Anu and I climbed the Pangarchulla peak (15,069 ft) in Uttarakhand. I had expected a short, usual trek. However, the trek was stunningly beautiful. 36 peaks are visible from Pangarchulla in a 360 degree panoramic view. If you have a week free in April, this is trek should be the top of your list.
Pangarchulla peak is in Uttarakhand near Joshimath, Auli. It is a 10 hour drive approximately East from Dehradun, Rishikesh through the 5 prayags of the Ganga.
The Team
We did the trek with India Hikes, overall a great experience. We were a team of 14 people and Aditya Hiremath was our trek leader.
Team members were Dr. Balasaheb Wanve (hematologist), Gerald Crasta (media guy), Dr. Deepak (orthopedic) , Arpit Rustagi (software product manager), Govind Shenoy (tech guy), Vinay (philosopher), Ravi Gupta (in charge of parliament security), Vijay, Gautham (from Tamilnadu) Puneet (Reliance), Abhishek Ramanujan (architect), Abhishek Baghele (software), Samir Palnitkar and Anu Palnitkar.
Aditya Hiremath was the trek leader assigned by India Hikes. Navesh and Prince were the local guides in charge of the trek. Plus there was a site team for kitchen, tents etc.
Here was our day by day itinerary.
Day 0: Thu, April 18, 2024: Pune -> Dehradun Airport ->Rishikesh
We took the 3 pm flight from Pune to Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun. Landed at about 5.20 pm. Took a taxi to Rishikesh. Dr. Deepak joined us during the ride. There was another person Kiran from Pune who was doing Pangarchulla with Trek the Himalayas (TTH). He joined us as well.
We went to Live Free Hostel because that is where the pick up was the next morning. We checked into a private room. It is a simple but decent place for one night and quite central.
At around 7 pm, we stepped out for a walk and ended up at Tat cafe. It had a nice balcony overlooking the Ganga. We had our dinner.
Then we realized on Whatsapp that our team had gathered informally at Beatles cafe just next door. So we went and met them and started the cold introductions, just getting to know them.
The Beatles cafe has an interesting story. In February 1968, the English rock band the Beatles travelled to Rishikesh to take part in a Transcendental Meditation (TM) training course at the ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The visit followed the group’s denunciation of drugs in favour of TM and received widespread media attention. The band’s interest in the Maharishi’s teachings changed Western attitudes about Indian spirituality and encouraged the study of Transcendental Meditation. The visit was also the most productive period for the Beatles’ songwriting.
We came back to the room and slept around 9.45 pm.
Day 1: Fri, April 19, 2024: Rishikesh -> Dhak (near Auli)
The pick up was at 5.15 am. We loaded and left Live Free Hostel by 5.45 am.
It was a long drive to Auli. We saw 5 prayags (sangam) of various rivers merging with the Ganga, Dev Prayag, Rudra Prayag, Karna Prayag, Nanda Prayag, Vishnu Prayag. These were amazingly beautiful and holy sites, of great importance to Indians.
We reached the India Hikes guest house at Dhak (near Joshimath) at around 4 pm. Ate dinner at 7 pm (matar paneer).
We chatted with fellow trekkers, hung around and after dinner, we slept at around 9 pm. Anu and I had a room to ourselves, since Anu was the only girl in the group.
In the evening, the guide charted out the following route.
Day 2: Sat, April 20, 2024: Auli to Tali
Started the day at 8.15 am. Left from Dhak and drove to Auli ski chair lift by tempo traveller.
At 9.30 am, we started walking up the slopes next to the ski chairlift. Typically, this portion is covered via chairlift, but since we were on a trek After the chairlift, continued on to Garsaun bugyal. Reached the top of Garsaun Bugyal by 11.50 am. In English, Garsaun is often spelled as Gorson Bugyal. The views were already beginning to look stunning.
Ate lunch at Garsaun top. Left at 12.35 pm. We got great views of Nandadevi peak (25,646 ft). Nandadevi is the second highest mountain in India after Kanchenjunga (which is only partly in India).
The up and down terrain continued. We saw panoramic views of peaks in the Nandadevi ational park, Drona giri, Hathi ghoda, Trishul and Pangarchulla.
There was a 2 km ledge walk where there was a deep canyon on the left. Aditya, our leader, told us that the ledge walk would be dangerous, but the trail was nearly 3 ft wide and not very dangerous.
Reached Tali lake around 3 pm. Really small water body, hardly a lake.
Reached Tali campground by 3.30 pm. 11,000 ft elevation. It was a nice campground surrounded by tall trees. There was a water source close by. During the day we have completed 3,300 ft elevation gain, and a distance of 9.8 km.
