Popular Destinations

100 destinations across 12 of Uttarakhand’s 13 districts. Altitude and season decide most trips here, so every card carries both, plus drive time from Dehradun.

Garhwal

Chamoli district

22 destinations — Badrinath, Valley of Flowers, Auli, Hemkund Sahib, Gwaldam, Joshimath, Gopeshwar, Adi Badri, Mana Village, Lohajung, Roopkund, Nandprayag, Karnaprayag, Ghangaria, Tapt Kund, Brahma Kapal, Vasudhara Falls, Neelkanth Peak, Satopanth Lake, Gorson Bugyal, Ali Bugyal, Bedni Bugyal.

The painted facade of Badrinath temple against green Garhwal hillsides

Char Dham

BadrinathThe only Char Dham shrine reachable by road to the door, below Neelkanth peak on the Alaknanda.

Altitude: 3,300 m
Season: May – Nov
From DDN: 320 km

Rolling green alpine meadows of the Valley of Flowers

UNESCO

Valley of FlowersAn alpine meadow that blooms for roughly ten weeks a year, trekked from Ghangaria.

Altitude: 3,658 m
Season: Jul – Sep
From DDN: 295 km

Skiers on the snow slopes at Auli under a clear blue sky

Ski

AuliIndia's most reliable ski slope, with a 4 km cable car from Joshimath and Nanda Devi in view.

Altitude: 2,800 m
Season: Dec – Mar (ski) · year round
From DDN: 285 km

Hemkund Sahib Gurdwara beside the Lokpal Lake ringed by snow peaks

Sikh shrine

Hemkund SahibA glacial-lake gurudwara at 4,329 m, climbed from Ghangaria and paired with the Valley of Flowers.

Altitude: 4,329 m
Season: Jun – Oct
From DDN: ~295 km

The quiet hill station of Gwaldam above the Pindar valley

Offbeat

GwaldamThe saddle between Kumaon and Garhwal, looking straight at Trishul above apple orchards.

Altitude: ~1,950 m
Season: Year round
From DDN: ~270 km

Snow-covered slopes above Joshimath with the Garhwal Himalaya behind

Gateway

JoshimathGateway to Auli, Badrinath and Valley of Flowers — and the town the 2023 land subsidence put on every map.

Altitude: 1,890 m
Season: Year round · high passes close Nov–Apr
From DDN: ~280 km

The Garhwal hill town of Gopeshwar in Chamoli district

District HQ

GopeshwarChamoli's quiet district capital with a 9th-century Gopinath temple and the road junction for Chopta and Tungnath.

Altitude: 1,308 m
Season: Year round
From DDN: ~230 km

The cluster of ancient stone temples at Adi Badri in Chamoli

Pilgrimage

Adi BadriA complex of 14 Nagara temples in the foothills — the southernmost and most accessible of the five Panch Badri shrines.

Altitude: 1,000 m
Season: Year round
From DDN: ~195 km

The last Indian village of Mana near the Tibet border at 3,200 m

Last Village

Mana VillageIndia's last village before the Tibet border — Vyas Gufa, Saraswati river and Bheem Pul, 3 km beyond Badrinath.

Altitude: 3,200 m
Season: May–Oct
From DDN: ~323 km

The high-altitude village of Lohajung with Himalayan peaks above

Trek Base

LohajungVillage base for Roopkund, Brahmatal and Ali Bugyal — perched above the Wan Bhyundar valley at 2,350 m.

Altitude: 2,350 m
Season: May–Jun, Sep–Nov · Brahmatal in Dec–Mar
From DDN: ~270 km

The glacial Roopkund lake at 5,029 m in Chamoli, ringed by snow

Trek

RoopkundIndia's famous skeleton lake at 5,029 m — one of the most dramatic high-altitude treks, via Lohajung through vast alpine meadows.

Altitude: 5,029 m
Season: May–Jun, Sep–Oct
From DDN: ~275 km (to Lohajung) + 42 km trek

The Nandakini joining the Alaknanda at the Nandprayag confluence, Chamoli

Pilgrimage

NandprayagOne of the sacred Panch Prayag — where the Nandakini river meets the Alaknanda on the Badrinath highway.

