Best Places to Visit in Auli (2026): Skiing, Meadows and Himalayan Views

Auli sits at roughly 2,800 metres in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, about 15 km from Joshimath. In winter, you can ski here on actual snow. India has maybe three or four places where that sentence is true, and Auli is the one with the best mountain backdrop. In summer, those same slopes turn into meadows thick with wildflowers. Most visitors come for one season or the other. Few get both.

The places to visit in Auli are not a long list. This is a small, high altitude settlement, not a town with a bazaar and taxi stand. What it does offer is a front row seat to the Nanda Devi range, alpine meadows that look photoshopped in May, and a cable car ride that earns its ticket price in the first two minutes. Here is what is worth your time, with honest notes on season, access, and what to skip.

TL;DR

• Auli's ski slopes are India's best maintained, and the GMVN beginner courses run from late December through February.
• The cable car from Joshimath covers 4.15 km and gives you Nanda Devi views without a single step of trekking.
• Gorson Bugyal is a 3 km meadow trek from Auli that peaks in wildflower season (May to June) and snow season (January to February).
• Summer visitors outnumber winter ones now. April to June is pleasant (10°C to 15°C) and avoids the ski crowds.
• Budget three to four days total: getting here from Delhi takes a full day each way.

What is the best time to visit Auli?

The answer depends on why you are going.

December to February is ski season. Snow covers the slopes from late November, and the GMVN and private operators run skiing courses through February. January is coldest. Nighttime temperatures drop to minus 8°C. But the snow is deepest then, and the views are sharpest. Nanda Devi, Kamet, and Mana Parbat line up across the horizon like a textbook illustration. Pack proper thermal layers. Cotton will ruin your day.

April to June is meadow season. The snow melts, the bugyal (alpine meadows) turn green, and wildflowers carpet Gorson Bugyal by late May. Daytime temperatures sit between 10°C and 15°C. This is the window for the Kuari Pass trek and the Gorson walk. If you dislike cold, this is your Auli.

July to September is monsoon, and the Joshimath road becomes unreliable. Landslides are common on the stretch between Chamoli and Joshimath. Most operators do not run trips during these months for good reason.

October to November is transitional: the monsoon has ended, the snow has not arrived, and the meadows are brown. It is quiet but not particularly scenic.

The Auli cable car (ropeway)

This is the first thing most people do. Fair enough. The Auli ropeway covers 4.15 km between Joshimath and Auli, making it among the longest cable car rides in Asia. On a clear day (most days between November and March) you get a slow pan across the entire Nanda Devi massif as you climb.

The ride takes about 25 minutes. Tickets cost around ₹750 to ₹1,000 return, and the price shifts by season. Peak winter means a queue. Get the first car of the morning if you can. The air is clearest and the light is warmest before 9 AM.

One caveat: the ropeway shuts down for maintenance periodically, usually in the shoulder months. Confirm it is running before building your entire trip around it. The road from Joshimath is the backup, but it is 12 km of switchbacks.

Gorson Bugyal

If you do one trek from Auli, make it Gorson. Gorson Bugyal is a high altitude meadow about 3 km from Auli, sitting at roughly 3,056 metres. The walk is gentle. Mostly flat once you clear the initial incline. It opens into a grassland framed by oak and deodar forest on one side and the full Himalayan range on the other.

In winter, the meadow is a white expanse. You will see tracks from foxes, and sometimes from snow leopard (prints only; you will not spot the animal). In late May and June, the same ground is covered in wildflowers. Blue poppies grow here. That winter to summer contrast is the whole appeal.

No guide needed for the walk itself, but the trail can be hard to follow when snow covers the markers. Go with a local if you are visiting between December and February.

How do you reach Auli from Delhi?

Nobody glamourizes this part. It deserves honest framing.

Delhi to Joshimath is approximately 500 km. By road, that is 12 to 14 hours on a good day, via Haridwar, Rishikesh, Devprayag, Rudraprayag, and Karnaprayag. The road is a two lane highway that narrows to single lane in places past Rudraprayag. Night driving past Chamoli is a bad idea.

The nearest railway station is Haridwar (about 280 km from Joshimath). The nearest airport is Jolly Grant in Dehradun, roughly 290 km from Joshimath. Neither is close. Most people drive from Rishikesh or hire a cab from Haridwar.

From Joshimath, you take either the cable car (25 minutes, ₹750 to ₹1,000) or the road (12 km, about 45 minutes by car). In winter, the road may need chains on tyres.

If the travel sounds like a lot, it is. Budget a full day for each leg. Flying into Dehradun and hiring a cab to Joshimath shaves off four to five hours compared to starting from Delhi by road.

Browse available group trips that handle the logistics, or check what is departing from Delhi if you would rather not plan the drive yourself.

Auli ski resort and skiing

Auli's ski slopes stretch across 2 to 3 km at elevations between 2,500 and 3,050 metres. The snow quality varies; January gives the most consistent powder. The GMVN (Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam) runs the main ski resort and offers beginner courses of 7 to 14 days. Equipment rental, instruction, and accommodation come bundled.

