Panchachuli Base Camp Expedition: every Friday, 27 November to 18 December6 days from Delhi, three nights under PanchachuliThe base camp walk in snow, Tidang and Sipu by 4x4, the Dar hot spring₹55,000 a person, Delhi to DelhiChristmas, 22 to 28 December: Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Darma, ₹65,000See the expeditionSee it

Lucknow to Darma Valley: Distance, Route and How to Reach

Lucknow to Dantu, where the Darma Valley road ends, is 625 km by road, through Khatima, Pithoragarh, Jauljibi and Dharchula. One train starts from Lucknow for the hills: the Lucknow - Kathgodam Express (15043), on Sun, Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri, to Kathgodam, 337 km short of Dantu. Our trip from Delhi takes 6 days, there and back.

Ask us about the road from Lucknow on WhatsApp

Lucknow to Darma Valley in numbers

By road
625 km, Lucknow to Dantu
As the crow flies
382 km
Through
Khatima, Champawat, Lohaghat, Pithoragarh, Jauljibi, Dharchula
Dantu stands at
about 3,150 m
Nearest station
Tanakpur, 306 km by road
Nearest airport
Pithoragarh Airport, 157 km by road
Direct trains from Lucknow
1, to Kathgodam
With us
6 days from Delhi

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 weather now at Dantu, 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.

Dantuabout 3,150 m

−1°CClear
Now, 19:01 IST · wind 6 km/h

  1. Clear−1° −9°Dry
  2. Clear6° −12°Dry
  3. Partly cloudy4° −14°Dry
  4. Mostly clear5° −15°Dry
  5. Partly cloudy4° −13°Dry
  6. Clear8° −9°Dry
  7. Clear8° −10°Dry

Forecast for about 3,150 m, updated . Data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0); the daily figures are worked out by us.

The ways to go from Lucknow

Lucknow to Dantu: each way and the road at the end of it
WayHowThen
By car or taxi625 km by road through Pithoragarh, Jauljibi and DharchulaThe whole way by road
By trainLucknow - Kathgodam Express (15043), on Sun, Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri to KathgodamKathgodam to Dantu: 337 km by road

The road from Lucknow to Dantu, town by town

The road climbs from about 120 m at Lucknow to about 3,150 m at Dantu; the climb begins at Tanakpur, 317 km out, and the last 308 km are mountain road.

Khatima: 294 km from LucknowKhatimaChampawat: 387 km from LucknowChampawatJauljibi: 524 km from LucknowJauljibiLucknow: the startDantu: 625 km by roadLucknowDantu100 kmN
0 m1,000 m2,000 m3,000 m4,000 mLucknow: about 120 m, 0 km along this roadHardoi: about 140 m, 107 km along this roadKhatima: 299 m, 294 km along this roadTanakpur: 255 m, 317 km along this roadSukhidhang: about 1,260 m, 339 km along this roadChalthi: about 660 m, 353 km along this roadChampawat: 1,610 m, 387 km along this roadLohaghat: 1,754 m, 406 km along this roadGurna: about 1,290 m, 450 km along this roadPithoragarh: 1,645 m, 462 km along this roadOgla: about 1,510 m, 504 km along this roadAskot: about 1,290 m, 512 km along this roadJauljibi: about 610 m, 524 km along this roadDharchula: 908 m, 552 km along this roadTawaghat: about 1,160 m, 568 km along this roadSobla: about 1,870 m, 586 km along this roadDar: about 2,100 m, 589 km along this roadSela: about 2,530 m, 601 km along this roadNagling: about 2,900 m, 606 km along this roadBaling: about 3,120 m, 611 km along this roadSon: about 3,200 m, 617 km along this roadDantu: about 3,150 m, 625 km along this roadLucknowDantu0 km625 km
The towns on the road, km from Lucknow, measured on OpenStreetMap (2026-10-22)
TownFrom LucknowHeight
Hardoi107 kmabout 140 m
Khatima294 km299 m
Tanakpur317 km255 m
Sukhidhang339 kmabout 1,260 m
Chalthi353 kmabout 660 m
Champawat387 km1,610 m
Lohaghat406 km1,754 m
Gurna450 kmabout 1,290 m
Pithoragarh462 km1,645 m
Ogla504 kmabout 1,510 m
Askot512 kmabout 1,290 m
Jauljibi524 kmabout 610 m
Dharchula552 km908 m
Tawaghat568 kmabout 1,160 m
Sobla586 kmabout 1,870 m
Dar589 kmabout 2,100 m
Sela601 kmabout 2,530 m
Nagling606 kmabout 2,900 m
Baling611 kmabout 3,120 m
Son617 kmabout 3,200 m
Dantu625 kmabout 3,150 m

One temple stands beside this road: Baleshwar Temple, 389 km from Lucknow.

