Kalpeshwar to Rudranath Trek - The Shiva's Trail

The drive from Rishikesh to Helang passes through three major confluences – Devprayag, Rudraprayag and Karnaprayag. Take an early morning bus or shared cab that goes upto Joshimath, but make sure you get down at Helang. You need to book a cab from Helang to Urgam, this 12 kms stretch will be a bumpy ride.

After reaching Urgam, we will check into home stay in Urgam take rest. If time permits you can also visit Viilage and interact with locals as well.

Places to Visit During Drive: Rishikesh – Devprayag – Rudraprayag – Karnaprayag – Helang – Urgam

Urgam is a beautiful valley surrounded with villages and organized vegetation. Start off early in the morning and trek towards Kalpeshwar from Urgam. It takes more than an hour to reach Kalpeshwar Temple from Urgam. You can visit Dhyan Badri temple in Devgaon as well. After morning aarti in Kalpeshwar start the trek to Dumak. After crossing the village the trail goes through beautiful terrace fields and a couple of shepherd huts.

The altitude gradually increases as you climb up the trail but there is no steep climb involved. After trekking for 3 hours, you’ll reach a pass which will open up the view of other side of the valley. The trail will be followed with sharp descent there on. Rest for a while in a village you come across then trek further down to the bridge. As soon as you cross the bridge, you’ll see a temple. Dumak is another 1hour away from this place. Dumak is a remote village situated at an altitude of 2400 mts above sea level. Night stay in Dumak.

Cross the village by trekking on the right side of the village. Trek down to the bridge. It takes less than an hour to reach this bridge from Dumak. The remaining distance of the trek is mainly uphill steep climb. The trail passes through Toli Bugyal a nice but slightly creepy looking campsite. There is Toli Tal at Toli Bugyal but its water is not worth drinking or cooking. Toli Bugyal is situated at an altitude of 2850mts above sea level. Rest here for lunch then proceed towards Panar Bugyal.

Another 3 hours of steep climb through virgin forest opens up at Panar Bugyal. This small yet gorgeous meadow is situated at an elevation of 3400mts above sea level. This is the most beautiful campsite of the entire trek.

This is probably the most rewarding day of this entire trekking stretch. 15 minutes into the trek and the Himalayas on the left will greet you with open arms. This is followed with a narrow ridge that leads to highest point of the trek, Pitradhar (4000 mts). You’ll see bells and prayer flags hanging at a small temple known as Pitradhar. The trail is mostly downhill from this point and passes through Panch Dhara. Since there is very limited camping ground at Rudranath, most people try and trek back to Panar on same day. Rudranath is a very unique place to be at and it is surrounded by scenic vistas. It is situated at an altitude of 3600 mts above sea level.

Hike up towards Pitradhar and thereon proceed towards Naola Pass. The trek further passes through untouched meadows of Dhanpal Bugyal and Hansa Bugyal to reach Anusuya Devi Temple. This temple holds a special place in the hearts of local villagers and it is renowned as the last hope for childless couples.

Trek down from Anusuya Devi Temple to Mandal, trek ends at this road head. Drive from Mandal to Gopeshwar on same day to catch an early bus or cab next morning. Our trek services will end at Sagar Village.

Note: If needed, we can trek down directly to Sagar Village and stay overnight there as well on Day 5. Similarly we can trek down via Panar and Pooh as well and reach Sagar Village.