KEDARKANTHA don’t miss the summit | India’s most popular winter trek

Kedarkantha trek केदरकंठ
India's most popular Himalayan winter trek


Region: Uttarakhand
Dificulty Level: Easy to Moderate
Maximum Altitude: 3810m / 12500ft
Distance: 22km
Best time: November - April


Trek Guide:
Kedarkantha is in the Sankri range of Uttarakhand. It is india’s most popular winter trek. However, you can do this trek throughout the year.
Its 22 km long with the elevation gain of 1890m. it is also famous as a beginner’s trek.

So i think that there are 3 options for doing this trek.
One is to book your batch online in advance with a company. If you choose this option, you just need to reach Dehradun and from then onward they will arrange everything. Such as transportation to base village, which is Sankri, stay, food, trek & a guide.

The Second option is finding a batch after reaching sankri on your own. Which is what i did. I reached Sankri on the 4th of February, It snowed heavily, and reaching the summit was not possible. If i had booked my batch in advance. I would have had to go with the batch, knowing that the summit is not going to take place. But because I hadn’t booked any batch yet, i had the freedom to choose the date on which I wanted to start. I wanted to reach the summit and it was possible after few days, so I went on another trek in the meantime and returned to sankri on the 8th of feb.

The 3rd option is not making booking with any company, but taking a guide with you instead. People who enjoy solo trekking can choose this option.

For the 2nd and 3rd options, You need to reach sankri on your own.
You can drive your car,
You can get a shared taxi which you need to change in purola, or you can a bus which goes directly to sankri. There are 3 buses, which you can get from near the Dehradun railway station which leave at 5:30, 6:30 & 8 am respectively.

If you are a budget traveler you can stay in jain dharmashalas in dehradun for a night. They offer nice place to stay in cheap price.

Once you reach sankri; you can either stay for a night in a hotel or have a homestay in a local’s house, or you can find a batch that is leaving shortly. Once you book with a company they will provide you with a room to stay and food till you leave sankri.

I did this trek with himalayan maple. I found it to be a good company.

They say kedarkantha is a beginners trek. But i saw many first timers who were struggling on their first day.
I observed that one mistake all beginners make is carrying too much weight with them. Which, i also did on my first trek. When you have booked with your tour operator. You only need to take your clothes and essential items.
And if you don’t want to carry your backpack while trekking. You can send it with a mule. But it will be easier if you plan it before you start your trek.

You will need maximum strength on your first day and on the day of summit. On the day of summit you need to start your trek at 2:30 to 3:00 am acording to your speed for catching the sunrise.

When you book your package; you can decide the number of days in which you want to finish this trek. 4 days is the most common package.
The distance from Sankri to juda is 4km.
juda to base,3 km,
Base to summit and then back to the base, 8km,
Base to sankri, 7km
They offer 2 or 3 day packages too. In which they go from sankri to the base directly. Then summit and return to sankri. It all depends on how experienced you are. I have watched a video of someone summitting and returning to sankri in one day.

If you are not a regular trekker, I think instead of buying all the gear, it will be better if you rent it. Shoes, winter jacket, trekking poles, etc.

I know when it comes to winter treks. Everybody says that you need quechua's waterproof shoes. But from my experience, Problem is not about water getting in, but about it not getting out. No matter wthat you do, how good your guiters are, water always finds a way to get in your shoes. So You need shoes that dry quickly. In sankri, you can find black rubber shoes, which I think are the best. They dried before my socks did. But one thing that you have to keep in mind is that you need to wear thick socks under them.

Take extra money in cash with you.
In sankri you won’t get sim card network for online transactions.
There is no atm machine for withdrawal.
All the best for your trek.


Time stamps:
00:00 Intro
00:32 Day 1, Sankri village to Juda lake camp site
03:32 Day 2, Juda lake camp site to Base camp
06:56 Day 3, Base camp to Kedarkantha summit
11:00 Summit to Base Camp
13:42 Day 4, Base camp to Sankri
16:57 Special thanks


Copyright @ Rohan Katwe 2021.
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Important contacts:
Amitabh Mallik
Himalayan Mapple
92302 67320

Jaychandsingh chauhan
GIU Eco Lodge
94565 48281

Sangeeta Rawat
Born Free Treks
+91 91931 13070


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