State · North India
राज्यउत्तर भारत
Char Dham shrines, Ganga rapids and alpine flower meadows
The place
परिचय
Uttarakhand is where the Ganga begins and pilgrims have walked for a thousand years. The Char Dham of Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath open each summer, Rishikesh runs yoga and whitewater side by side, Corbett was India's first national park, and the Valley of Flowers blooms only in late July and August.
Uttarakhand splits into Garhwal in the west and Kumaon in the east, and both are shaped by ice and river. Kedarnath's stone temple stands at 3,583 metres below the Chorabari glacier and Badrinath at about 3,300 metres on the Alaknanda; both open around Akshaya Tritiya and close near Bhai Dooj, and their portals shutting for winter is a genuine event. Downstream, Rishikesh has been a yoga town since long before the Beatles arrived in 1968, with Ganga aarti at Triveni Ghat and grade three rapids between Shivpuri and Ram Jhula. The Valley of Flowers National Park, a World Heritage Site at about 3,650 metres, blooms for barely six weeks from mid-July, and the Sikh shrine of Hemkund Sahib sits above it at 4,632 metres. Kumaon is gentler: Nainital's lake, Binsar and Kausani's Himalayan panorama, Jageshwar's grove of stone temples among deodars, and Munsiyari facing the Panchachuli peaks. Corbett, established in 1936, remains the classic tiger park. Signature journeys pair Rishikesh with Chopta and Tungnath, or a full Char Dham circuit.
What it is famous for
पहचान
10 places we travel to
गंतव्य
Every Uttarakhand destination we plan journeys around, with the best months and the ideal stay for each.
MountainUttarakhand
Ski slopes and oak meadows facing Nanda Devi
TempleUttarakhand
Vishnu's painted temple between Nar and Narayan on the Alaknanda
MountainUttarakhand
The highest Shiva temple, and a summit facing Nanda Devi
RiverUttarakhand
The gateway of the gods, where lamps float down the Ganga
WildlifeUttarakhand
India's first national park, where Project Tiger began on the Ramganga
TempleUttarakhand
A stone temple to Shiva beneath the glaciers of the Mandakini
Hill stationUttarakhand
Queen of the Hills, with Landour's cedar lanes and Ruskin Bond's bookshop
LakeUttarakhand
A green lake in a bowl of hills, with Kumaon beyond
RiverUttarakhand
Where the Ganga leaves the Himalaya and the world comes to breathe
ValleyUttarakhand
A monsoon meadow of blue poppies and Brahma kamal above Ghangaria
Uttarakhand tour packages
यात्राएँ
1 of our routes pass through Uttarakhand. Each one is a starting point — tell us your days and we reshape it.
11 days · 10 nightsChallenging · Best May–Jun
Eleven days to the four Himalayan seats, from Har Ki Pauri to Badrinath
Route: Haridwar → Kedarnath → Badrinath → Rishikesh
Time it right
त्योहार
JanJanuary to March, in the Magh season. The site rotates between Prayagraj, Haridwar, Nashik–Trimbakeshwar and Ujjain on a twelve-year astrological cycle, and dates are set by planetary positions rather than a fixed calendar.
The largest human gathering on earth, held where rivers and astrology meet. Prayagraj, Haridwar, Nashik and Ujjain take turns on a twelve-year cycle. After the 2025 Maha Kumbh on the Prayagraj sands, the Simhastha moves to Nashik in 2027 and Ujjain in 2028.
Uttar Pradesh · Uttarakhand · Maharashtra
From the journal
पत्रिका
· Guide · 6 min
India is not one climate but six, from a Himalayan cold desert at 3,500 metres to hills that take eleven metres of rain a year. Here is the whole calendar, month by month, with the regions, roads and parks that open and close with it.
9 more in North India
पड़ोसी राज्य
StateNorth India
Gita ground at Kurukshetra, Mughal gardens and highway paranthas
StateNorth India
Deodar ridges, Spiti's cold desert and a colonial toy train
StateNorth India
Golden Temple langar, five rivers and mustard fields in flower
StateNorth India
Desert forts, lake palaces and colour that refuses to fade
StateNorth India
Taj marble, Varanasi ghats and Awadhi kebabs at midnight
Union territoryNorth India
Le Corbusier's grid, a rock garden built from waste
Union territoryNorth India
Eight cities of empire, Sufi qawwali and Chandni Chowk kebabs
Union territoryNorth India
Shikaras on Dal Lake, Mughal gardens and chinar autumns
Union territoryNorth India
Cold desert passes, Indus monasteries and skies full of stars
