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ECOLOGICALLY SUSTAINABLE, SMALL GROUP, LOW IMPACT TREKKING COMPANY IN INDIA
We Only Organize Lesser Done, Uncrowded, Customizable & Personalized, Small Group Private Trekking Tours In The Himalayas

Panpatia Col Trek

Walking the Mythological Legend's route to connect Kedarnath and Badrinath

📅
Duration
14 days 14 nights
🔼
Altitude:
5260m
🛑
Grade:
Challenging
👍
Best Time:
Mid May, Early Jun, Mid Sep
🌞
Temperatures:
🚩
Starts From:
Joshimath
🛪
Airport:
Jolly Grant Airport, Dehraoon, Uttrakhand
🚉
Railway:
Rishikesh, Uttrakhand

Key Geographical Highlights

9 Popular Peaks:

Balakun ( 6471m ), Chaukhamba I ( 7138m ), Chaukhamba II ( 7058m ), Chaukhamba III ( 6974m ), Chaukhamba IV ( 6854m ), Gauri Parbat ( 6708m ), Hathi Parbat ( 6727m ), Mandani Parvat ( 6193m ), Nilkantha ( 6596m )

2 High Passes:

Kachni Khal ( 4400m ), PANPATIA COL ( 5200m )

1 Glaciers:

Panpatia Glacier

1 Villages:

Badrinath

Reach Joshimath find other treks

Daywise Itinerary For Panpatia Col Trek

(click to read detailed route briefing, elevation graph, altitude time info and photos from the day)

▼ Day 1Arrival DayJoshimath 1850m
Arrive In Joshimath
Overnight In: Joshimath (1850m )
Accommodation: Hotel
Meals Included: Morning Tea, Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Tea Snacks, Soup, Dinner, Dessert, Hot Drinks
Cost Of Transport Included: NO
Where and How To Reach Joshimath
Journey from Rishikesh to Joshimath is a long one, but definitely not a boring one. As you swirl up, you come accross the Prayags ( confluence of rivers) of Uttrakhand, coming down from the Himalayan Glaciers on the higher reaches of the Himalayan state. These rivers unite to form the mighty Ganga which flows down Haridwar to rest for India. Ganga is known as the lifeline of India, and Uttrakhand - The Dev Bhoomi ( God's Land)

The streets are colorful too !!

Travelling in mountain roads for 280 KMS can be really tiring. So take a good sleep in your hotel tonight.
Day 1
375 - Rishikesh
Day 1
1850 - Joshimath
250Km, 8 - 9hrs.
▼ Day 2Trekking DayKhirao C1 2586m
From Joshimath (1850m ) To Khirao C1 (2586m ), Via - Khirao Road Head (2400m ) - 3 Hrs.
Overnight In: Khirao C1 (2586m )
Accommodation: Camping
Meals Included: Morning Tea, Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Tea Snacks, Soup, Dinner, Dessert, Hot Drinks
Today morning we drive to Khirao, and the trek some 30 minutes to reach our base camp for the trek. We may chose to visit the holy Shrine of Badrinath, offer prayers and then come back to our base camp as we have little less to do.