We ate dinner at 7 pm. Played mafia (an interesting group game), cards (Kali ki tikki, like 304) etc.
Went to sleep at 8.45 pm. Had a hard time sleeping and had a non deep sleep. Well rested by the morning though.
Day 3: Sun, April 21, 2024: Tali to Khulara
Woke up at 6 am. Beautiful sunny morning.
Had breakfast at 8 am and left at 9.30 am.
The trail to Khulara had lots of ups and downs, lots of snow patches. Some slush. We had to be careful.
We caught some Beautiful views of Dronagiri. Dronagiri has a very interesting mythological background. When Laxman was struck by an arrow from Meghnad, he was unconscious. Ram ordered Hanuman to go and get the Sanjivani buti found on Dronagiri in the Himalayas. When Hanuman reached there, he could not find the herb. Therefore, he lifted the entire mountain and carried it to Lanka. The guide was saying that the locals are pretty unhappy with Ram and Hanuman for taking away a large part of the mountain.
We walked a short distance of 2.8 km and reached khulara campground at 11.05 am at 11,000 ft. It was a very leisurely walk that day.
Played frisbee. I had a small fall while playing. Luckily nothing major. Therefore, I sat out of the rest of the frisbee game out of abundant caution.
Ate lunch at 1 pm. Slept in the afternoon till about 4.30. Played a game of cards related to 3 of spades, similiar to 304. It is called “Kale ki tikki”.
Dinner was at 7 pm. Played Mafia and dumb charades till 9 pm. Slept at 9.45 pm
Day 4: Mon, April 22, 2024: Acclimitization Trek to Kuari Pass/Kuari Top
This was the day of the acclimitization trek before we attempted Pangarchulla.
There was snow on the ground in the morning.
Snow was a first time experience for many trekkers. So there was a lot of playing around in snow, making a snowman etc.
We were not sure whether we would do the acclimitization trek. However, we left at 9.35 am. Reached Jandi top in 1.05 hours.
We proceeded on the route to Kuari pass. Then instead of going to Kuari pass, we bypassed it and kept climbing further to Kuari top (12,516 ft) which is higher than Kuari pass. Reached Kuari Top at 11.45 am in 2.10 hours.
Last section was very tricky. There was a flag at the top. Took some pictures. This trek is done by other trekkers as a full trek destination. However, we managed to do it as an acclimitization trek. Therefore, during this trip, we did two major treks in one, Kuari Pass and Pangarchulla.
Kuari (virgin) Pass trek is on the Lord Curzon trail. It is known by that name because Lord Curzon trekked there in 1905. Interestingly, Lord Curzon was the viceroy of India responsible for the partition of Bengal on religious lines in 1905.
We started from Kuari top at 12.00 noon and reached Khulara camp by 1.35 pm.
Ate lunch and went to sleep at 2 pm till 4.30 pm. We had to get enough rest to be ready for the Pangarchulla trek on the same night.
We had tea and snacks at 5 pm. Played cards, Kali ki tikki. Slept again at 6.30 pm to get ready for the midnight start of pangarchulla trek.
For 4 hours there was thunder and lightning and rain. Weather was really bad. Woke up around 10.30 pm to find the whole campsite snowed out. Sky was extremely cloudy. They served a meal at 11 pm. We were still unsure whether or trek would start given the really bad weather.
But at 11.45 pm, Navesh the guide said we are going. We were still hesitant. The ground was fully snow covered and the skies were still overcast. But we started anyways.
Day 5: April 23, 2024: Pangarchulla Summit
Started the trek at 12.05 am, just after midnight. Ground was fully covered in snow.
Reached Jandi top in 1.10 am. We put on our micro spikes. We needed them. We continued with the microspikes for the rest of the trek.
We encountered some really tricky portions. Our team was opening the trail. The guide was hitting the snow ahead with an ice axe and his foot. We were expected to step only on the previously made footmarks. Pangarchulla peak is notorious for its boulders and crevasses. Therefore, it can only be summitted in late Mar and April when it is fully covered in snow. However, it is very important not to step off the charted trail for the fear of falling into an uncharted crevasse. This was a picture taken at 2.05 am.
We were beginning to see Pangarchulla peak. But it was still one step at a time.
The going was really tough. Luckily, the weather had cleared and we had a full moon night with stars, no clouds. It was perfect weather to climb. Could not have asked for better. As the altitude increased, each step seemed harder. We reached Mini Pangarchulla peak at 4.30 am. In the picture below, you can see mini Pangarchulla on the right and Pangarchulla on the left.
