Pindari Glacier Trek: Height, Route, Distance and Best Time

What the Pindari Glacier trek is

Kumaon's most accessible glacier and the source of the Pindar river. kumaon.gov.in gives it as 3 km long and 250 m wide, fed by snow from Nandakot, Panwali Dwar and Changuch (all over 6,000 m) and Baljuri (5,922 m). (kumaon.gov.in)

• The district site gives the glacier as 3 km long and a quarter km wide, under Nandakot (6,860 m), Changuch (6,322 m) and Nandaghunti (6,310 m), with Kafni to the east and Sunderdhunga to the west. (bageshwar.nic.in)
• Uttarakhand Tourism lists the trek's maximum altitude as about 3,800 m. (uttarakhandtourism.gov.in)
• Amar Ujala (Sep 2026) puts the glacier at about 3,600 m; its June 2026 report puts Zero Point at 3,700 m. (amarujala.com, 19 Sept 2026)
• Per Trekking Compass, Zero Point is 3,719 m in its itinerary but 3,660 m in its FAQ. Across sources the Zero Point height ranges from about 3,600 m to 3,816 m. (trekkingcompass.com)
• Per Himalayan Dream Treks, the walk climbs from 2,222 m at Khati to roughly 3,816 m at Zero Point, about 58 to 60 km in all. (himalayandreamtreks.in)

The route, stage by stage

From Kharkiya the trail goes by Khati, Dwali and Phurkia, and on to Zero Point. The km are the sources' own, each linked; trails shift with landslides and new road, so treat them as close, not exact.

1. Kharkiya to Khati5 km

   KMVN road-head start; the same 5 km on the way out. Khati is the last village. (kmvn.in)

2. Khati to Dwali11 km

   Amar Ujala (2021) says 12 km; Trekking Compass says 13 km because of detours round the 2013 landslide zones. (kmvn.in)

3. Dwali to Phurkia5 km

   kumaon.gov.in gives 7 km. (kmvn.in)

4. Phurkia to Zero Point and back to Phurkia14 km

   Round trip. kumaon.gov.in puts Zero Point about 6 km beyond Phurkia. KMVN then walks on to Dwali (5 km) the same day. (kmvn.in)

5. Dwali to Khati11 km

   Return leg. (kmvn.in)

6. Song to Loharkhet4 km

   Dhakuri route only (older start, KMVN's Song package). (kmvn.in)

7. Loharkhet to Dhakuri8 km

   Dhakuri route. kumaon.gov.in and Himalayan High say 11 km; the path crosses Dhakuri Pass, 2,940 m per Himalayan High. (kmvn.in)

8. Dhakuri to Khati9 km

   Dhakuri route. KMVN uses 8 km for the reverse leg; kumaon.gov.in says 11 km; Himalayan High says 8 km, passing Kharkiya and Jaikuni. (kmvn.in)

When to go

Trekking on Pindari, Kafni and Sunderdhunga is banned every monsoon from 15 June to 15 September. In 2026 the autumn season reopened on 16 September. (amarujala.com, 19 Sept 2026)

• The spring 2026 season opened on 15 April and ran to 15 June 2026. (khabarpahad.com, 15 Apr 2026)
• Uttarakhand Tourism gives the ideal time as April to July and September to October. (uttarakhandtourism.gov.in)
• Per Himalayan Dream Treks, avoid July and August for rain, leeches and landslides; in winter the trail is usually closed or very hard because snow blocks it beyond Dwali. (himalayandreamtreks.in)

Permits and fees

• Registration with the forest department is compulsory at the Hichaudi and Jaikuni eco-tourism registration centres of Bageshwar Forest Division, which are staffed round the clock. (khabarpahad.com, 15 Apr 2026)
• In Sep 2026 the first autumn group was registered at the Khati and Hichaudi check posts. The forest department records each trekker's biometric and basic details, and no one may enter the glacier area without a valid registration (ranger Dolly Dobhal). (amarujala.com, 19 Sept 2026)
• New in 2026: a refundable deposit to keep plastic off the trails was charged for the first time; the forest officer called the plastic refund rule a success. The amount was not published. (amarujala.com, 17 Jun 2026)
• Fee: the last published figure found is from 2021, when the forest office at Kapkot registered each glacier trekker at Rs 68 per person per day. No 2026 fee was found in news or official pages. (amarujala.com, 1 Apr 2021)

