Things to do in Auli: How to plan your Auli trip?

Covered with snow, Auli is located at the height of 2800 meters in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is known for its ski resorts and stunning natural beauty. Apart from skiing, there are many things to do in Auli.  

A bad day on the slopes beats a good day at work”

A wise man

Auli Trip: Quick Overview

• Skiing in Auli has gained the popularity over a short span of time because of its scenic beauty and peaceful atmosphere.
• Mother nature has truly blessed this place with its best possible colors and views.
• Auli has had the honor of hosting the first South Asian Winter Games back in 2011. If you are planning to stay for a week here, and then you must enroll for GMVN 7 days or 14 days ski course which will be held under the guidance of the experts.
• This place is perfect for you if you are a person who loves even the idea of playing in the snow. Also there are many others things to do in Auli. That we will discuss in this article. 
• If you are a bike lover, then the bike trails of Auli are made for you. In summer you can enjoy the trails here.
• Auli has so many more things to do such as  the Artificial lake tour of Auli, Trek to Gurson Bugyal, Chattrakund, Kuari Pass, Chenab Lake, Vishnu Prayag etc. All these treks are beautiful. 

Things to do in Auli-

1. Skiing in Auli-

Photo by – Soul Rover

Coming to Auli and not thinking about skiing!!! Please don’t do this injustice to the snow laden slopes of Auli.

Only a handful of ski resorts exist in India and Auli is one of them, don’t miss the chance of experiencing one of the craziest things in your life. This is the must do thing in Auli. 

2. Snowboarding –

You will never get bored having activities in snow. It keeps you excitement level high all the time.

Unlike Ski, Snowboarding is the sports you can try here.

Price for Full day – Rs. 1000 to 3000

Price per Hrs – Rs 500

3. Chair Car Ride –

If you are planning to ski,  then you’ll have to take the chair car ride. Almost all ski destinations are connected by chair car which adds an amazing experiences to your trip. You can see spectacular views of Auli from the chair car. This could be one of best things to do in Auli

So DON’T miss it.

4. Artificial Lake –

It is one of the highest lakes in the world, it offers a calm and scenic beauty.

You can spend your time here with your loved ones. The himalayas in background of this lake will leave you spell-bounded. You can witness the 360 degree view of Himalaya Range This lake becomes the frozen lake, If you are going here in winter. 

Distance- It’s a 10 mins walking distance, 1.5 km from Auli.

5. Trekking and Camping –

Many trekking options are there in Auli. These treks will take you through some of the most beautiful, alluring meadows, lush green pastures and verdant valleys. Some treks are short but some are longer. You can opt for Auli to Gorson trek (7 km), Gorson to Tali (6 km) etc. You can do these treks. 

6. Visit Joshimath – 

A quiet town located in the Chamoli District, Joshimath is a more popular shrine location in our country. You can see here, the large amounts of devotees, between the quiet quiet October.

Distance – Distance between Auli to Joshimath is 10-12 km by road in 40 minutes. You can also reach there by flight, the distance is 1.5-2 km. The nearest airport for you is Jolly Grant Airport.

7. Visit Nanda Devi National Park –

Nanda Devi is the second highest peak in India it’s a National Park, and believe us it’s a very beautiful and amazing National Park, which is full of high-altitude flora and fauna in the region.

To see here, this place is covered with amazing mountains, a healthy and greenery environment, here you can feel positive energy towards yourself, you can have a view of The Valley of Flowers, Badrinath Temple and the Hem Kund Sahib. Even UNESCO has awarded the title of a world heritage site to Nanda Devi National Park.

Distance – You can reach there from Jolly Grant Airport and the distance from the airport is 300 km, but the distance from Auli is 38 km.

8. Visit Trishul Peak –

Trishul peak is not an easy task for climbers, said, climbers.

 It’s a group of three Himalayan mountain peaks of western Kumaon, Uttarakhand. The height of the first Trishul is around 7100 meters Trishul second is 6500 meters above high named Nanda Devi and the third one is 6000 meters high

Distance – It is 31 km away from Auli.

9. Go Bird Watching –

One of the best things about Auli is, its nature and its view, if you want to spend some with nature and yourself you should go for bird watching at Govindghat and Pandukeshwar.

March to June is the best season for visiting.

Distance – For bird watching in Govind Ghat, the distance from Auli is 28km, around 1hr, if you are traveling by vehicle and the  Pandukeshwar is 29 km, same time for there too 1hr with any vehicle.

10. Shopping –

Apart from snow, skiing, and other adventurous stuff you can take a rest and change your mood to go on shopping. Auli has a great market, whatever you choose and wanted to buy there, you can buy warm clothes from here like woolen caps, shawls, sweaters, etc.

Even you can buy ski equipment too from here.

Distance – The shopping market is 10-12 km away from Auli.

