Nag Tibba Trekking Expedition

First of all, we are thankful to our college department who gave us a lot of holidays. As we are engineers we always have an attendance problem, that's why every time we need holidays to execute any trip plan. This time our trip was little different from our previous trips. It was not a general excursion, it was a "trekking" trip. And, we made this plan just one day before the trip. This time we went for instant planning.

We have learned two basic things required for good travelling from this trip.

1. Instant planning really works and it always has more fun and excitement. So just make the plan in your mind, pack your bags and March Out!!.
2. Never wait for anyone. Just see whoever is ready, take him & move.

Nag Tibba Trek

About Trek:

The trek is beautiful and best for beginners. If you are doing trek for the first time then this would be best for you. The trek provides you all the things Himalayan beauty, dense forest, snow (season only), rocky areas, flora and fauna, etc. The main advantage of this trek is that, it takes very less time to complete the full trek. So if you are a student or a job person, you can do it in your weekend with ease.

About Nag Tibba:

Nag Tibba, also called as "Serpent's Peak". It is the highest peak in the lower range of Himalayas. It is located in the Tehri district of Uttarakhand state. It is situated at an altitude of 3022 metres (9915 feet). From Nag Tibba Top you can see the magnificent view of Bandarpunch Peak, the Gangotri group of peaks, Kedarnath peak in the north, Doon valley and the peaks of Chanabang.

Route:

There are mainly two routes to trek to Nag Tibba. One is Panthwari route and the other one is Devalsari route. Panthwari is the short one and Devalsari is the long one. But the route from Panthwari is more steep and difficult than the Devalsari route. The best time to visit Nag Tibba is in middle of February to May and October to middle of November. If you wish to see snow, then you have to visit there in the end of January or in the starting of February. However, this year in the month of March, snowfall occurred on the whole region due to bad weather. So it depends on your luck.

Trek Features:

Total Trek Distance: From Panthwari: 17 km (up to Nag Tibba Base and down) & 3 km further more (Nag Tibba Top).
From Devalsari: 28 km (up to Nag Tibba Base and down) & 3 km further more (Nag Tibba Top).
Maximum Elevation: 2900 Metres (Nag Tibba Base) & 3022 Metres (Nag Tibba Top).
Level: Easy
Region: Mussoorie-Dehradun
Duration: 2-3 Days
Best Time: Mid February to May & October to Mid November

Do's & Don'ts:

1. Carry sufficient water.
2. Don't make your bag too heavy.
3. Carry sufficient food and the food which gives you energy like juices, fruits, dry fruits, chocolates, etc.
4. Don't go fast. Maintain your pace according to your stamina and stick to it.
5. Carry a good pair of shoes. This trek doesn't required trekking shoes.
6. Carry a raincoat because on mountains you never know what's gonna happen.
7. Hire a guide. (If you are a first timer).

Cheapest Trek Ever:

Before the trip, we were sure that we will make it cheapest and yes, we have made it the cheapest trek. So, here is the cheapest itinerary for Nag Tibba Trek.

Short Itinerary:

Day 1: Delhi-Mussoorie-Panthwari
Day 2: Trek Day, Reach Nag Devta Temple & Nag Tibba Top and Back to Panthwari
Day 3: Panthwari-Mussoorie-Dehradun-Delhi

Long Itinerary:

