Rudraprayag Tour from Rishikesh

The sangam, reached by steps down from the road, with the Rudranath temple above it. Koteshwar Mahadev, a cave temple by the river a few kilometres back towards Rishikesh, is the better of the two stops and is often missed.

The town is a strip along the highway and is functional rather than attractive. The scenery either side of it is the reason to come.

Rudraprayag works best as a stop rather than a target: on the way to Chopta, which branches off above it, or to Kedarnath, Joshimath or Auli, or as the far point of a confluence day that takes in Devprayag on the way.

Paired with Devprayag it makes a full and genuinely interesting day — two confluences, the full length of the lower Alaknanda, and a clear sense of how the Ganga is assembled.

October to June. The one serious consideration is the Char Dham season, roughly late April to June and again in September and October, when this road carries very heavy yatra traffic and the journey time can stretch substantially.

In the monsoon this stretch is landslide-prone and closures happen. Outside the yatra peak and the monsoon, it is a straightforward and well-surfaced drive.