New Delhi Trip Overview
Experience 16 days and 15 nights guided trek to the Source of the Sacred Ganges River in the Indian Himalayas through the most historical places and seeing the majestic Himalayas up and close, visits a remote and highly spectacular part of the Indian Himalaya, known as Garhwal. Garhwal is celebrated in Hindu mythology and religion and is locally known as the ‘Abode of the Gods’. It is here in this massive region, beyond the Hindu shrine at Gangotri, that the mighty Ganges River has its source. Experience best trek to the Source of the Ganges with experienced mountaineers those born and raised up in Indian Himalayas with acknowledge guides, drivers and best camping equipment’s for the Himalayas
Additional Info
Duration: 18 days
Starts: New Delhi, India
Trip Category: Cultural & Theme Tours >> Cultural Tours
Explore New Delhi Promoted Experiences
What to Expect When Visiting New Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi, India
Experience 16 days and 15 nights guided trek to the Source of the Sacred Ganges River in the Indian Himalayas through the most historical places and seeing the majestic Himalayas up and close, visits a remote and highly spectacular part of the Indian Himalaya, known as Garhwal. Garhwal is celebrated in Hindu mythology and religion and is locally known as the ‘Abode of the Gods’. It is here in this massive region, beyond the Hindu shrine at Gangotri, that the mighty Ganges River has its source. Experience best trek to the Source of the Ganges with experienced mountaineers those born and raised up in Indian Himalayas with acknowledge guides, drivers and best camping equipment’s for the Himalayas
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Pass By: New Delhi, New Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi
Reception at the airport, transfer to the hotel, overnight at hotel
Stop At: Rishikesh, Rishikesh, Dehradun District, Uttarakhand
Drive to Rishikesh, afternoon check-in at the hotel.
“Sanctuary of Saints and Sadhus” Rishikesh is situated on the bank of river Ganga and is surrounded on three sides by the Himalayan ranges. It is a great pilgrimage center of India, also visits ancient temples and Ashrams. At Triveni Ghat, by the evening is held the “Ganga Aarti”, which is the most fascinating religious ritual in the world. The Grand Aarti is the prayer in which the religious songs are chanted in the praise of the Goddess Ganga, the pilgrims light a bowl of butter lamp with fresh flowers in it and offer it to the Goddess by floating to into the river.
Duration: 7 hours
Stop At: Raithal, Uttarakhand 249135, India
After breakfast drive to Raithal village via Uttarkashi is one of the major towns of Uttarakhand. It’ll take another one and a half hour drive to reach Raithal.
Raithal to Upper Raithal is a short hike of just 1km which can be easily done in less than an hour. The well-marked trail begins from the terraced fields of the village and climbs up to the forest entry point. It is an ideal location to mark the beginning of the trek with unobstructed views of Mt. Shrikanth, Mt. Jaunli & Mt. Draupadi ka Danda. Dinner and overnight stay in the guest house at Upper Raithal.
Duration: 7 hours
Stop At: Dayara Bugyal, On Uttarkashi – Gangotri road, Uttarkashi India
After breakfast, you will start the trek towards Dayara Meadow via Gui campsite. Today’s route is a Gradual ascend through the beautiful landscape of laced Rhododendrons and a forest cover of Silver oaks & Deodar till we reach our campsite in Dayara. On the way to the campsite, you would be also seeing majestic mountain views and peaks like Mt. Jaonli, Mt. Srikantha, Mt. Gangotri, and a lot more. You will also pass through the Gui Taal and the forest department concrete hut. Dinner and Overnight stay will be at Dayara Bugyal campsite in tents.
Duration: 5 hours
Stop At: Dayara Bugyal, On Uttarkashi – Gangotri road, Uttarkashi India
After breakfast, we start our day and trek to Surya top and further to Uchlaru Top which offers a 360-degree view of the Himalaya including Bandarpunch (6350 meters), Draupadi Ka Danda (6420 meters), Jaonli (6600 meters), Srikanth, Gangotri I, II, III and many other peaks. It is the best day of our walk on the entire trek. Later trek back to Dayara Bugyal. Dinner and overnight stay in tents.
Duration: 6 hours
Stop At: Dayara Bugyal, On Uttarkashi – Gangotri road, Uttarkashi India
We spend two nights at the beautiful Syari Bugyal and for those who want to, we can trek to the fantastic viewpoint at Surya Top, the highpoint of this warm-up trek. From camp, we ascend onto the ridge above us and follow the ridge climbing all the time. As we gain height the views become more and more spectacular. It will take us about 4hrs to Surya Top and further to Uchlaru Top at 3,900m. From here we get amazing views as we are even closer to the great Himalayan peaks. We take a packed lunch so we can enjoy the views and in the afternoon we descend to our camp.
Duration: 5 hours
Stop At: Raithal, Uttarakhand 249135, India
After breakfast trek back to Raithal village through a nice oak, Cedar, and rhododendron forest and finally get to Raithal village. It is all pretty much downhill to the village. We can have a nice hot water bucket bath once we reach in the guest house at upper Raithal. Dinner and Overnight stay in the guest house.