How hard it is

• Uttarakhand Tourism rates it easy to moderate and says families can do it. (uttarakhandtourism.gov.in)
• The district site grades Pindari, Sunderdhunga and Kafni all as 3B on its own scale, and says tents and mountain boots are needed. (bageshwar.nic.in)

Where you sleep, food and water

• Per Trekking Compass: Khati 2,240 m, Dwali 2,615 m, Phurkiya 3,203 m. (trekkingcompass.com)
• Per Himalayan High: Loharkhet 1,834 m, Dhakuri Pass 2,940 m, Dhakuri 2,650 m, Kharkiya 2,186 m, Jaikuni 2,120 m, Khati 2,230 m, Dwali 2,632 m. (himalayanhigh.in)
• KMVN runs a fixed Pindari package from Kharkia with night halts at Khati, Dwali and Phurkia. Price shown: Rs 9,000 per person; a batch runs only with at least 15 trekkers. Bookings through KMVN on 05942-236936. (kmvn.in)
• KMVN's Song package adds night halts at Loharkhet and Dhakuri (going and coming back) and is priced at Rs 10,500 per person. (kmvn.in)
• Uttarakhand Tourism lists a budget of about Rs 8,000 per person (minimum 5) and says to book through KMVN or trekking guides. (uttarakhandtourism.gov.in)
• In 2021 Khati had PWD and KMVN rest houses plus private guest houses, while Dwali and Phurkia had only PWD or KMVN rest houses. Trekkers that year complained of toilet and water problems in them. (amarujala.com, 1 Apr 2021)
• Per Trekking Compass, Dwali has an old British building used as the government rest house and a few local guest houses; Phurkia has KMVN huts beside PWD shelters. (trekkingcompass.com)
• Per Himalayan Dream Treks, Khati has many homestays and a KMVN guest house. (himalayandreamtreks.in)
• OpenStreetMap marks a PWD rest house at Dhakuri, beside the Dhakuri camp site. (openstreetmap.org)
• Per Trekking Compass, there is a stream soon after leaving Khati, and a stream of drinkable water about 15 to 20 minutes out of Dwali toward Phurkiya. (trekkingcompass.com)
• Per Himalayan Dream Treks, the Khati to Dwali path crosses small waterfalls and two streams, Runiyat Nala and Jarthi Nala. (himalayandreamtreks.in)

Getting to the start

The trek starts at Kharkiya. By road it is 64 km from Bageshwar, 132 km from Almora, 139 km from Munsiyari, 168 km from Pithoragarh, 217 km from Kathgodam to the start, measured on OpenStreetMap.

• Kharkiya (also spelled Kharkia). KMVN's own package page for the Khati route names 'Kharkia (Road head)', and Amar Ujala (June 2026) describes the drive as Kapkot to Karmi to Kharkiya. A rough unpaved track runs on toward Khati (Janchowk travelogue, Jan 2023; Trekking Compass says the road reached Khati in 2024-25), but Kharkiya is the road head every official 2026 source uses. Song and Loharkhet are only the start of the older route over the Dhakuri pass. (kmvn.in)
• Nearest railway station is Kathgodam (231 km) and nearest airport Pantnagar (266 km); taxis or buses run from Kathgodam. (kumaon.gov.in)
• In 2021 the district tourism officer gave the drive as 65 km from Bageshwar to Kharkiya, with walking from Kharkiya and Khati 5 km on. (amarujala.com, 1 Apr 2021)
• The road from Kapkot via Karmi to Kharkiya is badly potholed: Kapkot to Khati is only 45 km but takes 3.5 to 4 hours. Local operators blame bad roads and weak mobile network for falling foreign numbers. (amarujala.com, 17 Jun 2026)
• A Jan 2023 travelogue says Kharkiya used to be the end of the motor road, but a rough unpaved road had been cut to Khati, ending near the PWD rest house, with work still going on. (janchowk.com, 2 Jan 2023)
• Per Himalayan Dream Treks, the Saung to Kharkiya road is rough and under construction, and most trekkers drive to Kharkiya and walk 3 to 4 km to Khati. Kapkot is the last ATM. (himalayandreamtreks.in)