Reach base camp and relax for the day
Day 2
1850 - Joshimath
Day 2
2400 - Khirao Road Head
Day 2
2590 - Khirao C1
3hrs.
▼ Day 3Trekking DayKhiroi C2 3526m
From Khiroi C1 (2586m ) To Khiroi C2 (3526m ) - 5 - 6 Hrs.
Overnight In: Khiroi C2 (3526m )
Accommodation: Camping
Meals Included: Morning Tea, Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Tea Snacks, Soup, Dinner, Dessert, Hot Drinks
Following the Khiroi Ganga upwards, we climb and climb to reach the campsite for the day
Day 3
2590 - Khiroi C1
Day 3
3530 - Khiroi C2
5 - 6hrs.
▼ Day 4Trekking DayKhirao Snout Camp 3897m
From Khiroi C2 (3526m ) To Khirao Snout Camp (3897m ) - 5 - 6 Hrs.
Overnight In: Khirao Snout Camp (3897m )
Accommodation: Camping
Meals Included: Morning Tea, Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Tea Snacks, Soup, Dinner, Dessert, Hot Drinks
Reach the snout of the Panpatia glacier.
Day 4
3530 - Khiroi C2
Day 4
3900 - Khirao Snout Camp
5 - 6hrs.
▼ Day 5Trekking DayMoraine Camp 4300m
From Khirao Snout Camp (3897m ) To Moraine Camp (4300m ) - 5 - 6 Hrs.
Overnight In: Moraine Camp (4300m )
Accommodation: Camping
Meals Included: Morning Tea, Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Tea Snacks, Soup, Dinner, Dessert, Hot Drinks
Negotiate moraines and difficult terrain. Will be a long day.
Day 5
3900 - Khirao Snout Camp
Day 5
4300 - Moraine Camp
5 - 6hrs.
▼ Day 6Rest DayMoraine Camp 4300m
- 3 - 4 Hrs.
Overnight In: Moraine Camp (4300m )
Accommodation: Camping
Meals Included: Morning Tea, Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Tea Snacks, Soup, Dinner, Dessert, Hot Drinks
Rest and acclimatization Day
Day 6
4300 - Moraine Camp
Day 6
4300 - Moraine Camp
3 - 4hrs.
▼ Day 7Trekking DayParvati Col Base 4670m
From Moraine Camp (4300m ) To Parvati Col Base (4670m ) - 6 - 7 Hrs.
Overnight In: Parvati Col Base (4670m )
Accommodation: Camping
Meals Included: Morning Tea, Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Tea Snacks, Soup, Dinner, Dessert, Hot Drinks
The penultimate day before crossing the Panpatia Col. We trek to the base of the Parvati Col
Day 7
4300 - Moraine Camp
Day 7
4670 - Parvati Col Base
6 - 7hrs.
▼ Day 8Trekking DayPanpatia Snowfield 5210m
From Parvati Col Base (4670m ) To Panpatia Snowfield (5210m ), Via - Parvati Col (5183m ) - 6 - 7 Hrs.
Overnight In: Panpatia Snowfield (5210m )
Accommodation: Camping
Meals Included: Morning Tea, Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Tea Snacks, Soup, Dinner, Dessert, Hot Drinks
Will be a hard day. We negotiate steep and difficult climbs through a gully to summit the Parvati Col. We camp in the vast Panpatia snowfield
Day 8
4670 - Parvati Col Base
Day 8
5185 - Parvati Col
Day 8
5210 - Panpatia Snowfield
6 - 7hrs.
▼ Day 9Trekking DaySujal Sarovar Camp 4890m
From Panpatia Snowfield (5210m ) To Sujal Sarovar Camp (4890m ), Via - Panpatia Col (5222m ) - 5 - 6 Hrs.
Overnight In: Sujal Sarovar Camp (4890m )
Accommodation: Camping
Meals Included: Morning Tea, Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Tea Snacks, Soup, Dinner, Dessert, Hot Drinks
We negotiate the rest of snowfields, cross the Panpatia Col to descend down sharply to Sujal Sarovar.
Day 9
5210 - Panpatia Snowfield
Day 9
5225 - Panpatia Col
Day 9
4890 - Sujal Sarovar Camp
5 - 6hrs.
▼ Day 10Trekking DayKachni Dhar 4130m
From Sujal Sarovar Camp (4890m ) To Kachni Dhar (4130m ) - 6 - 7 Hrs.
Overnight In: Kachni Dhar (4130m )
Accommodation: Camping
Meals Included: Morning Tea, Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Tea Snacks, Soup, Dinner, Dessert, Hot Drinks
Cross a pass to descend sharply to Kachni.
Day 10
4890 - Sujal Sarovar Camp
Day 10
4130 - Kachni Dhar
6 - 7hrs.
▼ Day 11Trekking DayNanu Chatti 1800m
From Kachni Dhar (4130m ) To Nanu Chatti (1800m ) - 6 - 7 Hrs.
Overnight In: Nanu Chatti (1800m )
Accommodation: Camping
Meals Included: Morning Tea, Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Tea Snacks, Soup, Dinner, Dessert, Hot Drinks
We trek to Madhyamaheshwar temple, offer our prayers and then trek to Nanu Chatti
Day 11
4130 - Kachni Dhar
Day 11
1800 - Nanu Chatti
6 - 7hrs.
▼ Day 12Trekking DayRansi 1619m
From Nanu Chatti (1800m ) To Ransi (1619m ) - 4 - 5 Hrs.
Overnight In: Ransi (1619m )
Accommodation: Hotel
Meals Included: Morning Tea, Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Tea Snacks, Soup, Dinner, Dessert, Hot Drinks
Today We finish the trek at Ransi
Day 12
1800 - Nanu Chatti
Day 12
1620 - Ransi
4 - 5hrs.
▼ Day 13Trekking DayRishikesh 372m
From Ransi (1619m ) To Rishikesh (372m ) - 6 - 7 Hrs.
Overnight In: Rishikesh (372m )
Accommodation: None
Meals Included: Morning tea, Breakfast
We drive back to Rishikesh
Day 13
1620 - Ransi
Day 13
375 - Rishikesh
6 - 7hrs.
▼ Day 14Contingency Day
Overnight In: Rishikesh (372m )
Accommodation: Camping
Meals Included: Morning Tea, Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Tea Snacks, Soup, Dinner, Dessert, Hot Drinks
This is a planned reserved day to keep a window for bad weather and other contingencies. If unutilized, we can spend this day at any other campsite of our liking. The cost of this day is included in the trek package. If you decide to finish your trek instead of utilizing this reserved day, no money will be refunded as the local resources and other expenses will be paid in full as planned for initially
Day 14
375 - Rishikesh
Day 14
375 - Rishikesh
3hrs.

