Darma valley about 3,200 m
Son, Darma valley: Height, Weather and the Road
Son is a village in the Darma valley of Pithoragarh district, at about 3,200 m, 68 km by road from Dharchula. KMVN's Panchachuli tours spend two nights at Soan, a 6 km trek from Baling, with a day walk to the Panchachuli glacier.
KMVN package pages
Son in numbers
- Height
- about 3,200 m (10,500 ft)
- Valley
- Darma valley, Pithoragarh district
- From Dharchula
- 68 km by road
- From Pithoragarh
- 157 km by road
- From Delhi
- 636 km by road
- Coldest month, January
- −15 to −3 °C
- Warmest month, July
- 11 to 17 °C
- Nights below freezing
- 219 a year
- Wettest month, July
- 301 mm of rain
- Stays listed here
- 2
Is the Darma valley road open now?
As of
Open in winter: the road to Dantu is driven by 4x4, with families in the villages
- Winter
- Families stay on in Dantu and Dugtu through the winter, and the road from Dharchula is driven in local 4x4s with hill drivers, in snow. Our Panchachuli Base Camp Expedition stays at Darma 360 in Dantu every Friday to 18 December, and at Christmas, 22 to 28 December. (Adi Kailash Explore's team in Darma, 6 November 2026)
- The road
- The road from Sobla reaches Dugtu and Dantu. It reopened on 8 September 2026, light vehicles first, after the monsoon had cut the valley off on 5 September. Earlier this year it closed for an avalanche between Baling and Dugtu (2 April) and for rockfalls at Pangbawe (7 to 9 June, 21 July). (Amar Ujala, 8 September 2026; Amar Ujala, 5 September 2026; Amar Ujala, 3 April 2026; Amar Ujala, 10 June 2026)
- Permits
- The district's online permit covers Adi Kailash and Om Parvat only, and no official rule for Darma is published. Reports differ on whether Indian travellers need one for Darma: carry government photo ID, and ask us for your dates. (The district's permit portal, checked 21 October 2026; AajTak, 14 June 2026; ETV Bharat, 3 April 2026)
The position changes with the weather and the district's orders. Ask us on WhatsApp where it stands today
The whole valley, its homestays and how to reach it: the Darma Valley guide
Weather in Son now, and the next 7 days
The forecast is for the village's own height, refreshed through the day. Highs and lows are in °C; times are IST.
Sonabout 3,200 m
−2°CFog
Now, 18:58 IST · wind 4 km/h
- Mostly clear−2° −10°Dry
- Mostly clear5° −12°Dry
- Light snow showers2° −12°2.6 mm
- Light snow showers4° −14°0.8 mm
- Cloudy3° −12°Dry
- Mostly clear6° −10°Dry
- Mostly clear7° −7°Dry
Forecast for about 3,200 m, updated . Data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0); the daily figures are worked out by us.
The valley's weather, 10 days ahead and by month: Darma Valley weather
Weather in Son by month
Son is coldest in January, when days reach −3 °C and nights fall to −15 °C on average; July is the warmest month, 17 °C by day and 11 °C at night. Nights drop below freezing about 219 times a year, on most nights from October to May. Snow falls on about 60 days a year, mostly from October to May. The monsoon brings 301 mm of rain in July; November and October are the driest months, with 33 and 46 mm.
| Month | Day °C | Night °C | Rain mm | Snow days | Frost nights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −3 | −15 | 134 | 14 | 31 |
| February | −2 | −13 | 157 | 13 | 28 |
| March | 2 | −10 | 134 | 13 | 31 |
| April | 6 | −6 | 76 | 7 | 28 |
| May | 10 | −1 | 68 | 1 | 20 |
| June | 15 | 6 | 162 | 0 | 2 |
| July | 17 | 11 | 301 | 0 | 0 |
| August | 17 | 11 | 282 | 0 | 0 |
| September | 14 | 7 | 148 | 0 | 1 |
| October | 9 | −1 | 46 | 1 | 19 |
| November | 5 | −8 | 33 | 4 | 29 |
| December | 1 | −12 | 51 | 7 | 30 |
Where to stay in Son
2 stays are listed here, each from the source named under it. Rooms, rates and seasons change: ask us before you travel.
