Satopanth Trek takes you to Satopanth Lake, a glacial lake with a unique triangular shape. Its crystal-clear waters and mystical aura make it a beautiful and must visit destination.
Along the trail, you will discover Sahastradhara, Vasudhara falls, and lush meadows like Lakshmi Van, each offering you a new experience.
This trek offers you spectacular views of iconic Himalayan peaks like Chaukhamba, Avalanche, Neelkanth and Balakun that provide incredible photography opportunities.
The Satopanth Lake trek is fondly known as the “doorway to heaven” and the beauty of this place actually justifies it.
Starting from the sacred town of Badrinath and passing through Mana, India’s first village, the trek is a cultural immersion into Himalayan life and traditions. Each step on the trail is enriched with stories and legends.
All through the journey, you will trek through picturesque locations with cascading waterfalls, gushing streams and vast mountains.
The trek takes you through diverse terrains, from well made trails at the beginning to steep ascents and rocky terrains with boulders around. You would also pass through beautiful high-altitude meadows.
Trekking
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Distance: 204 km
Altitude: 2,438 m
Duration:----
This is the first day of your journey and it commences from Rishikesh. Our representatives will pick you up from Rishikesh and drive you all the way to Pipalkoti. The journey takes you on a picturesque ride alongside the Bhagirathi River. Pipalkoti is about 200 km away from Rishikesh and it takes about 9 to 10 hrs to reach Badrinath depending on the weather and road conditions. Along the way, you also get to see the confluence of the rivers Alaknanda and Bhagirathi which merge together at Devprayag and flow as one in the form of Ganga.
On reaching Pipalkoti, we will check into a hotel and rest for the night giving the body enough time to acclimatize to the high altitude. You can take a preventive course of Diamox to help your body acclimatize faster to the higher altitudes.
We will start the trek early in the morning as we have to drive a distance of 80 km today to mana. From mana, it is 7-8 km to Lakshmi Van. Mana is considered the last village in India and lies 26 km from the Indo-China border. You can also spot the road that goes to the border, although it is restricted only to people belonging to the army. Here you will have your permit checked before you continue on towards Laxmi Van. From Mana village, you will spot a trail that deviates towards the left of the Alaknanda River and for 2 to 3 km the trail is well-paved. About 3 km from the village lies the Vasundhara Falls, a 400 ft waterfall cascading down in white sheets of water. Vasundhara falls is a popular spot among tourists. The locals believe that the water of the falls as well as the Alaknanda River has medicinal value and many people store water from these water sources.
You can fill your water bottles from the waterfall. Keep hydrated as you will slowly gain altitude. After you cross the waterfall continue on the left bank of the river. You will now walk on moraines for the next 3 hrs and soon you will reach the Laxmi Van campsite. Laxmi Van campsite is located at an altitude of 11,900 ft and is covered with green and well-shaded by Bhoj Patra trees. From the campsite, you can see the Alkapuri Glacier, the source of the Alaknanda River. The glacier is situated at the base of the Balakun peak and you can witness the river flowing from the snout of the glacier. Overnight stay will be in tents.
Today’s trek is slightly more difficult than the previous day as you will gain more than 2000 ft of altitude. Even though the route is difficult but it becomes quite scenic as you enter the Satopanth Valley. The trail again follows the bank of the Alaknanda River and we will walk on a patch of grassland passing along the middle of the terminal moraine of Dhano Glacier. Once you cross this patch, the view of Bhagirathi peaks begins to open up in front of you. Although the peaks are visible only if the weather is clear.
Trekking for about 5 km, you will reach another gorgeous waterfall called Shastradhara and from here you can spot Mt. Neelkanth on your left. Shasatradhara is a culmination of more than 100 small waterfalls, streaming down a huge monolith. Weather can be quite unpredictable here post noon so we will try to begin our trek as early as possible. Chakrateertha Campsite is about half an hour away from this spot.
The campsite lies on a flat patch of a clearing. This is where we will pitch our tents for the night. Make sure you have enough warm layers on and cover your head properly. The temperature here during the daytime is 5°C to 10°C and at night it can stoop down to 0°C to -5°C. It is also important to check signs of altitude sickness at this altitude. If you are showing signs like headache, nausea, loss of appetite, fatigue, or dizziness then you should report to the Trek Leader immediately. Tonight we will camp amidst greenery and towering peaks.
Chakrateertha To Satopanth Tal And Back
Today is one of the most exciting as well as the scenic day of the trek. Today you will trek to the mystical Satopanth Lake. Wake up to a wonderful mountain view with Mt. Chaukhamba in the center, Mt. Nelekanth on the left, and Mt. Balakun on the right. This view will stay in your mind for a long time.
The trek starts with an easy gradient as you walk on a flat grassland and after about 2 km the trek snakes around boulders and moraines. This can be a tricky section and you need to be very cautious as you navigate around this zone. Trekking poles can be of good help here.
Continue walking on the ridge, Satopanth Tal isn’t visible until you reach the top of the ridge. With a perimeter of over 1 km, the lake is simply huge. It is triangular in shape and as the legends go, it is believed that the trinity Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh meditated on the three corners of the lake. You can also see a small shelter made of stone near the lake. A local sage by the name of Mauni Baba is said to live here.
The lake is bluish in color and an interesting fact about Satopanth Lake is that the water of the lake remains clear all year round. Also on a clear day, you can see three out of the seven steps of the Swargarohini Glacier. It is believed that the Pandavas followed these steps to ascend into heaven.
Sit around the lake, admire its beauty and enjoy its serenity for some time before you make your way back to the Chakrateertaha Campsite. It takes about 2 to 3 hrs to descend down to the campsite from the lake.
Today is the last day of trekking in the mountains and we will be descending down to Badrinath today. It is a long walk of 15 km from Chakrateertha to Badrinath and will take about 5 to 6 hrs. We need to start as early as possible so that we can cover the long distance comfortably. Post breakfast, we will start on our trek. From Chakrateertha, we will take the same route that we came in. We will first descend to Laxmi Van and then to Mana followed by a gentle walk to Badrinath. At Badrinath, we will check into a hotel. In the evening, you can roam around the market, and visit the Badrinath Temple. There’s also a hot water spring in Badrinath, where you can take a dip.
The beautiful time in the mountains ends today as you will be driven back to Rishikesh. Wake up early and have a delicious breakfast post which we will start our drive towards Rishikesh. The drive will be along the same scenic routes where you can reminisce about your journey. It will take 9 to 10 hrs approximately to reach Rishikesh. You can expect to reach Rishikesh by 7 PM.
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