Short Itinerary for Har Ki Dun Trek

Day 1: Reach Sankri; 8-10 hours drive from Dehradun. Transport will be organised from Dehradun Railway station at 6.30 am.

Day 2: Drive from Sankri (6,397 ft) to Taluka (8,694 ft). Trek from Taluka to Puani Garaat (8,280 ft); 8 hours, 13 km

Day 3: Puani Garaat (8,280 ft) to Kalkatiyadhaar (8,956 ft); 6 hours, 7 km

Day 4: Kalkatiyadhar (8,956 ft) to Har Ki Dun (11,768 ft); 5 hours, 4 km

Day 5: Excursion to Maninda Tal and back to Har Ki Dun

Day 6: Har Ki dun (11,768 ft) to Puani Garaat (8,280 ft); 7 hours, 11 km

Day 7: Puani Garaat (8,280 ft) to Taluka (8,694 ft), 8 hours, 13 km. Drive to Sankri

Day 8: Depart from Sankri by 7 am. You are expected back in Dehradun by 6 pm.

Detailed Trek Itinerary

Day 1:   Drive to Sankri

The drive to Sankri will take you through Nainbagh, Naugaon, Purola, Jarmola, Mori Naitwar (a left turn from Naitwar will lead you to Dhaula, which is the base camp for Rupin Pass and Bharadsar lake trek), and finally Sankri.

Day 2:  Sankri to Puani Garaat via Taluka

On day 2, we start on our drive from Sankri to Taluka at 7 in the morning. This short drive through gradually thickening forests and streams cutting through the path over boulders will introduce us to the terrain of our trek closely.

Reaching Taluka, another village of the same lineage found on this trek, trekkers will be invited to collect refreshments before getting started on the hike. The first lapse is a descent to the banks of the beautiful Tons and keeping the river on the right, the trail enters a level walk through forests of conifers until reaching the first cemented bridge.

Crossing the stream, the trail leads up to a wooden bridge where a gentle slope goes down to the waters. Here you can fill your bottle and move ahead. The whole way along the river is ideal for photo compositions and provides shade too. We approach the rest point for lunch by the Supin tributary that we crossed before at around 1 in the noon. At a rocky height from the banks of the rivulet is a food shack, one of the many that we are going to find on our trek to the valley. These stores are with packaged food and beverage along with delightful hot snacks. In addition to our packed lunch, this will add a different twang of delight to outdoor meals on the move.

Progressing ahead, harvest fields of potato, millet, and maize will fall on the way giving the whole stretch a ranch house feel. Pauni Garaat, a green clearing on the banks of Supin at its sprightly best is arrived at late in the afternoon as the Sun begins to dip—welcome to the first camp!

Day 3:   Puani Garaat to Kalkatiyadhar

Start the day’s trek by heading to Osla village, which involves crossing the bridge and walking alongside the river till you reach Osla. Osla is a small village, about 8,500 ft above sea level. It is famous for a Someshwar Temple. Some people say it is the temple of Someshwar Devta (an avatar of Lord Shiva). The architecture of this temple is a wonder in itself. The villagers of Osla are proud of two things – one, living in the Himalayas and two, their satellite phone. Spend some time here and explore the village before moving on.

From Osla, the trail comprises a few steep sections but generally leisurely level-walks. Within half an hour, you’d have crossed two streams, out of which the second one has a wooden bridge running over it. There is also a local temple to the right. Cross the bridge and traverse around the mountain bend. You can now see a series of meadows in front of you.

After hiking for 15 minutes, you will enter the first of a series of cleared lands. Note that some of the land has been used for cultivation. From here, there are two more mountain bends that you need to traverse. The upward incline will gradually increase as you walk alongside a huge field of boulders and grass. This whole section to reach the top of the mountain bend may take around 90 minutes.

You will see a makeshift wooden bridge below the valley over Supin. If you want to trek to the meadows of Dev Thach, Ruinsara Taal and Bali Pass, cross this bridge.

To go to Har ki Dun, ignore the bridge and walk ahead . As you walk past a series of wheat fields, look out for two of the highest residential buildings in this region. The trail ascends over the confluence of Supin and Ruinsara rivers to a vantage point with views of the snowcapped mountains of Dhauladhar.

The climb is steep but the beautiful landscape compensates for the struggle. As you reach this vantage point, look for Kalanag (Black Peak) and Bandarpooch ranges looming in the distance. You’ll soon reach a flat piece of land, which is your next campsite, Kalkatiyadhaar, at 8,956 ft.

