My first visit to Auli in 2005
1. Auli photo album – 2005
2. Write-up on skiing in Auli
My second visit to Auli, 2006
1. A back-breaking journey: from Rishikesh to Auli
2. First Day at Auli
3. The days of Skiing
4. Spending time in Auli
5. Trekking and walking around
6. About Auli
7. Auli photo album – 2006
Auli -> Rishikesh -> Corbett National Park -> Varanasi -> Agra
+Previous: Trekking and Walking abound in Auli
+Next: Day trip to Rajaji National Park
+Go to beginning of the series
I spent six good days in Auli – skiing, trekking or just having fun indoors. It was time to head back. Getting in and out of Auli is always a painful experience. The long distance to Rishikesh that needs to be covered in the hilly roads is not the most pleasing experience. I was planning to catch a bus from Joshimath, but I met a few people from Bombay who were kind enough to offer to take me with them in their cab. It made things much better than taking a bus.
Reflecting back at the days I spent in Auli, I felt they were well worth the back-breaking journey. I was pretty unhappy to see the lack of snow this year, but the activities that you could do in summer like conditions in Auli are equally interesting.
THINGS TO DO: AULI IN SUMMER
In fact more people visit Auli in summer than winter, taking a short detour on their way to Badrinath temple. Hotel prices in Joshimath increase and you pay 50% more to access the cable car.
The cable car ride offers great views
If you are a day visitor, take the cable car up and enjoy the majestic views of the valley and the mountains on the other side. You get good views of Mt. Nanda Devi from Auli, and go a little higher to have a look at the peaks of Chhang Bhang, Trishul and Dronagiri.
Mt. Nanda Devi, just before sunset
Hire a guide to take you up to Gorsau top or the lake to the right of it. These are the places that get buried in snow in the winter and can’t be accessed. For those looking for a more difficult trek or adventure, Auli is the starting point to trek up to Kuari Pass. The views on the trek are known to be great, but I haven’t been there. Spending a day or two in Auli is worth it if you are here in summer. Early mornings are obviously best time to have a great look at the distant mountains.
See my Auli photo gallery for images from my this year’s trip. Read through the previous posts to know about my trekking and skiing experiences in Auli.
THINGS TO DO: AULI IN WINTER
In winter every thing looks different in Auli. Every inch of ground is covered in snow, and walking in most of the areas is impossible. You can’t climb up beyond the heights which can be reached by cable car. But a casual visitor can still enjoy the abundant snow, and frequent snowfalls. If you love to see snow, it is a worthy trip here even if you don’t intend to ski. Read about my experiences of skiing in Auli last year. Also see the last year’s image gallery when there was a lot of snow.
Auli is full of snow in winter
Of course, it is skiing that attracts many people to Auli. Auli has excellent slopes and you can come here to learn skiing. GMVN conducts introductory courses for seven days and certificate courses that run for 14 days. Instructors are good and the course is worth it.
Also see more about Auli in paintedstork.com
Visit to Auli in 2005
* Images from Auli(plenty of snow)
* Trip report
Visit to Auli in 2006
* Images from Auli(little snow)
* A back-breaking journey: from Rishikesh to Auli
* First Day at Auli
* The days of Skiing
* Spending time in Auli
* Trekking and walking around
* About Auli
Auli -> Rishikesh -> Corbett National Park -> Varanasi -> Agra
+Previous: Spending time in Auli
+Next: About Auli
+Go to beginning of the series
One of the days, we decided to take advantage of the fact that there wasn’t much snow, to trek up the mountains above the slopes of Auli. We started pretty late in the morning, with the local forest guard guiding us from the front. There was still more than a feet deep snow high up, so we rented rubber gum boots for the walk.
Very quickly we were walking in the alpine forest, with snow covering up the forest floor. Evenly spread Golden Oaks and Pines dominated the forest. Higher up, a few rhododendron trees occasionally popped up from the snow. Silence of the forest was broken by our own low voices and occasional calls of birds high up on the trees. The white forest floor was decorated by brown dried leaves of the pine trees. Occasionally, the trees spread apart to give us the vistas of the high Himalayan Mountains far away. Our guide showed us the taller peaks visible from here – Chhang Bhang, Dronagiri and the mighty Nanda Devi. Views of Kuari Pass looked beautiful and inviting, with patches of bare land seen emerging out of the snow cover.
A Rhododendron plant emerging from the snow
Wildlife in the forest seemed to be in plenty. We did not see any, but our guide who was walking in the front did get to see a monal pheasant and wild boar. But there were many signs of wildlife, as we saw many footprints of snow leopards, bears, musk deer and boars. Human footprints and mark of the skis made an odd and interesting digression from this, but these were a minority here against the wilder ones. There did not seem to be much bird life and even the forest seemed to have been dominated by ravens.
Pug marks of a snow leopard
A few kilometers of walk took us to a beautiful frozen lake – called Chhatra Lake – covered all around by snow. The melting snow gave way to ice in a small corner, where I walked down and touched its freezing water. The opening made by the lake in the forest showed up the afternoon sun and the snow lit up brightly in the depression of the lake. A few steps above the lake was a small hutment where a hermit was known to have practicing a few years ago.
The frozen Lake
We walked higher and reached a ridge and then to the highest point around. Indeed, like anywhere else in the Himalayas, we were rewarded with magnificent views that few other places in the world can offer. To one side of the ridge was the lower region with villages, cultivated land and alpine forest. The other side, which was towards Auli, opened up to the higher, snowy mountains of the Nanda Devi range. It was a pleasantly cold day, with direct sunlight warming our body and making us feel good. The guide slowly muttered that he could sit here all day, and I nodded in agreement.
We retreated from here as the sun started moving downwards in the sky. It was almost 5pm by the time we reached back to Auli, and we haven’t even had our lunch. We quickly changed and rushed to the restaurant to fill us up, and then for some rest and slumber.
Also see more about Auli in paintedstork.com
Visit to Auli in 2005
* Images from Auli(plenty of snow)
* Trip report
Visit to Auli in 2006
* Images from Auli(little snow)
* A back-breaking journey: from Rishikesh to Auli
* First Day at Auli
* The days of Skiing
* Spending time in Auli
* Trekking and walking around
* About Auli
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