Welcome SOLO SAATHI! Thanks for stopping by.
This is my journal for my 2025 trip to Mandakini valley — the valley where the Tungnath and Kedarnath shrines are located, where the river Alakhnanda flows, and where the soul begins to find Self. It is a place that is pure MAGIC.
Trip overview
- Itinerary: Dehradun, Kund, Tungnath, Kedarnath
- What is there to see
- What is there to do
- How to get there
- How to prepare for the trip: Exercise
- What clothing, food and supplies to pack
- The hike itself (data — ascent, along the way, arrival, descent, what to do there, where to stay)
- Where to stay
- How many days are recommended for the trip
- Facts: elevation, oxygen, food along the way, bathrooms along the way, safety for women, modes of transportation along the way
- Best months to do the hike. First, know the months that the temple is open — generally April to late October/early November (always check the exact dates for the months you are planning to travel). Second, your travel personality: if you are okay with lots of people and high heat while hiking, then May–July could be okay. August–September are often high monsoon, landslide months. November can get very cold. That leaves April and October as perhaps the best months. If you are a Non Resident Indian traveling from abroad, April can get up to 42°C / 100°F. So I chose the month of October.
- Journeys, experiences, stories, memories
Journeys, experiences, stories, memories
The going — My whole family has been to Kedarnath. My grandparents, parents, sisters. Even I had been to Kedarnath when I was 3 years old. I wanted to go again in my memory, with my own two feet. I went with a spiritually led vegetarian group of 25 people. I was very clear from the time the trip was announced that I wanted to go. I mentioned that to a friend who said she would join. Hearing that, her husband said he would join, and listening to that, my husband said he would join. The four of us became a pact within the 25-person excursion group.
The arrival — No one was tired after the hike.
1:00 AM meeting — Kedarnath abhishekam.
Last arti — Kal Bhairav Arti.
Along the way — Moments, views and connections that unfolded step by step.
What’s next — I went to do the Badrinath trip right after Kedarnath, making the Kedarnath and Badrinath journeys a 2-week trip.
SoloSaathi 