Start from Delhi by 10 pm.
Begin the journey from Dehradun to Sankri. During 7-8 hours of drive, witness the Govind Wildlife Sanctuary as well as the rejuvenating Tons river that flows through it. Upon arrival, check into a hotel at Sankri village. After soaking in the vistas of the village, have your dinner. Attend the Captain briefing for the next day. Lights out!
After a wholesome breakfast, start the steep climb from Sankri to Juda-Ka-Talab. Cover a stretch of 4kms, which is adorned by impeccable flora and fauna. Arrive at Juda-Ka-Talab and enjoy the blue lake surrounded by vegetation and scenery. After lunch, indulge in some team activities. Have your dinner, and sleep in the camps under the star-studded sky.
After breakfast, start the trek for the day. The route to the Kedarkantha base camp is dotted with oak trees. You know you are close to the base camp when you see the arch of the Swargarohini, Bandarpoonch, Ranglana, and Kala Nag ranges before you. Upon arrival, have lunch, followed by fun activities for the group. Take a rest while enjoying some evening snacks and soup. Relax and enjoy the night sky followed by dinner. Sleep overnight.
Commence at the early hours of 2 or 3 am so that we can witness the glorious sunrise at the Kedarkantha peak. After breakfast, make your way through a few more thick patches of oak trees. On reaching Kedarkantha peak, along with the grand view, there is a small shrine of rocks, which is considered to be holy by the locals. Make a stop and admire the moment. Next, start your descent to Sankri through oak and maple forests. Arrive at Sankri. Check into the hotel and have your dinner. Reflect on your journey once more before retiring for the night.
Post-breakfast, we make our final journey to Dehradun via road, over a 10-hour stretch, including breaks for food and refreshments. It is the same alpine road that you crossed on your way uphill, but after such a wholesome experience, you feel changed and content. By late evening, we are back in Dehradun. Trekkers looking to travel on Day 5 itself can be dropped at the bus stand. Overnight journey from Dehradun to delhi.
Reach Delhi next morning.
Kedarkantha roughly translates to the "Throat of Lord Shiva". It is a mountain 20 kms from Sankri village, standing tall at a height of 12,500 feet. According to a legend, the Pandavas went to Lord Shiva to ask for his blessings after the Kurukshetra war. Lord Shiva refused to meet them and guised himself as a buffalo instead. Bheem noticed something strange among the herd of buffalos and refused to let the disguised buffalo pass. This led to a fight between the two. Bheem is said to have ripped the buffalo apart and the Pandavas are said to have built temples wherever parts of his body fell.
Kedarkantha was apparently where his throat fell. The Kedarkantha trek covers a total distance of 20 kilometers and takes a period of four nights and five days to cover, making it a beautiful and adventurous way of spending a week away from the hubbub of city life.
Camping on the way to Kedarkantha peak is dreamlike in the lap of the snowy landscape, and a thrilling experience on its own. However, one can embark on many other activities like skiing at Kedarkantha, a relatively new feature of the area, stargazing, and landscape photography.
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