Panpatia Col Trek - An Elaborate Description

Connecting two of the holy shrines of Hindu - Badrinath and Kedarnath, a mythological story has it that a sage used to perform rituals in both the temples on the same day using this route known as Kedar Badri. This created enough crest amongst the mountaineers and explorers to find a route connecting the two shrines of Kedarnath and Badrinath.

British explorers to the likes of Tillman and Eric Shipton set their foot to find a route through them in 1934. They entered through the Satopanth glacier from Badrinath side, crossed the col, but got trapped in dense bamboo forest of Gondharpongi valley, before returning to Joshimath for his Nanda Devi expedition. Before them, Meade had his share of efforts in 1912. From then on, lots of steps has been take by mountaineers of our country to find a route connecting them, mostly mountaineers from Bengal including Harish Kapadia in 1997, who was stopped by the Ice fall. In 2000, an English mountaineer Martin Moran lead an expedition to Neelkanth, a nearby peak in Badrinath area to find a route and then successfully negotiated the Panpatia ice falls to exit through Kedarnath making it the first successful attempt completing Shipton's route.

Neelkanth and Parvati seen on Panpatia Trek
photo by Debabrata Mukherjee

Some dedicated and continuous efforts was made by mountaineer Anindya Mukherjee with other fellow mountaineer friends on the same crest. He tried 3 years in row from Madhameshwar side with little more success at each attempt and in his 4th attempt, he tried from the other side.

In 2007, A Bengali team in lead by Tapan Pandit and Debabrata Mukherjee successfully crossed the crevasse laiden ice fields of the Panpatia creating a history, making it a first Indian success on the route. The advantages of Google Earth helped the team to plan a safer route through the ice falls.

The beauty of the 2007 expedition was that, though difficult, this route was trekkable, and In recent times, trekkers crossing it successfully has been reported quite a few times, following the same route. It was a gift to the trekking community by the efforts of the 2007 team.

As understandable, this is not a mere trek. It needs to be treated as a semi-expedition which requires climbing gears like mountaineering boots, ice axes, anchoring devices, ropes and thye most important - right mentality

There is a Himalayan High in trekking this historic route !!

Panpatia Col Trek - Why Its A Must-Do

A historic route !! An interesting mythological story has it that a sage used to perform his daily rituals of worship in Badrinath and Kedarnath on the same day.
Lots of World class explorers like Tillman, Eric Shipton, Meade have put their efforts to find a route connecting the 2 shrines.
Lots of Indian mountaineers put their effort in connecting the same, and in 2007 a gift was given to the trekking community in form of a trekkable route.
The dangerous, crevasse laiden massive and wide spread ice field of Panpatiya

How We Grade Our Treks and Expeditions

Easy

Usual daily walks of 4 - 5 hours in altitude below 4000 meters. The sleeping altitude on these treks are below 4000 meter and the trails are gradual involving no steep ascent or descent. Sometimes, the trail may be longer, but on level trails. The duration of trek may be a week or lesser than it. The trek is not too remote and evacuation might be possible from almost any point of the trek

Moderate

The trek duration each day may span from 4 - 5 hours, but on some days, it may push up to 8 - 9 days. The trail might involve steep ascents or descents on occasions This kind of treks demand good fitness, and trekkers must involve themselves in cardio exercises regularly to do these treks comfortably. Sleeping altitude are below 4000 meters or little above it, but the trail might go as high as 4500 - 5000 meters. The trek is bit remote and evacuation might be possible from almost all, but not all campsites

Moderate+

This type of treks are bit more demanding than the moderate ones. It might involve few days of very long walks at higher altitude, or serious gradients, exposures, more remote or involves sleeping at higher altitudes for more days.