Day 1: Delhi-Mussorie-Panthwari:
As usual, our trip started from the national capital, Delhi. No, we are not delhiites. We are only studying in NCR (National Capital Region). We all came from different places, but belong to same state "Uttar Pradesh". We made our first step towards our peak from Kashmere Gate ISBT. We bought three tickets for Mussoorie and the cost was ₹317/head. If you are travelling through this ISBT, then don't buy tickets from the people who stand near the bus. They are brokers. They will charge you more or you may have some problem as well. So always remember to buy tickets only from the ticket counter. Our bus departure time was 21:30, but it leaved a bit late because the driver was busy in his work. Our journey time was around 8 hr. We reached mussoorie in the morning at 6:00. The weather was cold. After this journey we got little tired so we decided to take one room in a hotel for some hours. We got a room in the Hotel Sartaj for 5 hours at ₹150/-. The hotel was located near the Mussoorie library chowk. After taking some rest and having breakfast, we boarded our bus for Nainbagh from Mussoorie library chowk. Nainbagh is a town situated near Panthwari. There was no direct bus available for Panthwari. Only private and shared taxis/jeeps were available for Panthwari from Mussoorie. The bus took 2 hrs to reach Nainbagh and charged ₹70/head. Then from Nainbagh we took Mahindra jeep to reach Panthwari. It took 1 hr and charged ₹30/head.
But we recommend you to go by taxi/jeep. Don't choose bus for travelling, because the way to Panthwari is full of curves and there is a lot of rush in the bus. So you won't be able to get a single seat in the bus. This makes the journey more hectic and you may feel nauseous in the bus. We made a mistake by choosing a bus for which we had to pay for it. My friend "Ashwini" and I started feeling nauseous and vomited. So if you go there, then don't make this mistake. It can waste your time and spoil your journey.
We reached Panthwari, starting point of trek at around 17:30. The weather was so cold. There was a shop named "Parmar Sweet Shop", from there we ate samosas. Then we took a room for ₹300/day- for two days. As we were first timers so we booked a guide for trek. The guide's name was "Suman" and his charges was ₹600/-. After having dinner at the same shop, we went to sleep.
Panthwari is a small village, settled in the valley of Garhwal Himalayas. It has a very small population. The residents of Panthwari are very kind and have very helpful nature. There are no big restaurants and hotels available.

There are very few buses available from Mussoorie to Nainbagh. The timings for these buses are 10:30 & 13:30.

Day 2: Trek Day, Reach Nag Devta Temple & Nag Tibba Top and Back to Panthwari:
We started our trek at 7:00 with our guide. The total length of the trek is 17 + 3 km (up and down). Initially the route was less steep and easy. As we were moving towards the peak the route got more tougher and steeper. After completing our first hour I asked the guide "Bhaiya aadha raasta toh ho gaya hoga"(Have we completed our half way?) and the guide replied "abhi aadhe ka aadha bhi nahi hua"(You haven't completed one fourth of the way yet). At that moment we felt that trekking is not that much easy as it looks. Then we continued until we reached the half way. At the middle point we drank some juices and filled our water bottles. Above this point there were no source of water. The scenic view from the route was breathtaking and it was becoming more beautiful with every step we were taking towards the peak. At 12:00 we reached Nag Tibba Base. First, we did darshan at Nag Devta Temple and then we ate food. In our food, we had juices, bread, biscuits, chips and jaggery. After all this, we moved on to the Nag Tibba Top. The route to Nag Tibba Top was more steeper than the previous route. The route was full of snow. Around 13:50 we reached the top. The view from the top was wonderful, seem like we were standing at the door of heaven. Really nothing is more beautiful than nature. After spending some time on the top and clicking photos, we started coming down. We also saw rainbow while stepping down. At around 18:30 we came back to our room.
In the whole trek we haven't met a single trekker on the route. The guide told us that "you came little early, most of the trekkers come in March and April". But we haven't faced any problem by trekking alone. It was a very safe trek.
NOTE: No mobile networks available at the top. On the way, only Airtel and Idea networks work (not properly).

Day 3: Panthwari-Mussorie-Delhi:
At 8:00 we took Mahindra jeep and said, "bye" to Nag Tibba. After 3 hrs, we reached Mussoorie and there we did our lunch. At Mussoorie library chowk there was a restaurant named "Laxmi Misthan Bhandar". Its food was really delicious and not very costly thats why we are featuring this restaurant. We ate sandwiches, samosas, chole-bhature, bread-pakoda, gulab-jamun, rasmalai and some pan wali mithai. Every cuisine was tasty and desserts were just mouth watering. If you go there, you must try some dishes at this restaurant. Then we took a bus for dehradun. Mussoorie to Dehradun buses are available every time but direct buses from Mussoorie to Delhi are very less. And, from Dehradun till 23:30, every minute you can get a bus for Delhi. We reached Dehradun at 14:00 and we had left with the whole day, so we decided to watch a movie in a mall. We watched "Kingsman - The Secret Service" and after that, we came back to Delhi. The cost of the tickets from Mussoorie to Dehradun and Dehradun to Delhi were Rs 70/head and Rs 256/head respectively.

Total Expense: Rs.2000/head (Approx.)

Important:

1. Don't forget to bargain.
2. Don't listen to people who say, "Don't go to Nag Tibba, there is nothing", "there are no availability of rooms at Panthwari" and blah blah!!. Just stick to your plan.