DAY 1

Drive from Dehradun to Gaichawan Gaon

Drive Distance: 195 km | Drive Duration: 10-11 hours | Pick up point for Indiahikes trekkers: Grand Legacy (near Laal Pull) Hotel, Dehradun | Pick up Time: 6.30 am

Transport will be arranged at 6.30 AM. The cab can also pick you up from Library Chowk, Mall Road, Mussoorie at 7.30 AM. This cost has to be borne by trekkers. Cost of the cab – Rs 1100 per trekker. Please pre-book your transport through the dashboard before your trek.

DAY 2

Trek from Gaichawan Gaon to Julota

Trek Distance: 5.5 km | Trek Duration: 4-5 hours | Altitude Gain: 5,600 ft to 8,950 ft

DAY 3

Trek from Julota to Pukhrola

Trek Distance: 3 km | Trek Duration: 3-4 hours | Altitude Gain: 8,950 ft to 10,800 ft

DAY 4

Trek from Pukhrola to Akhoti Thach via Kedarkantha Summit

Trek Distance: 8 km | Trek Duration: 6-7 hours | Altitude Gain: 10,800 ft to 9,170 ft via 12,500 ft

DAY 5

Trek from Akhoti Thach to Gaichawan Gaon

Trek Distance: 7.2 km | Trek Duration: 5-6 hours | Altitude Loss: 9,170 ft to 5,600 ft

DAY 6

Drive back from Gaichawan Gaon to Dehradun

Drive Distance: 195 km | Drive Duration: 10-11 hours | Drop off point for Indiahikes trekkers: Grand Legacy (near Laal Pull) Hotel, Dehradun | Drop off Time: 7 pm

This transport cost has to be borne by trekkers. Cost of the cab – Rs 1100 per trekker. Please pre-book your transport through the dashboard before your trek.

Please note: The distance between campsites may vary by 100 meters depending the weather conditions and the route you take. The altitude may also vary by 100 feet for similar reasons.

Day 1 (Pick-up Day): Drive from Dehradun to Gaichawan

Drive Duration: 10-11 hours | Drive Distance: 200 km | Altitude: 5,570 ft

The trek begins at Gaichawan Gaon. The journey takes you past Mori and Purola. You see beautiful valleys and forest cover throughout the journey.

At the Naitwar Barrier, you need to take permission. A government-issued ID is essential for this. After the barrier, take a right turn to go to Gainchawan Gaon. The road that goes straight takes you to Sankri. After taking the right turn, take another right turn in about 30 minutes.

Roam around this quaint village and be enchanted by the sound of the Tons river.

Gaichawan Gaon is known as the Apple Valley of this district of Mori. You will see apples being grown in this region.

One can see a strong influence of Kathkuni Architecture which has come from Himachal Pradesh. The houses are built using an interlocking mechanism of rocks and wood. An alternate lego block of this sustainable way of building houses without using cement is something very rare and remote to witness. 

Our homestay at Gaichawan Gaon is a cultural hotspot. The storage is almost a hundred years old in the basecamp. You will be able to see the Kothar here, which is the grain bank. You have underground levels. Under that, there is another floor section to keep ration. The residents of the house store their ration in it. It is generally two storey and a little elevated from the ground. It has a very small entrance and inside you’ll find four compartments dedicated to different grains and the upper storey is used to store dry meat etc. for the winters.

Day 2: Trek from Gaichawan to Julota

Trek Duration: 5.5 hours | Trek Distance: 5.2 km | Altitude Gain: ⇗ 3,350 ft (5,570 ft to 8,920 ft)

Difficulty: Moderate. Gradual ascent for 2 to 2.5 hours followed by a steep ascent

Highlights: Unique culture and architecture at Haltwar. Lovely pine and oak forests to enter into clearings.

There’s a motorable road to Haltwar which is a work in progress. From Gaichawan Gaon, you will have to stick to the villager’s path that goes through apple orchards and farmlands. The Suchan Gaon and Dargar Gaon villages are unique in their culture, in their architecture and lifestyle. Haltwar is at a distance of 3 km from Gaichawan Gaon if you come through these villages and 6 km via the motorable road.

Haltwar is a small village with few houses. While spotting a building with Kath-Khuni architecture, do notice the waste hotspot around the village where you can leave the mountains better.

You get beautiful views of the Rupin Valley from here. Experience local cuisine such as siddu in one of Dhabas in Haltwar. Kamlesh Ji’s dhaba is a no packaged food dhaba.

From Haltwar, the trail first goes inside a light forest that ascends gradually. In some time, you see a beautiful clearing amidst pines and oaks. Soon you see a wooden bridge over a stream bed. There’s a water source here to refill your water bottles.

After the clearing, you enter a dense forest of pine and oak. The trail from here on gets gradually steeper and more like a staircase made of slabs of rock. After gaining some altitude, the incline becomes more gradual.

This place is a magical experience when you trek while observing the silence with birds chipring around you. Dont forget to get immersed in this rich ecosystem as a few maple trees and Rohdodendrons start popping sparsely in the forest.

