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You will stay in various accommodations in the Himalayas. Your accommodation in Rishikesh before and after the trek will be at Yogada's own best-located guest house in Rishikesh.
Category
- Teacher's Training
- Holiday Retreats
- Affordable Yoga Retreats
- Beach Retreats
- Yoga Therapy Retreats
Styles
- Laughter Yoga
Skill level
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advance
Food Type
- Vegetarian
Meals
- All Meals
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
Retreat For
- Solo Traveller
Meet the instructors
Rajee Ba
Born in a Brahmin family in the Himalayas, Yogi Raj Jeev has started his career as a research scientist after his post-graduation in Organic Chemistry and PgD in Himalayan Tourism. He is still heading the pioneer and leading adventure tours and travel company the Garhwal Himalayan Explorations Pvt. Ltd with its base in Rishikesh.
Neeraj
Neeraj is an experienced, registered yoga teacher E-RYT from Yoga Alliance. He completed his course in Rishikesh. He is also certified as a yoga instructor from the Ayush Ministry, Government of India. Neeraj has completed a course in Vedantic philosophy. He is also an MBA and has nine years of experience in the corporate world. Apart from teacher... Read More
Neeraj
Vikas Singh
Vikas has more than 12 years of teaching experience. Born and brought up in the sacred city of Rishikesh, he has a natural affinity for yoga. He is the Hatha teacher. He is known to be very spontaneous and his classes are enjoyed by one and all.
Program
Daily Schedule
Day 1: Arrive in Rishikesh
Report to Himalaya House, the adventure base office at Tapovan Rishikesh. Transfer to your peacefully located Sattya Retreat in Tapovan, High Bank Peasants Cottage for an overnight spiritual experience. Check in over a cup of homemade herbal tea.
In the early evening, you will meet the guru yogi and the yogi on the trek and proceed for a 90-minute Sattya yoga class. After the class, enjoy a cup of herbal tea on the terrace with the view of the Ganga coming down from the mountains and slipping gently into the vast Indo Gangetic plains.
After spending some quality time with yourself in silence, enjoy a homegrown and home-cooked organic meal with lots of love and pure energy. The day is closed after the next day’s briefing. Overnight will be in High Bank.
Day 2: Rishikesh / Chepna drive (7 - 8 hours) - overnight camp
After a morning wake up and a Himalayan herbal tea, join the guru yogi on the terrace for a herbal tea and another class of Sattya yoga. Have a yogic breakfast. Meet the trekking guide and crew.
After loading the bags, you commence the drive to road head, Chepna. The entire drive is along the Ganga River up to Devprayag after which you enter the Alaknanda Valley, following the Alakananda river all the way to Karanprayag, one of the famous panch prayags (five confluences).
After a lunch break, you take the small road to the Ghat and further to Chepna. A small village serves as a road head to a few of the best treks in Uttarakhand Himalayas. Arrive and pitch the tents. Have evening tea with interaction with local school children and villagers. Enjoy an evening session of meditation and pranayama, followed by dinner and overnight at the camp.
Day 3: Chepna / Ghuni trek - overnight camp
In the early morning wake up with a cup of pure Himalayan herbal tea. Lay down your sleeping mattresses for a session of special Satya yoga and meditation in the fresh air of the Himalayas, the birthplace of yoga, and the ancient Indian knowledge of evolving human consciousness.
After breakfast, you are on a nice walk next to the river followed by an ascent through coniferous and mixed forests. The walk by a wooded ridge takes you to a village called Ramni (2550 meters). It is a typical Garhwal village with friendly people and attractive houses with heavy slate roofs and paved alleys surrounded by fertile fields.
It is very commendable to see that this entire village is mainly run on solar power. Night stay and meals will be at a camp at Ghuni. After a cup of tea and relaxation, lay down your mattresses for a group meditation class to experience the exclusive vibes of the Rishis and saints that lived in the Himalayas for ages.
Day 4: Ghuni / Semkherk
In the early morning, wake up with a cup of pure Himalayan herbal tea. Have a yoga class. This is a long but rewarding day. From the campsite, you climb steeply for 1,000 feet / 300 meters on a zigzagging track to emerge on open, grassy, grazing meadows. Snow peaks begin to emerge above the forest to the north.
The path continues up through forests of rhododendron, pines, and oaks with more pastures for summer grazing with shepherds' huts. Flocks of sheep and goats are there to keep you company as you keep moving along the track. The highest point, reached in 2¼ hours from the camp at 3,064 meters / 10,053 feet, is the Ramni Pass, also called Binayak Top.
