Kuari Pass Trek - Day 0 | Dehradun to Joshimath

Kuari Pass Trek

Highest Altitude: 3815m (12516 ft)

Location: Nanda Devi National Park, Chamoli District. 

State/Country: Uttarakhand/ India

Base Village: Tugashi/Joshimath

Trek Open: Year Round

Total Distance: 20km

Number of Days: 3 Days

Difficulty Level: Easy - Moderate

Back to the Mountains

On Friday, the 20th of December 2024, I took a flight from Bangalore to Dehradun. I had booked a stay close to ISBT where I would be picked up next morning by the trek organisers. This was my second trip here within two months. Since I had a voucher from the previous trek in October, I wanted to use it up quickly. I longed for another winter trek after  my unforgettable experience during Kedarkantha trek in December 2021.

My taxi driver Dev was a gentle man from Dehradun. He spoke to me about the weather there and some recent developments in the area. He was excited about the fact that Uttarakhand was being promoted as a place for destination wedding. Recently, he said, the daughter of a rich businessman was married at the location where lord Shiva is said to have married Parvathi.  I refrained from expressing my views on temporary gains of such developments and the permanent damage to the environment and local culture. 

I freshened-up and got ready to meet Ankush. I had met him during my previous trek to Gaumukh Tapovan and had connected well with him. He lives in Dehradun. In Dehradun, people often drive close to a food truck or dhabas and park the car by the street and enjoy a drink in their car while the food is served. We enjoyed some good imported wine as we spoke non-stop for almost 6 hours about life in general. Delicious food was served by the food truck upon order. Frequently, the car would go dead due to the cold weather and we had to give it a push. Locals and the restaurants staff helped us. 

It was interesting to listen to Ankush’s experiences in the US and his decision to move back to India. I think it is interesting to meet people who are around the same age as you since we would have had similar experiences in life and sometimes similar understanding of life too. 

At around midnight, we drove back to ISBT. Locals had setup a small campfire outside a shop. It is a common sight here. People stop by to feel the heat before continuing their walk. A few locals had gathered there who shared a joint with us. After spending sometime there, Ankush bid me farewell and I returned to the hotel. I realised after reaching my room that I had left my down jacket and muffler in his car. I called him, but he had already gone to bed. I asked him to bring it in the morning if he could, if not, I told him that I would manage by renting one in Joshimath. Here I was, leaving on a winter trek, without a down jacket. I wasn’t really bothered about it though. I knew I would find something in Joshimath. 

Next morning (21st December), I got ready and reached the pick up point by 7AM. I was directed to the Tempo traveler by the organisers. Apart from me, there was Lovekush from Delhi who boarded the vehicle in Dehradun. Lovekush works for the ministry of Agriculture. We had a good conversation discussing the treks we have done and about our respective profession. 

At Rishikesh, the others joined - Rudra and Shrishail are from Bangalore but hail from North Karnataka. They are friends since college. 

Abhigyan, Plaban, Abhishek and Arpan are basically from Odisha. Plaban, Abhigyan and Arpan work in Bangalore. Abhishek lives in Odisha and they are all friends since college. Shekar, from Jharkhand, is Abhigyan’s friend from school and is a marine engineer on a holiday. Shekar had a bad headache due to hangover, so he slept during most of the journey. The others too did not speak much but responded politely when spoken to. Lovekush and I had lots to speak anyways. I realised that we have similar opinion about the life, God and politics.

For breakfast, we had paratha. It was so big that I felt like I had eaten a rock. Near Dev Prayag, we stopped to view the union of Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers to form Ganga. Here, we also tasted some fresh Malta orange juice. It was sweet and sour in taste but extremely refreshing. 

For lunch, we stopped at a local dhaba. I had Kadi Chawal. I remember the server here - a short old man who was trying his best to cope up with the multiple orders he was receiving from a crowd of trekkers who had landed there all at once. 

I caught up on some sleep during the journey. It was a long drive of almost 12 hours. There were road closers and detours that delayed our arrival. We reached Joshimath at around 7PM.

We were allocated rooms in a hotel. Lovekush and I shared a room downstairs. We assembled at the common area for a briefing session. Our trek lead was a young lady named Jinal. She talked to us about some of the do’s and dont’s on the trek. For most of them in our group this was going to be their  first trek. Only Lovekush and I were experienced trekkers. For Rudra and Shrishail this was their second. The young boys were first timers. Jinal appeared a bit rude when she avoided answering a basic query from the team and said she would respond to that when time comes. 

After that, we stepped out to find a jacket for me. Since the shop Jinal had recommended was closed, I ended up entering a store that sold duplicate products from China. They had all top American brands. The shopkeeper, a man perhaps in his 30's, showed us a video of young Chinese girls making the jackets. He told us that his uncle visits there to buy them in bulk. The jackets were very good. I liked a white one supposedly a product by “The North Face”. This jacket later became popular among us as “ The North Fake”. The man at the shop quoted Rs2800 for it. I requested Lovekush to bargain on my behalf as I am very bad at it. He said - Rs2000. The man disapproved of the value and pointed at his daughter while saying - “I have mouths to feed". I then said that I would pay him Rs2500. To which he later agreed. The others thought that it was very expensive and I should not have paid anything above Rs1500. However, I did not want to argue with him as I felt that it would be good to do business here and pay this man extra money rather than shop at a mega store. At least, I know that this contribution of mine will benefit his family. Moreover, I liked the design and quality of the jacket. 

We had dinner at a local restaurant and headed back to the room to catch up with some much needed sleep. I was a bit scared about the cold that I will have to tolerate in the coming days. But, this wasn’t the time to return. I had knowingly signed up for a winter trek and I reminded myself of the most beautiful sight that will be only available during this season.  

To Be Continued...