Auli, Uttarakhand: Riding the snow

Auli in Uttarakhand (2800 m) can easily be called one of the topmost winter travel destinations of India, especially for skiing enthusiasts. Surrounded by lush oak and pine forests sprinkled with snowflakes, its pristine, snow-clad slopes simply take your breath away. I gazed in sheer awe at the natural beauty of the panoramic view spread out before and around me, including scintillating views of mighty peaks of the Garhwal Himalayas, like the formidable Nanda Devi (7817 m), Kamet, Nilkanth, Dunagiri, Beethartoli, Hathi Parbat, Ghori Parbat, Mana Parbat, Nar Parbat, and Trisul, besides others.

A 500 km drive from Delhi (the nearest airport is 270 km at Dehradun, while the nearest railway station is 250 km at Rishikesh), I reached Auli from Joshimath by the 16- km long cable car which got my adrenaline pumping, as I soaked in the astonishing 360 degree views. There are several ski resorts offering comfortable accommodation,...

Auli in Uttarakhand (2800 m) can easily be called one of the topmost winter travel destinations of India, especially for skiing enthusiasts. Surrounded by lush oak and pine forests sprinkled with snowflakes, its pristine, snow-clad slopes simply take your breath away. I gazed in sheer awe at the natural beauty of the panoramic view spread out before and around me, including scintillating views of mighty peaks of the Garhwal Himalayas, like the formidable Nanda Devi (7817 m), Kamet, Nilkanth, Dunagiri, Beethartoli, Hathi Parbat, Ghori Parbat, Mana Parbat, Nar Parbat, and Trisul, besides others.

A 500 km drive from Delhi (the nearest airport is 270 km at Dehradun, while the nearest railway station is 250 km at Rishikesh), I reached Auli from Joshimath by the 16- km long cable car which got my adrenaline pumping, as I soaked in the astonishing 360 degree views. There are several ski resorts offering comfortable accommodation, as well as patient professional expert skiing instructors who taught a novice like me the ropes of skiing. Auli is covered with artificial snow throughout the year, even during summer, so one can ski there round the yearn but I preferred to visit it between late-December and February, which is the best time of the year, when the very popular skiing festivals and championships take place, which have significantly boosted tourism in India. Auli had a lot more to offer the enthusiastic traveller within me. A visit to the Nanda Devi National Park, a prominent destination for wildlife tours in India, rewarded me with some exotic and rare Himalayan flora and fauna like the Himalayan bear, leopard, wild boar, musk deer, hyena, wild cat and wild rabbit, to name a few.

Auli has the world's highest man-made lake, left me stunned with its sheer beauty. Chenab Lake too, was worth visiting for its azure blue waters. There are many beautiful bugyals (meadows) to discover around Auli. I took a short 3-km trek from Auli to Gurso Bugyal (3056 m) to view breathtaking views of Nanda Devi and Trisul. Chattarkund, which is just a 15 minute walk from Auli, also afforded me with splendid views of the panoramic landscape. Kwani Bgyal (3380 m), a trekkers paradise, just 12 km from Auli, is a feast for the eyes.