PANGARCHULLA PEAK TREK

The day starts with a small drive from our base camp towards Auli.

The trek starts from lower Auli. Upper Auli is 1,000 ft above this. Trekkers do have the option of taking the cable car/ropeway to reach Upper Auli. If you plan to trek, you will reach it after gradually ascending for 1-1.5 hours.

This section will be seeing plenty of waste and is a good opportunity for you to contribute to leaving the mountains better.

From here, the trail enters an oak forest. Within a few minutes, you reach Padiyar temple. You can take a break here if you wish. From Padiyar temple, the trail continues to ascend. In 2.5-3 hours you will reach Padiyar.

At Gorson Bugyal, wide mountain views open up ahead of you. You will trek across the entire length of Gorson Bugyal, which gives you enough time to savour the views. This is a lovely walk one gets to do.

This is also the place you need to look up and catch Himalayan Griffin hovering above you.  This majestic beauty is a wondrous bird. After about 40 minutes of moderate ascent, the overhanging trail ends abruptly and you take a U-turn brings you to an overhanging trail which cuts through a cliff.

Continue on this ledge. You can spot Lower and Upper Tugasi villages way below in the valley and also see rhododendron forests from above. The entire valley is below you now. A 20 minutes steep ascent and descent takes you to Tali lake.
At Tali lake, you’re above the tree line so you start getting the mountain views again. This with the gorgeous view of Mt. Nandi Devi that makes you go weak in your knees.

From here, your campsite is nestled in between the forest. This should take you around 30-40 minutes to reach.

The trail to Khullara is an easy day. This day will help you get enough rest and spend time exploring Khullara.

You trek through the lovely dense forests of Oak and dwarf rhododendrons. There are plenty of short clearings on this day. When you are about to reach Khullara, you meet the trail which connects from Gulling.

On one side you see Chaukhamba, Neelkanth, Dronagiri, Nilgiri and Hathi Ghoda peaks. Straight ahead of you are Trishul and parts of Nanda Devi. Continue on this trail to reach the upper grasslands.

The Khullara campsite is located in a clearing.

Take the rest day seriously and spend your time in a beautiful setting, watching the sunrise and set.

If you decide to trek up to the Kuari top, it is a moderate climb with a few switchbacks.

Start early at 4.00 AM, as the summit needs to be reached before 11.00 AM.

From Khullara Campsite, walk towards the forest ridge ahead of you as you connect with the famous Lord Curzon Trail. The initial 30 to 45 minutes of the trek is through a forest ridge along a frozen rivulet. This section will be found buried in a huge accumulation of snow. The ascent of about 100 metres is stiff. Carefully climb up the snow ridge section until you see a vast snowfield in front of you. Observe the snow gully above you in the middle. That is the point where one has to reach. The incline gets steep as you walk on soft powdered snow. You finally leave the forest line behind you. Wear sunglasses to avoid snow blindness.

After walking for 30 to 45 minutes you reach the top of the snow gully. From here you get the view of Pangarchulla Main and Pangarchulla subsidiary summits.

Stay towards the true right of the snow ridge as you walk alongside gaining altitude. The snow accumulation on the ridge from here forth can be huge during the winter season (Mid January till April). After 45 minutes of watchful snow hike along the ridge, you reach the level snow grounds. This can be a possible Advance Base Camp for Pangarchulla Summit. However, there is no source of water here in winter.

From this point observe Chaukhamba massifs in the far north, followed by Mana, Kamet, Abi Gamin, Hathi Parvat, all the way to Nanda Ghunti and Trishul. In the middle sight, the Dronagiri, Changabang and Kalanka peaks are prominent.

The onward approach to the Pangarchulla summit is laborious, but not difficult. It is advisable to have a qualified guide with you for opening the snow route. There are multiple steep sections on soft snow. Proper high ankle trek boots, gaiters and crampons will help in climbing. Crampons are highly advisable to minimize the chances of slipping on snow. The section of the climb can take five-six hours in snow conditions. In post-monsoon season one can reach the summit in 4 hours.

From this point, observe the summit approach the base of Pangarchulla main peak. Six mountain ridges need to be traversed to reach the base of the peak. During the winter season, the whole region is carpeted in snow making it difficult to traverse the area swiftly.

Take the snow trail that descends sixty meters down and then climbs up 120 meters till you reach a level hump. This section is laborious with a sharp descent and ascent. Once you reach the top of the first snow hump, it is time to climb the second one above it.

Traversing the second, third and fourth snow ridges may take an hour and a half. Once you reach the top of the fourth ridge a clear perspective of the summit climb from the base of Pangarchulla Peak can be seen. Move forward towards the fifth ridge which has a gradual ascent as you reach nearer to the base of the peak. As you cross over the fifth ridge, the sixth one appears to be a stone's throw away.

The ascent from here to the summit of the peak is around 300 to 350 meters. The climb to the summit is best approached by following the connecting ridge moving along the right side, to begin with. Halfway through the climb, look for an appropriate point from where the summit route needs to be established.

Ice carving a route via an ice axe will be required from here forth. Take a left as you face the side ridge wall with a sixty-degree incline section. Depending upon the accumulation of snow a fixed rope may be required. As you climb to the top of the razor-sharp cornice, the final summit climb section awaits you. The team should be harnessed on a rope here as the wind here is very strong. Avoid walking on the edge of the cornice at any point as you do the final ridge walk. The summit is less than 100 meters away.

Once at the summit, enjoy the breathtaking 360-degree views of Garhwal peaks. Nanda Ghunti, Trishul ranges are visible from the summit for the first time.

The return is a three-four hour descent down to the camping grounds of Khullara. Take care while descending on snow.

The trail today descends from Khullara but it’s not as steep as the previous day. As you descend, you will go through dwarf rhododendrons. Within 40 minutes of starting from Khullara, you reach the first clearing. You will be surrounded by golden and brown oak forests on all sides.

Continue on the trail leading into the forest. You will reach the second clearing in about an hour. All this time, you will cross small streams along the trail. The water in them is clean and you can drink from them.

Be careful near the streams during the early season. They freeze and become hard and it becomes extremely slippery to walk on them. So, exercise caution when you come across hard ice. The snow that freezes overnight and becomes hard ice is known as Verglas.

Start from Tapoban after breakfast. Enjoy the scenic drive back to Rishikesh. You are expected to reach Rishikesh at around 7.00 PM on this day.