Travel style · Garhwal
Adventure sports in Garhwal
Paragliding, rafting, skiing and high passes on two wheels
Paragliding at Bir Billing, rafting on the Ganga at Rishikesh, skiing at Gulmarg and Auli, motorbike trips over Ladakh's passes. With certified operators and honest notes on season and risk.
Photo: Vaibhav 369 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · CommonsAdventure sports are regulated differently in each state. We use operators who hold the licences their state requires, and we tell you what insurance to carry.
Garhwal is the western half of Uttarakhand, where the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rise and join to become the Ganga. Come for the Char Dham shrines, Valley of Flowers, Tungnath and Rishikesh. Go May–June or mid-September–October; avoid July road travel. A saver week by UTC bus and GMVN dorms costs about ₹2,000–3,000 a day.
Trips
Adventure sports trips in Garhwal
Photo: McKay Savage from London, UK · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Signature
Taj Rishikesh and Mussoorie in comfort
Private car with driver
2 places
Where to go
Photo: Vaibhav 369 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Auli & Joshimath
Ski slopes and meadows facing Nanda Devi, above Joshimath
Photo: McKay Savage from London, UK · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Rishikesh
Where the Ganga leaves the hills and the yatra begins
Experiences
Days that fit the style
Photo: Vaibhav 369 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Learn to ski on the Auli slopes
Auli's main slope, with a chairlift and ski lift, is where most Indians learn to ski. Take a day lesson with a certifie…
Photo: Vaibhav78545 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Meadow walk to Gorson Bugyal
From the top of the Auli slope, a forest trail of about 3 km leads through oak and conifer to Gorson Bugyal, a wide alp…
Photo: Dinesh Valke from Thane, India · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Narsingh temple and Jyotirmath in Joshimath
Visit Joshimath's two sacred centres: the Narsingh temple, which keeps an image of Badrinath through the winter, and Jy…
Photo: Bhuvi Uniyal · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Evening Ganga aarti at Triveni Ghat
Every evening at sunset, priests at Triveni Ghat swing brass lamps over the Ganga while bells and chants fill the river…
Photo: Guy P Atkinson · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Beatles Ashram walk in Rajaji forest
Walk through the overgrown academy where the Beatles studied meditation in 1968. Stone meditation domes, a graffiti-cov…
Photo: Ritikamaheshwari58 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Rafting the Ganga from Shivpuri
The 16 km Shivpuri run is Rishikesh's classic half-day on the river: grade II–III rapids, a cold swim in a calm stretch…
Where to sleep
Stays in these places
Photo: McKay Savage from London, UK · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Budget
Zostel Rishikesh (Tapovan)
A backpacker hostel in Tapovan, between Lakshman Jhula and Ram Jhula, with dorms, private rooms, a rooftop cafe an…
Photo: Roliwrites · CC0 · Commons
Mid
Aloha on the Ganges
A riverside hotel on the Badrinath road in Tapovan, near Lakshman Jhula, with rooms and apartments facing the Gang…
Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/peem/ · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Luxury
Ananda in the Himalayas
India's first destination spa, opened in 2000 on the 100-acre estate of the Tehri royal palace at Narendra Nagar, …
Photo: Sutharsan Shekhar · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Luxury
Taj Rishikesh Resort & Spa
A Taj resort on 13 acres above the Ganga at Singthali, about 30 km upstream of Rishikesh, with rooms and villas fa…
Adventure sports elsewhere