The nearest railway station is Kathgodam (218 km by road); the nearest airport, Pithoragarh Airport (167 km).

Good to know

• Height from Amar Ujala (17 Jun 2026); other sources give 3,600 to 3,816 m, see facts. Coordinates are the OpenStreetMap 'Zero Point' node. (openstreetmap.org)
• The district's Oct 2026 inspection report gives Khati to Zero Point as about 26 km one way, 52 km both ways. (liveskgnews.com, 21 Oct 2026)
• Per Trekking Compass, mobile signal is patchy after Bageshwar and absent beyond Khati. (trekkingcompass.com)
• The footbridge over the Pindar and Kafni near Dwali was swept away in 2013 and replaced by a temporary wooden bridge. Between Phurkia and Zero Point, three glacial streams carry a standing landslide risk. (amarujala.com, 1 Apr 2021)
• Per Trekking Compass, the old Khati to Dwali trail now has 6 landslide zones where walkers drop to the riverbank and climb back; Dwali is reached over makeshift bridges on both rivers, and early season brings snow bridges and hard snow on stream crossings. (trekkingcompass.com)

What changed in 2025 and 2026

• In Oct 2026 District Magistrate Apurva Pandey walked from Khati to Zero Point and told PWD to fix the dangerous patches quickly. The Kapkot SDM is to prepare a trek manual covering stages, resources and emergency information, and local groups are to make ringal signboards. (amarujala.com, 20 Oct 2026)
• A 16-member team trying to link Pindari with the Johar valley left Khati on 21 Sep 2026 and turned back after a storm of about 52 hours from 25 Sep buried its gear under 10 ft of snow near 16,500 ft. All returned safely. (amarujala.com, 3 Oct 2026)
• The Pindari, Sunderdhunga and Kafni routes were closed for three days for snow and bad weather and reopened on Tuesday 29 Sep 2026 after a safety review. (amarujala.com, 30 Sept 2026)
• Heavy rain and snow in late Sep 2026 left 43 trekkers stranded in Bageshwar district. (uniindia.com, 28 Sept 2026)
• The spring 2026 season brought 2,128 visitors to the three glaciers, more than the previous season; Pindari had about 1,100 of them but only 17 foreigners. (amarujala.com, 17 Jun 2026)
• On day 16 of the search there was still no trace of him, and police had registered a case. (univarta.com, 13 Jun 2026)
• On 29 May 2026 Abhishek Chauhan, 26, went missing near Dwali while walking down with a guide. SDRF, NDRF, forest and police searched the Pindar from Dwali to Badiyakot; his camera was found about 80 m below the trail and his jacket in the river. His family has alleged foul play and police are investigating. (amarujala.com, 8 Jun 2026)
• In the first 27 days of the 2026 season 1,106 visitors registered. A forest team led by ranger Dolly Dobhal walked the route and carried 25 kg of plastic waste down from Zero Point to Khati. (amarujala.com, 12 May 2026)
• The first snow of the 2025 winter fell on the hills around the glacier on 7 Oct 2025. (amarujala.com, 8 Oct 2025)
• In Jan 2025 Vijay Danu, 24, of Khati fell about 330 ft into a gorge near Jwarpani, roughly 7 km below the glacier, while overseeing trail repair work. A 13-member team with SDRF walked about 20 km and carried him out alive but badly hurt. (deccanherald.com, 12 Jan 2025)