Satopanth Lake

We cover the second leg of our journey toward the trailhead, enjoying the dramatic mountain scenery change out of our window as we wind our way up in altitude. We will be stopping at Joshimath - one of the headquarters in Uttarakhand for trekking, religious pilgrimages and skiing. We will take the evening to repack, refresh, debrief on our upcoming trek and explore the temples and bazaars of town - time permitting.

A holy city often visited by Hindu pilgrims, Badrinath is tucked into the mountains and said to have been the point the five Pandavas in the Mahabharata epic passed through just before ascending to heaven. We stop after the 45km drive here at the trailhead to acclimatize before heading out with our packs tomorrow.

Our first day’s trails skirts alongside the legendary Alaknanda River, taking us on a pleasantly gradual incline until we reach a rocky landslide section. From here, we cross into the green Somtoli Meadows. Keep an eye out across the river en-route for the Vasudhara Falls - plummeting from 400ft above and spraying a cool mist into the air. Before leaving the meadows, we pass shepherds tending to their flocks as well as the caves they sometimes take shelter in for the night. After a short while longer trekking over a trail section of mostly boulders, we reach our campsite under the shade of some birch trees.

The trail becoming more difficult now, our day starts with a rocky ascent over scree and boulders as we rise with the valley. The higher we go, the more Uttarakhand’s massive peaks are revealed, with the snow capped Nilakntha, Chaukhamba and Balakun coming into view. Upon reaching Sahashtra Dhar, we cross the stream that fan out across this expanse before entering into the left hand side of lateral moraine left behind by the icy Chaukhamba glacier. From here, we follow another steep ascent, flanked by enormous mountains, and rise into a snowy section until we reach our campsite here.

Navigating the wobbly rocks and boulders as we continue ascending the lateral moraine of the glacier, we come to the base of two spurs - rocky ridges jutting out from the 21,300 foot Nilkantha Peak, whose intimidating facade, along with Chaukhamba, now tower above us in plain sight. After crossing over the second spur and passing several miniature glacial lakes, we find Satopanth lake, nestled below into the rocky bowl created by the surrounding mountains. On a sunny day, the triangular lake shimmers in a vibrant blue-green color, its three points said to have been the meditation spots for the Hindu gods: Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. We will return to Chakrateerth for one more night.

Time to begin retracing our steps and making our journey back toward civilization, but don’t worry, we’ve still got another night in the beautiful meadows of Somtoli.

We complete the trek by hiking to Mana, the northernmost village of this region before the border of India and Tibet, and make the return drive to Joshimath to stay the night.

We will return to Dehradun by car, after which point we can arrange your travel either via overnight bus, cab or flight.