- KMVN 'Panchachuli Economic Tour' night halts at Soan. KMVN camp arrangement. KMVN's package (Rs 9,000 per person, 4N/4D, minimum 15 trekkers, no batches listed) drives Dharchula to Baling (75 km), treks 6 km to Soan and stays two nights there ('Lunch as camp arrangement... N/H at Soan'), with a day walk to Panchachuli glacier. Source: KMVN package 'PANCHACHULI ECONOMIC TOUR-DHARCHULA TO DHARCHULA', checked 29 September 2026.
- KMVN 'PANCHACHULI ECONOMIC TOUR-DHARCHULA TO DHARCHULA' (5N/5D): night halts at Narayan Ashram and Soan. KMVN camp arrangement. Rs 11,000 per person; Dharchula, Narayan Ashram, then two nights at Soan (6 km trek from Baling), day walk to Panchachuli glacier; 'Lunch as camp arrangement'; night accommodation type at Soan not stated; tour runs only with 15+ trekkers; no batches listed. Source: KMVN package page, checked 29 September 2026.
Worth knowing about Son
- Son adjoins Dugtu; Amar Ujala lists a pond near Son among the valley's draws. (Kapadia (1983); Amar Ujala, 2023)
Near Son
The nearest places on the map, as the crow flies; the road is longer.
- Dantu, Darma valley, about 3,150 m: 0.6 km away
- Bon, Darma valley, about 3,260 m: 1.2 km away
- Go, Darma valley, about 3,200 m: 1.4 km away
- Baling, Darma valley, about 3,120 m: 4.4 km away
- Nagling, Darma valley, about 2,900 m: 8.1 km away
- Sipu, Darma valley, about 3,420 m: 8.6 km away
- Sela, Darma valley, about 2,530 m: 12.6 km away
- Gauri Kund (Adi Kailash), Kuti valley, about 4,610 m: 13.5 km away
Questions travellers ask about Son
Son stands at about 3,200 m (10,500 ft) above sea level, read from a 90 m elevation model at its map point.
68 km by road, measured on OpenStreetMap; from Delhi it is 636 km and from Haldwani 342 km.
Son is coldest in January, when days reach −3 °C and nights fall to −15 °C on average; July is the warmest month, 17 °C by day and 11 °C at night. Nights drop below freezing about 219 times a year, on most nights from October to May.
Yes: snow falls on about 60 days a year, mostly from October to May, on the 1991 to 2020 averages.
Listed here: KMVN 'Panchachuli Economic Tour' night halts at Soan; KMVN 'PANCHACHULI ECONOMIC TOUR-DHARCHULA TO DHARCHULA': night halts at Narayan Ashram and Soan. Each listing names its source below; ask us before you travel, as rooms and rates change.
How we made this page
Every figure here comes from data and is filled in each time the page is built: the map point from OpenStreetMap node/5392622298 ('Sona'); the height from Copernicus GLO-90 via Open-Meteo at the point, rounded to 10 m (stop-altitudes.mjs); road distances from OpenStreetMap through the OSRM router; the weather from the Copernicus ERA5-Land reanalysis, 1991 to 2020, through Open-Meteo, set to the height of the place. If anything here is out of date, tell us on WhatsApp and we will correct it.
About Adi Kailash Explore
Adi Kailash Explore (adikailash.io) is a tour operator based in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand, that specialises in one route: Adi Kailash and Om Parvat, the Darma valley and Munsiyari. It runs departures from Delhi, Haldwani and Pithoragarh, and its team files the Inner Line Permit for every Adi Kailash traveller at SDM Dharchula. It is recognised by Uttarakhand Tourism, certified by MSME, Govt. of India (UDYAM-UK-09-0012927) and verified on the NIDHI Portal, and was founded by Vinay Verma. Why travel with us