From here it is possible to make out the Kauri Pass, which you will cross on day 8. From now on there may be a chance to see the multi-colored monal pheasant but they are very shy, being hunted by the locals for pot. The trek is now gentle, mainly through open pastures into forests of horse chestnuts and walnut trees complete with fairytale waterfalls.
Lastly, a zigzag downward trail will bring you down to the overnight camp at Semkherk. Arrive and camp. Have an evening tea, group meditation, dinner, and overnight stay.
Day 5: Semkherk / Pana trek - overnight camp
In the early morning, wake up with a cup of pure Himalayan herbal tea. Have a yoga class. The day starts with a descent to the colorful village of Jhinjhi. The trail carries on down past small farms, through some woods to the spectacular suspension bridge at 1,840 meters / 6,037 feet across the Birehi Gorge, which currently is inhabited by a large number of monkeys!
From here, however, it’s a very steep climb up to 7,382 feet / 2,250 meters, where the track eases only after an arduous ascent of 1,5 hours. After this, though you can relax a bit as the path becomes almost flat and you pass under the cool shade of the rhododendron forests with long-tailed magpies flitting about. There are many streams and waterfalls as the route contours around many deep ravines.
If you look down to the deep gorge below you can see the landslide and the Gauna Lake, which burst and flooded the whole of the Ganga Valley down to Rishikesh in 1898. After going around the head of a horseshoe valley, you reach two lovely rivers cascading down under the path. From here there is a short climb to a spot called Kaliaghat, which is a good campsite near the village of Pana. It is here where you camp overnight. Have group meditation and dinner.
Day 6: Pana / Dhakwani - overnight camp
In the early morning, wake up with a cup of pure Himalayan herbal tea. Have a yoga class. This is another long but spectacular day. The route traverses above the village and then starts a steep climb up into a rhododendron forest. It is a broad, well-made track and after a number of small summits, a Col is reached at 9,842 feet / 3,000 meters.
The path now descends gently, traversing along the valley to open meadows with views across to the Kuari Pass. You continue downhill through the valley along several streams, before it plunges down a very steep and loose section, much of which has been washed away by the monsoons. At the bottom, you will see that the river has cut through a deep rocky, dramatic gorge to your right showing just how naturally scalped the entire region is.
From the river, it is a very steep climb of about 3,000 feet (900 meters) with a small break about half the way up to cross a large stream. A final climb brings you above the treeline to the campsite on the large pastures where sheep and goats graze in summer, with the Kauri Pass towering above. Have group meditation and dinner.
Day 7: Dhakwani / Khulara
In the early morning, wake up with a cup of pure Himalayan herbal tea. Have a yoga class. It is a short day today meaning that you have enough time to take breaks on the pass to simply stare in awe at your surroundings. The thrill of standing at such a height, with the cold wind hitting you across the face is a feeling that cannot be surpassed.
You aim to cross this pass today so that you will have the benefit of the clear early morning the following day. For this, you have to walk a bit more to gain more height, with the highest point of the trail being a cool 4000 meters high and is just half an hour from the Tali Pass ahead. Once you have had your fill of the mountain view (which is highly unlikely), you walk down to your camp which has been set up for you across a small stream. Have group meditation and dinner.
Day 8: Khulara / Dhak trek (3 hours)
In the early morning, wake up with a cup of pure Himalayan herbal tea. Have a yoga class. After breakfast, trek down to Dhak road head. Arrive and commence the drive to Rishikesh. Lunch will be en route. Arrive at Shivpuri and check in to Yogada. Dinner and overnight will be at Yogada.
Day 9: Yogada / check out
Have an early morning nature walk in the adjacent forest with great views of the Ganges. After breakfast, you will check out. The tour terminates upon arrival at Rishikesh.
Daily Schedule
Day 1: Monday
- 11:00 - 13:00 Arrival
- 13:30 Lunch
- 14:45 - 15:45 Course orientation
- 15:45 - 17:15 Hatha yoga
- 17:30 - 19:00 Yin yoga
- 19:00 Dinner
Days 2 to 5: Tuesday to Friday
- 06:00 - 06:45 Mantra chanting/detox techniques
- 06:45 - 08:15 Yin yoga
- 08:30 - 10:00 Hatha yoga
- 10:00 Breakfast
- 11:00 - 13.30 Reading/rest
- 13:30 Lunch
- 14:45 - 15:45 Yoga anatomy/meditation/pranayama
- 15:45 - 17:15 Hatha yoga
- 17:30 - 19:00 Yin yoga
- 19:00 Dinner
- 21:00 Lights off
Day 6: Saturday
- 06:00 - 06:45 Mantra chanting/pranayama/detox techniques
- 06:45 - 08:15 Yin yoga
- 08:30 - 10:00 Hatha yoga
- 10:00 Breakfast
- 11:00 Departure
