Khaliya Top Trek: Height, Route, Distance and Best Time

What the Khaliya Top trek is

The state tourism site lists Khaliya Top as one of the best treks from Munsiyari: an easy route with sunrise views against the Panchachuli peaks, and the snowline in sight in summer. (uttarakhandtourism.gov.in)

• Khaliya is a bugyal (high meadow) above Munsiyari with birch and rhododendron trees, home to the monal (the state bird) and deer. (amarujala.com, 21 Oct 2026)
• Zero Point lies about 1 km past the top and gives 360-degree views. The walk from Balati Bend to the 3,500 m top is 6 km and takes about three hours one way. (outlooktraveller.com)
• Wildlife around the top includes red fox, snowcock and satyr tragopan; the Zero Point area is a home ground of the monal. Panchachuli and Rajrambha are seen face on from the top. (jagran.com, 26 Apr 2024)

The route, stage by stage

From Khaliya Dwar the trail goes by Bhujani base camp to Khaliya Top: 6 km one way. The km are the sources' own, each linked; trails shift with landslides and new road, so treat them as close, not exact.

1. Munsiyari town to Khaliya Dwar (Balati Bend)8 km

   By road. Per Solobackpacker (about 8 km). Outlook Traveller says 9 km, TourTravelWorld 7 to 9 km, and Jagran (2024) says only 2 km by vehicle. (solobackpacker.com)

2. Khaliya Dwar (Balati Bend) to Bhujani base camp3 km

   Stone-paved forest trail to the tented base camp, per Solobackpacker (trek blog). (solobackpacker.com)

3. Bhujani base camp to Khaliya Top3 km

   Per TourTravelWorld (operator blog). The forest opens into meadow about 1 km above the camp. Solobackpacker counts this 3 km as base camp to Zero Point. (tourtravelworld.com)

4. Khaliya Top to Zero Point1 km

   Viewpoint beyond the top with all-round views. (outlooktraveller.com)

When to go

Per Himalaya Shelter (operator): best April to June and September to November. July to September is not advised (slippery trail, mudslides). December to March brings snow and suits only trekkers with winter experience. Start before 7 am, as weather turns later in the day. (himalayashelter.com)

• Skiing runs from January to the end of March, and snow stays on the top into April and May. (jagran.com, 26 Apr 2024)
• Thick snow settles on the route in December and January; the trek is described as about 6 to 7 km. (hindi.news18.com, 17 Nov 2025)

Permits and fees

• The Forest Department has a check post at Khaliya Dwar, Balati. In 2024 the entry slip cost Rs 20, and tents could be pitched for the night. (jagran.com, 26 Apr 2024)
• Per Solobackpacker (trek blog): forest entry Rs 50 a person, parking Rs 50 a bike and Rs 100 a car. No trekking permit is mentioned. (solobackpacker.com)
• Anyone pitching tents on Khaliya Bugyal needs Forest Department permission and must pay the set fee. Permanent building on the meadow is banned. (bhaskar.com, 21 Oct 2026)

How hard it is

• Easy to moderate. The trail is paved and well marked, but the climb onto the meadow and up to Zero Point is steep in places. A guide is optional. (solobackpacker.com)

Where you sleep, food and water

• Per Solobackpacker: shared tents at Bhujani base camp at about Rs 1,000 a person (negotiable; signboards showed Rs 600 off season), with dinner, breakfast and bedding. A small shop sells snacks at about twice normal prices. (solobackpacker.com)
• KMVN has a tourist rest house at Bhujani, bookable online. The forest dak bungalow is booked through the DFO office in Pithoragarh, and the PWD dak bungalow through the SDM office in Munsiyari. (jagran.com, 26 Apr 2024)
• KMVN Tourist Rest House Munsyari is on Thal Road, Munsyari; phone 7534001701, email kmvnmunsyari@yahoo.com. (kmvn.in)
• A drinking water scheme for Munsiyari draws from Khaliya Bugyal, so locals worry about pollution from camps. No source we opened lists water points on the trail; Himalaya Shelter tells trekkers to carry water bottles. (amarujala.com, 21 Oct 2026)

Getting to the start

The trek starts at Khaliya Dwar. By road it is 9 km from Munsiyari, 115 km from Pithoragarh, 115 km from Bageshwar, 183 km from Almora, 268 km from Kathgodam to the start, measured on OpenStreetMap.

