Drive to Nandaprayag and  to Ghat and then to Chefna (the starting point of the trek). We camp for the  night at Chefna.

Finish with breakfast and  then devour on this nice walk next to the river followed by an ascent through  coniferous and mixed forests. The walk by a wooded ridge takes us to a village  called Ramni (2550m). It is a typical Garhwal village with friendly people and  attractive houses with heavy slate roofs and paved alleys surrounded by fertile  fields. It is very commendable to see that this entire village is mainly run on  solar power. Night stay and meals at camp at Ghuni.

This is a long but  rewarding day. From the campsite you climb steeply for 1,000ft/300m on a  zigzagging track to emerge on open, grassy, grazing meadows. Snow peaks begin  to emerge above the forest to the north. The path continues up through forests  of rhododendron, pines and oaks with more pastures for summer grazing with  shepherds huts. Flocks of sheep and goats are there to keep you company as keep  moving along the track.  The highest point,  reached in 2¼ hours from the camp, at 3,064m/10,053ft, is the Ramni Pass, also  called Binayak Top. From here it is possible to make out the Kauri Pass, which  we will cross on Day 8. From now on there may be a chance to see the  multi-coloured monal pheasant but they are very shy, being hunted by the locals  for pot. The trek is now gentle, mainly through open pastures into forests of  horse chestnuts and walnut trees complete with fairy tale waterfalls.
Lastly, a zigzag downward  trail will bring you down to the overnight camp at Semkherk.

Day starts with a descent  to the colourful village of Jhinjhi. The trail carries on down past small farms,  through some woods to the spectacular suspension bridge at 1,840m/6,037ft  across the Birehi Gorge, which currently is inhabited by a large number of  monkeys!  From here however it’s a very  steep climb up to 7,382ft/2,250m, where the track eases only after arduous  ascent of 1 ½ hour.
After this though you can  relax a bit as the path becomes almost flat and you pass under the cool shade  of the rhododendron forests with long tailed magpies flitting about. There are  many streams and waterfalls as the route contours round many deep ravines. If  you look down to the deep gorge below you can see the landslide and the Gauna  Lake, which burst and flood the whole of the Ganga Valley down to Rishikesh in  1898. After going round the head of a horseshoe valley you reach two lovely  rivers cascading down under the path. From here there is a short climb to a  spot called Kaliaghat, which is a good campsite near the village of Pana. It is  here where we camp overnight.

This is another long but  spectacular day. The route traverses above the village and then starts a steep  climb up into a rhododendron forest. It is a broad, well made track and after a  number of small summits a Col is reached at 9,842ft/3,000m. The path now  descends gently, traversing along the valley to open meadows with views across  to the Kuari Pass. We continue downhill through the valley along several  streams, before it plunges down a very steep and loose section, much of which  has been washed away by the monsoons. At the bottom, you will see that the  river has cut through a deep rocky, dramatic gorge to your right showing just  how naturally scalped the entire region is. From the river, it is a very steep  climb of about 3,000 feet (900 m) with a small break about half the way up to  cross a large stream. A final climb brings you above the tree-line to the  campsite on the large pastures where sheep and goats graze in summer, with the  Kauri Pass towering above. Camp overnight.

It is a short day today  meaning that you have enough time to take breaks on the pass to simply stare at  awe at your surroundings. The thrill of standing at such a height, with the  cold wind hitting you across the face is a feeling that cannot be surpassed. We  aim to cross this pass today so that you will have the benefit of the clear  early morning the following day. For this we have to walk a bit more to gain  more height, with the highest point of the trail being at a cool 4000 m high  and is just half an hour from the Tali Pass ahead. Once, we have had our fill  of the mountain view (which is highly unlikely) we walk down to our camp which  has been set up for you across a small stream.

For those among you who are  willing to give up a few more hours of sleep to catch a rare glimpse of nature,  we suggest you wake up before dawn and make your way to the top of Pangarchulli  peak to catch the dawn view of the Himalayas. The way, the navy blue mountains  slowly turn an orange hue to a brighter yellow to finally white is a sight you  will not want to miss. Frank Smythe, who came this way in 1931 en route to  Kamet (25,443ft/7,757m), the second highest mountain in this region, said  something along these lines about this view, "We breasted the slope and  halted, silent on the path. No words would express our delight. The Himalayas  were arrayed before us in a stupendous arc". Some of the mountains seen  are Kamet, Nilkanth (7,141m/23,425ft), Dunagiri (7,067m/23,182ft) and  Changabang (6,864m/22,516ft), with even Nanda Devi herself visible if you walk  along the ridge for a while. The blinding vision of snow peaks make all the  effort worthwhile, for it is often said that this is one of the greatest mountain  views in the world. We walk back to camp for hot lunch and over night in tents.

Most of summer treks  finish in Auli and early summer/early winter treks finish in Tapovan because of  the icy conditions on the trail to Auli. It is a 3-4-hr walk to either place.  It is a gradual descent to Auli down through woods and pastures and we meet our  car waiting for us at Auli to drive us to Joshimat. Auli, although having none  of the elegance of its sister hill resorts, does have a charm and beauty of its  own. It is the site where the famous Adiguru Shankaracharya attained  enlightenment before beginning his campaign for the unification of India and  the revitalization of Hinduism. There is a temple here called the Na Singh  where the statue of Na Singh involves a legend that when the arm of the idol  finally breaks, the road to Badrinath will be blocked. Interestingly, the  statue’s arm has been getting smaller every year. Auli is also the centre of  the Indian ski scene, and the cable car up to the resort of Auli starts in the  middle of Joshimath.
We stay overnight at a  hotel in Joshimath to wash off the fatigue and get a comfortable sleep.

Back to Rishikesh it is,  with lunch given on the way.