We could see the Pangarchulla summit right in front. It seemed we would be there shortly. But that was not to be. Final parts of the climb were extremely difficult. Each step was tall and difficult. High gradient about 30-40 degrees.
On the way, we thought we had arrived at the peak, but that was simply not the case. The peak looked in sight, but there was still a lot of climbing to do.
We reached the Pangarchulla summit (15,069 ft) at 6.00 am to catch sunrise. We had climbed nearly 4,000 ft and walked 7 km in snow.
Amazing 360 degree views. Not a cloud in the sky. Moon going down was blood red like the sun. We saw every lots of major Himalayan peaks Dronagiri (7,066 m), Nanda Devi (7,816 m), Hathi-Ghoda Parbat (6,727 m, 6,708 m), Chaukhamba (7,138 m), Neelkanth (6,597 m), Kamet (7,756 m), Mana (7,272 m). A total of 36 peaks are visible from the top of Pangarchulla.
Here is a short video of how the panorama looked from Pangarchulla.
There was no wind, therefore, we could stay at the peak for nearly 35 mins. We started back down at 6.35 am. Initial part was very tricky due to the gradient. I was digging in the heels to walk down on soft snow.
As I was descending, there was a small scare. At one point as I was digging in, I slipped and started sliding down an uncharted slope. I started accelerating and I was a little scared that I would slide all the way down the mountain. That would have meant death. I dug my heels in hoping that the spikes would arrest my side which they did. I also dug my pole in and my pole broke but slowed me down. Luckily, I stopped and I slowly clambered back to the main trail. Scary moments.
We kept going down. At 4 places we were able to slide down the slope. It was great fun.
Here is a video of Anu sliding down. In the night we had to climb up these slopes. Sliding down seemed easy. The guides had told us that we should not slide without their explicit permissions. Sliding down some slopes was very dangerous.
The weather continued to stay perfect. Not a cloud in the sky. On the way down, we bypassed jandi point and continued down to Khulara. There was melting snow and slush.
We reached Khulara at 10.35 am. Total 4,000 ft climb, 14 km trek distance. It was a great achievement to have completed the trek. Lunch was served at 11.35 am.
We took rest, had lunch and then played some games. It was great to bask in the glory of having completed the summit. Of the 14 people, 12 managed to summit. Ravi’s hands were becoming black due to cold, so he decided to turn back. Vijay had sprained his knee on the Tali to Khulara day, so he decided not to risk injury by summitting Pangarchulla. But all the remaining 12 trekkers who attempted, completed the trek.
Day 6: April 24, 2024: Khulara to Karchi
We started the morning with a beautiful view of Neelkanth from our campsite.
This was an easy day, all the way down the Lord Curzon trail. We started at 9.05 am. The path was nicely graded with lots of beautiful views, and lots of Rhododendron trees.
The pink rhododendrons are poisonous, while the red rhododendrons are not. The day was clear and we walked at a leisurely pace. There were no climbs. It was a gradual descent all the way down to Karchi village.
Very tall trees on the way.
We saw a small Ganesh mandir on the way down.
We reached Karchi at 12.30 pm. This was the end of the trek.
We ate hot lunch at the India Hikes guest house. We were put up 4 people to a room. It was good to chat with the fellow trekkers now that we were very familiar with each other. Lot of bonding. We were also joined by a group that did the Kuari pass trek.
There was a debriefing session at 7 pm where Aditya, our trek leader, asked for feedback and views. We were celebrating.
Anu, being the only woman on the trek, was applauded and given a “Spirit of Trekking” badge given to only one person in the team.
We slept at about 9.30 pm.
Day 7: April 25, 2024: Karchi -> Rishikesh -> Dehradun
We started at 5.30 am from Karchi in a tempo traveler and reached Rishikesh about about 3 pm.
We then took another taxi from Rishikesh and went to see my friend, Colonel Vikram Pande in Dehradun. We stayed at the army guest house in Birpur Cantonment.
We spent time with Vikram in the evening appreciating the new house that he is building. Mussorie up at an elevation is visible from his home.
Day 8: April 26, 2024: Dehradun -> Pune
We took the 12 noon flight from Dehradun to Pune reaching Pune at 2.20 pm.
Here are some more interesting photos from the trek.
Birds
Flowers
Summary
We went to the Pangarchulla trek expecting a good trek, but we were simply stunned by this trek. I would rate this trek as nearly the top most in beauty. I have never seen a 360 panoramic view with so many peaks. I also rate Pangarchulla as the second best summit after Stok Kangri, especially because the trek was completely in snow.
I would definitely recommend putting Pangarchulla on your bucket list. India Hikes did a great job with the trek arrangements. If you have a week at the end fo March or in April, this trek is a must-do.
