View from a Guest House in Auli
Why Visit
Known as ‘Bugyal’, meaning meadow, in the regional language, Auli is located at an altitude of 2915 to 3049 m has one of the best slopes in the world offering skiing from mid-December to March. Tourists come to Auli to ski on a 3 kilometre long slope while taking in majestic views of Central Himalayan peaks such as Nanda Devi (7817 m), Kamet (7756 m), Mana Parvat (7273 mtrs) and Dronagiri (7066 m). The skiing centre was set up in Auli in 1984 and is professionally run by GMVN.
Auli is connected to Joshimath with a 3.92 km long cable car as well as a 14 km long road. There is also 500 metre long chair lift linking the lower and upper slopes.
Rock climbing In Auli
What to Do
- Skiing: Auli has started gaining popularity as a prime skiing destination. Skiing facilities are available from GMVNL which offers certificate and non certificate course ranging from 4 days to 14 days. The courses include stay, food, ski gear charges and guide. Some enterprising and talented locals also provide ski equipment and instruction to tourists.
- Artificial lake: A small lake located adjacent to Hotel Cliff Top is the world’s highest man-made lake. It was primarily developed with the objective of creating artificial snow on the new ski slopes in the event of low snow fall. The water from this lake will be used to feed the snow guns stationed along the ski slopes and thus provide a good skiing surface and an extended ski season.
- Photography: a 270 degree view of the Himalaya from Auli is a photographer’s delight and enough to make you forget the long and tiring ride to reach Auli. Ski lift rides in the evening are a must for the great views of snow clad mountains and the ever changing colors as the sun sets.
- Trekking: Apart from skiing there are some trek options available. The following is a list of some of the more popular day hikes: Auli – Gorson trek (7 km); Gorson – Tali trek (6 km); Tali – Kuari Pass trek (11 km); Kuari Pass – Khulara trek (12 km); and Khulara – Tapovan trek (9 km).
Guest House in Auli
- Religious connections: Auli-Joshimath lies on the way to the Badrinath route and during the winter, Badrinath and the temple are closed for 5–6 months due to heavy snow fall. However, the deity statute is brought and kept in a temple at Joshimath. In Auli there is a small Hanuman temple and its said that Hanuman halted at Auli on the way to get the herb ‘Sanjivani’ found only on Sanjivani mountain.
- Other activities: There is a training facility of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. This force is responsible for guarding Indian borders at high altitude. Five kilometres towards Badrinath is a Hydro Power project on the Alaknanda river
- Places around Auli: Vishu Prayag, where the Alaknanda river meets Dauli Ganga; Joshimath, also known as ‘Jyotirmath’, the place of Jyotirlinga of Shiva and Badrinath, is one of the four Dhaams. 15 km from Auli is Tapovan, which means meditation forest, where one can visit a temple and a hot water spring.
What to Know
View from a Guest House in Auli
Duration of stay: a two night three day stay is recommended.
How to Reach
Air: The closest airport for Auli is Jolly Grant, Dehradun located at a distance of 298 km.
Rail: The nearest railhead is 276 km from Auli at Rishikesh, and since not many trains travel to Rishikesh, it’s better to take a train to Haridwar.
Road: Joshimath is the nearest town with frequent bus service to and from Dehradun. One can also take either a cable car or hired jeeps/taxis from Joshimath to Auli.
