Satopanth Tal is a crystal clear green water, the triangular lake at an elevation of 4300 meters above sea level and is adorned in the midst of the snow-shrouded peaks. Satopanth Tal is a high altitude lake located in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand and near to Badrinath Shrine.
Satopanth Lake is a holy lake near the base of the 7138 m Chaukhamba massif. The trek to Satopanth lake starts from Mana – the last village near the Indo-China border in Uttarakhand, near the pilgrimage town of Badrinath. From Mana, you follow the Alaknanda river to its snout at Alkapuri and walk next to the glacier to reach the undulating meadows and Laxmiban and Chakrateerth before reaching the lake. The maximum altitude you gain during Satopanth lake trek is 4350 m. With its crystal clear green water, the triangular lake has a perimeter of one kilometer. On its three corners meditated the holy trio – Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh and still do, it is believed – the creator, the preserver and the destroyer charting out the course of the world. Satopanth Tal Lake Trek in Uttarakhand is an isolated trek in Garhwal Himalayas nestled on the base of legendary Nilkantha peak and several other prominent peaks in proximity. The route offers splendid views of Chaukhamba, Nilkantha, Balakun, Kamet and Abi Gamin. The best time to do Satopanth lake trek is May – June, and September – October
7 Days
Easy to Moderate
Sunny during day , temp drops around 0 degrees at night.
May, June, Sept, Oct
14107 ft (4300m)
The trekkers arrive from Dehradun to Joshimath i.e. 300 kms from Dehradun and it takes around 10 hours to reach via taxi. Make sure to leave as early as possible from dehradun to avoid any last minute hassle. Once you reach Joshimath, we all assemble at our hotel for a brief discussion and preparation for the trek. After the briefing the trekkers can enjoy the local market and shrines at Joshimath.
Badrinath is a popular Hindu shrine famous for one of the char dham. The road goes through a narrow valley along Alaknanda river with daunting peaks all around. Once after reaching Badrinath, we move towards our stay at Badrinath. Later we explore the town of Badrinath, spend our day touring the Mana village and acclimatising.
We start today’s trek with a mild ascent from Badrinath and Alaknanda to our right. Keep walking towards Samtoli meadows as you can see a giant Vasudhara falls to the opposite bank of Alaknanda river. On the way to Samtoli you can find a lot of shepherd huts here and there. After a while you will be at a landslide area that needs to be crossed, a small walk on the boulders will take you to the campsite at lakshmi van. You will see a cluster of Bhojpatra trees towards the slope and the Alkapuri glacier – the origin of Alaknanda river. Balakun peak is the major peak visible from this campsite.
The trail gets more challenging today as we move through sharp boulders and scree with a quick ascent till Sahastra dhara. As we move up the view of Chaukhamba, Balakun and Nilkanth opens up. Sahastra dhara is a beautiful group of waterfalls coming down from Nilkanth north ridge glacier. We will cross a few streams after which the trail again starts ascending with a big moraine section. A short walk after crossing the upper slopes leads us to a big levelled ground – Chakra Teerth. We will stay overnight at our camp in Chakratirth.
Today’s trail is a short trek with easy but tricky ascent. We first ascend to a small mountain top from Chakratirth after which we need to cross two patches of moraine with Nilkanth on our left, Chaukhamba and Balakun towards the front. After crossing these two moraines we reach the paradise- Satopanth lake with nothing but a small hut of babaji staying there. Overnight at Satopanth lake campsite.
We retrace our way back through Sahastradhara, descending all the way down to Lakshmi van. Today we have to do a bit more walking than other days, mostly the trail is descending but can be hard on knees and toes. Descend slowly all the way upto Lakshi van, where we will halt overnight.
We start our trek with gentle descent, all the way upto Mana. From Mana we further drive to Joshimath. Overnight stay at Joshimath.
Joshimath is accessible via roads and is 300 kms from Dehradun. It takes around 10 hours from Dehradun.
From Rishikesh 254 kms via road and it takes around 9 hours to reach Joshimath.
If you plan to come to joshimath on your own then book the bus ticket a few days before online to avoid any last minute hassle.
There are regular buses from Dehradun as well as Rishikesh for Joshimath that leaves very early in the morning starting at around 5am till 8 am.
Other than govt buses, shared cabs/taxis are also available for travel to Joshimath. The taxi takes around 5500 rs one way that needs to be shared among the trekkers. The cost of Transport on arrival and departure is not covered in the trek fee.
The trek fees includes :
The trek fees does not include :
