“Life is Short and the world is Wide. Better start early!” : Anonymous
About the Trek:
Nagtibba, which actually means ‘Serpent’s Peak’, is a lesser-known trekking paradise for nature lovers and trekking enthusiasts. There is a temple of the God of the serpents (Nag Dev), which led to its name as Nagtibba. This place is situated in Garhwal Range of the great Himalayas, in the Uttarakhand state of India. It is a nice and soothing trek of easy to moderate difficulty level of 2 days. One can complete this trek in one day also but we do not recommend that. The base village for this beautiful trek is Pantwari village of Uttarakhand..
What You Can Expect?
Snow during November to March, beautiful green valleys at other time of the year, extra polite locals, mesmerizing views of Himalayan snowcapped peaks from the summit (Jhandi Top), the ultimate experience of camping with a starry night and lots of new learning.
How to Reach?
Pantwari village in Tehri Garhwal range in Uttarakhand state is the base village for this trek. One can board an overnight bus or train from Delhi to Dehradun and reach Dehradun by 7 AM. Then take a bus from Dehradun for Nainbagh. Two routes are available for Nainbagh, one through Vikas Nagar and one through Mussoorie. If you are traveling in the weekend, Mussorie route is not advisable due to high traffic. Then, from Nainbagh, shared jeeps are available for Pantwari village. You can reach there by 2 PM if you follow the proper schedule.
Best Season To Visit:
If you want to do a small snow trek, then March is the best season to do this trek. Night temperature obviously goes below the freezing point of water in March.
Whereas, if you want to have more comfortable walks with a pleasant atmosphere, choose May or the Starting of June for this trek. We do not advise doing it in the rainy season, as you will not get anything but struggle during monsoon.
Ideal 4-day Itinerary from Delhi (Including one day trip to Mussoorie):
- Day 1: Take Mussoorie Express from Old Delhi Railway Station at 10:00 PM, which reaches Dehradun at 8 AM. There are many buses available also, which take 6 hours only. You can opt for them also.
- Reach your hotel in Dehradun and check-in. Get fresh-n-up and be ready by 11:30 AM.
- Quickly pack some stuff for Mussoorie Tour and get done with lunch.
- Pick up your pre-booked bikes or hire a cab for Mussoorie.
- There are 5-7 good and must watch places in Mussoorie. Pack extra clothes and towel because you will not be able to resist yourself to have a bath in the famous Kempty Falls.
- Visit other places such as Mussoorie Lake, Lal Tibba view point, clouds end, Cathedrals of Mussoorie and the famous Mall Road. Prefer seeing the last one at night if you have hired a cab because driving in mountains by yourself is not safe. The other better option is to book a hotel in Mussoorie only, instead of Dehradun. However, these are bit expensive than Dehradun, so choice is yours.
- Come back to your hotel after dinner and final shopping for trek. Buy some fruits and chocolates for trek.
- Now take rest for the night.
- Day 2: Get Up early in the morning and leave for Nainbagh. There are many buses with quite good frequency for this route, which goes till Gangotri. Take a bus and reach Nainbagh by noon. It’s a journey of 3 hours with typical mountain routes.
- Get a shared jeep from Nainbagh to Pantwari. It takes about 45 minutes but the route is so beautiful. It is very calm and peaceful to travel on such lees used roads. Only locals use these roads.
- Start towards base camp at Goat Village by afternoon. It is 3 hours trek till there.
- Camping at base camp.
- Day 3: Start early next day if you want to see sunrise from the top. You have to start for Jhandi Top at 5 in the morning if you want to see sunrise. Otherwise, you can start at 8 AM.
- Reach at the summit by noon. Enjoy there for an hour and two. Start descending with handsome pace to avoid dark. Overall, it will take approx. 5 hours to descend.
- Night stay at Pantwari (Preferable).
- Day 4: Leave for Dehradun and then Delhi.
The above itinerary is prepared after our experience. You can make your own, as per your plan; but experience does count, isn’t it?
Our experience for this beautiful trek has been shared in later sections.
Cost:
INR 5000 per person. Including train tickets, bus tickets, bike rentals, stay in Dehradun, rent for camping equipment, stay at Pantwari and food.
Our Experience:
In Mar’19, we were passing through the last semester of our engineering. And we wanted to make it memorable with a decent trip. That was the time when we started to make a plan for a trip in May, just after our final exams. Finally, we were 7 people who were going for the trip and I was told to plan everything. So, we booked train tickets and a hotel in Dehradun in advance. We didn’t want to pay for a travel agency and be a puppet of those. So, this time, we planned to do everything on our own. From camping to cooking to the bonfire, everything. I got the contact number of Mr. Naresh from one website, who provides camping gears at a very nominal charge. I talked to him before one month from our travel and after negotiation, the rent was fixed. INR 2500 for 2 four-man tents, 7 mattresses, 7 sleeping bags, and permission of the forest department included.
