Luxury trekking in the Himalayas

This vast, humbling mountain range spans 3,200 kilometres stretching across the entire northern section of the Indian subcontinent. Adventures in this region can be challenging, rewarding and life changing. Natural Mystic offers some of the best luxury trekking in the Himalayas for both beginners and experienced trekkers.

Trekking on the world’s mightiest, most iconic mountains is an exceptionally special experience. This is a land that can’t be tamed by human hands, only explored. There is, surely, no better way to experience these mountains: their terrain, their nature, their magnetic, inexpressible qualities, their sheer vastness.

Luxury trekking is a fantastic way to see the Himalayas. They are led by experienced guides and meet the highest standards of safety. The teams are accompanied by excellent cooks to bring delicious and nourishing food into the mountains. Trekkers stay in state of the art tents, put up by the expert team, and on many such treks fully flushing toilets are taken with the group, to ensure the highest level of comfort. For the most luxurious trips, with the best of life’s pleasures, see our discussion of the comfort treks below.

There are a variety of luxury treks in the Himalayas of varying difficulty, from comfortable, easy-going walks for beginners to demanding treks for experienced individuals seeking serious and novel challenges – incomparable opportunities for self-overcoming within one of nature’s wildest regions. These include Auden’s Col, described as the Holy Grail of trekking and involving a variety of terrains each with unique challenges. This notorious trek is in the region of Garhwal in Uttarakhand and takes its name from John Bicknell Auden a British Geographical Survey officer who first discovered it in 1935 and crossed it in 1939.

Another demanding voyage is the Stok Kangri Trek, an exhausting, invigorating ascent of 6000m over 10 days which passes through Leh – the joint capital of Ladakh and a vibrant, unique city. Leh’s culture is permeated by a distinctive form of Tibetan Buddhism. However, though their culture is deeply influenced by Buddhism (Indian Buddhism first entered Ladakh in the second century AD) they have traditions, folklores and mythologies which predate the Buddhist era. The extreme climate means the farming season is short, and so their long winter is filled with festivals and celebrations during which the Ladakhi wear Goncha, their traditional dress. Their costumes often include elaborately embroidered waistcoats and boots and hats, and well-off Ladakhi will wear gonchas made of heavy Chinese silk, with baroque pearls, turquoises, coral and amber adorning their necks and ears. The bright colours, complex clothing and warm spirit of the people contrast the unforgiving climate of the region. For a rich and remote culture, Leh is worth visiting for its own sake and adds depth to this trek. Luxury trekking in Ladakh is a unique Himalayan experience and this region is also one of the best for a spiritual trip to the Himalayas.

In Ladakh, one can also trek to see the magnificent, but elusive, snow leopard. We cover this in another blog.

Another luxury trek in the Himalayas is the Sahasratal Trek which leads to the Lake of Gods, a group of lakes at an average altitude of 15000 ft. Very few people visit this remote area, except from locals who consider the lakes holy and take an annual pilgrimage carrying the ‘Doli’ (Deity) on their shoulders. Though few trekkers visit this the lakes, one of the rewards of taking this journey is the unparalleled view it offers of all the mountain ranges in the area from Bandarpunch and Kala Nag to Jaonli. For beautiful views of the Himalayas, this is one of the best places for luxury trekking.

If these giant ascents sound awfully gruelling and totally un-holiday-like, then don’t fear: there are also a number of luxurious comfort treks which bring life’s pleasures to the mountains. Such trips are five-star comfort in the wilderness – with camp cots, spacious tents, unlimited baggage, heat pads for cold nights, restaurant quality food, fresh coffee and hot showers.

Dodital is a lake of deep cultural and spiritual significance for the local people. According to one myth, Dodital is the birth place of Lord Ganesh and there is temple to Lord Ganesh at the side of the lake. Though there are various sources discussing the birth of Lord Ganesh, it is widely accepted that Ganesh’s parents are Shiva and his wife Parvati. In one version of the myth, Parvati used to bathe in Dodital. Some locals further say that Parvati moulded the boy Ganesh’s body from clay found near the lake and then gave him life, so that he could guard their house during her daily trips to bathe in Dodital. When Shiva came to the house the unfamiliar boy refused him entry, following Parvati’s instructions. Enraged, Shiva cut off the boy’s head with his trishul. When Parvati discovered this, she was deeply saddened and began to lament, threatening to destroy the entire of creation in her grief. Shiva finally agreed to bring the boy back to life to placate Parvati and placed the head of an elephant onto the boy’s body, at which point he became Ganesh.

Dodital is named after the rare Himalayan trout, called ‘Dodi’ which lives in the lake and can be seen there. It is also known as ‘Dhundital’ meaning ‘Ganesh Ka Tal or ‘Lake of Ganesha’.Traditionally this trek has been continuously used by the Gujjars, the herdsmen who get their buffalos to the high meadows every summer and occasionally by the pilgrims and sadhus walking between Gangotri and Yamunotri. The luxury trek to Dodital takes travellers to one of the Himalaya’s most special and beautiful areas.

There is real diversity of luxury treks in the Himalayas. You can take short hikes of two to three hours and walks at low evaluations. Treks then range from a few days to a few weeks, from elevations of less than 4000 meters to over 5000 meters. Conditions range from gentle and pleasant with vehicle access, to extreme, remote wilderness with no access to roads. As with all our travel experiences, eco-conscious thinking permeates our planning and treks to the Himalayas are curated so as to minimize environmental impact. For more on our sustainable travel policy, see here.

If you’re looking to conquer the wilful wild of the mountains or to be at one with nature, we wholeheartedly recommend taking to the Himalayas by foot.