How to reach Auli from Delhi

Well, Auli is a hill station, and what mode of transportation you can expect in a hill station? Mostly it is by Road. There is no direct train and flight to Auli.

If you are coming from the national capital Delhi, Firstly reach either Haridwar, Rishikesh, or Dehradun in Uttarakhand state(Based on your Convenience). 

There are no direct buses from Haridwar/Rishikesh/Dehradun to Auli however frequent buses are run up to Joshimath. 

Joshimath is the famous town, nearest to the Auli. The distance between Joshimath and Auli is only 12 KM. So take your buses to Joshimath. 

PLEASE NOTE THIS, it takes almost 12 Hrs to reach Joshimath so maximum buses leaves early morning from Haridwar/Rishikesh/Dehradun. It will become very tough to get the direct buses after 10:AM. So try to make the Auli itinerary in such a way that you reach Haridwar in the early morning (at least before 4:00 AM, to catch the first bus)

Here is the bus timing and schedule – 

How To Reach Firsstly Haridwar from Delhi 

Haridwar is located in plain area so there is well connectivity of all three modes of transportation i.e. Bus, trains. 

• BY BUS: Take the Uttarakhand government roadways buses from Kasmeeri gate bus station, Delhi. Normal, A/C, Semi Deluxe and Deluxe buses are available all the time in kasmeeri gate bus station from 4:00 AM to 12:00 PM. For getting seats in A/C or deluxe buses, make sure to book them online. Or you can book the private bus operator buses from redbus.com. (Best option is to book buses from Kasmeeri Gate from here)
• BY Train: Train would be a one of the best mode of transportation to reach either Haridwar, Rishikesh or Dehradun. (Best is to reach Haridwar). Number of trains are running in the route you can book the train that will drop you early in the morning at Haridwar. Book Your trains from here.
• BY Flight: Nearest airport is in Dehradun and distance of Auli from Dehradun is 300 KM. There are no direct buses from Dehradun  to Auli but there are direct buses or rental taxi are available from Dehradun to Joshimath at ISBT bus station Dehradun or private buses will be available from Prade Ground, Dehradun. (Best choice is to get the private buses from redbus.com).  If you are coming from Pune, Maharastra or any other corner of India, you can book your direct flight at discounted price FROM HERE.

Joshimath to Auli:

Joshimath is the base point and it is at 12 KM distance from Auli. Now there are two ways to reach Auli from Joshimath, One is via road (Your own car/bike or sharing taxi) and second one is the ropeway to Auli. 

During the peak season, its time of heavy snow fall from December end to February and more often roads get blocked. So you left with only one option is to take Ropeway to reach Auli. 

Our suggestion is to park your car at your hotel in Joshimath or there is a parking and take the Roapway ticket to reach Auli. Roapway is the best way to reach there. 

Joshimath to Auli Ropeway Ride:

Quick Info

• Rate of Roapway in Auli – Rs 1000 including return journey.
• Timing of Roapway in Auli – From 09:15 AM to 04:20 PM.
• Where to get tickets for Auli Roapway – Roapway ticket counter at Joshimath. No Online booking so far. 
• Auli Roapway Ticket validity for – 3 days.
• Distance and time taken to cover the Auli Roapway ride – 4 KM, 25min
• Speed of Auli Roapway -3 Mtr/ Sec
• Cabin Capacity – 25 Passengers.
• Height of Joshimath-Auli Roapway – 3000 Mtrs

There are total 10 halts/points for the Roapway. Point number 08 is the most popular halt and most of passengers gets down here because it is the place where all skiing activities are being conducted. 

Point Number 10 is the last point and you will get heavy snow fall there. Make your Auli itinerary  in such a way that you can explore this point as well.

Again Auli Roapway  is the best things to do in Auli

Pic. Credit – @offbeatswithchai

Joshimath to Auli Ropeway Timings – 

• Roapway starts at 09:15 AM and the last Roapway is at 04:20 PM, PLEASE NOTE, during the peak time, this will be more crowded because every one waits for the last ride at 04:20 PM to go back to Joshimath. But due to limited capacity of only 25 passengers there are the chances that you will ended up with getting no seat so if you will not get the seat, you would have no options and you have to stay at Auli itself till next day morning ride. So for safer side, either reach before 04:00 PM or take the ropeway of 03:55 PM. You can take the screenshot of this page for your reference of Auli ropeway timings. 

• Price of Skiing in Auli – For full day – RS. 2000 TO 3000 or for basic skiing it is Rs. 500 
• You can also do the certificate and non certificate skiing courses in Auli. Non certificate course will cost you around RS. 16000 and 14 days certificate course will cost you around RS. 32000. You can see more details or book the courses from here  from the official website. 

Best time to visit Auli – 

Auli is one of those places where you can visit throughout the year, but the destination is mainly famous for its ski sport and snow covered vistas, so months of December to March first week are the best time to visit Auli.

