Kedarkantha Trek - ' The Throat of Lord Shiva’

The word Kedarkantha is made of up two words Kedar + Kantha, literal meaning – ‘Throat of Lord Shiva’. This trek has a whole lot of fascinating mythical stories attached to it.

Kedarkantha is not just a trend starter but also one of the most popular and best winter treks in India. There are various reasons for this.

It has gained its popularity due to the views, terrain, flora, fauna, and ease with which someone can complete it.

Kedarkantha isn't to be confused with Kedarnath, as these two are completely different.

Kedarkantha is a 6 days long trek in Govind Pashu Vihar National Park. As you begin your climb up the trek, you will be able to view peaks of Swargarohini, Bandarpunch, Kalanag, and Draupadi ka Danda around you on all days of your trek. The star-studded sky in the night is one of the best that you will ever see.

On your way up, you will come across large clearings or open grounds that will provide you not just an excellent view but also a sense of nature’s beauty.

The place was initially just a grazing ground for shepherds and a temple for villagers. Over the period it has gained popularity among trekkers and turned into a buzzing place for tourists.

One of the earliest discovered commercial winter treks in India, Kedarkantha peak has held the mind and heart of millions of Indian trekkers throughout its history.

The sheer beauty it holds captivates your eyes and heart.

Trekking on Kedarkantha is much more than what it looks over a couple of photos on your screen. It gives you a sense of satisfaction and achievement.

What will you like about Kedarkantha

1. The drive to the base camp

It is one of the most beautiful drives you will ever have on any trek. The 18 km stretch of the dense pine forest after Purola and the drive through the Mori valley alongside River Tons will stay with you for a long time. Do not miss to watch out for them.

2. The Homestays

Very rarely will you get to experience how the local people live? In this trek, you get to see it. You will be spending both your first night and the last night in homestays in Gaichwangaon.

Although they are close to each other, their houses look different, they dress differently and their lifestyle is a little different. You will get to experience this up close.

3. The Forests

When you are in the forests of Kedarkantha, especially the stretch from Kotgain the summit, you will feel this sense of oneness with your surroundings more strongly.

Many factors bring this about:

• The forests in this stretch are least traveled. Apart from the villagers, only the trekkers take this route. So in a lot of ways, this route has stayed pristine. If you are not careful, you can get easily lost.
• Unlike the other forests, where the forest looks almost manicured and arranged, this stretch of the forest has its wilderness intact. You will feel it strongly the moment you enter it.
• The forest is extremely dense and immersive. The sun plays hide and seek and this makes this stretch all the more magical.
• It is also diverse. Along with Deodar, Pine, and Oak, you will see more variety of trees and shrubs that you do not see on the other side.

4. The Clearings

Kedarkantha has many such clearings on all sides. No other trek offers such clearings. It is one trek in the entire Himalayas, where you have no dearth of campsites. One of the reasons there have been multiple routes in this trek is because of these clearings.

Other factors make these clearings even more special. They are:

• Each of the clearings on this trek is so uniquely different from the other. While Khujey gives you the feeling of camping along a cliff, Juda Ka Talab immerses you completely with its lake.
• The views you get from each of the clearings are stunning. The sunsets from these clearings are absolutely out of the world.
• The clearings are very well spaced along the route. So, with the forest and the clearings together, each day’s trek feels complete. You will find a clearing every 2 hours of the trek. Such is the number and ideal placement of these clearings.

5. Multiple routes

Being a standalone mountain, this trek is blessed with multiple routes to reach the summit and all of them are unique and beautiful in their way. This allows everyone to explore this trek in the way they want to – going with the popular route or choosing the quieter trail, adapting the route depending on the weather, etc. There are plenty of ways to reach the summit.

6. The Sunsets

This trek offers some of the most dramatic sunsets and it is precisely so because of the placement of the campsites. Julota and Pukhrola both face the western side of the sky and are both wide open to the sky. This makes the sunsets along this trail absolutely must watch on the trek.

7. The Summit

The trek is famous for its summit and is rightly so. The first is that this is a proper summit marked by a cairn. Of all the 12,500 ft treks in the Himalayas, Kedarkantha is one of the two summit treks. The rest are all mostly passes or high points on a range.

This itself is special. The second is the route to the summit. As soon as you clear the tree line, the summit is right in front of you. So, right from the beginning of the trek, you know where you are trekking to and it creates an instant aspiration. This builds the challenge of the trek right from the beginning of the summit day.

The third is the slope. The summit is a steady climb at almost an inclination of 45 to 60 degrees. At many places, especially in snow, it gets challenging even for experienced trekkers. This again makes the summit climb a rewarding one.

Fourth, is the views that accompany along. Although the views are not the most prominent or the highlights of the trek, the upper Himalayas do accompany the entire way up. This does add a charm to the entire climb giving respite when you take a break.

Kedarkantha trek is one of the few treks in the Indian Himalayas where you can trek for most of the year. Kedarkantha trek is accessible for 10 months of the year except for July and August (the peak rainy months in Uttarakhand).