So, after packing everything, including lots of Maggi and yippee noodles (for camping dinner: P), we started from Jaipur on 16th May 2019. We went to Delhi and boarded Mussoorie Express from there. It’s a slow train. While other trains take 6 to 7 hours to reach Dehradun, it takes more than 10 hours. Anyway, we did not mind it as an overnight journey doesn’t matter much. We searched for bike rentals in Dehradun and found one. After negotiating with them, we booked three two-wheelers for 7 people at the cost of 500 per vehicle.
The next day, on 17th May, the train was running late by 1 hour or so. After Haridwar Junction, the sceneries are very good and you will not be able to stop yourself from standing at the door of the compartment. Anyway, we reached Dehradun Railway Station at 10 AM. 3 of us went to pick up our bikes and others went to the hotel directly. Hotel booked was Drona Guest House, decent accommodation with basic amenities. It cost INR 1100 for 3 rooms for a day. It was already 12 noon at that time. So we tried to get ready quickly but finally, we left the hotel for Mussoorie at 2 PM.
Mussoorie is approximately 35 km from Dehradun and one should visit it at least once if you come to Dehradun. The roads were quite good and broad enough as compared to other hilly areas. There are many Buddhist temples and Cathedrals in Mussoorie. Mussoorie Lake is just hyped, it doesn’t worth much. If you have time constraint then don’t give it a thought. There are some adventure sports also, but again, not worth it.
Lal-Tibba is a better place to have some snacks with good views. There are a couple of shops which own telescopes. You can watch the stunning views of Himalayas through them if the weather is clear. They don't charge you if you've got something from their store. We had Maggi and Momos there but we were not lucky to see the Himalayan Peaks as the weather wasn’t clear enough.
Most of our plans got canceled there because of heavy crowds and time constraints. We even could not visit the most famous place at Mussoorie, Kempty Falls, and we regret that.
After visiting some places and enjoying the riding in mountains, we left for Dehradun at around 5:30 PM. In mountains, it becomes dark soon and we did not want to ride at night. We had tea snacks at ‘Bevafa Chai Wala’. The tea was quite good. On the way to Dehradun, we visited a Shiva Temple and came to the main market of Dehradun by 8 PM. We bought some fruit and pulses and other things which are necessary for camping. After coming back to the hotel, we washed and left for dinner. It was almost 10 PM and no restaurant was open at that time. Luckily, we found one which was about to close. The food was okay, not very good. We came back to the room and slept without any delay.
Next Day, we woke up at 5:30 in the morning. At 7, we checked out of the hotel and returned our bikes. Then we went to ISBT Dehradun. There we got to know that the Mussoorie route is closed due to high traffic. So we needed to go through Vikas Nagar which is a slightly longer route than former. But as we had no other option had, we selected this. We boarded a bus to Vikas Nagar and reached there at 11 AM. From here, we needed to take another bus for Pantwari. After waiting for about 30 minutes for the bus, it arrived and we boarded the bus. The temperature was low so it was a pleasant journey. We reached Nainbagh at 2:30 PM. En route, there was Yamuna River running throughout the journey as already mentioned, this route goes to Yamunotri.
At Nainbagh, we were looking for a shared jeep. Then we met Mr. Guddu. This guy was so polite and well behaved. He is a driver who carries goods from the upper villages of the Pantwari to Dehradun. He offered us a ride till Pantwari at a very nominal charge. We asked for his contact number for future purposes. The journey to Pantwari on his jeep was extremely adventurous and beautiful. Four of us were sitting on the roof of the jeep and the feeling was un-parallel. He stopped at a point where the water was coming from the mountains through a pipe. The water was so cold and sweet. He told that people of these regions are dependent on such water sources only.
As we were already late, we moved and reached Pantwari. It’s a small village with a limited number of households. These people are dependent on natural resources for everything. From water to food, everything is naturally available here. We were loving it, being there. We met Mr. Naresh and collected the camping gears we had booked from him. He arranged to keep our extra luggage in Bhandari Guest House and did not charge for it. He also offered us to wash there. We were stunned with the behaviors of people, there. In today’s world, when others charge for even drinking water, these people know what hospitality is. We had a delicious home-cooked lunch at Bhandari Guest House. We bought kerosene from a nearby shop for the bonfire and got ready to start hiking by 3:45 PM.
