Kuari Pass Trek​

Kuari Pass Trek​

The Kuari Pass Trek has been on the Garhwal Himalaya trekking circuit for well over a century — Lord Curzon walked this route in 1905 and it’s carried his name informally ever since, though locals have called it Kuari long before any British viceroy arrived. What’s kept it relevant is the panorama. The view from Kuari Pass at 3,640 metres takes in Nanda Devi (7,816 metres), Dronagiri, Kamet, Hathi Parbat, Ghori Parbat, and the Trishul group — a continuous arc of high Himalayan peaks that most treks in this region only show you one or two of at a time. Here you get them all, lined up across the northern horizon like a wall. Lazymonkadventure runs this as a 5 nights 6 days guided group trek starting and ending in Rishikesh, through Joshimath.

The journey starts with the drive from Rishikesh to Joshimath, which takes the better part of the day. The route goes along the Ganges River as it flows north from Rishikesh through the Shivalik range of the Himalayas. The route goes past Devprayag, where the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda Rivers meet to form the Ganges. The route then goes past Rudraprayag and further into the Alaknanda gorge to Joshimath at 1,890 metres. The vast majority of visitors who are used to seeing the foothills of the Himalayas think this route is more spectacular than they thought it would be. Joshimath is an important town in terms of both religion and military strategy. The deity at Badrinath has its winter seat here. Joshimath is the last town before the Badrinath pass and the Tibetan border.

The trek to Kuari Pass begins from Joshimath or from the nearby village of Dhak, and it is only after three days of trekking through various forest types and meadows that one reaches the pass. The trail passes through Guling Top — a high meadow with good views — then Khulara, which is the closest camp to the pass itself. Khulara at around 3,500 metres is where most trekkers on this route have their first complete view of the Nanda Devi Sanctuary wall and where the scale of what you’re walking toward becomes properly clear. The meadow at Khulara is expansive and open, with oak and rhododendron trees bordering it at its lower ends, and this is one of the better camping spots on any trek in Uttarakhand.

Day 4 is the pass crossing – from Khulara to Kuari Pass at 3,640 metres and back. The route to the pass is not technically hard but does gain height quickly in the last section. Weather on top can be unfavourable too. However, the view from the top is worth all the struggle. To the northeast, Nanda Devi’s double peak towers above all else. To the east, the Trishul massif rises high into the sky. Dronagiri and Kamet fill out the view to the north, while Hathi and Ghori bookend the northwest horizon. This is truly one of the finest 360-degree views of mountains available on a non-technical trek in the Indian Himalaya – and that is not a claim taken lightly.

The return from the pass descends through Khulara and then via a different route back through the Tapovan meadows toward Joshimath — a sequence of rhododendron forests, shepherd meadows, and river valley walking that shows the Garhwal landscape from a different angle than the ascent route. Day 5 brings the trek back to Joshimath and Day 6 is the return drive to Rishikesh. The difficulty level of the Kuari Pass Trek is moderate, with the highest point at 3,640 meters, and it is more of a trek than a climb. However, it is also true that it is at an altitude, and Garhwal weather can turn quickly, but treating it like an easy weekend trek is the one common factor that makes most people struggle on Days 3 and 4.

The Kuari Pass Trek is graded moderate — the highest point is 3,640 metres, the daily distances are manageable, and the terrain is trail rather than technical. But the altitude is real, the weather in Garhwal changes quickly, and treating it as an easy weekend stroll is the one consistent mistake that makes people struggle on Days 3 and 4. Lazymonkadventure keeps the group at 12 and the pacing on this trek is managed carefully — the pass view is what everyone comes for and arriving there in good condition is the whole point of the five days before it.