Everything You Need To Know About Kedarkantha Trek

How long is Kedarkantha trek?

Kedarkantha Trek is an 18 km long trek that spans over 4 days (6 if you include the travel days from Dehradun and back). On the first day, you trek for about 5 km for about 4 hours. The second day is shorter where you trek for about 2 km over 2 hours. 

The third day is the longest day of the trek as you trek to the summit and come back to the next campsite. On this day, you trek about 6 km over 6-7 hours.  On the last day, you trek for 5-6 km again over 5 hours.

What is the height of Kedarkantha trek?

Kedarkantha trek reaches a maximum altitude/height of 12500 ft.  Depending on the starting point, there are three altitudes you start the trek from: 

Sankri – 6,455 ft
Kotgaon – 6,800 ft
Gaichawan Gaon – 6,800 ft

From the starting point, the trek climbs a height/altitude of more or less 6,000 ft during the length.  You steadily climb up the first three days of the trek till the summit and climb down on the last two days.  Please check the short/detailed itinerary to understand the trek in more detail.

I am more than 58 years old. Can I do this trek?

Yes you can!

If you are above the age of 58 years, you’ll need to submit a Treadmill Test (not older than 12 months) within a week of completing your trek registration. Apart from this, you should also be able to jog 5 km in 45 minutes.

Do I get network on the Kedarkantha trek?

Network and connectivity are sparse in Kedarkantha.  But there are few locations where you can rely on a good network for communication on the trek route.

Is there an ATM close to the Kedarkantha trek?

The last ATM en route to the base camp is in Mori. Mori has an SBI bank with an ATM attached to it.  However, the ATM is empty of cash many times.  In such a case, you may head out to an SBI authorized cash withdrawal centre.  You can swipe your card and get cash from the person servicing the desk.  This centre is located on the first floor, two buildings to the right of SBI.

Although Mori has this possibility, we strongly encourage trekkers to bring cash or to withdraw cash from the 3 ATMs available in Purola (SBI, ICICI and Axis Bank ATMs).

Is there electricity on the Kedarkantha trek?

Sankri/Gaichawan Gaon/Kotgaon are the last points that are electrically connected.  However, the electricity is extremely intermittent and can be absent for most part of the day during winter/late summer (when the monsoon starts to set in).

So, we strongly encourage you to bring additional batteries for your cameras and a power bank with more than 10,000 mAh to last you the entire trek.

Pro Tip: Beware that the power from your batteries will drain faster in cold temperatures of this region.  So, put the batteries in a small pouch and keep them inside your sleeping bag to keep them warm during the night.

Do I have a cloak room facility at Kedarkantha?

At Kedarkantha, you have the opportunity to drop your luggage at the base camp for the duration of the trek.

At the end of the trek, the cloakroom belongings will be brought back to you.

Please do ensure that you do not leave valuables in our cloakroom facility.  If you do so, do inform our staff so that they can take the necessary precautions to keep it safe.

Is Offloading available on this trek?

Having too many mules on a trail isn’t good for the ecosystem. This is why, at Indiahikes, we do not encourage offloading. A trekker carries his/her own backpack in the true spirit of trekking.

But if — due to a medical condition — you are unable to carry your own backpack, you may offload your backpack. 

The cost of offloading on the Kedarkantha trek is Rs 1200 for the trek.