Itinerary

DAY 1 : Delhi - Kathgodam
Distance: 284 km
Drive: 6 hrs
Kathgodam is 284 km from Delhi by road. You can either drive down, which takes 6-7 hours or you take the overnight train and then drive to Binsar. Perched at an altitude of 960 m Kathgodam serves as a good base town to stock up your basic provisions. However it is advisable to get your own basic gear. We stop for the night at the scenic KMVN (Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam) lodge.

Day 2 : Kathgodam - Binsar
Distance: 110 km
Drive: 4 hrs
From Kathgodam it is 4-hour drive to Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary (2310 m), at a distance of 25 km from the hill town of Almora. The elevation ranges from 1500-2450 m. Arrive at Binsar Forest Rest House (2450 m) in the late afternoon and go for birding in the evening on foot. During your nature walk you can see the spectacular Khaleej Pheasant, which often leaves its forest patch and emerges into the open to forage at the edges. Overnight stay at Binsar Forest Rest House

Day 3 : Binsar FRH (2450m) - Dhaulachina (1650 m)
Distance: 14 km
The walk from Binsar to the next camp Dhaulachina is a gradual descent on a well-defined cart track. After 3 hours of walking on a gradual undulating path you reach the village of Dalar with its gaily-colored houses. It is one of the several habitations inside the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary. You often encounter many locals grazing their sheep and woman carrying dead wood. After a brief stop, you continue through the conifer forests that gradually transform into old woods of oak and rhododendron. You camp overnight amidst the pine forests of Dhaulachina.

Day 4 : Dhaulachina - Saukiatal - Bridhajageshwar
Distance: 15 km
It's a 15 km walk from Dhaulachina to Bridhajageshwar (or Bara Jageshwar) and the first hour is spent walking on a tarred hill road till Saukiatal. As the Nandadevi range looms in the far distance, you hike along a pony trail past several Kumaoni habitations and get fleeting glimpses of their mountain life. After crossing a dense temperate forest with a thick tree canopy, you arrive at Bridhajageshwar, the source of the Jata Ganga and the abode of Shiva prior to Jageshwar. You camp overnight close to the Shiva temple, set against the majestic backdrop of the peaks of Kumaon, Garhwal and Western Nepal.

Day 5 : Bridhajageshwar - Hariatop - Bridhajageshwar
Distance: 6 km
Today, you hike along an outcrop of luxuriant oat grass and some massive rhododendron to Hariatop, perched at 2200 m and a short excursion from Bridhajagehwar. As the name suggests, it is a 'green flat top' that offers an expansive view of the Himalayas, including ranges of Western Nepal. This is also a trail that once led to Nepal. You can walk below our campsite to a nullah with some ancient stone carvings. Till date this remains the main source of water at Bridhajageshwar and serves as an early-day model for water harvesting. Overnight at the campsite.

Day 6 : Bridhajageshwar - Jageshwar - Dandeshwar
Distance: 11 km
It's a short walk from Bridhajageshwar all the way down to Jageshwar (1870 m) on the other side of the hill. You trek through dense forests along a scenic narrow valley and cross a few mountain streams to the 1000-year-old temple township of Jageshwar. As you reach Jageshwar, the temperature drops considerably and it can get quite cold under the shade of the lofty Cedars (deodars). Jageshwar is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas in the country and has been an important centre of Shaivism for centuries. You continue eastwards and walk on a tar road that runs along the Jata Ganga. You camp in the cedar forests by the quaint Dandeshwar temple, scarcely a kilometer away from the main temple complex.

Day 7 : Dandeshwar - Jhakursem - Dhauladevi
Distance: 18 km
The long 18 km hike from Dandeshwar to Dhauladevi takes you through denser forests into a large valley with some abandoned houses replete with wood carvings. You descend through large terraced fields along a meandering stream whose gurgling waters silently glided through old water mills. A long 8 hour walk takes you to Jhakursem and by sundown you reach the colonial bungalow of Dhauladevi Forest Rest House. Deriving its name from the local deity Dhaula Devi (Goddess of the Mountains); it is in her comforting lap that you spend what would be the last night of this memorable trek.

Day 8 : Dhawladevi - Kathgodam
Distance: 107 km
It's a 4-hour drive from Dhawladevi to Kathgodam, a distance of 107 km. If you have the time and the inclination, you can also check out the rock shelters at Lakhu Udiyar, a half-hour drive from Jageshwar on the way back. The caves, replete with ancient line drawings, offer an insight into the life of the prehistoric men who dwelled here in the Stone Age. Take the overnight train from Kathgodam to Delhi.

Day 9 : Delhi - Onward destination
Arrive early morning at the railway station and check in at the hotel. Day spent at leisure or sight-seeing of the city. In time transfer to the international airport to board the flight for onward destination.

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