We filled our bottles from another similar source of water. You don’t need to carry too much water. Just make sure everyone has one bottle filled. You will find 2-3 more sources of these kinds. So, now we knew that we needed to cover the distance in minimum time because trekking in dark is not a good option when you don’t have a guide or you are not aware of the route. So, we started to walk with decent speed. It was a good hike. With decent gradient at some places. It was obviously tiring but the weather turned rainy quickly. Black clouds were there all over the sky. It relieved us physically but mentally it tensed, as we hadn't even covered half of the route by then. It started raining and we took shelter beneath a tree. After 10 minutes, it stopped raining and we resumed our walk.
Now the weather became more pleasant. We could see the households of Pantwari village becoming smaller in size. We were amidst the series of mountains. All covered with lush greenery. Beautiful small flowers were there on the route which didn’t let us stop for a while. We kept going and reached a plateau. It wasn’t good for camping so we dropped the thought of doing so and kept going.
After some time, we reached the entrance gate of the trek. Route till here, was clearly marked but after this, the gradient increased and marking wasn’t there. We were going ahead but we had a fear of getting lost in the forest because at a time, the dense forest started and we did not even know whether we were going in the right direction or not. Finally, at 7 PM, we reached the campsite. There were a couple of tents already pitched. It was not crowdie and we liked that. The sky turned orange and it was feeling magical.
We quickly divided our tasks because it was getting darker. 2 of us went to get water, 2 went inside the dry woods for the bonfire and three people stayed to pitch the tent. It was our first experience to pitch a tent. So, it took half an hour to pitch two tents. By then, others came with water and woods and they told us their feeling of roaming in the dark forest for woods and water.
Finally, we took some rest outside the tents. It wasn’t too cold but cold enough to have a woolen jacket on your body. The temperature was dropping with the time and we started to sniff. Bhati Ji pulled out his guitar and set its strings. It was good scenery around. In front of us, we could see the peaks of mountains and behind us, a trail could be seen amongst the trees. It was a full moon and a special one, known as ‘Buddh Purnima’. When the moon came up, the beauty of nature mesmerized us all. Due to clouds, stars were not visible but the moon did all the job. We started to ignite the fire for cooking Maggi and khichdi.
Meanwhile, Bhati Ji was playing his guitar and the atmosphere became completely magical. Another group of 4 people joined us to watch Bhati Ji playing guitar. We sang songs and enjoyed the togetherness of close friends. We were feeling closer than ever. Let me tell you the name of all of us. Himanshu (me), Milan, Bhati Ji (Pranav Bhati), Chirag, Durga Singh, GD (Ghanshyam), and Saurav. We cooked our dinner and had that.
It was a night that we did not want to pass anyway. But you can stop everything except time, isn’t it? We danced around the fire and completely enjoyed the first independent camping. But the problem was, we did not have water available with us. So we went to the other group to get some because they had hired an agency and had water available. The porter, Mr. Gajendra, was again a really polite and helpful person. He filled all our bottles and did not accept a single penny. We had been at places where a bottle of water costs INR 80 at such height. So again, we got some respect for the people of Garhwal Range. He asked for some wine, but we all were non-drinkers and vegetarian. And yes, non-veg is not allowed on this trek due to the religious beliefs of locals and the temple of Nag Devta. So please don’t hurt their feelings by consuming non-veg food.
We enjoyed till midnight. The temperature dropped to 4-5 degrees. We wanted to keep things simple and we did not have enough energy to walk at 5 AM in the morning. So we dropped the idea of watching the sunrise from Jhandi Top and slept at around 12:30.
The next day, I woke up at 6 in the morning, by the chirping of birds. I came out of my tent and found that our shoes were wet due to dew. We forgot to keep them inside the tent. It’s a basic mistake no one should do. Anyway, I woke everyone up and we had a photoshoot. With the morning beauty of nature, the environment felt serene and pure. In the mountains, you will not be able to stop yourself from falling in love with mountain dogs. They are hairy and will guide you throughout your journey.
We headed upwards to find water. As told by Gajendra Ji, we followed the route and found a water source. Nearby in the forest, we got fresh-n-up and came back with filled bottles. Then we cooked Maggi again. The whole plateau is covered with peppermint leaves and we added some in Maggi. It tested really well. But we were fed up with Maggi. Gajendra Ji came to us with a container full of Daliya (porridge) and offered us. It was so delicious. Again he did not ask for any money but we paid him INR 150 and started to prepare to go on a hike. Saurav has the problem of Asthama so he decided not to come with us. He stayed there only and we moved for the summit.