By train or by air

One train starts from Lucknow for the hills: the Lucknow - Kathgodam Express (15043), on Sun, Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri, leaving at 23:25 and reaching Kathgodam at 08:05 the next day. From the station it is 337 km by road from Kathgodam to Dantu.

Direct trains from Lucknow, from the railway timetables (checked 22 Oct 2026)
TrainFromDaysLeavesArrivesGet off at
15043 Lucknow - Kathgodam ExpressLucknow JunctionSun, Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri23:2508:05 +1Kathgodam
Direct trains back to Lucknow, from the railway timetables (checked 22 Oct 2026)
TrainToDaysLeavesArrivesGet on at
15044 Kathgodam - Lucknow ExpressLucknow JunctionMon, Tue, Thu, Fri, Sat11:1519:20Kathgodam

These are the trains that start in Lucknow; trains from farther away that stop there are on the station pages. Days are the days a train leaves its first station. Times change: check the train on the railway's own site before you book. Sources: etrain.info, confirmtkt.com.

No direct flight from Lucknow is listed for the airports near Dantu: Pithoragarh Airport (157 km by road). The airport pages have every flight that lands there.

How many days it takes

6 days from Delhi and 6 days from Haldwani, both there and back. The Delhi trip spends the first night at Pithoragarh and reaches Dantu on day two. The Haldwani trip drives in on day one, in one long day. Both then give a full day to Panchachuli Base Camp or Zero Point and Duktu village before turning back down the valley.

Yes, the valley is reached by road and both Adi Kailash Explore trips drive in: Dharchula, then Sobla, then up to Dantu, where you sleep in a homestay. How far a vehicle gets above the villages on the Panchachuli Base Camp day depends on the state of the road that week, which is why both itineraries say base camp or Zero Point, road conditions permitting.

Staying at Dantu

17 places to stay in Dantu, each on the map with the peaks in view and a link to book. Before you pack: Dantu weather, every month on 30 years of data.

Questions about Lucknow to Darma Valley

  • 625 km by road from Lucknow to Dantu, measured on OpenStreetMap; the road runs through Khatima, Champawat, Lohaghat, Pithoragarh, Jauljibi and Dharchula. As the crow flies it is 382 km.

  • By road it is 625 km the whole way. By train, the Lucknow - Kathgodam Express (15043) runs on Sun, Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri to Kathgodam, then 337 km by road.

  • Tanakpur (TPU), 306 km by road to Dantu; Kathgodam (KGM), 337 km by road to Dantu; Haldwani (HDW), 345 km by road to Dantu. From the station the rest is by road.

  • Pithoragarh Airport (NNS), 157 km by road to Dantu. Check the flights for your dates: the last stretch is always by road.

  • Yes, the valley is reached by road and both Adi Kailash Explore trips drive in: Dharchula, then Sobla, then up to Dantu, where you sleep in a homestay. How far a vehicle gets above the villages on the Panchachuli Base Camp day depends on the state of the road that week, which is why both itineraries say base camp or Zero Point, road conditions permitting.

  • 6 days from Delhi and 6 days from Haldwani, both there and back. The Delhi trip spends the first night at Pithoragarh and reaches Dantu on day two. The Haldwani trip drives in on day one, in one long day. Both then give a full day to Panchachuli Base Camp or Zero Point and Duktu village before turning back down the valley.

Darma Valley from other cities

From Lucknow to the other places on the road

How we made this page

The road is OpenStreetMap's, routed for a car by two public routers (OSRM and Valhalla), the shorter of the two kept; a town is on it when it lies within a few hundred metres of the line (a village) or 2.5 km (a town centre). Heights are the site's published figures, else a 90 m elevation model, shown as "about". Trains and flights are from the railway and airline timetables, buses and taxis from the operators and the news, each linked where it is used. No drive times: a router's times are plains times. If anything here is out of date, tell us on WhatsApp.

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

The snow pyramid of Adi Kailash against a deep blue sky

May – November 2026

Ready to stand in front of it?

Tell us your dates and where you are travelling from. We will come back with a route, a price and the permit list.

Plan on WhatsAppCall +91 76688 58311

1,000+ travellers guided · permits, stays & driver arranged