Trekking Har ki doon (India): Permits and Guides

Question

We are going to Sankri-Har-ki-doon trek. So, from various sources in internet we found a that a forest permit is necessary for the trek. From where should we obtain this ? And is it mandatory to hire a guide ?

Answer 1

Yes, for Har-ki-doon trek you need a local forest permit. Hiring a guide is not a mandatory thing, but recommended. The guide will take care of campsites and arranging food at a fair bargain.

First things first.

1. You can book a cab from Dehradun to Sankri villege. On the way you would pass through a place called Naitwar (Tagged Netwar on google maps). The permits to enter the "Govind Ghat wildlife Sanctuary and National Park" are supposed to be obtained here. Cab should cost you something around 3000 INR (approx 48-50 USD).
2. There is an administrative office of Uttarakhand Tourism where you can get the permits for the trek. While, I have no idea about how much they cost you, I'd recommend getting a medical fitness certificate with you. You can get it from your place, if you haven't for some reason, you can easily get yourself checked and get a basic medical fitness certificate from a local dispensary in Dehradun, So that there are no 11th-hour hiccups in formalities.
3. Sankri is a place where the cab will drop you. From here the trek to Taluka begins. I'd recommend hiring a SUV like Bolero or Scorpio should be sensible instead of hiring a Sedan.
4. If you know the schedule and the trail, there is no need to take the guide. Should you hire a guide from Sankri or Naiwar itself, He will manage all the local requirements without you need to be bothering much about anything at all. For Non-Indian people the guide definitely charge a bit more, so you should be paying a maximum (Sad, but true) of somewhere around 1500 INR a day, which is like 24 USD approx.