Kedarkantha Trek 2024: Trekking In Uttarakhand
Winter is perhaps the perfect season for doing the Kedarkantha trek – which also explains why it is such a popular trek. From the month of December to the month of April, it is a crazy experience to trek to the Kedarkantha summit – you will trek on the beautiful snow, stay in pretty campsites, and explore wide forest clearings.
Today, let’s talk about the beautiful Kedarkantha trek – stay tuned to find out more about this trek!
The Kedarkantha Trek 2023: Quick Itinerary
The Kedarkantha trek package is perhaps one of the most well-known treks in the whole country – it’s popular amongst both beginners and seasoned trekkers.
Kedarkantha should not be confused with the tourist-friendly Kedarnath Temple – this is a six-day long trek in the Govind Pashu Vihar National Park area in Uttarakhand, including the travel days to and from Dehradun to the base camp.
There are multiple reasons behind the popularity of the Kedarkantha trek. Perhaps, the most important reason is the climb to the summit. This climb is a pretty rewarding one – starting from the trek’s base camp to the final destination. The climb is not that easy – in fact, the whole stretch is actually steadily steep.
Once you start getting close to the summit, it starts to get tricky. But you will have the enormous upper Himalayas for company. On reaching the summit, just stretch and take the whole view – you will be filled with a solid sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. This is a completely unparalleled feeling.
Quick Itinerary for Spring, Summer Season: March To June
- Day 1: Drive from Dehradun to Kotgaon
- Day 2: Trek from Kotgaon to Khujaai
- Day 3: Trek from Khujaai to Dhoka
- Day 4: Trek from Dhoka to Shirpuri via Kedarkantha Summit
- Day 5: Trek from Shirpuri to Kotgaon
- Day 6: Drive back from Kotgaon to Dehradun
Quick Itinerary for Winter Season: December To Mid-February
- Day 1: Drive from Dehradun to Gaichawan Gaon
- Day 2: Trek from Gaichawan Gaon to Julota
- Day 3: Trek from Julota to Pukhrola
- Day 4: Trek from Pukhrola to Akhoti Thach via Kedarkantha Summit
- Day 5: Trek from Akhoti Thach to Gaichawan Gaon
- Day 6: Drive back from Gaichawan Gaon to Dehradun
How To Reach Dehradun?
While looking up details like Kedarkantha weather or even Kedarkantha temperature is vital, figuring out how to reach Dehradun is pretty important as well. The Kedarkantha trek is so beautiful and has so many stunning views from the top; it is no surprise that this is popular amongst trekkers.
But how can you do the trek if you don’t know how to reach Dehradun – here’s how you can reach Dehradun.
By Air:
Domestically the Jolly Grant Airport serves the city of Dehradun. Regular flights also come to this airport from all major metro cities in the country.
By Train:
The closest railway station to do the Kedarkantha trek is the Dehradun Junction which is well-connected to multiple major cities in India.
By Road:
Dehradun does have a well-connected road network. You can either hire a taxi or drive directly to Dehradun from Delhi or anywhere close by. Regular bus services prevail to and from Dehradun via an excellent network of roadways.
Trek Trivia: Things Nobody Tells You About Kedarkantha
Did you know that you will be actually exploring a wildlife sanctuary during your trek to Kedarkantha?
The Kedarkantha trek route starts from the enthralling Govind Pashu Vihar Sanctuary and National Park. This area is known for its rich biodiversity. Fauna and flora in this sanctuary are of the Western Himalayan type.
Here, you will be able to spot three categorically different types of Western Himalayan flora. These are as follows,
- Broad leaved forests,
- Subalpine conifer,
- Subalpine shrubs, and
- Bushes.
The best about the Kedarkantha trek is you will spot all three types!
While you are going up, you will be able to notice the relatively striking transformation in both fauna and flora. From shrubs and forests to huge meadows, the Kedarkantha trek has it all.
The trek also offers you stunning views of rivers Thamsa and Tons. The blue-turquoise hues of Tons can take away all your problems.
Not just this, India’s very first conservation project for snow leopards started here. Plenty of efforts have been actually made to conserve snow leopards by the Govind Pashu Vihar Sanctuary.