• Khaliya Dwar, the forest gate at Balati Bend on the Munsiyari to Thal road (NH109K) (openstreetmap.org)
• Munsyari is 90 km by road from Pithoragarh town, 300 km from Kathgodam railway station and 94 km from Naini Saini airport. (pithoragarh.nic.in)
• By road, Haldwani to Munsiyari via Almora is 297 km, and Tanakpur to Munsiyari via Pithoragarh is 282 km. (jagran.com, 26 Apr 2024)
• Balanti (potato farm and old oak and rhododendron forest) is about 8 km from Munsiyari back toward Kalamuni, about 400 m off the main road. (site.outlookindia.com, 21 Jun 2017)

The nearest railway station is Kathgodam (268 km by road); the nearest airport, Pithoragarh Airport (114 km). The road to Munsiyari, town by town: from Dehradun, from Lucknow, from Rishikesh, from Bareilly, from Haridwar, from Moradabad, from Tanakpur and from Delhi, Kathgodam and Haldwani.

Stays near the start

• Hotel Maa Bhawani Munsiyari, hotel, 1.2 km from the start as the crow flies
• Navraj homestay ‌‍‌, homestay, 1.4 km from the start as the crow flies
• Jayanti Mother Nature Homestay, homestay, 1.5 km from the start as the crow flies
• Matrachaya Homestay, homestay, 1.5 km from the start as the crow flies
• KMVN Tourist Rest House Munsyari, KMVN rest house, 1.6 km from the start as the crow flies
• Vijay Mount View Resort, resort, 1.6 km from the start as the crow flies
• Bilju Inn, hotel, 1.6 km from the start as the crow flies
• Naina Homestay - Camps and Cottages, homestay, 1.6 km from the start as the crow flies

All 62 stays in Munsiyari, each on the map with the peaks in view and a link to book.

Good to know

• Coordinates: end of the OSM Khaliya Top route, which is the same spot as the OSM peak 'Khalia Danda'. Height figures differ by source; see the facts. (openstreetmap.org)
• Heights disagree. Outlook Traveller, TravelTriangle and TourTravelWorld give 3,500 m. Himalaya Shelter says about 3,600 m in its overview but 11,500 ft in its summary. Jagran (2024) gives 10,500 ft. (himalayashelter.com)
• Zero Point is put at about 4,000 m by Solobackpacker and at nearly 3,750 m by TourTravelWorld. Bhujani base camp is 3,246 m per Solobackpacker but about 2,700 m per Himalaya Shelter. Munsiyari town is 2,135 m per the district site. (solobackpacker.com)
• Map check: the SRTM 30 m elevation model reads 3,726 m at the OSM Khaliya Top point (30.0600, 80.1883). Model value, not a survey height. (api.opentopodata.org)
• Measured on the OpenStreetMap line: the mapped path runs about 7.5 km from Munsiyari bus stand to the top, partly along NH109K, and about 4.7 km from where it leaves the road. Shorter than the 6 km most sources quote. (openstreetmap.org)
• Jio and BSNL work fairly well on the route (Jio mostly 4G), with gaps in some stretches. (solobackpacker.com)

What changed in 2025 and 2026

• On inspection the Forest Department found 30 tents on Khaliya Bugyal against 12 permitted. It removed the 18 extra tents and issued challans to seven tour operators; fines are still being fixed (SDO Munsiyari Neha Saun). (amarujala.com, 21 Oct 2026)
• A landslide near Bala, about 40 km from Munsiyari on the Thal to Munsiyari road, stopped heavy vehicles for four days in late August 2026; light vehicles passed with risk and the slope stayed unstable. (bhaskar.com, 28 Aug 2026)
• On 20 July 2026 the Supreme Court lifted three curbs from the Uttarakhand High Court order of 21 August 2018 on bugyals, including the ban on night stays and the cap of 200 visitors a day. The other environmental directions stay in force. Amar Ujala reports that the 12-tent limit at Khaliya follows the Supreme Court order. (jagran.com, 29 Jul 2026)
• Snow fell on Khaliya Top in early April 2026, down as far as Bhujani; Munsiyari dropped to 2 degrees C at night. (jagran.com, 5 Apr 2026)
• In February 2026 influencer Harsha Richhariya and companions lost the trail at Khaliya Top after dark, with no mobile signal. A Munsiyari police team found them after a search of several hours. Police asked visitors to check weather and route and reach safety before dark. (bhaskar.com, 6 Feb 2026)
• About 110 people saw in New Year 2026 at Khaliya Top at minus 5 degrees C, though no snow had fallen yet. (jagran.com, 1 Jan 2026)