An adventurous tête-à-tête with the High Mountains!!!

If you are a true adventure-loving soul, then this trek is definitely for you. Usually, a high-altitude Himalayan trek offers excellent views of the high mountains from the top. But there is hardly any trek to a high-altitude glacial alpine lake that offers a reflection of the mountains. Now if this isn’t an adventurous thrill, then I really don’t know what it is. The water of this amazing emerald lake gives a flawless reflection of the Thalaysagar Peak. The Thalaysagar Peak and the Shivling Peak are the two most beautiful peaks of the Garhwal mountains.

This glacial lake trek in the Gangotri region is no short of amazing landscapes and enchanting mountain views. At an altitude of 15,600 ft, trekking to this alpine lake is a must if you are a well-experienced trekker who is in search of some high-end adventure. When you reach the end point of this difficult level trek, you will get magnificent views of snow-covered high Himalayan peaks - Thalaysagar, Manda Parvat, Bhrigupanth, Gangotri, Bhagiratji, Mount Meru, and Jogin. I hope you can understand, that when you get this panoramic view of snow-covered Himalayan mountains all challenges fall short in comparison to the happiness of your soul.

Kedar Tal also known as Shiva’s Lake is located in the Gangotri region at an altitude of 15,600 ft/4750 m. The lake is fed around the year from the snowfall that is over the high mountains surrounding the lake - Mt Thalay Sagar (6,904m), Meru (6,672m), Mt Bhrigupanth (6,772m) and other surrounding peaks. Now as per the sayings of the Hindu mythology, the snow falling in all the above mountains is actually the source of Kedar Ganga that contributes to the River Bhagirathi – which is the primary source of the River Ganga. As per the folklore, this magical place is infused with divine energy making it so special as Lord Shiva used to meditate here. This is the reason that the Sadhus are actually deeply connected to this lake and its spiritual tapestry. Even the starting point of this trek is from Gangotri which is considered to be one of the holiest places by the Hindus as the origin of the River Ganga.

This adventurous trek has everything on its plate from tricky and challenging terrain to walking through big boulders to steep ascent and descent to test your both physical and mental endurance. In addition to this, you will also walk through the beautiful trails of the Bhoj Forest. Apart from the Goechela trek in Sikkim, the Kedartal trek is the closest one can come to a high mountain. Since this is a difficult level trek, even in its best season the trail is not at all crowded and is the best offline trek in India. It’s a trekker’s delight to see the high mountains of the Himalayas from such close proximity.

On day 1, our team will pick you up from Dehradun at 7 am, and on the last day, you will be able to reach Dehradun by 5 pm to 6 pm. So if you want to make any plans further, you should do it accordingly.

May, June – Summer

September, October – Autumn

Kedartal Trek can be done during the summer and autumn seasons. During the summer season, May and June are considered to be ideal and during the autumn season, September and October are considered to be ideal to do this trek. The main reason to do the trek during these months is because the weather remains mostly stable and the presence of snow on the trail is also not there. During the summer months, the Kedartal Lake will be frozen along with a clear view of Thalaysagar and Bhrigunath. The temperature in the daytime is between 15 °C – 20 °C and at night it falls down below 10 °C.

During the autumn months of September and October, the weather remains mostly clear which offers absolutely stunning views of the mountains and the best reflection of Thalaysagar and Bhrigunath. The temperature in the daytime is quite high and reaches till 20 °C and in night it falls down below 0 °C.

So whatever season you do the trek, there might be chances of rain and snowfall. So, please sure you have proper gear to beat both cold, snowfall, and rain.

Suitable Age Group: Since Kedartal is a difficult level trek, the suitable age group is in between 15 years and 55 years. Those who are below 18 years need to be accompanied by their parents or guardians and those who are above 50 years are advised to bring a medically fit certificate from a doctor before coming for the trek. 

Mobile networks and internet connection from Airtel, Jio, and BSNL are available till Gangotri. However, when you start the trek and leave from Gangotri, the signal becomes and eventually there will be no mobile network available during the trek.