Difficulty level of Kedarkanta Trek
Kedarkanta trek is mostly categorized as an easy-moderate trek. Mostly, a trek is considered east to moderate if it follows the following criteria.
- When the ascent is gradual and evenly spread
- It takes 5-6 days to cover the trek
- The attitude that has to be covered is within 14,000 ft
- There are easy as well as multiple exit points
Kedarkanta ticks all the boxes and fits into all the criteria very well. The altitude that you need to cover is 5,500-6,000 feet, and it takes around three days to complete the trek. It is a steady and gradual ascent, so even if you do not have a lot of experience with trekking, it is not going to be a problem.
However, there are a few steep sections spread evenly, and if you prepare yourself, it will not be much of a problem to cover these parts. Every day, you need to climb for a maximum of four hours during the trek. However, on the day of the summit, it is going to be a little longer.
The trek can reach upto a maximum of 12,500 feet altitude. This is what makes this trek suited for everyone. Moreover, this is a stand-alone mountain, so there are multiple routes to the summit.
One of the biggest assets is that there are multiple exit points in this route, which makes this trek an ideal one when looked at from the safety point of view. This is an important point to consider if you are going on a solo trek.
Why is it considered easy to moderate and not easy?
Even though this trek consists of all those components that make it easy, the part that makes Kedarnath an easy to moderate trek is the climb to the summit. This climb is quite long and steep.
Moreover, the duration of the climb on the day of the summit is also long. It is going to take you around 7-8 hours on the day of the summit. You have to climb for almost 5 hours through the steady trail and 2-4 hours of fast descent.
This is the part that is going to be challenging, and you need a good fitness level to get through the day with ease.
Fitness matters
It is best to go for jogging to prepare yourself for going on a trek. Jogging prepares the muscles that will do most of the work in your body when you go trekking. It prepares the hamstrings, calves, and glutes.
It is going to increase your stamina gradually. This does not require any tools or equipment but maintains an easy routine. To get through the trek comfortably, you should train yourself in a way that you can cover about 5km in 38 minutes.
How can you achieve this?
- Go jogging at least 4 days a week.
- You might not be able to run for 5km in the beginning, so start with 5km and then gradually increase it over 2 to 3 weeks.
- When you are able to run for 5km, try to increase your pace slowly.
- Increase it gradually so you cover 5km and make it under 38 mins.
- Before going on the trek, you should cover the distance in the mentioned time for at least 2 weeks.
Treks In And Around The Kedarkantha Trek:
The area around Govind Pashu Vihar National Park is well known for the beginning of multiple trekking trails.
So, here’s a list of all the treks in and around Kedarkantha.
- Har Ki Dun Ruinsara,
- Phulara Ridge,
- Bali Pass,
- Maldaru Lake,
- Devkyara Valley,
- Fachu Khandi,
- Lekha Top,
- Rupin Pass,
- Borasu Pass,
- Baraadsar Lake,
- Vijay Top, and
- Khimloga Pass.
Frequently Asked Questions: (FAQs):-
Check out the most frequently asked questions related to the Kedarkantha trek mentioned below in detail.
Ans: Uttarakhand, in general, is not that costly as compared to Himachal Pradesh or the entire northeast. If you start your trek from Dehradun, then it will cost you only about six thousand rupees which is only about $72.51, but if you start from Delhi, it will cost you a little more than nine thousand rupees which is about $108.77 – including guide, gear, permit, food, and more.
Ans: Some adventure is pretty good for most souls, and the Kedarkantha trek is perhaps one of the most gorgeous treks that you can tryout as a beginner.
Ans: The difficulty level of the Kedarkantha trek is between easy to moderate. This trek is best done during the Winter season, which goes from the middle of December to the end of April. During this time of the year, the temperature can actually drop to about -10 degrees since the weather in this region is always highly unpredictable.
Dream And Explore Kedarkantha:
Of course, if you start looking up a Kedarkantha resort for accommodation, you will be disappointed. Yep, Uttarakhand and, in general, trekking is not for fans of luxury travel. But if you aren’t looking for luxury travel trips, then you can easily plan Kedarkantha – tell us what your thoughts are about this trek.Feel free to share your thoughts, experiences, and stories about the Kedarkantha trek in the comments below.
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