Nag Tibba Trek

The journey begins at 7AM from the Dehradun bus stand. The drive to Pantwari (approximately 90kms) takes around 3-4 hours to cover, gaining an altitude of about 1400 m.

We will be driving through the Queen of hills – Mussoorie and passing by the lovely Kempty Falls along the way. Swift mountain streams run parallel to the roads in many sections. Although the journey is a charming one to behold, the roads can be rather coiled with sharp turns and steep climbs.

After crossing Mussoorie, the roads become emptier, the gorges on the sides seem bottomless and the mountains more rugged & lofty. We will be taking a quick halt on the way to freshen up and have breakfast.

Expect to be at Pantwari, the starting point, by 11 am. We will begin our trek to Nag Mandir as soon as we reach here. Packed lunches will be provided for this day.

The trail to the Nag Mandir campsite stretches over 5.5 kms and will take approximately 4-5 hours to cover. It begins with 2 kms of an uphill trudge on a cemented path that goes through the village market. Soon this path translates to a rocky uneven trail.

All along, one can enjoy the mesmerising views of the layered mountains, the small village of Pantwari lying down in the valley below & patches of farmlands on the way.

The next 1-1.5kms is a dry and narrow shepherd’s trail with gradual ascents and descents. After this the trail nosedives into a dense canopy of Oak and Rhododendron forests that allows only a little sunlight in. The red and pink flowers of the rhododendrons don’t bloom in the winters.

The path inside the forest can be snow-laden in some sections. After trekking for 1 km, the forest finally opens up to a small patch of land. A structure of a temple sits at the heart of this clearing. This is the famous Nag Mandir. We will be setting up camp here for the day.

The campsite offers panoramic views of a snow-covered Himalayan range at the horizon (on clear days).

Tip: The sunsets and starlit night skies are lovely at this campsite. The temperatures can dip down to -7 degrees in the winters. So please ensure you are layered well.

Note: In the winters, when the snow is heavy, we may set up camp at Khatian; a camping ground 2kms before Nag Mandir.

The morning begins quite early. After having breakfast, we start the trek around 6AM and carry packed lunches along. The trekkers are also briefly trained for the ascent on the snow trail.

Beyond the Nag Mandir base, the trail climbs steeply uphill making the stretch a demanding one to navigate, especially with the snow. Since this stretch is thickly forested and barely gets any sunlight, the snow does not melt easily even during day time.

Usually, the snow is soft, granular in texture and ankle deep requiring the trekker to pull through at every step. During extremely cold days, the snow can even be knee deep.

Eventually, the trail turns through a ridge and the views finally start to open up towards the summit.

The Nag Tibba summit throws itself open to expansive views of some of the major Himalayan peaks like Swargarohini, Nanda Devi, Black Peak & Banderpoonch. Nag Tibba is one of those rare treks that allow a 180-270 degree summit view of the snow-clad Garhwal ranges on the second day itself.

We pause for a long break at the summit and have our lunch there as well. We then begin the descent towards the campsite by the same forest route we took to the summit.

We start the day in the morning and prepare for a quick descent to Pantwari post breakfast. This would take around 3 hours to cover considering it is a downhill trek. We would arrive in Pantwari by 2PM and begin the drive to Dehradun at 3PM. It takes about 4 hours (7 PM) to reach the city. This would conclude our Nag Tibba winter trek.

Note: To be on the safer side though, arrange your return journey expecting to be at the Dehradun Bus Stand at around 9 PM. This could help account for any delays we may run into along the way.