Auli Itinerary: 3 to 4 Days

Planning for Auli at weekends or 3 or 4 Days? Don’t worry !! Its more enough. Here is the suggested Auli itinerary for you. 

• DAY 0 – Leave Delhi at night and reach to Haridwar
• Day 1 – Haridwar to Joshimath (Night stay in Joshimath)
• DAY 2 & 3 – Sightseeing and enjoying in Auli. If your time schedule is tight and you can not stay for two days, So its also fine. 1 day is also enough to explore Auli. You can do things by our own in Auli 
• DAY 4- Back to Haridwar / Delhi

Auli Itinerary: 5 to 6 Days

Making your Auli Itinerary for 5 to 6 day (For a week) will give you enough time to explore this beautiful place. You can add certain more activity like trekking to your Auli Itinerary. Trek to Gorson Bugyal ( 3KM from Auli) and trek to Chattarkund (1 KM from Gorson Bugyal) will make your Auli Trip more memorable. Here is Itinerary for Auli in this case-

• DAY 0 – Leave Delhi at night and reach to Haridwar
• Day 1 – Haridwar to Joshimath (Night stay in Joshimath)
• DAY 2 & 3 – Sightseeing and enjoying in Auli.
• Day 4 & 5 – Trek to Gorson Bugyal, Chattarkund or you can trek uoto Kauri Pass. And Back to Joshimath on Day 5.
• DAY 4- Early morning, Back to Haridwar / Delhi

Auli Itinerary: For Summer time

If you are visiting Auli in Summer, at the time when Badrinath yatra and Valley of Flowers are open to visit. You must add either Badrinath temple or Valley of flower or Hemkund Shahib to your list. These all destinations are on the same route. so plan your Auli Itinerary for summer as – 

• DAY 0 – Leave Delhi at night and reach to Haridwar
• Day 1 – Haridwar to Badrinath ( stay in Badrinath)
• DAY 2  – Badrinath Darshan and back to Joshimath. (Stay at Joshimath)
• DAY 3 – Sightseeing in Auli and Back to Joshimath
• DAY 4 – Joshimath to Govind Ghat / Ghangaria
•  DAY 5 –Early morning, Gangaria to Valley of flower, Same day return. (Stay in Gangaria)
• DAY 6 – Gangaria to Joshimath (Stay in Joshimath)
• DAY 7- Back to Haridwar /Delhi from Joshimat

Read here about the Valley of Flowers in detail. Going Valley of flowers could be one of the best things to do in Auli. 

Weather at Auli –

Summer (Apr – Jul) – Average temp. during summertime in Auli is 24 degrees.

Monsoons(Aug – Sept) – It receives moderate rainfall during Monsoons. The average temperature will remain around 22 degrees.

Winters (Oct – Feb) –It becomes more beautiful after the snowfall. Every year it receives heavy snowfall during December and January.

Here is the live weather updates and weather forecast for Auli.

[wpc-weather id=”455″ /]

Stay at Auli : Auli Hotels –

You can choose camps, hotels and resorts in Auli for your stay. One of the best and budget stay is the GMVN Guest house. You can book it here. 

If you are staying in Auli, Chances are you will get the hotels at higher price. So best is to stay in Joshimath where you can easily get the rooms at very low price. You can book the best hotel options for you in Joshimath from below.

[tcb-script type=”text/javascript”] (function(d, sc, u) { var s = d.createElement(sc), p = d.getElementsByTagName(sc)[0]; s.type = ‘text/javascript’; s.async = true; s.src = u + ‘?v=’ + (+new Date()); p.parentNode.insertBefore(s,p); })(document, ‘script’, ‘//aff.bstatic.com/static/affiliate_base/js/flexiproduct.js’);[/tcb-script]

Things you must know before visiting Auli:

• If you are planning to visit Auli during winter, then make sure to carry woolen clothes. The winters here can be really hard, and it witnesses snowfall more often in winters. Even if you are visiting this place in October to march, then also you need to pack your Woolen clothes. We want you to have fun there and not get sick at all.
• If possible, book your accommodation before the trip. You can also stay at Joshimath at an affordable price.
• We will suggest you to not travel in Monsoons, the region witnesses heavy rainfall during the monsoon season, which can cause landslides, and road blocking. So in order to avoid this, try to visit in the months of September to June.
• There are no ATMs and Petrol Pump here (maybe you can find it when you visit, but as of now there aren’t any). One needs to come to Joshimath in order to dispense cash, so we will suggest you keep enough cash with you (Although the shops and hotels accept digital Payments but to be on the safer side).
• Do not forget to take snow boots at rent in Joshimath. They will help you in Auli.

Have a Happy and Safe Journey Folks!! . For any query, suggestions and feedback, please write in comment below. We will really love to hear from you. 

Explore other beautiful destinations in Uttarakhand. Click here

Related posts:

How to Reach Auli Uttarakhand From Delhi Delhi to Auli Uttarakhand train ticket price and time table