Nag Tibba Trek

Nag Tibba is a ridge walk, not a technical climb, and on this plan it takes three days from Mussoorie and back. You leave Mussoorie early and drive about 57 km (1.5 to 2.5 hours) to Pantwari, the village trek pages measure the walk from. The vehicle goes on from there up a forest road to the last road point, about 7 to 10 km and an hour (one plan says 10 km; OpenStreetMap's forest road meets the trail about 8 km on), and you walk about 2 km to the base camp at about 2,050 m, where tents go up in the forest. On day two you go out to the top (3,022 m) and back, about 10 km in 4 to 6 hours, and sleep at the base camp again. On day three you walk about 4 km down to Pantwari in 2 to 3 hours and drive back to Mussoorie. That is about 16 km on foot. Many pages describe a two-day trek from Dehradun instead, walking from Pantwari or from the Goat Village. Pantwari (some pages write Panthwari) is a village in Uttarakhand, in the Nainbag subdivision of the Tehri Garhwal district. Wikipedia puts the mountain in the Jaunpur range of Tehri Garhwal, 57 km from Mussoorie, and the district's own website lists the trek among its tourist treks. The name means the place of the Snake God. Local villagers come to pray to Nag Devta for the safety of their cattle, and a small temple stands in the clearing called Nag Mandir, about 2,635 m up the trail, below the top. Wikipedia and the district website also put a temple on the top itself; a 2014 Commons photograph says the very top is marked by a small white flag at the site of a temple the locals want to build. We repeat the disagreement and promise neither. Pages disagree about where the camp is. We use the camp site OpenStreetMap maps, about 2,050 m (about 6,750 ft), 3.3 km up the mapped trail from Pantwari (pages give 4 to 5.5 km on foot); the pages that call it Kathian, Khatian or the Goat Village camp put it at about 1,950 m, and the pages that describe a higher camp give 2,300 to 2,325 m. One page prints 2,900 m. Ask your operator which camp you will sleep at. From December to February this is a snow trek, and how much snow is a matter of the week. Pages that sell the trek say you meet a lot of snow in winter, that nights can dip to -7 degrees, and that between January and March you may find patches or walk knee-deep. A January first-hand party met heavy snowfall and dropped the summit attempt; a photographer on 31 December 2014, a week or two after a snowfall, found little or no snow on the trail from the temple to the top but snow under the tree shade everywhere beyond the temple. Slips are the recorded hazard, on the way up in mud and snow and on the way down from the temple clearing. We found no first-hand report from February itself. Read the published numbers with care. Pages put the top at 3,022 m, with the district website at 3,048 m and a few operators at 3,000 or 3,004 m; they put the total walking at 14.5 to 19 km, the drive from Mussoorie at 50 to 65 km, and the road beyond Pantwari at 7 to 10 km. We publish the figures this plan's days add up to and say where each spread lies.

• Oak and rhododendron forest on the way up. The rhododendron flowers are red and pink and do not bloom in winter, so in the snow months you walk through the trees over dry leaves and patches of snow.
• The base camp at about 2,050 m (about 6,750 ft): a clearing in the forest where tents go up for the night, with the lights of the valley below.
• The Nag Mandir clearing at about 2,635 m, with a small temple to the serpent god. One of the photographs on this page shows the clearing just before the temple.
• The top of Nag Tibba at 3,022 m (about 9,915 ft), reached on day two. One of the photographs on this page shows a snow slope below the top, with the small white flag at the crest.
• From the top, pages name Bandarpunch (also written Bandarpoonch), Swargarohini, Srikantha (Srikanth), the Gangotri group and Kedarnath. The map's line-of-sight check agrees that all of them are in view from the top on a clear day.
• Several pages also name Black Peak (Kalanag), but the map's line-of-sight check puts it just behind Bandarpunch I from the top, so do not count on it.
• Snow cover varies by the week: the photographs on this page were all taken on one day, 31 December 2014, a week or two after a snowfall, and show patches in the forest and a snow slope near the top, so expect more or less in January and February.

