Feeling Adventurous? 6 Magical Winter Treks in the Himalayas for February 2023

You must not miss the sight of Mt. Chaukhamba from Deoriatal. At 7,138 metres, Mt. Chaukhamba is one of the tallest mountains in India. It dominates the skyline at Deoriatal. Trekkers spend hours gazing at the mountain, so captivating is the image. Photo from Indiahikes Archive.

The Deoriatal Chandrashila trek is in the heart of the Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary, which is heavily forested. Here you see the trail, after a snowfall, going towards Tungnath. Photo by Chandrasekhar.

In contrast to the forested trail, the climb to Chandrashila is an open landscape. In winter, the entire face of the Chandrashila summit is covered in snow. Even without snow, the climb to the summit is very rewarding. The summit opens up the views of the entire Greater Himalayas. Photo from Prashant Bhat.

“On most other treks with great Oak forests like Roopkund, Dayara, and Brahmatal, you are focussed on just one thing — climbing up. Here the forest sections are undulating and gain altitude gently. You get to see and feel the forest. Oak forests generally have a very clean floor. Walking on a flat forest floor with only a brown carpet of leaves, under tall, ancient Oaks is one of the most memorable experiences I take back from Kuari Pass,” says Sandhya UC, co-founder at Indiahikes. Photo by Sandhya UC

Kuari Pass also boasts one of the most commanding mountain views, especially from an easy-moderate trek in Uttarakhand. “It reminded me of views from the big treks like Goechala, even Gaumukh-Tapovan,” says Dhaval Jajal, filmmaker at Indiahikes. “You see some of India's most celebrated mountains — Mt Nanda Devi (25,673 feet), Mt Kamet (25,446 ft), Mt Dronagiri (23,182 feet), Mt Hathi Parbat (22,070 ft), Mt Neelkanth (21,300 feet)  from this trek. Trekkers don’t understand, you are looking at India’s highest and the second highest summit, up close, together in one trek.”  Photo by Anil Singh Bisht.

The entire range of Greater Himalayas rise behind you as you climb out of the tree line, onto the Khulara meadows. Photo by Valay Bhatt

Mt. Nanda Devi is an elusive summit to see. But from Kuari Pass, you get an unbelievable view of this elusive mountain. “I had read so much about Mt. Nanda Devi. And finally, at Kuari Pass, there was Mt. Nanda Devi in its full glory! I had tears in my eyes,” says Sandhya UC, Co-founder and COO of Indiahikes. In this photo, you see the commanding southwest face of Mt. Nanda Devi from Gorson Bugyal. Photo by Jothiranjan.

“Even if there is no snow, the angle at which light falls through, especially in the mornings, is extremely charming. Since you’re headed in an easterly direction from Raithal to Gui, you’re directly in the path of the slanting rays of the sun. It lights up the maple and oak leaves around you with tremendous colours,” adds Izzat Yaganagi, Head of Experiential Learning at Indiahikes, who has been to Dayara Bugyal in winter multiple times.

The forest is punctuated by pretty clearings. One such clearing is at Chilapada. We camp here just before climbing to the highest point on the Dayara Bugyal trek. Photo by Akshay Aralikatti.

The entire meadow of Dayara Bugyal gets covered in a carpet of snow in the winter. It is the widest snow expanse among all our winter treks. This photo — with tiny trekkers — gives a perspective of the vast expanse of the landscape in winter. Photo by Isha Agarwal

Getting to a high altitude lake in winter is a worthy prize for the effort. The combination of snow patches with the golden brown earth is a surprise waiting for trekkers. You don’t see Brahmatal until you cross and hump and get to it. In reality, it is much larger than what the picture makes you think. Picture by Gajendra Kumar

Brahmatal is a trek with charming forest sections. Here, in the forests of oaks and rhododendrons, the trunks twist and turn in shapes and forms. The trunks are usually bare and smooth wooded. The trees are not too tall and form a nice canopy at the top. Here trekkers are near the forests close to Jhandi Top. Photo by Abhishek M

Our co-founder, Sandhya UC, has a fondness for the Brahmatal trek. On her trek when she stood on the summit, right in front of her were the breathtaking views of Mt. Trishul and Mt. Nanda Ghunti. “From this vantage point, I was also able to see the Roopkund trail laid out before me, as if from a bird's-eye view,” she adds. In this photo you see trekkers walking on the Brahmatal ridge that leads to the vantage point. Photo by Vishwas Krishnamurti.

The forest of Kedarkantha, especially from the Gaichawan Gaon and Kotgaon sides is less frequented. Filled with oak, pines, deodar and rhododendrons, they are incredibly immersive. “The forests close to the summit are one of my favourite sections. The diversity, contrasting colours, and the density – all give a very surreal feel to this section,” says Lakshmi Selvakumaran, Head of Experience at Indiahikes. Photo by Swathi Chatrapathy.

The summit climb of Kedarkantha is one of the big highlights of the trek. The view from the summit opens up a 360 panorama. You can see mountain ranges all the way to Himachal Pradesh. Photo by Abdul Raoof.

Kedarkantha is a proper summit adventure. ​​View from the top is unparalleled. You see the Chainsheel Pass, Rupin valley, and Har Ki Dun Valley. Mt Swargarohini also comes into view along with Mt Bandarpoonch and Mt Kalanag. Photo by Tilak Ram Rawat..

The Sleeping Buddha or the Kanchenjunga cluster is something you see right from the main trail at Sandakphu. For three hours of the trekking day, the Sleeping Buddha plays hide and seek. This is a stunning view of the Sleeping Buddha from our Samanden camp. Photo by Akash G Ratkal.

Sandakphu-Phalut trek skirts the border of India and Nepal. The constant flitting in and out of the Indo-Nepal border also makes this trek a unique cultural experience. The tea houses on the trek take you close to this unique culture of the region. Here’s a tea house at Molley. You get to witness a unique Indo-Nepal lifestyle, cooking, and religion. Make sure to try out the bamboo shoot pickles at a tea house. Photo by Puneet Garg.

The ‘sea of clouds’ is a unique attraction of the Sandakphu trek. In a strange combination of nature, in the evenings a bank of clouds settles in the valleys around the Singalila ridge. In your vantage position above the clouds, watching the sun setting on them is an experience trekkers look forward to. This is best experienced from our Aahl camp. Photo by Geet Tryambake..