Private operators have also started offering shorter courses of 3 to 5 days, which is more realistic if you have a normal job and limited leave. The nursery slopes near the tower house are forgiving: mild gradient, soft snow. If you have skied in Europe or Japan, do not expect the same grooming. The runs are basic. The setting makes up for it.

Auli hosted the National Winter Games in 2011. The infrastructure has improved since, though "improved" is relative. The T bar lift and the chair lift work. The slopes are marked. There is a ski patrol. It is not Gulmarg, where the off piste terrain is the draw. Auli is where you go to learn.

One honest note: if you are flying in from Bangalore or Mumbai and have only five days total, the two days of travel eat into the experience. Consider it worthwhile only if skiing is the actual goal, not a side activity.

Kuari Pass trek (from Auli)

Kuari Pass sits at 3,876 metres and the trek from Auli takes two to three days depending on the route. Lord Curzon walked this trail in 1905 and the views have not changed: Nanda Devi (7,816 m), Dronagiri (7,066 m), Kamet (7,756 m), and Hathi Ghoda Parbat line up along the horizon.

The trail passes through dense oak and rhododendron forest before opening into bugyals. The difficulty is moderate. Anyone who treks semi regularly can handle it. The altitude gain from Auli is about 1,000 metres spread over the route, so acclimatization is usually not a problem if you have already spent a night in Joshimath.

Most operators run the Kuari Pass trek between October and May. Winter crossings (December to February) involve knee deep snow on the final approach and crampons are recommended. Spring (March to May) is arguably the best window, with clear skies and blooming rhododendrons at the lower elevations.

Group departures that handle tents, food, and guides are available on TripzSearch. The Himalayan treks collection lists verified operators with actual reviews.

Chattrakund

A small artificial lake about 500 metres from the Auli cable car station, Chattrakund is named after a legend involving Shankaracharya. The lake is maybe 50 metres across. Not much to look at by itself. But oak trees ring the water, and on a still morning the Himalayan peaks reflect on the surface with postcard clarity.

In winter, the lake sometimes freezes over, which looks better than it sounds. It is a 10 minute walk from the main Auli area and works as a short detour, not a standalone destination. Do not make a special trip for it.

Joshimath

Most people treat Joshimath as a transit stop, but it has its own character. This is one of the four cardinal mathas established by Adi Shankaracharya, and the Narasimha temple here is one of the Panch Badri. The town sits at 1,890 metres and has a bazaar worth an hour of wandering.

Joshimath also made national news in 2023 when land subsidence damaged hundreds of buildings. The affected zone is in the lower town. The tourist areas and the cable car station were not directly hit, but the episode is a reminder that Himalayan towns sit on geology that moves. Check local conditions before booking accommodation in the lower sections.

The town has more hotel and guesthouse options than Auli itself, and at lower prices. Staying here and taking the cable car up is a practical alternative to the pricier GMVN resort at the top.

Nanda Devi National Park (viewpoint access)

You cannot enter the core zone of Nanda Devi National Park without special permits, and those are nearly impossible to get for casual visitors. What you can do from Auli is see the park from a distance. The entire western wall of the Nanda Devi sanctuary, including Nanda Devi East (7,434 m) and the Rishi Gorge, is visible from the upper Auli meadows on a clear day.

For the best view, walk past Gorson Bugyal toward the Tali Lake trail. Early morning, before clouds build, is the window. December and January give the most consistently clear skies.

This is a view, not a visit. If that distinction matters to you, it is still among the finest mountain panoramas in the Indian Himalayas.

What to skip

The Auli artificial lake, built for the snow making machines, has started appearing on "places to visit" lists. It is a water reservoir. There is no trail, no viewpoint infrastructure, and nothing to do there. Save the walk.

Chenab Lake, sometimes listed as a must visit, is a marshy pond in the forest below Gorson Bugyal. It is not offensive, just not worth a detour unless you are already on the Gorson trail and feel like exploring.

Practical notes

Accommodation: The GMVN ski resort is the main option in Auli proper. It is functional, not fancy. Rooms book out in January. In Joshimath, Hotel Dronagiri and Himalayan Abode are decent mid range choices. Book directly; aggregator availability for this area is unreliable.

Food: Auli has one or two canteens near the resort. Joshimath has more variety: dal rice, parathas, and basic Chinese. Do not expect restaurant culture. Carry snacks for the trek days.

Altitude: Auli is at 2,800 metres. Most people coming from the plains feel it as mild breathlessness on the first day. Drink water, skip alcohol on the first night, and walk slowly. Serious altitude sickness is unlikely at this height, but it is worth a day in Joshimath (1,890 m) to adjust before going up.

Cost: A 4 day trip from Delhi costs roughly ₹8,000 to ₹15,000 per person for budget to mid range, including transport, accommodation, and meals. Skiing courses add ₹5,000 to ₹12,000 depending on duration. Check current group trip prices on /trips for packaged options.

Mobile signal: BSNL works in Joshimath. At Auli, signal is patchy. Jio has expanded coverage but drops out past the cable car station. Download offline maps before you leave Rishikesh.

If you are planning from Delhi, the trips page shows fixed departure packages that bundle the transport, stays, and guided treks. For Himalayan options beyond Auli, browse the destinations hub.