Duration: 4 hours
Stop At: Gangotri, Gangotri, Uttarkashi District, Uttarakhand
Our warm-up trek is now complete and we head further north and closer to the mountains, to the start of the Source of the Ganges trek at Gangotri. The road follows the valley as it winds its way into the hills, still following the Bhagirathi River. The higher it gets the narrower it becomes and we start to see impressive rock spires and snow-capped peaks rising above the valley. We will arrive in Gangotri by lunchtime via Gangnani its thermal water springs, Gangnani is a perfect place for rejuvenation. The thermal water spring at Gangnani is called Rishikund and have the afternoon to explore the temples. Gangotri (3,415m) is the seat of the Goddess Ganga. It is an important Hindu pilgrim town and the origin of the River Ganges. It was here that the Goddess Ganga descended when Shiva released the river from the locks of his hair. The river here is called the Bhagirathi and it only becomes the Ganges after its confluence with the Alaknanda at Devprayag.
Duration: 4 hours
Stop At: Bhojbasa, Uttarakhand 249135
We now begin the second trek to the source of the Ganges called Gaumukh. It is 18km from Gangotri, which will take us one and a half days. The trek starts with an easy climb surrounded by magnificent scenery. We pass the Gangotri national park check post for the Gangotri Conservation Project and continue following the river with impressive cliffs on our left. We get wonderful views of Mount Manda (6,510m), the Bhagirathi Massif, and other surrounding peaks. We continue ascending through forests of pine and birch to Bhojwasa (which means home of birch trees). Ahead we can see the glaciated boulders and Bhagirathi peaks towering over the Gaumukh springs. A short distance above camp we will get our first views of Shivling (6,543m), the spectacularly shaped Matterhorn of India.
Duration: 6 hours
Stop At: Gomukh, Gangotri India
From Bhojwasa we trek gradually uphill for 4km to Gaumukh. This is the actual source of the Ganges and is where the many pilgrims will trek to. The river starts at the snout of the Gaumukh glacier and is one of the holiest places for Hindus to visit. We leave the pilgrims behind as we cross the Gangotri glacier. Ascending the lateral moraine we follow a steep cairned trail that leads to the east side of the glacier. We continue on to Tapovan (4,500m), probably the most spectacular camp of the trip with stunning views of Shivling, Meru, Kharchkund and the Bhagirathi peaks. The peaks are so close we can almost touch them and here is some of the most stunning Himalayan scenery. We spend 2 nights here to enjoy the spectacular setting.
Duration: 5 hours
Stop At: Tapovan, Tapovan, Tehri Garhwal District, Uttarakhand
Spend a day in Tapovan, with time to enjoy the stunning scenery and views or take an optional walk to Meru base camp. The trail follows the right side of the valley and ascends the rocky moraine towards Meru base camp. The views are even more stunning as Shivling rises dramatically above us. Called the Matterhorn of India it is an impressive sight and from camp, we can see the face called the Shark Fin, which to date has only been climbed once. We may spot Blue Sheep here upon the grassy plateau of our camp. We return to camp for lunch and the afternoon is free to enjoy the views and we can visit an ashram that is close by.
Duration: 5 hours
Stop At: Chirbasa, Uttarakhand 249135, India
Hopefully, we will get a stunning sunrise over the great peaks around us before we leave this mountain arena and retrace our steps down the valley past Gaumukh and Bhojwasa to Chirbasa.
Duration: 6 hours
Stop At: Uttarkashi, Uttarkashi, Uttarkashi District, Uttarakhand
We finish our trekking today with a short walk back to Gangotri, where we meet our transport for the drive down the valley to Uttarkashi for the night. The drive is approximately 100km and will take about 4 hours.
Duration: 6 hours
Stop At: Rishikesh, Rishikesh, Dehradun District, Uttarakhand
Road in direction of Rishikesh, afternoon visit the Temples and the Ashrams, rest time at leisure, overnight stay at the hotel.
Duration: 6 hours
Stop At: Haridwar, Haridwar, Haridwar District, Uttarakhand
Full day excursion to the ancient temples and Ghats.
Haridwar literally means, “The Gateway to God”. Town stands on the right bank of the Ganges at the foot of Shivalik Mountain. It has been a sacred place from time immemorial and is one of the most important pilgrimage on the Ganges. It is one of the four pilgrim Centre (others are Prayag, Ujjain and Nashik) where Kumbha is held every twelve year. According to mythological belief millions of Hindus take a holy dip in the sacred river of Ganges, seeking emancipation from the worldly sins. Meditation or worship at Har-ki-Pauri is one of the most fascinating religious ritual in the world. The Grand Aarti (religious prayer) on the Ghat of the Ganges when charged with the emotions, the air resounds with the music and the chants offered as a worship to the Goddess Ganga. By the evening the pilgrims float hundreds of little flower bowls into the river with oil lamps. Also visit the Daksha Mahadev temple; night in hotel.
Duration: 8 hours
Stop At: New Delhi, New Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi
Morning train to Delhi, check-in at the hotel, half-day visit to the Red fort, Jama Masjid and Shanti Van; rest time free, evening transfer to an international airport, flight to onward destination.
Duration: 6 hours
