Kuari Pass trek – day 6

by site editor Rick McCharles

day 0 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6

We arose at first light last morning, the coldest yet.

Our adopted dog was quick to the fire.

I’d have to rate the day before and the two days after Kuari as about as good as hiking gets.

Our guide was happy to get back to mobile phone service. He confirmed out pick-up time.

We wandered lazily down through huge alpine meadows. Please that the trek had been a success.

Reaching this Hindu Temple having connection to great epic Ramayana means you’ve almost completed the Kuari.

We finished at the Auli Ski Resort, India’s finest. (Ski Jan-March.) Asia’s longest Cable Car (4km) is a must. The road to get there is deadly. This was one of the hosts of the 1st South Asian Winter Games in 2011.

Our driver was waiting just outside the gates. 🙂

It was 10hrs back to Rishikesh with a hotel stop en route.

The most dangerous aspect of Himalaya trekking by far is the drive to and from the trailheads. Washouts and landslides are frequent.

OK. The giant spider we found awaiting us at our (Le Meadows) Hotel room might look even scarier. 🙂

Before the trek I knew about the June flooding, but not exactly how bad it had been. More than 5700 dead. 😦

One of the 4 Holy Hindu mountain temples, nearby Kedarnath, was inundated with water, mud and boulders from landslide.  Several died from drowning or being crushed by stampeding pilgrims.

Yet the roads were back to “normal” by October.

See all high resolution photos from this day.

End.

If you might be interested in trekking Kuari yourself, start with our Kuari Trek information page. 🙂