An adventure trip to Rishikesh and Auli

An adventures trip to Rishikesh and Auli - The Heavenly experience

There are various ways in which life surprises you and my trip with friends to Rishikesh and Auli is the proof of that only. In the prior, it was just a solo trip where I planned to enjoy bungee jumping and more, but later when my friends planned to join was a complete surprise for me.

I had completed all the reservations and flights in advance but even this thought didn’t stop them from coming along. In fact, it became the most adventurous trip of my life.

Earlier I had just planned to visit Rishikesh, Dehradun, and Mussoorie but later we canceled the plan of Mussoorie and Dehradun as soon as we came to know about the beauty of Auli. we chose Rishikesh for all the adventure activities that we would get to perform and Auli for its heavenly natural beauty.

And yes a special thanks to Travel Ride for helping us out in the last moment regarding all reservations and offering their best support to me and my friends. They completely personalized my trip accordingly and made sure that we didn’t get any issue regarding the hotel or Guide.

Day 1: Bunjee jumping in Rishikesh!

We all arrived on the same day in Delhi but via different flights. It was truly amazing to see all of us unite for a trip together and once we had all arrived, the trip began.

The pickup for everyone was from the Delhi airport and at 9:30 pm in the night, we all left for Rishikesh.

We reached our destination early in the morning around 6 am and straightaway checked into the Kabila resort (our camping sight in Rishikesh). After this, We had light breakfast and we proceed for Bunjee jumping - The one activity in Rishikesh that I had always wanted to do.

The site was only 3 Km from our resort and the booking for which was done by the resort people only, who by the way were amazing and extremely hospitable too. (Thank you!)

The Bungee Jumping experience was out of the world and exceeded my expectations. It is difficult to describe that feeling in words but all I can say is that it was 270 feet of adrenaline rush for me. And yes, this was also the highest site in the world of India for Bunjee Jumping.

Tip: If you pay for Bunjee Jumping and you don't Jump, your money is not refunded. Two of my friends didn't jump at the final moment and regretted later for 3 seconds of courage would have given them a lifetime of experience!

Later back in the hotel, we were welcomed by delicious lunch and then in the afternoon we all were chilling and exploring the campsite, river and the nearest local village.

Then we came back to the camp and including the camp staff we played cricket together and that was some madness and Amazing fun.

Then in the evening the weather got cold and we were pampered by barbecue Snacks and then we played music and again including the camp staff we danced like kids.

Being from Mumbai, it was even more difficult for us to adapt the cold weather, but in the end, the bonfire and all the drinks and food worked their magic and we were soon sorted!

Day 2: The river rafting adventure we always wanted!

Post breakfast today, we went river rafting, and even though the water was freezing, we still went ahead and had the time of our lives!

River rafting in Rishikesh was a journey itself with various points to stop in between and one such was place was the Maggie point. We had to come out of the water to eat Maggie here but once we got out, that is when the cold kicked in again and we started shivering again due to the wind.

Anyway, it was still an awesome experience and sharing it with my friend who made it even better. The next point that we encountered during the river rafting was a cliff from where we could jump into the water 40 feet below. Being adventure heads, naturally, we all went with it, and yes, it was super cool.

Later after we were coming with river rafting, we had our lunch and by this time, we were already running a bit late. We were worried that we won't reach Auli on time since the roads also close during the night for safety reasons but our skilled driver nonetheless got us there by 1 am.

Thanks to him, we could check into our hotel and get a good night's sleep.

Day 3: Auli and all the snowy charm!

We got up at 6 am today to book a ticket for a cable car ride to Auli from Joshimath where our hotel was.

And even though we reached 6:30 am, there were already people waiting in the line for the ticket distribution which starts at 9.

Thankfully, we got ours by 9:30 am with a slot for 1 pm and since we had around 3 hours to spare, we decided to use them by visiting the local market, sightseeing points, and exploring around on our own.

The cable car ride we surreal. As soon as we reached a little height, we could see the snow.

With mountains surrounding us from every single angle, it was one of the most delightful views we had ever seen. Later, on top, amidst the real snow, we all became kids once again. And then we did skiing and we were dancing in the snow and were playing with Ice and chilling with friends.

It was awesome!

And yes, Auli is one of the most beautiful places in India.

Day 4: The snow trek of a lifetime!

We were to go snow trekking in Auli today and so From Joshimath till the start of the ski resort in Auli, we took a gypsy as the roads are small and our bus wouldn't be able to go up.

Upon reaching this point, we rented a guide and snow boots and sticks for our trek to the top. Our trek was called the Gurson bugyal Trek and doing it was one of the most thrilling moments of our lives. It was January end so because of the Snowfall the snow was fresh and untouched.

Going little further the snow got deeper and we literally walking in the snow which was deep till our knees and it was definitely making it difficult for us to walk but at the same time, it was such fun.

It took us 5 hours to reach the top and 3 hours to come down but all of it amidst the snow was totally worth the experience.

We paid our guide 1200 rupees and even though it almost took us the whole day to complete this one, he was always there for us. We could see Nanda Devi and the valley of flowers mountain, lotus mountain there, and even learned that china was Only 140 km From this point.

Needless to say, this was one of the best highlights of our whole trip and we loved every moment of it.

I still remember when we reached the summit point of our trek every person who was standing there was awestruck with the beauty around us.

It was so peaceful, relaxing, and beautiful.

We all were out of words, no one was speaking a single word for minutes and just enjoying the beauty around us which can't be described in words.

We could spend only a few minutes here on the top as we had to come down too and it was getting late and cold again being evening time.

We started heading down and while coming down we were sliding with the help of our jackets and rolling through the snow.

And running and jumping in the snow and with all this fun we came down, took our gypsy, and reached our hotel in Joshimath around 8 pm.

The day was insane and Amazing. A day to remember for the rest of our lives!

After we returned to our hotel even though we were dead tired, I and my friends spent our last Day in Auli playing cards, listening to music, having dinner, and enjoying the bonfire.

Day 5: Saying goodbye to the Mountains!

We woke up to a beautiful sunrise today, courtesy our balcony which overlooked the mountains.

Post breakfast, we left Auli(Joshimath) and on the way stopped at various places including Rudraprayag and Karna Prayag. After dropping two of our friends in Rishikesh and a few more at Haridwar, we reached Delhi at around 6 am the next day.

Our journey had officially ended but we were leaving with a lifetime of memories and precious moments spent with the best people in my life.

Looking back at my trip to Rishikesh and Auli with friends, I recollect adventure, thrill, adrenaline rush, tranquility, and yes, Amazing times! Seeing how this solo trip turned into an adventure with friends amazes me even today but who am I to complain, for all the great things in life are planned by God!