Offbeat trek to Dasrath Ka Danda

Dasrath ka Danda situated at an altitude of 4750 ft. above sea level, can be accessed from Deoprayag & Shivpuri, Rishikesh. Trekkers can see confluence view of the holy Rivers Bhagirathi & Alaknanda & ancient temple of Lord Rama in Deoprayag, trek pass through villages, thick forest of rhododendron, alpines, pine, and oak & on the way wild animals. Dashrath ka Danda trek offers a majestic view of Himalayan range snow covered peaks like Banderpunchh, Chaukhamba, Trisul, Nanda Devi & night stay in the camp which will be an unforgettable experience in life. Myth relates here to the great king Dasrath & Ultimate servant of his blind parents Sarvan Kumar & by mistake, King Dasrath hit Saravanan Kumar by arrow & he died here so that day onwards this place is known as Dasrath ka Danda.

Approx. Traveling cost (Train Journey) from Pune to Pune should be 4500-/- and Mumbai to Mumbai will be 4000 more.

Note: if the porter is required during the trek, arrangements can be done at 250/- Per day per bag.

The cost for the tour was 17000/- including everything

Region: Deoprayag & Tihari District, Uttarakhand

Days required: 4Night/5 Days

Trek Grade: Easy

Altitude : 2200 m/ 7250 ft

Best Time of Trek: Accessible all months of the year

Temperature: 5 to 20 degrees Celsius

Trekking distance: 24 Kms.

Nearest Village: Deoprayag

Motorable road: Deoprayag

Nearest Railhead: Rishikesh /Haridwar/Dehradun

Things to carry:

• Sunscreen lotion(Lotus SPF 50)
• Full sleeves T-shirts
• Bandana
• Hat / Cap, Woolen cap / Balaclava
• Pair of Woolen Gloves not mandatory
• Fleece Sweatshirt
• Windproof Jacket 01 nos.
• Leggings from a Track-suit, shorts,
• Pair of sturdy sports shoes with rubber sole
• Cotton Socks, Woolen Socks, Extra shoelaces
• Raincoat / Poncho 01 nos.
• Full Body Towel 01 nos.
• Torch with spare batteries
• Toiletries
• Medicines as specified by a doctor
• Water bottle and water purifier
• Floaters ( you can use after reaching camp)
• Camera, Cam charger, Mobile Charger.
• Blankets

From Borivli(E) railway station, we had our train booked, Garib Rath Express till Hazrat Nizamuddin(New Delhi). 

After reaching New Delhi station at 9AM, the next day, we kept our luggages in the luggage room at the station with compulsory lock put on. We had our next train at night. We decided to spend the day around the capital city. We hired an auto and went to Chandni Chowk. We had our lunch at Chandni Chowk at Gali Paranthe Wali which is famous for it's 36 varieties of parathas. Enjoy your heart full with sweet and namkeen lassis. From Chandni Chowk, we went to Rajiv Chowk by Metro rail to see the world’s 7th costliest office destination, Connaught Place, known as CP.

We watched a movie at Rivoli PVR and shopped at Khadi Gramodyog Bhavan. There were street performances near Oxford Bookstore. Chawri Bazar, is famous for wholesale market of brass, copper and paper products.

At the end of the day we grabbed back our luggages from New Delhi station and went to Old Delhi by cab to catch the 10PM train, Mussoorie Express. 

Day 1: We reached Haridwar station around 9am. We had a road trip to Hrishikesh from Haridwar. Our first stay was at Paradise huts which are tents(capacity of three in one tent with proper bedding, table fans and with a river nearby). It was our base camp.

We booked our slots for adventure sports with Jumpin Heights. My Bungee Video. We were grouped as per our body weight. We even signed an acknowledgment of risk forms. If you fail to jump you get no refund. It is safe and managed by experienced bungee jumpers and experts from New Zealand. 

Day 2: Deoprayag to Chaund Village - 6 km – 4-5 hours. 

Early morning we walked towards Deoprayag to see the confluence of the Ganga’s Tributary rivers Alaknanda & Bhagirathi river. We were warmly welcomed with dhol music by Shri Dr. Prabhakar Joshi. "Devaprayaga" means "Godly Confluence" in Sanskrit. Devprayag is the home of the late Acharya, Pt. Chakradhar Joshi (a scholar in Astronomy and Astrology) who established Nakshatra Vedh Shala (an observatory) in the year 1946. This is located on a mountain called Dashrathanchal at Devprayag. The observatory is well equipped with two telescopes and many books to support research in astronomy. It also contains about 3000 manuscripts from 1677 AD onwards collected from various parts of the country. Apart from the latest equipment, it also has the ancient equipment like Surya Ghati, Dhruv Ghati which showcase the pride of Bharatiya progress in the field of astronomy. Shri Dr. Prabhakar Joshi and Acharya Shri Bhaskar Joshi (Popularly known as Guruji) are currently in charge and caretakers of the observatory.

Other than Sangam and Raghunath Ji Temple in Devprayag, one can visit sacred places like Mata Bhuvneshwari temple at nearby village, Pundal, followed by Dhaneshwar Mahadev temple, Danda Nagaraja (Lord of Snakes) temple and Chandrabadni temple.

Devprayag is the place where river Alaknanda & Bhagirathi confluence, but according to mythology, there is another river belong to this confluence named Saraswati which originates from Mana Village in Badrinath and in Devprayag, the river comes from the feet of Shri Raghunath Ji in Raghunath Temple. There are also the footprints of Lord Rama exist at "Ram Kunda". Lord Shiva is worshiped here in the form of Linga, named Tondeshwar Mahadev and Dhaneshwar Mahadev. Tondeshwar Mahadev is just in front of Sangam.

Day 3 : Chaund Village to Dasrath ka Danda - 8 km – 5 hours

Trek to Dashrath ka Danda. We visited the place, Khetu Tappad, from where King Dashrath heard the sound of water and shot an arrow. We built our tents near Khetu Tappad with only sleeping bags and thin mattresses to sleep inside. Noli Dhara is often visited by leopards and deer to quench their thirst. At the end of the day, we were completely exhausted. 

Day 4 : Dasrath ka Danda to Shivpuri- via Pawati Devi temple – 10 km by trek – 6 Hours

We had porters to carry our heavy luggages while trekking down all the way to Chaund village. We hired car from Chaund to Hrishikesh back to Paradise huts. 

Day 5 : After lunch, we reached the rafting area. We had to deposit our luggage in one of the rafting centres. We rafted from under the RamJhula and LaxmanJhula. In the evening, we had refreshing bel ka juice and Maggi noodles. At 6.30pm, we attended the Ganga Aarti. We came back to Mumbai with the river Ganga blessings.