Satopanth Tal Trek

You must reach Haridwar by 5 am latest or you can reach the previous evening/night. This is possibly one of the longest journeys in a day on the mountain. From the plains of Haridwar to the the holy shrine of Badrinath at 3000 m/10000 ft. The road (NH 58) follows initially the valley of River Ganga, and  later for a major section beside its main tributary Alaknanda. On route we cross Rishikesh and then the confluence at Deoprayag, Rudraprayag, Karnaprayag, Nandaprayag to reach Joshimath. From here Badrinath is another 45 Km. Total distance is 310 Km and can take around 13/14 hours. Night stay at lodge/rest house.

After a much needed sleep today visit the Badrinath temple in the morning at your will. After lunch we will walk either to Mana Village or to Charan Paduka area for an acclimatisation walk. This is pretty much a must at Badrinath which is already a place devoid of visible tree and having an oxygen level of only 70% that of sea level. Mana village is only 3 Km away from Badrinath. This is a small settlement of Tibetan/Bhutia/Bhote people and settled here for ages. People stay here only in summer and monsoon. From fall they start their downward movement to lower areas. At Mana you will find a SBI ATM welcoming that we are at the last ATM in the Indian side. At Bhim Pul you can see Saraswati river gushing down carving the rocks and disappearing inside a cave. However you can see clearly this stream meets Alaknanda just after a while.

Today morning after breakfast we start our 5 days trek to Satopanth and back.  We will follow the Alaknanda river and will keep the river on our right (true right of the river). In June it is possible to cross the river at Mana as the snow bridge after Mana normally remains good and intact. In post monsoon you will cross the river at Badrinath temple bridge and turn left to take the concrete track for few kilometres. The trail is a gentle uphill following Alaknanda.  Walking around 3 hours we reach a flattened ground called Chamtoli Bugyal. Myriads of tiny wildflowers bloom during summer and monsoon in this valley. Vasudhara falls is just opposite to this on the other side of river. From here it is another hour to our camping ground called Laxmivan (~ 3650 m/11650 ft). Total distance is 9 Km and may take 6 hours. Though called a “Van”(Forest in Hindi), this place is only a patch of green grass on the trail. Draupadi of Mahabharata supposed to breath her last here. From this ground the views are simply breath taking, in fact in all our next camping grounds. If you look directly north, you will notice that two glacial valleys connecting ahead. the right is the Alkapuri valley, the source of the river Alaknanda. This is also said to be the abode of Kuber, Yakshas and Gandharvas.  The fluted peak called Shri Parvat is at the head of the valley and is mesmerising during the sunrise from this camp. Looking back you can see the Mana peak towering above Mana area. The valley which turned right is the one towards Satopanth Tal and we will follow tomorrow. On the other side of the river you can see the much famed Vasudhara waterfalls. Tent accommodation for the night.

Today we trek to Chakratirtha another 11 Km ahead towards Satopanth Tal. Initial 2 km is an easy walk till Bandhar from where the valleys bifurcate. This area has quite a few Rhododendron bushes flowering late in May. From here the terrain changes to typical glacial moraine covered with boulders and rocks. On our left locate a single standalone rock pillar named Bhim Gada. We cross the stream in a suitable place and continue to walk on the moraine ridge. After continuing for couple of hours we reach Sahastradhara, where numerous waterfalls cascading down the mountains on the left. As per legend brother twins Nakula and Sahadeva  died around this place. Crossing the area we climb on moraine ridge and continue for another two hours to reach another patch of green, beautiful camping ground called Chakratirtha (~ 3950 m/12750 m). The way may take 6/7 hours. The view of Mount Neelkanth from this campsite produces a different angle and face of this iconic mountain. Lord Arjuna died at this holy place. We camp for the night.

After breakfast we start our today’s trek to Satopanth Tal. Leaving behind our camping area we climb on a steep section to reach the shoulder of a ridge. From here the view unfurls and Chaukhamba massif marks the end of this valley ahead. The terrain becomes rough, full of scree, moraine and debris. We continue our climb and slowly gain altitude while crossing smaller ridges hiking up and down. Though the distance is short but the journey is tiring. Finally we climb a ridge and the turquoise lake is seen in the depression. The shape of the lake is like a “Boomerang”, two arms spreading on the opposite sides. We camp on a suitable place around the Satopanth Tal (~4400 m/14430 ft). It may take 5 hours to cover the 5 Km distance. There is a small temple of Lord Shiva and Parvati is on the left arm  and a small hut is constructed on the right arm, where a Sadhu resides in summer and monsoon.

Wake up early in the morning to witness the magnificent sunrise and the reflection of Chaukhamba peak on Satopanth Tal. Legendary Swargarohini steps on the left side of the Chaukhamba massif is clearly visible on a clear day. Bhim couldn’t go any further and Yudhisthira continued alone to heaven following the Swargarohini. After breakfast our descent starts and we trace back our trail to Bandhar, 14 Km via Chakratirtha and Shahastradhara. The walk can take 6/7 hours. Camp for the night.

We return to Badrinath via Laxmivan and Chamtoli. 11 Km distance may take 5/6 hours. Night accommodation in lodge.

Today morning we start our long journey back to Haridwar. We reach Haridwar by 8/9 pm in the evening. Trip ends here.