r/SoloTravel_India

Heyo folks!

I travelled solo to a few European countries and this was the part I was waiting for the most, to see the Aurora Borealis.

I took this trip to feel better about myself after being through a rough health crisis for 3 years. The decision to travel solo was because I'll usually be slow while walking or sometimes end up in pain and can't walk much. I didn't want to trouble any of my friends because of it. So, I wanted to travel alone in my own pace and had a peaceful time with myself in my own pace.

I wrote this letter to my younger self while turning 28 because I simply love this girl + woman.

I'll make another post about all the travel but feel free to ask me anything about traveling to Tromsø on this post because that's where I watched the Aurora.

So as the title reads, it was my first time travelling solo, and it was the best trip of my life. I spent two days,one day exploring mcleodganj, and the othe day i went to triund trek (caame back at evening ).I also met good people theere, even another solo traveller like me, we had a good time together. I am an introvert, and have a tough time talking to new people but I tried to open up and it was a really nice experience, meeting new people.

Itinerary: Day 1 - I arrived at dharamshala bus stand at 3pm , and took a bus ( from the bus stand itself ) to mcleodganj ( farr was 50rs ) . If you don't get a bus then you can also take a shared taxi (25-50rs). The rapido and private taxis charge 500-700. At mcleodganj i first visited the st.john's church as it closes at 5 pm , then i explored the tibetian market and then checked in at my hotel.

Day 2- Had breakfast and started hiking towards bhagsunath waterfall. Then started triund from bhagsunath side at 8:30am . Reached at top around 12:30 pm . I even hiked further towards the snowline. Then i started climbing down at 3pm and reached the waterfall at 6 pm , soaked my feet into the cold waters for a bit and then returned to the hostel, having dinner and exploring the city in the meantime .

Day 3- Had a bus to catch at 10am , so i reached dharamshala by shared taxi ( fare was 25rs ) which i got from the mcleodganj bus stand.

Itenary

Delhi -> Manali (Zingbus)

Stay at Zostel old Manali

Manali -> Kaza 6 am HRTC 🐐✨

Stay at Rangrik ( Social Courtyard, co working hostel)

Lots of Hitchhiking from Rangrik to Kaza (very helpful Spiti Locals)

Snowfall !!!!!🌌

Rented a bike

Langza, Hikkim and Komic

Key and Kibber

Working from the Hostel

Hiking through Random Mountains

Chilling with the Locals 🌟

Playing with Fat dawgs of Spiti 🐕

Kaza -> Manali (HRTC back 🐐)

Rented a scooter

Manali -> Atal Tunnel -> Sissu -> and Back

Night 10:30 Zingbus back to Delhi.

Costs: Zingbus: Delhi to Manali : 1500 x2 (round trip) Zostel Old Manali: 700 a night Dorm room Manali to Kaza HRTC : 485rs x2 (round trip) Stay at Rangrik - Social Courtyard: 1250 x7 a night (includes Breakfast and dinner) Bike Rental : 1700 a day (Hunter 350) Fuel : 700 rs -> Langza, Hikkim, Komic, Key and Kibber

My plan was to travel by scooter in Uttarakhand. Initial idea was to rent a scooter, but then found out that you can send scooter by Indian Railways. So, I booked the scooter to Rishikesh and flew to Dehradun. From Dehradun airport, rented a taxi to drop me to Rishikesh railway station. And then, the journey begins.

1. Rishikesh - Devprayag - Rudraprayag - Sonprayag - Kedarnath

This took about a week with 2 days stay in Rudraprayag, 2 days in Rishikesh, 1 day in Sonprayag, 1 day in Kedarnath and 1 day in Devprayag. Did trek to Kedarnath (up and down) by foot.

2. Ukhimath - Chopta - Gopeshwar - Badrinath

About 7 days here too. I did injure my leg while getting down from Kedarnath. So, I took 2 days to heal myself as I had to do Tunganath trek. Stayed 1 day in Chopta, 1 day in Gopeshwar and 3 days in Badrinath.

3. Nandprayag - Karnprayag - Dwaraka

About 3 days in this and completed the panch Prayag.

4. Binsar - Nainital - Jim Corbett - Haridwar - Dehradun

Spent about 10 days in this with 2 days in Binsar (lovely hut inside the forest area), 2 days in Nainital, 2 days in Jim Corbett, 2 days in Haridwar and 2 days in Dehradun.

Sent the scooter back to my place (Bhubaneswar) and flew back from Dehradun to Bhubaneswar next day.

The trip was a mix of devotion / spirituality with nature / bird watching. Duration was about 27-28 days and pace was slow (less than 100 kilometres per day).

My expenses were about 1500 per night in hotel stay and about 500 rupees for food. I do hold Sterling membership and utilised some of my nights in Rishikesh, Rudraprayag, Haridwar, Nainital, Jim Corbett and Dehradun. Total expenses for the month was less than 90k including flight cost.

Though I tried to be slow, I think I couldn’t spend enough time in some of the good places including Chopta, Nainital, Binsar and Rishikesh.

Will plan for slower travel, possibly for 2-3 months and will include Gangotri and Jamunotri in the trip. Please post your comments for my future trip.

I ended up on a solo trip after someone I planned this trip with ditched me, and I really wanted to get out of town for a staycation/workation. It was a good trip, but not a great one, because the Airbnb I booked was in a relatively secluded setting, and alone time can quickly feel lonely there (best enjoyed when you have ppl around). I chose it when I planned this trip with the other person. Anyway, the Airbnb and its surroundings were really pretty, and I could hear the nearby stream from the bedroom during the night.

For the future, if I plan something solo, I have realized it's best to book a hostel so I can have some social life. If you are like me and prefer some private space, I guess a private room in the hostel would be an option. Plus, I would have enjoyed it more if I had come via my own vehicle- a lot more freedom to move around and explore. Renting a scooty can be an option for some ppl if they are comfortable riding it around. It has been a good while, like years, since I rode a two-wheeler, so I didn't go for that option.

Otherwise, it was nice to get out of town for a bit; I managed to keep up with my work responsibilities while enjoying the mountain air. What do you guys think?

Costed me over 30K, flights, six days Airbnb, one day in Chandigarh, food, etc.
Indore > Chandigarh > Manali (Naggar/ Nashala)