AULI ,1 of the Best Skiing Resorts in Asia

Auli is a serene hill station, though a less explored one offering a scenic pleasure along with a fine skiing resort during the winters. Auli, situated in Chamoli distict of Uttarakhand, India forms a part of the Garhwal mountain range. It is at a distance of 16 km from Joshimath, on the Badrinath route. The resort being at an altitude of 9,000 ft is covered with dense deodar and oak forests and provides a pleasant view of Nanda Devi, Kamet, Mana Parvat and Dunagiri.

The most exciting and anticipating activity in Auli is skiing. Skiers enjoy the snow covered mountain slopes stretching 10-20 kms. In the month of February and March, Auli hosts National Winter Games.The best time to visit Auli is during the period of November to March when the hill station gets enveloped by snow and the skiing is at very best. Also there is a sight-seeing trip between Joshimath and Auli by a ropeway. The ropeway is claimed to be the longest and the second highest ropeway in Asia and is 4 km long,also called as Rajju, at a height of 1917 m to 3027 m above sea level. This exciting trip goes accross ten towers but skiers often get off at the eighth tower to enjoy the aesthetic delight of Auli.

Regarding the accommodation aspect, there are a few options like CI resort and the guesthouse of the Gharwal Tourist department .There are many good tourist accommodation available in the nearby towns of Dehradun and Hrishikesh as well as the other important towns around Auli, namely Joshimath, Almora and Pithoragarh. From Auli, one can also visit the Valley of Flowers and Hemkund Sahib.