This stunning trek takes you through the Chamoli district of Uttaranchal, in Northern India. The trek starts from Okhimat and ends in Mandal, the total duration of the trek is fifteen days.

Nandikund means, Lord Shiva’s lake. Nandi was the bull that, according to mythology belonged to the Hindu God, Lord Shiva. The bull, Nandi, used to drink water from this lake and hence it was named, Nandikund.

Nandikund is a hundred meters long and is thirty meters wide. The water is very cold, even during the summer, and crystal clear - you can see the reflection of Chaukhamba (7,400 meters), one of the highest peaks in this region. The entire area is associated with the Hindu mythology pertaining to the saga of the Pandavs – five brothers who were banished from their kingdom.

There is a beautiful meadow called Pandav Serra, where the Pandavs used to grow grains in this meadow. Another picturesque meadow is called Manpai Bugial and is very long and wide. There is a variety of wild life including mountain goat, barking deer, Himalayan brown bear and leopard.

This trek takes you to the four Kedars (body parts of Shiva). Each Kedar is considered very holy for the Hindu region.

On the trek you come across a huge glacier called Pan Patt Glacier, which is stunning. There are many streams to cross during this trek. You will also come across the Kashini Lake (4,500 meters) overlooking Chaukhamba. This trek is culturally very rich and takes you through some of the remotest villages in the region.

Suggested Program:

Day 00: Board the overnight Haridwar bound Mussoorie Express from Old Delhi Railway station.

Day 01: Arrive at Haridwar by 0600hrs where a representative of The Himalayan Outback will meet you. You will be driven to Rishikesh, which is a 40-minute drive – a short stop to freshen up and have breakfast. Continue the drive from Rishikesh to Okhimat (1,600 meters) which takes about six hours. Overnight we will be staying in a guest house in Okhiat.

Day 02: From Okhimath a one hour drive will get us to Uniyana which is the starting point for this trek. The trek starts with a easy two hour stretch to Ransi village. From here we head for Gondra village which is a four hour downhill trek. We will camp near the village for the night.

Day 03: An early start from Gondar to visit Madmahaswar temple which is at a height of 3,500 meters. We should get an opportunity to see beautiful Monal pheasants during this trek. Over night we will camp near the temple at Madmahaswar.

Day 04: We leave Madmaheshwar for a six hour uphill trek to the Kashni ridge. From this ridge you can see Chaukhamba (7,400 meters) and several other peaks. We will be camping at a spot which is a fifteen minutes walk after the ridge; the height of the camping spot is around 5,000 meters.

Day 05: From Kashni a six hour downhill trek will get us to Pandav Shera. We will be crossing several streams today and we should be able to see some wildlife too. We will be camping by the side of a tranquil stream located in a beautiful meadow called Andav Shra.

Day 06: The trek today takes us from Pandav Shera to Nandikund. Today is a relatively short trek taking about four hours to the lake called Nandikund – the last two and a half hours is uphill. We will be camping near the lake with a great view of Chaukhamba (7,400 meters). You will also be able to the Ghiya Binyak Pass from this spot.

Day 07: Today we will spend the day at Nandikund and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. The Panpati Glacier can be seen from here. You can go and see the Ghiya Binyak Pass which is a short hike from our camp site.

Day 08: From Nandikund we trek uphill to the Ghiya Binyak Pass – this Pass is over 5,650 meters high and from there you can see Nanda Devi (7,816 meters), Trishul, Dhronagiri, Chaukhamba and Kedarnath peaks. After crossing the Pass we begin a two hour steep decent in order to reach Bhrami Bugial (4,000 meters). The entire trek today spans almost eight hours.

Day 09: After a well deserved night’s rest we leave Bhrami Bugiyal. A two hour walk will get us to a very scenic meadow called Manpai Bugiyal (4,000 meters).

From Manpayi Bugial, the trail goes all the way down to the river, after crossing the river it is an uphill walk to the camp site. We will be trekking for about seven hours today.

Day 10: A one and a half hour walk takes us to Bansinarayan Dhar (4,350 meters). From the Dhar you will have an excellent view of several peaks including Nanda Devi, Trishul and Dhronagiri. From the Dhar it is a two hour down hill walk to Bansinarayan Temple - Bansi means flute and Narayan is another name for the Hindu God, Vishnu. This is an ancient temple and is surrounded by boulders.

From Bansinarayan Temple the village of Dummak is a four hour downhill walk through a lovely forest along a crystal clear stream. Our camping site is just before the Dummak village, the height of the village is 2,300 meters.

Day 11: Today we head out from Dummak to Talli Bugial. The first couple of hours are downhill, till we reach the river. Once we cross the river we have a uphill trek in order to reach Talli Bugial, a truly breathtaking spot which is surrounded by a thick forest. In the middle of this forest is, Talli Bugial, a small lake, at a height of 2,700 meters.

Day 12: From Talli Bugial we will trek to Rudranath (3,200 meters) - the first couple of hours are completely uphill till we reach Padar Dhar. From the ridge you will get a panoramic 180 degree view of the Himalayas. The trek from Padar Dhar to Rudranath is on the ridge and takes three hours. This is a very scenic camping spot surrounded by beautiful peaks including Nanda Devi.

Day 13: After an early breakfast we take a three kilometer walk gets us to the Rudranath Temple in time to view the Morning Prayer ceremony – this is daily ritual in this famous temple of Lord Shiva. We then head for Unsoya Temple which is a four hour downhill walk. We camp near this historic temple.

Day 14: From Unsoya Temple to Mandal (1,600 meters) it is a gentle downhill three hour walk. Our vehicles will meet us at Mandan and drive us to Chopta (2,700 meters). Overnight we will camp at Chopta

Day 15: Visit the Tungnath temple, which is a three-hour walk. According to Hindu mythology, this temple is the location of one of the body parts of the Hindu God, Lord Shiva. After visiting the temple we drive to Haridwar in order to catch the overnight train to Delhi. This drive takes seven hours.