Prepare for cold and a steady climb rather than for height. The walking days are short, about 2 km, 10 km and 4 km, but you gain about 1,607 m from Pantwari to the top, and day two is a long day for a short trek: about 10 km in 4 to 6 hours, with steep stretches in the forest and loose stones on the stone-laid trail. A travel magazine's rule of thumb is to be able to jog five kilometres in 40 minutes, or ten in 90, without difficulty; read it as a rough guide, not a pass mark. Walk with a loaded daypack on stairs or hills for a few weeks before you come. Practise in the cold. Test your layers, gloves and sleeping system on a cold night before you come: one operator quotes nights as low as -7 degrees in winter, and pages that sell the trek say the camp is cold after sunset. If you have never slept in tents at about 2,050 m, tell your guide at the first sign of a headache or poor sleep. Ask your operator, in writing, four things: what the snow was doing on the last departure, which forest permits are included and who obtains them, which camp you will sleep at and where the vehicle stops on day one, and what the evacuation arrangements are. Tell someone who is not on the trek where you are going and when you expect to be back.

• December to February is winter on every page we read. Pages that sell the trek say you meet a lot of snow, that nights can dip to -7 degrees, and that between January and March you may find patches or walk knee-deep. We found no first-hand report from February itself, and no month is guaranteed.
• The last stretch to the top is steep and shaded. One page says the last kilometre is very steep and runs through forest so shaded that the snow does not melt. A January first-hand party dropped the summit attempt in heavy snow.
• Take microspikes if there is plenty of snow. One page that sells the trek says to carry microspikes, gaiters and poles and that you can rent them in Pantwari village or Dehradun. Ask what your operator supplies.
• The vehicle goes on beyond Pantwari: one operator plan describes a 10 km off-road drive of about an hour to the Goat Village trailhead and a walk of 2.5 km, and OpenStreetMap maps a forest road from Pantwari that meets the trail about 8 km on, at about 1,750 m, about 2 km below the camp site. Pages that start the walk in Pantwari itself give 4 to 5.5 km. Ask your operator where the vehicle stops.
• Carry at least two litres of water. Pages name three water sources between Pantwari and the top, one after the Goat Village, a well and a second source at Nag Mandir (the well is sometimes not clean), and one beyond; a Commons caption says there is no water beyond the temple clearing.
• A guide is advisable. Pages say a guide who knows the trail well helps when there is snow, that there are three routes up the mountain, and that darkness raises the risk of losing the path. We found no official rule text either way.
• We could not read an official fee list or permit rule for the trail. Operators say forest entry fees and permits are included in their price, and the district website lists none. Ask your operator which permits are included and who obtains them.
• Mobile coverage is uncertain: one operator says most of the trail has good coverage; another says it is available on the first parts and becomes weak or erratic near the top. Do not rely on a phone.
• Medical help is a drive away. Landour Community Hospital in Mussoorie and Government Doon Medical College and Hospital in Dehradun are the named options; OpenStreetMap maps a sub-centre in Pantwari, and we could not confirm its hours or services.
• Dark comes early in winter, and the trail has no lighting. Bring a headtorch with spare batteries and be back at camp before dark.
• Check that your travel insurance covers evacuation and treatment at about 3,000 m.

The plan starts and ends in Mussoorie. Dehradun is the closest railway station to Mussoorie and Jolly Grant (Dehradun Airport) the nearest airport, about 20 km south-east of Dehradun; Mussoorie is about 26 to 29 km from Dehradun by road. From Mussoorie the drive to Pantwari is about 57 km in 1.5 to 2.5 hours (a routing service 57 km and 78 minutes free-flowing; pages 50 to 65 km). Dehradun to Pantwari is about 85 km (pages 85 to 104 km, 2 to 5 hours). From Pantwari the vehicle goes on up a forest road to the last road point on day one, about 7 to 10 km and an hour; on day three you walk down to Pantwari and drive back to Mussoorie. Leave a margin before any onward train or flight.

• Waterproof, ankle-supporting boots with a good grip, broken in before you come, plus warm socks and a spare pair.
• Microspikes if there is snow; gaiters and trekking poles are recommended with them. Ask what your operator supplies; they can be rented in Pantwari village or Dehradun.
• Several warm layers, an insulated jacket, a waterproof shell, warm gloves and a warm hat. Nights can dip to about -7 degrees in winter.
• A sleeping bag liner and a warm sleeping bag, unless your operator tells you in writing that one is provided.
• A headtorch with spare batteries.
• Sunglasses and sunscreen for the snow glare.
• A water bottle or flask that will not freeze solid (carry at least two litres from the start), and snacks.
• A personal first-aid kit, your own medicines, and a note of anything you are allergic to.
• Photo ID: your government ID is needed for the booking.
• A bag for your rubbish.