Sonprayag to Kedarnath: Reviews, Trip Ideas, Tips & Tricks
Sonprayag to Kedarnath, on May 20th, 2016, my friends and I visited Kedarnath as the third destination of our Char Dham Yatra. We were a group traveler a group of 12 people ranging from 12 years old to 61 years old.
We had planned to start our journey from Sonprayag, where you can book a pony ride. However, since it was peak season, most hotels were full and the ones with vacancies demanded an unreasonable price. So we went to Sitapur instead and stayed there for the night. We woke up early at 3 a.m. so that we could go to Sonprayag and book a pony ride.
How Get Pony
Sonprayag is the starting point to book a pony for your journey up to Kedarnath. The pony bookings open at 5 am and it is essential that you have the license of a pony holder to make the booking. There is no guarantee that you will get a pony even if you stand in the queue early as other license holders might have made prior bookings.
You might have to negotiate with the license holder to get the license from him so that you can book a pony for yourself. You can also book a pony from Gaurikund but you need to reach there early as, from Sonprayag, the earliest you can start for Gaurikund is 6 am.
When to start from Gaurikund
The best way to make the most of your Palki experience is to book it from Gaurikund and start your journey in the morning. However, please note that if you’re planning on staying overnight, you will need to arrive in Sonprayag by late evening as traveling from Sonprayag to Gaurikund is not allowed after 9:00 pm.
After getting a license and booking a pony, we traveled from Sonprayag to Gaurikund via local vehicle (Rs. 20 per person). The journey from Gaurikund to Pony was wonderful!
New Trail for Kedarnath
The new route is around 18-20km and includes a variety of landscapes like jungle, mountains, bridges, fog, rain, river, waterfall, and snow. It’s a beautiful route and it took us 5 hours to reach Kedarnath temple. We started our return journey after having a good Darshan at the temple.
Mobile Network
There is no network after Sonprayag, so make sure you have a local SIM or keep your mobile switched off. Do not rely on any network as it’s not totally dependable. If you want to return on the same day, start very early and book a return pony. If it’s late, you can stay at the camp which is on the way. Don’t travel after 6 pm.
Helicopter Booking
Helicopter rides can be booked in advance, but it’s advisable to have a buffer of 1-2 days in case the weather affects the service. For pony rides, use your negotiation skills or be prepared to spend double the government rate. There were a limited number of ponies available when we visited, so if you’re late you probably won’t get one.
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