Uttarakhand · The Indian Himalaya
Auli
A meadow with Nanda Devi for company
A grazing meadow that learned to ski
Before it was a resort, Auli was a bugyal — one of the high Garhwal meadows where shepherds from the villages below brought their flocks for the summer grass. It sits between roughly 2,500 and 3,000 metres on a shoulder above Joshimath, and what made it famous is the view rather than the slope: Nanda Devi, at 7,816 metres the highest mountain wholly inside India, along with Dronagiri, Kamet and a horizon of lesser giants, all close enough on a clear morning to feel slightly unreal.
Skiing came in the late twentieth century, with a state-run lodge, a chairlift and a long cable car up from Joshimath. Then, in January 2023, Joshimath — now officially Jyotirmath — began to crack. Houses split, roads sank, families were moved out, and the ropeway that had carried most visitors up to Auli was shut. It has not reopened. The meadow is fine; the town below is still reckoning with what it was built on.
Garhwal, slow-cooked
This is the upper Alaknanda valley, the pilgrim road to Badrinath, and Jyotirmath itself is one of the four seats founded by Adi Shankaracharya — in winter, when Badrinath is snowed in, the deity's worship moves down the valley. The villages around Auli are Garhwali, and life still runs to the season: potatoes, rajma and amaranth in the summer fields, sheep moving up and then down again.
The food is mountain food, designed for cold. Mandua roti made from finger millet, kafuli of spinach and fenugreek greens, chainsoo of roasted black gram, gahat dal said to keep you warm from the inside, and jhangora kheer made with barnyard millet. Ask for it at a homestay; the resort menus rarely bother.
The honest logistics
- Best monthsDecember to March for snow — reliable cover usually from January — and April to June for green meadows and the Kuari Pass trail. The monsoon brings landslides on the highway.
- Getting thereDehradun (DED) is the nearest airport, around 280 km away; the railhead is Rishikesh. The road up the Alaknanda takes nine or ten hours, longer after rain. The Joshimath–Auli ropeway has been closed since 2023, so the last stretch is by road.
- StayingA handful of lodges and the state GMVN resort at Auli itself; more choice down in Jyotirmath. Book ahead for January and February.
- Days neededThree at Auli, plus two days of road. A ski course needs a week.
- AltitudeAround 2,500–3,000 m. Most people feel it only on the first uphill walk; the Gurso and Kuari trails go higher.
Local cuisine & must-try dishes
Festivals & celebrations
What a Saint will tell you
Break the drive at Rudraprayag or Karnaprayag rather than doing it in one push — the last hours on a mountain road in the dark are where the accidents happen. Snow is not guaranteed even in a cold year, so ask your Saint for a report before booking a ski week. Walk up to Gurso Bugyal early, before the cloud comes in from the south. And if the Badrinath road is open, the drive up past Govindghat is worth a day on its own.
Being a good guest
Jyotirmath is a town in difficulty, not a backdrop. Spend money in it — on local guides, homestays and dhabas — and avoid adding to the load of heavy construction on fragile slopes by choosing existing buildings over new ones. Carry your waste down from the bugyals, stay on paths across the meadows, and leave the shepherds' dogs and flocks alone.
Where this path continues
Every road to Auli runs back through Rishikesh, where the Alaknanda has long since become the Ganges. After a week of cold and quiet, two nights by the river among ashrams and cafés is a gentle way down.