In the 8th century AD, the great Guru Adi Shankaracharya is said to have tread on these fields. The temple built by him at Joshimath still exists. For hundreds of years, the colorful semi-nomadic tribes of the Bhotiyas, of the Mongolian stock, traversed the trails at Auli, locally called Thatauli. Their longhaired yaks, laden with an assortment of goods, assisted them in conducting a flourishing trade with nearby Tibet.

Before Auli was developed as a ski resort, its slopes were the training ground for men of valor and courage-the ski-equipped men of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force. Among the awesome, legendary peaks ranged round Auli, the 23,490-feet-high Trishul (literal meaning, the strident of Lord Shiva) was the scene of a unique expedition in 1958. The mountaineers took four days to climb the peak and only 90 minutes to ski down to the base camp.

To attract attention, skiing festivals are also conducted at Auli. These now include the national championships in the months of February and March, organized by the Winter Games Federation Of India. While skiing is the chief attraction at Auli, there are other attraction like cable car rides and rope lifts, or spend the day outdoors building snowmen, or having snowball fights.

Considered to be one of the most sacred Sikh pilgrimage centre, Hemkund Sahib also makes an ideal trekking spot.

If one is fond of flowers then is a must visit place for him. Witness the endless galore of multihued blooms and you'll just wish to stay in this oblivion flowery world forever.

Rishikesh, about 235 km away, is the nearest railhead.

Regular road services are available from Delhi, Dehradun, Rishikesh and Hardwar to Joshimath, 16 km away. From Joshimath one can hire jeeps to Auli. One can also trek the five kilometer between Joshimath and Auli. For further information, contact the GMVN office at Rajpur Road, Dehradun or the UP tourism offices located all over the country.