Day 4:   Kalkatiyadhaar to Har-ki-dun

The meadows of Dev Thach are clearly visible on your right, across the confluence of the two rivers. At this point, you have crossed 3,000 m altitude for the first time. The valley now separates into two, with Har-ki-dun on the left and Ruinsara Taal, Bali Pass on the right.

As you cross the mountain bend, you are greeted with the sight of the Har Ki Dun peak and Hata Peak, below which is Har-ki-Dun valley. The campsite is now only 4 km away through pine forests and meadows. The trail initially descends as you trek and then becomes level for about 15-20 minutes.

After this, the trail crosses multiple streams. The pine forest has a sizable number of rhododendron trees. There is also a lovely stream gushing down on the way, with a variety of Himalayan alpine flowers along its sides, especially blue poppy. About an hour later, pass through another section of meadows with a delightful growth of chestnut. The smell of cedar and pine wood trees is intoxicating to any nature lover. After another 20 minutes, you reach a small waterfall and leave the meadows behind.

From this spot, you have to negotiate a steep climb of about 15 minutes. Slowly, patches of snow start appearing on your trail and become prominent after a while (snow is seen only till the end of May). After 15 minutes of level walk, spot another wooden bridge.

From this junction there is a short climb of 10 minutes, over boulders, till you reach another camping ground. The final forest stretch lies in front of you. After half an hour over a gradual incline, you traverse the forest ridge from the left side of the valley.

As you cross over, look for Forest Guest House huts just in front of you above a small ridge. Walk for the final 10 minutes along the camping ground next to Supin and cross the last wooden bridge to reach Har-ki-dun. Look at the two valleys opening up in front, divided by a stream called Karmanasha. The valley towards your left is going to Maninda Taal and Borasu Pass and the other, to Jaundar Glacier.

Day 5:   Exploring the Har-ki-Dun campsite

When you reach Har-ki-Dun, the sheer beauty of the valley will make you never want to leave the place. So, a rest day at the campsite is highly recommended. At Har-ki-Dun, one can see the vast grounds below Swaragrohini-1 peak. The meadows here are full of alpine flowers. You can explore the entire ground in about an hour or two.

Explore Maninda Taal from Har-ki-Dun campsite (3 km, 3-4 hours)

To reach Maninda Taal, turn left from the campsite. Trek north towards Hata Peak, which goes across a beautiful alpine flower meadow. From here, the route curves left as you reach a glacial lake. This is Maninda Taal. You will see the rare Brahma Kamal in abundance here. This is a rare cactus that blooms only at night.

The logical route to Sangla valley (Chitkul, Himachal) via Borasu Pass is also visible from this vantage point.

Explore Jaundar Glacier from Har-ki-dun campsite (9 km, 5-6 hours)

If you’re willing to attempt a trek to the Jaundar Glacier, start moving to the right of Har-ki-Dun campsite, towards the right side of the valley leading to Swaragrohini-1 peak.

The descent will take around 10 minutes. Walk ahead, with the snout of Jaundar on your right. Ahead, look for a series of six elevated ridges that need to be traversed to enter Jaundar Basin. The altitude gain is very marginal (only 150 metres); so the trek remains easy. The terrain is a mix of small boulders and snow.

After 40 minutes, you reach a vast expanse that is covered in snow. On the left, there are small glacial slopes, where you could perhaps fashion snow-slides. After crossing the second ridge, another 20 minutes of an incline will have you reach the third ridge.

As you move up the third ridge, you will see a lot of snow accumulation on the trail on the left side of the mountain slope. Around 15 minutes of walking up on a 60 degree incline leads you to a fourth and then fifth ridge. The climb will take 10-15 minutes, after which the trail eases.

You can now see the final ridge only 15 minutes away. As you reach the ridge top, you can see the Jaundar Basin and Glacier. Jaundar Glacier, located in between two pillar-like peaks, is another 3 km away. Depending on the weather, you may plan to proceed ahead to the glacial basin. However, the spot you’re in is located below the Swaragrohini-1 peak, which is a wonderful to place to spend some time at.

Day 6:   Har-ki-Dun to Puani Garaat

Start trekking early as you have a long distance to cover today. Head back towards Kalkatiyadhaar and then to Osla. Rest at Osla for a bit and move on to Puani Garaat. Camp at Puani Garaat.

Day 7:  Puani Garaat to Taluka and then drive to Sankri

Trek 13 km to Taluka, followed by a 12 km drive from Taluka to Sankri. The way back to Sankri is an easy one with consistent descents and level walks all the way from Taluka. However, if you plan to trek all the way to Sankri in a single day, it is an exhausting trek, but a doable one.

Day 8:  Drive from Sankri back to Dehradun