The start of the trek was so pleasant and we were moving with decent speed. The trail is not confusing. You will pass through dark forests and various flora and faunas. We were moving slowly, enjoying the route. The labyrinth was a little bit slippery due to dry leaves all over the path. After an hour, we could see Nag Devta Temple on the right side of the path. Ahead of us, the trail was really steep and we had consumed all the water we had. On the left side, some raw houses were there in the valley. Milan and GD went there to ask them about the water source. They filled two bottles and said that if we take another route than we can find a water source. The temple itself has a well but the water is not potable. So we followed the route, the villagers told us.
We met 4-5 children and confirmed the route with them. We moved ahead and we did not realize where we left the correct path. Ahead of us, there were big rocks, looking like the path of the river. There was no option to go back as we had covered more than a kilometer there. In short, we had lost the path. Now, GD took the charge and started to climb the rocks which were there on our right side. We knew that the correct path must be the right side of us. He made a way through some difficult and risky places. I admit that it was not safe, but we completed it successfully. Now we were again on that steep path which we left at the temple. We couldn’t find water and took this much risk. It felt foolish but it was adventurous: D.
From here, we were happy that Saurav did not come with us because the trail was really steep and AMS (Acute Mountain sickness) can be common for a person with Asthama in such condition. We were hell tired and going ahead with slow speed. It was at 12 noon. GD and Chirag were showing the enthusiasm and motivating us to do it. And after 40-45 minutes, we were there. This point is called Jhandi Top. At the summit, everything was so green that we laid down there in desperation. What a beautiful scenery it was!! The weather was so clear that we could witness snow-covered Himalayan Peaks from there, higher than the clouds. You can see several famous peaks from here. And the best part was, the network was available there in mobile. So, we could connect with Saurav. We stayed there till 2 PM. After that, we started to descend.
We were feeling thirstier now. We quickly started descending. Its always easy is to descend. On our way, we met with one of our college senior who passed out from the college the same year we got admission. He noticed our t-shirt with the college name and asked us. It felt strange that you don't know who you meet on the trips. Anyway, after reaching the temple within one hour, we thought to try the water of well but it was dirtier than our expectations. Again Chirag and Milan went to houses in the valley to ask for some water. But opposite to our expectations, they came with a big container filled with Mattha (dense buttermilk). It was so delicious and dense that we could feel gulping the butter. It worked as an elixir for us. We did not want Saurav to miss this so we filled some of it in our bottle. We paid the villager INR 100 for this and now happily left to the base camp. We reached there by 4 PM. First of all, we went to get the water and drank a lot of it. Then we started packing our stuff. We were ready to leave by 5 PM. It was late again, and we needed to cover the distance in 2 hours from here.
We started walking fast. We stopped for 15 minutes to watch the sunset behind the mountains in front of us. It was magical. When I write magical, it means I cannot describe in words. We reached Bhandari Guest House at 7:15 PM. There, we returned camping gears to Naresh Ji and paid him the rest of the amount.
We stayed in the guest house for the night and had traditional food there. Having home-cooked food is a privilege after such a beautiful experience of trekking. We had ice-cream too. It’s a different feeling to have ice-cream in cool weather like that. We talked to Guddu Bhaiya to take us to Dehradun, the next day. He agreed with very nominal charges. We played some games in our room and slept by 11:30 PM.
The next day, we woke up at 6 AM and got ready by 7. We had Aloo Paratha at breakfast. When Guddu Bhaiya arrived, we requested him to take us through the Mussoorie route so that we could visit Kempty Falls. He knew that he would lose his business for that day; still, he accepted our request easily. We left for Dehradun at 7:30 AM. Again 4 of us sat on the roof of the vehicle till Pantwari, singing the song loudly and living each moment of our life. Tere jaisa yaar kahan… made us all feel a bit closer to everyone. I am not a good companion to travel with, in mountain roads as I have a problem of motion sickness . That day too, I vomited a lot. We reached Kempty Falls at 8:30 AM. Milan just jumped into the pond of the waterfall. We also couldn’t stop ourselves and enjoyed it there in chilled and clean water. This was refreshing.
We realized that we needed to leave so we came back and left for Dehradun. At 12 noon, we reached Dehradun. After exploring a few places there, we boarded Mussoorie Express in the evening. Thus, one of the best trips of my life was done.
Below provided are important contact numbers, which can be useful if you plan to do this awesome trek sometime.
I hope, you enjoyed and feel a thrill after reading this post. Do check some photos from the trip below and I bet you will consider this for your next trip.
Happy & Safe Traveling! Keep Moving!
References & Contacts:
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