This is a very hilly route through Uttarakhand, which we really enjoyed. We didn’t do much research into it, so just took the most northerly (non dead-end) roads shown on Google Maps from Kinnaur to the Nepal border at Banbasa/Mahendranagar. As there are so many food and accommodation options it would be possible to do this as a very lightweight trip without any camping gear – we didn’t camp once.
Every day this route climbs a pass. Most of the climbs are very enjoyable, through forest and past terraced fields, on quiet roads. Apart from the climb to Daran Ghati which is steep and on a bad surface, the climbs are easy as the roads are usually paved and the gradients very gentle. In the table below I’ve just mentioned some towns on the route – there are many more. I’ve included just about all of the passes and most of the low points to give an idea of the elevation gains.
Here’s our blog post for this route.
Total KM | Village/Town/Pass |
---|---|
0 | Jeori (1,410m), big town on the Kinnaur Highway (NH22). |
12 | Gharat (2,030m). Jn – R to Daran Ghati. |
31 | Mashnu (2,110m). Jn – L to Daran Ghati. |
44 | Daran Ghati pass (2,900m). Tough climb on bad surface. |
76 | River (1,440m). Low point. |
80 | Taklech (1,520m). |
101 | Bahli (2,380m). |
119 | Sungri pass (2,620m). |
146 | Rohru (1,560m). Very big town. |
157 | Hatkoti (1,500m). |
187 | Tiuni (900m). |
203 | Hanol (1,090m). |
219 | Jn (1,200m) just before Mori. Go R. |
237 | Jharmola Dhar pass (1,933m). |
254 | Purola (1,360m). |
270 | Bridge over the Yamuna (1,070m). |
284 | Jn (1,330m) after Barkot. Go R for Uttarkashi. |
301 | Radi Top pass (2,256m). |
338 | Darasu Bend (960m). Join main highway to Gangotri – turn L. |
345 | Jn (970m) – leave main Gangotri road by turning R to Ghansali. Cross the Ganges straight after the jn. |
369 | Jn (1,930m) – join Gangotri-Kedarnath bypass (turn R). |
378 | Chaurangi Khal pass (2,324m). |
402 | Jn (1,300m). L to Ghansali (if you go R, it is 3km to Lamgaon). |
418 | Kemunda Khal pass (2,126m). |
438 | Jn (1,000m) – go R to Ghansali. |
451 | Ghansali (940m). Big town. |
479 | Chirbatia Khal pass (2,200m). |
517 | Tilwara (720m). Turn R on main rd. |
526 | Rudraprayag (660m). Big town. Road is quite busy to Karanprayag. |
549 | Gauchar (810m). |
558 | Karanprayag (790m). |
566 | Jn, go L. |
604 | Jn in Tharali. Go L. |
621 | Gwaldam Khal high point (1,946m). |
626 | Gwaldam (1,920m). |
648 | Jn in Baijnath (1,120m) – go L. |
668 | Bageshwar (870m). Big town. |
683 | Jn (1,140m) a few km after passing through Kapkot. Go R. |
711 | Jopara Khal pass (2,123m). |
717 | Kharlek (1,990m). |
720 | Sama (2,050m). |
727 | Jn (1,660m) – go L. |
736 | Cross bridge (1,080m). |
738 | Jn – go R. |
748 | Jn (1,050m) – L to Munsyari, (R goes to Tejam). |
763 | Girgaon (1,800m). |
781 | Kalamuni pass (2,763m). |
786 | Second pass (~2,760m). |
796 | Munsyari (2,190m). |
864 | Jauljibi (630m). Cross bridge. |
877 | Askot (1,280m) – village is up side road. |
885 | Ogla (1,510m). |
901 | Pass (1,724m). |
907 | Satgarh pass (1,860m). |
927 | Pithoragarh (1,600m). Very large town. |
956 | Bridge, low point (480m). |
982 | Maroda Khan pass (1,839m). |
988 | Lohaghat (1,700m). |
995 | Pass (1,800m). |
1,001 | Champawat (1,600m). Large town. |
1,040 | Bridge (570m). |
1,051 | Pass (1,123m). |
1,076 | Tanakpur (250m). |
Route Summary | |
---|---|
Total amount climbed | ~20,000m in 14 days |
Traffic | Mostly very little, though busy around the large towns. |
Difficulty | 2 |
When we cycled | September 2012 (post monsoon) |
How much we had to push | A small amount on the climb to Daran Ghati. |