Epic trek travelogue from Uttarakhand: the beginning

After several months of chalking out a tentative itinerary, talking to several companies/agencies and gathering members for our trip, we finally set off for a 9 day trek to Har Ki Doon and Bali Pass in Govind Pashu National Park in Garhwal region of Uttarakhand. We boarded the Indigo flight to Delhi and after hours of lumpy bumpy ride, landed in the national capital at 4 pm. We took the metro to reach Chadni Chowk and did some camera gear shopping (a Gopro mike and batteries for my 60D). In the evening we ventured to Jama Masjid area and had a sumptuous meal at the renowned Karim’s restaurant there. There was a festive vibe all around as it was the Ramadan season and people were busy shopping their heart out.

Old Delhi Karims Harkidoon Balipass trek Uttarakhand India Wandererdoc — Vibrant streets of Old Delhi

Harkidoon Balipass trek Uttarakhand India Wandererdoc — Mutton man !! Karim’s

Myself and Hindol met up with rest of the team at New Delhi Railway station and boarded the Nanda Devi Express to Dehradoon. Prasanta, Soumita and Soumi (other team members) had arrived from Kolkata the same day. Early next morning we reserved a Bolero to continue our journey to the starting point of our trek- Sankri village, 180 km from Dehradoon. I had luckily found a cobbler at 6.00 am in the morning near the station. He was more than happy to sew up my Winpard backpack which I have been using against all odds for the last decade.

We crossed Dehradoon town and headed towards the hills. After a short motion sickness stoppage we reached the highly touristy Kempty falls. After having a highly overpriced alu paratha and omelette we moved ahead. In a few hours drive through the well tarred road, we crossed several small towns and reached Purola village. Our trek agency representative was present there. He loaded some trek equipment’s on our vehicle. After having lunch we stopped at Naitwar forest check post where we had to get permits. After a minor hassles we finally took necessary permission and headed towards Sankri.

The weather had turned gloomy and the roads turned bad. After a bumpy ride, we reached the quaint little village at around 5 pm in the evening. We soon reached our hotels and rested for the night. Our trek was to start from the next day.