Route library · Weekend · Mountains
Delhi to Dayara Bugyal
Dayara Bugyal is one of the biggest and most forgiving high meadows in Uttarakhand — a wide, rolling grassland between about 3,000 and 3,600 m above the Bhagirathi, ringed by Bandarpunch and the Gangotri peaks. You ride to Raithal or Barsu near Uttarkashi, leave the bikes, and walk up through oak and maple in a few hours. It sees a fraction of the traffic of Kedarkantha.
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At a glance
- Round trip
- About 900–1,000 km on the bike, plus ~14 km on foot
- Riding + trek
- One long riding day each way, and a short trek up and back (day-hike or one camp night)
- Nights
- Nights: 3 (two low, one optional on the meadow)
- Start point
- Delhi (via Rishikesh, Chamba and Uttarkashi)
- Highest point
- About 3,600 m at the top of the meadow
- Difficulty
- Moderate. The ride is straightforward hill road; the trek is short and non-technical but gains real height.
- Surface
- Sealed to Raithal via the Gangotri highway and a village link road; the trek is a graded forest and meadow path
- Best season
- April to June and mid-September to November. Winter turns it into a snow-trek; the monsoon greens it but brings cloud, bog and leeches.
The ride
Delhi → Rishikesh → Chamba → Uttarkashi on the Gangotri highway, then the link road up to Raithal (or Barsu), a slate-roofed village at about 2,300 m with homestays.
The trek climbs through oak and maple to the Gui forest hut and out onto the Dayara meadow — a genuine day-hike if you are fit, or one camp night for a dawn on the grass with Bandarpunch across the valley. The road on to Gangotri and Harsil is close if you want to extend.
Day by day
Delhi to Uttarkashi
Delhi → Rishikesh → Chamba → Uttarkashi (10–11 hours). Overnight at Uttarkashi or push to Raithal.
Raithal and Dayara Bugyal
Ride to Raithal, secure the bikes, and walk up to the meadow — back as a long day, or camp one night with gear and a guide from the village.
Down and start back
Walk out to Raithal, ride to Uttarkashi. Overnight.
Uttarkashi to Delhi
Back down the Gangotri highway. Leave early to beat the Gangotri buses.
Fuel & services
- Fuel is easy to Uttarkashi — Rishikesh, Narendranagar, Chamba and Uttarkashi all have pumps.
- Fill up at Uttarkashi before the Raithal link road — the village has no fuel.
- Raithal and Barsu have homestays and can arrange guides, porters and camp gear; Uttarkashi has hotels. Carry cash and food for the meadow.
Road & conditions
The Rishikesh–Uttarkashi leg is the widened Gangotri highway — fast in stretches, with roadwork, blasting halts and Gangotri-season buses. The Raithal link is a narrow but sound village road. The trek is a graded path, boggy and slippery only in the wet. Ride the highway in daylight and give buses room on the drops.
Bike, fuel & getting help
- Suggested bike
- Fine on a well-maintained 150–200cc commuter.
- Fuel gap
- One long stretch without a pump — fill up before it and top off where you can.
- Spare fuel
- Carry 3–5 litres of spare fuel.
- Emergency & logistics
- The nearest well-equipped hospital is the valley/district town, one to two hours off; signal is patchy above the bazaar; carry the group lead's number and an emergency card.
Best time to ride
Late April to June is green and mild with a good chance of clear peaks. Mid-September to November is crisp after the monsoon. Winter turns Dayara into a popular snow-trek. Avoid the monsoon — the meadow becomes a bog and the leeches in the forest are relentless.
What to add to your kit
Beyond the standard ride kit: trekking shoes, a daypack, water, a warm layer and a rain shell for the meadow; for a camp night, a bag rated near freezing and a headlamp, or hire the lot from a Raithal operator. A layer for the Uttarkashi evenings.
Ride this with a group
We run Dayara Bugyal as an easy three-night ride-and-walk to a huge, gentle meadow — the highway day paced, bikes secured at Raithal, a guide and gear arranged if we camp, and a meadow clean-up as the service action.