Follow the trail through the forest until you reach another lovely clearing. This second clearing indicates about you getting closer to the campsite of Julota.

From here it is a gradual ascent until you start noticing few dome shaped tents to reach a stunning clearing where you get to witness a beautiful sunset. This is your Julota campsite.

Day 3: Trek from Julota to Pukhrola

Trek Duration: 3.5 hours | Trek Distance: 3.50 km | Altitude Gain: ⇗ 1,950 ft (8,920 ft to 10,870 ft)

Difficulty: Easy. Half a kilometre ascent to a meadow followed by half a kilometre of a level walk. Gradual ascent which becomes steep for the last 300 meters to Pukhrola.

Highlights: A moderate climb through forests and clearings followed by a rewarding sunset

Today’s trek is quite short but there’s close to 2,000 ft of altitude gain through a couple of bigger clearings. So remember to keep yourself hydrated well. The trail is steeper and the terrain is undulated and mixed.

The trek starts with passing through some charming golden oaks. The fallen wooden log with moss and smaller being living transports you to another world.

Within 400 metres of Julota, you reach a clearing. Pass this clearing and walk for another 400 metres to reach the next clearing. This is called Shiun Ka Thatch.

The trail again goes through a thick forest section of Oaks and opens into a much bigger clearing called Moru Ka Thatch. You will see a dhaba near the end of the clearing where you can try the local dishes of Siddu, Sidku or Pua. Take a short break here to enjoy the serenity of the place.

After Moru Ka Thatch, you trek through a tree-covered area on steep terrain. The tree cover slowly loses density and you see Rhododendron and drawf rhododendron trees. You will cross a few streams on the trail. It is colorful in Spring and snowy capped in Winter making it a perfect forest to spend time in.

In 45 minutes to an hour, you reach an amphitheatre-like setting. You can see a lot of mountain ridges from this meadow. This is Pukhrola, our new base in Kedarkantha. You can also see the Kedarkantha summit up ahead of you.

Take a good rest and enjoy the picturesque sunset here. Do not miss the night sky with billions of stars above you.

Note: The cold in the open is intense and it often gets windy. Ensure you layer up once you reach the campsite to trap the heat after your trek.

Day 4: Trek from Pukhrola to Akhoti Thatch via Kedarkantha Summit

Trek Duration: 7-8 hours | Trek Distance: 9 km | Altitude Gain and Loss: ⇗ 1,630 ft ⇘ 4,230 ft (10,870 ft to 8,270 ft via 12,500 ft)

Difficulty: Easy to moderate. 2-3 hour steep ascent to reach the summit. Steep descent to Akhoti Thatch.

Highlights: Stunning views of the Himalayan ranges from the summit.

Today you make the final push towards the summit. Start from Pukhrola at 4.00 AM.

The route goes on the western ridge of the mountain and it gets steep at multiple points. Climb in a zigzag way in such places. It takes 2-3 hours to reach the summit by this route. On the summit, you are surrounded by mountain ranges and valleys.

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. Some of the other peaks you see include Jaonli, Gangotri, Draupadi Ka Danda and Jorkanden.

After spending some time on the summit, retrace your way to Pukhrola. Reach Pukhrola by lunchtime. Have lunch and trek down to Akhoti Thatch.

Akhoti Thatch campsite is 2 km from Pukhrola. It will take 2.5-3 hours to complete this stretch through the forest section. A slight deviation from the trail towards Pukhrola takes you on the trail towards Akhoti Thatch. This campsite is a nice big clearing amidst walnut trees and hence the name.

Day 5: Trek from Akhoti Thatch to Gaichawan

Trek Duration: 4-5 hours | Trek Distance: 4 km | Altitude Loss: ⇘ 2,700 ft (8,270 ft to 5,570 ft)

Difficulty: Easy. Gradual descent all the way.

Highlights: Beautiful Oak and Rhododendron forests. View of Kedarkantha Peak from afar.

After breakfast, start moving towards Gaichawan. This is 6 km from Akhoti Thatch. The trail after Akhoti Thatch and till reaching Haltwar is untouched and serene.

The trail goes through thick Oak and Rhododendron forests. There are a few small clearings and river streams while on the way down. The trail is not that well-made because not too many trekkers come here.

After 2 hours and almost 2 km of descent from Akhoti Thatch, we reach an opening with shepherd huts. Take a small break here before starting your next phase of the descent.

This next section is a thrilling experience for trekkers to cross. You have a small waterfall which needs to be traversed carefully. There is space for only one trekker to navigate on the trail here. If you are lucky, you can catch glimpses of Martins and red foxes in the early morning.

The route descends further towards Haltwar, which is one and a half hours away. While on the way to Haltwar, you can see Gaichawan Gaon from a small opening in the forest. It takes another 1.5 hours to reach Gaichawan Gaon as you end your memorable experience of trekking to Kedarkantha.

Day 6: Drive from Gaichawan Gaon back to Dehradun

Drive Duration: 10-11 hours | Drive Distance: 200 km

Start early in the morning, preferably before 7.00 AM since the journey takes at least 10 hours. Plan your travel from Dehradun post 7.00 PM on this day.