himalayas. Not only will you see them, you will see them right near your nose. Second, are the ju et great jungles. But you get variety even in the gles. Ibis eare Deotiatal provides it Finally, itis the birds, If there is a trek that isa birders paradise it is Deoriatal, Perhaps it is because of the jungles. Hundreds of bircls call out from the trees as trekkers pas below. Keen nature photographe Deorialal a virtual feast To ad to these three reasons, Deoriatal also has the excellent summit climb to Chandrashila summit. [tis a must-da trek, Deoriatal for these seasons get the 7th spol from us, Location : INET Difficulty : SESMESEERS Duration : ENE STATE NEAT Autumn vi mee ac a STEREOPhoto Why the ranking: In winter the Kedarkantha hills come alive in snow. OF all the winter treks possible, Kedarkantha stands out among the best. With its lovely cover of viegin snow and an exciting summit climb, Kevlarkantha has the perfect package for a great trek Ifthe winter snow weren'l enough, Kedarkantha has some of the loveliest campsites in Indian Himalayas, Nestled in clearings, all campsites on the kedarkantha trek are exquisitely beautiful. With snow patches all around they look out of fairy tales The ridge walks on the kedarkantha trek under pine and oak trees is another takeback for trekkers, Rarely do you get such settings in mountains where ridges slant towards eastern and western sum ta create a spellbinding effect of lipht and shade. The summit climb to Kedarkantha isa superb thrill. The views from top another big attraction Forall these reasons, Kedarkantha is our top teek lo do in winters. And overall gel ove Sth rank. Praveen S Proto: Vinay Kura PeEeRAIeTaT Meghna Lowaleear KEDARKANTHA WINTER TREK om Seta s . oe at a h<9” HAMPTA PASS r ~~ SS Why the ranking: Not many believe that a trek right above Manali can he so exciting Movie butfs will remember this trek from the film Yeh Jawani Hai Diswani Hampta Pass stands out for its beautiful flower decked valley, It is even more beautiful when snow patches lead down tothe valley from the high mountain cliffs Jall mountains and high cliffs tower aver the valley Crossing the Hampta Pass is an exciting change in scenery. The desert like Spiti comesinto view. Thal/sa spectacle in itself. On one side is the lushness of Hampla valley and on the other is the desert of Spili IF trekkers are lucky they get to visit Chandratal, one of the rare desert lakes in Spiti. The lake has colours of axjuamarine: Outside the beautiful valley, the Hampla Pass also hasa thrilling pass crossing, terific natural vegetation, One of the most beautiful treks in Himachal, Hampta Pass is one of the top treks to elo in India Photo SaneraO'Rore Location Difficulty : WHAGETETE Duration : SENS SITTER,SANDAKPHU Why the ranking:Sandakphu is often an underrated trek, That's a big mistake. Sandakphu has terrific rewards for the trekker. It is the only trek in India that lets you see four of the highest summits of the ‘world, Everest, Kanchenjunga, Lhotse and Makalu. You don’t just see them at a glimpse. They stay with vou all along the trek once vou hit the high ridges, Sandakphu is also great for its forest climbs and lovely open view campsites. Lhe trek meanders through India and Nepal seamlessly and thai's an attraction too! Sometimes in India and at times in Nepal. Being on the eastern most fringe of the county, the culture and customs ace unigue A mix of Nepal, Tibet and Indian culture steams onthe trek. The local foods are delicious and must be tried Not a difficult trek, Sandakhphu is the last of our top ten treks in India, Photo: Shara kINDIA The Indian Trekking Cornmunity CONTACT NUMBER New Enquirer: 8971 95 99 77 Registered trekkers: 9590 36 33 44 WEBSITE : www.indiahikes.in Cover Photo - Nithin Sanghe