Strenuous

The trek duration each day may span from 5 - 8 hours, and may go up to to 8 - 9 on few days. The trail involves steep ascents and descents. Good fitness are demand of these treks, and trekkers must involve themselves in cardio exercises regularly to do these treks comfortably. Sleeping altitude may go above 4000 meters or little above it on couple of days, but not more than that. The trail might go as high as 4500 - 5200 meters. These trek are remote and evacuation might not be possible from all the campsites

Challenging

The trek duration each day may span from 5 - 8 hours, and may go up to to 8 - 9 or even more than that on few days. The trail involves steep ascents and descents. Crossing a glacier or a scree zone might be a feature of these treks. You might on some occasions, require technical equipment like rope, ice axe and snow stacks etc to complete these treks. Good fitness are demand of any treks, but these treks demands strong character. Sleeping altitude may goes well above 5000 meters on some days. The trail might go as high as 5000 - 6000 meters. These trek are high or remote or both. The trek usually might be a week long.

Sometimes irrespective of altitude and distance, a trek may ge graded Challenging if the route is treacherous, which might demand some footing skills or assistance of ropes and other equipment

Challenging+

The trek duration each day may span from 5 - 8 hours, and may go up to to 8 - 9 or even more than that on few days. The trail involves steep ascents and descents. Negotiating glacial moraines, scree zones, crossing them, camping on them etc are features of these treks. You might also require technical equipment like rope, ice axe and snow stacks etc to complete these treks. Good fitness are demand of any treks, but these treks demands strong character. Sleeping altitude may goes well above 5000 meters on some days. The trail might go as high as 5000 - 6000 meters. These trek are high and remote. A good technical support team and knowledgeable local guide is a must. Only experienced trekkers are advised to do these treks. The trek goes over 2 week and may be longer than that.

Sometimes irrespective of altitude and distance, a trek may ge graded Challenging if the route is treacherous, which might demand some footing skills or assistance of ropes and other equipment

Cost Terms For The Panpatia Col Trek

Cost Terms

The above-mentioned cost is in the range of minimum to maximum per-person cost for this trek as per 2 - 10 people team.PackageInclusions as per this cost can be read below.
5% GST (goods and service tax) is applicable for all our purchases.
We follow dynamic pricing as per the actual team size on the trek. Going by our standardized service, appropriate safety measures, quality equipment, and ecologically sustainable - small group commitment, a higher team size will lower the cost whereas a lower team size will significantly increase the cost.
Group segmented pricing if not provided here, please write to us using the contact page or text us on Whatsapp number +918017216725.
You may choose to keep the trek open or make it private depending upon your requirements or choice. The actual per-person cost of the trek is subject to the actual team size joining the trek. If you make any customizations that drastically change the itinerary and cost as mentioned here, then it will mandatorily have to be a private group only.
If we have dates listed on our website on Our Upcoming Treks and it is not marked as private, it means other people have booked this trek for that date and have opened it up for other members to join to lower the cost. If your dates and choices match, you may join these treks
You may join an existing open group listed on our website or create your own group as per your convenient dates and choose to either keep it private or open it up to lower the cost if other members join the trek.
At any point, the team size cannot be more than 12 members ( 10 for challenging treks) unless there is a unique exception requested or agreed upon by all the team members.

International Guests

Trek cost for foreigners is slightly higher than the cost for our Indian guests, mainly due to the higher permit fee applicable for admission to National Parks or protected forest areas. Sometimes, it may be higher due to higher local crew wages and other specific arrangements we make to ensure a safe, comfortable and enriching travel experience in India. However, we absolutely DO NOT 'hyper-charge' our International Guests ever and at the same time, ensure that we meet all the standards for highly qualified trek leaders and guides, safety, medical preparation, evacuation strategy, rescue arrangements, eco-sensitive travel, high-value knowledge sharing about the area and customs of the locals.

Extra Cost For International Trekkers Rs. 3000 per person.

Booking Process

Booking can only be done after multiple communication via email / Whatsapp / Calls. After connecting with us and discussing your needs, we finalize the trek and its requirements. After finalization, partial booking fees can be paid online or through direct bank transfers after which we trigger our preparations and arrangements for your trek. International Trekkers can pay the partial booking fees using PayPal, Wise, Western Union or Direct Wire Transfer.

Customized Private Group For Panpatia Col Trek

Trekking is a very personal activity and is perhaps one of the very few activities that give you enough time to indulge with yourself or your beloved people, a group of special friends, or close family members. It helps you transform personal bonds to the next level as it brings out everyone's best and truest self. Trekking is most enjoyed when it is done in a small private group, personalized to serve your specific needs. The Himalayas are best experienced when there is silence and solitude around and when you are surrounded only by your best people. Your trek is most enjoyable when all the pain of arranging a smooth trek is taken care of by us, and you focus just on your trek and yourself. Most importantly, a small private trekking group is very flexible, personalized, and more enjoyable, is the safest, and follows the principles of Sustainable and Responsible Tourism. Most trekkers book us for arranging personalized private treks catering to their specific and unique requirements - Customize This Trek

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Batch Size:
25-40 <10