Tanakpur to Champawat: Distance, Route and How to Reach

The road from Tanakpur to Champawat, town by town

The road climbs from 255 m at Tanakpur to 1,610 m at Champawat.

By bus or shared taxi

Buses

• Champawat is not a station in UTC's online timetable or booking search (checked 23 Oct 2026), so it cannot be picked as a destination online. The stop lists show it as a stop on the UTC buses to Lohaghat and Pithoragarh that use the Tanakpur road. (utconline.uk.gov.in)

Shared taxis and taxis

• The Champawat to Tanakpur taxi fare used to be about Rs 300 by taxi car and Rs 250 by Max jeep (the report does not say per seat or per vehicle). In Sep 2024, when light vehicles were barred at Swala from 6 AM to noon and vehicles detoured via Devidhura, it rose to Rs 1,000 and Rs 750. (amarujala.com, 21 Sept 2024)

Bus times and fares change with the season: check with the operator on the day.

Good to know on this road

• The Swala danger zone on the Tanakpur to Champawat highway has closed the road for days at a time. Rs 21 crore of protective work (walls up to about 35 m high, netting and drains) began in 2025; the April 2026 target was missed and work was still going in June 2026. (amarujala.com, 5 Jun 2026)
• In Aug 2026 the NH division said about 20 places between Champawat and Tanakpur need protective work; the worst slope is near Santola in Barakot block, where rocks fall in rain. Locals said falling rocks at night are the biggest risk. (amarujala.com, 16 Aug 2026)
• A 9.8 km Champawat bypass from Mudiyani to Tilaun is being built by the NH division for Rs 99.50 crore, with 7 bridges and 69 culverts. About 7 km of cutting was done by Sep 2026 and the target is December 2027. (amarujala.com, 18 Sept 2026)
• The Champawat district site puts Tanakpur railway station about 75 km from Champawat town and Pantnagar airport about 170 km away, with buses, taxis and jeeps onward. (champawat.nic.in)
• For the Swala protective work, the highway was fully closed from 8 PM to 6 AM on 13, 14 and 15 Apr 2026, with only ambulances let through. (amarujala.com, 11 Apr 2026)
• On 28 Sep 2026 heavy debris near Singda closed the national highway in Champawat district, along with other roads; no reopening time was given. (amarujala.com, 28 Sept 2026)