Altitude: 859 m
Season: Year round (road occasionally closed in monsoon)
From DDN: ~195 km

The Pindar river meeting the Alaknanda at Karnaprayag, Chamoli

Pilgrimage

KarnaprayagThe Panch Prayag confluence of Pindar and Alaknanda rivers, and the key road junction for Badrinath and Bageshwar routes.

Altitude: 789 m
Season: Year round
From DDN: ~215 km

The alpine village of Ghangaria at 3,048 m below the Valley of Flowers

Trek Base

GhangariaThe only accommodation base for both the Valley of Flowers and Hemkund Sahib — a staging village 13 km up the trail from Govindghat.

Altitude: 3,048 m
Season: Jun–Oct
From DDN: ~290 km (to Govindghat) + 13 km trek

Steam rising from the Tapt Kund hot spring below the Badrinath temple

Pilgrimage

Tapt KundThe sacred hot sulphur spring at 45°C adjacent to the Badrinath temple — pilgrims bathe here before darshan as per tradition.

Altitude: 3,100 m
Season: May–Jun, Sep–Oct
From DDN: ~300 km

The Brahma Kapal platform on the Alaknanda riverbank at Badrinath

Pilgrimage

Brahma KapalA flat sacred platform on the Alaknanda at Badrinath where Hindu families perform pitru tarpan — ancestral rites — considered uniquely powerful here.

Altitude: 3,100 m
Season: May–Jun, Sep–Oct
From DDN: ~300 km

The 145-metre Vasudhara Falls dropping into a boulder-filled valley near Mana

Nature

Vasudhara FallsA 145-metre waterfall 6 km beyond Mana village — the last major natural sight before the Tibet border, reachable by a boulder-field trail.

Altitude: 3,507 m
Season: Jun–Oct
From DDN: ~305 km

The three-ridged summit of Neelkanth peak rising above the Badrinath valley

Viewpoint

Neelkanth PeakThe 6,596 m 'Queen of Garhwal' — dramatically visible from the Badrinath temple courtyard at sunrise, its three-ridged summit a constant backdrop to the pilgrimage.

Altitude: 6,596 m
Season: May–Jun, Sep–Oct (viewpoint)
From DDN: ~300 km

The sacred triangular Satopanth Lake at 4,402 m with Chaukhamba behind

Trek

Satopanth LakeA sacred glacial lake at 4,402 m — 22 km beyond Mana village, believed to be the site where Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva bathed on Ekadashi.

Altitude: 4,402 m
Season: Jun–Sep
From DDN: ~322 km to Mana, then 22 km trek

The Gorson Bugyal alpine meadow above Auli with Nanda Devi visible

Trek

Gorson BugyalA 3,056 m meadow 3 km from Auli with uninterrupted views of Nanda Devi, Trishul, Hathi and Ghoda peaks — best in May when wildflowers peak.

Altitude: 3,056 m
Season: Apr–Nov
From DDN: ~295 km to Auli

The vast Ali Bugyal alpine meadow on the Roopkund trail with Trishul behind

Trek

Ali BugyalA 7 sq km alpine meadow at 3,700 m on the Roopkund trail — campsite for the trek and a panoramic platform facing the Trishul, Nanda Ghunti and Maiktoli massifs.

Altitude: 3,700 m
Season: May–Jun, Sep–Oct
From DDN: ~275 km to Lohajung

Trek

Bedni BugyalThe first major alpine meadow camp on the Roopkund trek at 3,354 m — a sacred kund (lake) at its centre and rhododendron forests below.

Altitude: 3,354 m
Season: May–Jun, Sep–Oct
From DDN: ~275 km to Lohajung

Garhwal

Rudraprayag district

14 destinations — Kedarnath, Chopta & Tungnath, Rudraprayag, Ukhimath, Triyuginarayan, Kartik Swami, Guptkashi, Gaurikund, Madmaheshwar, Augustmuni, Deoria Tal, Chandrashila, Kalimath, Sonprayag.