What more a traveler need to start his year with a magical view of white snow covered mountains, floating rivers, pine forest and high hills... and thats how i started my new year 2020.. so guys If you have a plan to visit Switzerland, ditch it..! trust me & first explore these areas of Uttarakhand in winters (December to February) to see and experience the mesmerising views if you can bear the cold!
Started my Day from Dehradun and took a cab to Rudraprayag as it takes 8-10 hrs to reach Chamoli so i thought to take a break in between due to my long journey of a bus last night.
How to reach - You can reach Dehradun/Haridwar or Rishikesh by train from major cities or by bus or sharing cabs or by your own vehicle. (Keep in mind if you driving a four wheeler it is slippery and you will face snow so prefer a 4*4 and be prepare, also for bikers carry snow chains to cover tyre)
Nearest Airport - Dehradoon.
Total Distance - From Dehradoon to Rudraprayag - 180km, min 6-8 hrs if there is no landslide or jam so leave early and stay there, you can find many hotels on road with river facing at back, just take a walk and explore.
After enjoying an evening and rest at peaceful resort i started my third day journey to Joshimath watching the river views and changing colourful world into a snow covered white land. you can visit Ghats, temples and old bridge on the way and witness the sangam of Alakhnanda and Bhagirathi rivers near Devprayag.
so i reached there by early evening and rested at government resort at hilltop and spent next day too in joshimath only to explore near by area, local market and temples. you can take a nice walk around as its comfortable and they have good roads and walkways.
Got ready next morning and took a walk to ropeway for Auli as roads were closed due to heavy snowfall, there is cable car for Auli which operates from 9 AM to 4 pm and takes 20-25 minutes.
so if you just want to see auli and come back you have to catch last cable car at same day at pillar num 10 (last stop) but i would strongly recommend to stay there for minimum 2 days if you want to have good experience of snow covered peaceful mountains, skiing and trek to forest otherwise minimum one night stay.
there are 3 resorts in Auli which you will find open in that weather and easily get space due to less crowd but its better to book online in advance and they are awesome.
Next morning woke up early to get some awesome shots and left for Joshimath, visited Tapovan to watch hot water spring and old parvati temple and stayed at night there in joshimath and next day started my journey to come back home via Rishikesh with melted heart like snow.
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Happy Exploring
Abhinav Gupta