The Lord Curzon Trail Kuari Pass Trek

The Kuari Pass trekking which is also known as the Lord Curzon Trail being first achieved by Lord Curzon, (the famous former Viceroy of India and a keen trekker) is a spectacular trek to the Kuari Pass skirting through the outer wall of the Nanda Devi Sanctuary, crossing passes and beautiful river systems in the Garhwal trekking Himalaya. A trek to Kuari Pass is exclusively popular among the European and American travelers. At an elevation of 4265m in the heart of Chamoli District of Uttaranchal in the northeastern region of Garhwal, the Kuari Pass Trek brings the high altitude meadows of Gorson Stunning views of the big Himalayan peaks, of Nanda Devi, Hathi Ghodi and Dronagiri. The trek will take the travelers through the blossoming green fields, remote villages and the virgin forests of the area along some mightiest rivers of India like the Ganges, Alaknanda, Bhagirathi, Mandakini etc.

Basically, there are two ways through which one can arrive at the Kuari trek; one is through the Curzon Trail i.e. from Ghat via Ramni and the other one is from Auli Bugyal through Gorson Top which the trekkers generally avoid during winters. If anyone takes the Lord Curzon trail, she/he would be able to notice the royal twin peaks of Nanda Devi, Kamet, Dronagiri, and Hathi- Ghodi Parvat. Rare Himalayan flora and fauna are found galore on the track.

The Kuari Pass trek was the route followed by Shipton and Tilman on their way to the Rishi Gorge and by other mountaineers en route to the peaks on the Indo-Tibetan border. In 1905 Lord Curzon reached Kuari pass from Ghat via Ramni. It is said that the path was specially improved so that he could do the trek and today many trekkers prefer to undertake the trek in the reverse direction. The crossing of the pass is a fitting conclusion to a trek that takes in three lesser passes and five major rivers - the Pindar, Kaliganga, Mandakini, Bheriganga and the Dhauliganga. The Pass (Khal) is approached through a narrow goat track at an elevation of 4265 mts. A trekker might even be lucky enough to come across the leopard pugmarks or a Himalayan black bear on his route.

The spectacular views of Himalayan peaks like - Trishul (23,496 ft/7,120 m) Kedarnath (22,994 ft/6,968 m), Kamet's pyramid of granite (25,595 ft/7,756 m), Nilkanth (21,767 ft/6,596 m), the square-topped summits of Gori Parbat and Hathi Parbat, Badrinath, the icy crest of Dunagiri, Rishikot, Changabang (22,651 ft/6,864 m), Kedarnath and Chowkhamba (23,522 ft/7,128 m) and the legendary twin peaks of Nanda Devi, (25,643 ft/7,740 m), surrounded by the majestic walls of the Nanda Devi Sanctuary will add delights to the trail.