Guides
Read before you go
Budgets, seasons, permits, altitude, treks and food, hive by hive. Numbers over adjectives, sources where it matters.
Each guide answers one planning question for one hive, with tables you can use and the rules that change marked 'check current status before you travel'. Written by the Himalaya Hives Field Desk.
3 guides
Kashmir
Photo: Fulvio Spada from Torino, Italy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Kashmiri food: wazwan, nun chai and bakeries
Kashmiri food runs on mutton, rice, dried spices and milk-free gravies coloured with Kashmiri chilli and cockscomb flower. L…
Photo: Fulvio Spada from Torino, Italy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Kashmir on a budget: real costs for 2026
You can see Srinagar, Gulmarg and Pahalgam for about ₹2,500–4,000 a day per person by using the Katra–Srinagar train, shared…
Photo: Fulvio Spada from Torino, Italy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
When to visit Kashmir: seasons, roads and snow
April to June and September to October are the easiest months for Kashmir, with green meadows or clear autumn skies. January…
3 guides
Ladakh
Photo: Anirvan Shukla · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Altitude in Ladakh: how to acclimatise well
Leh is at 3,500 m, and most visitors fly in from near sea level. Rest for at least 48 hours on arrival, drink water, skip al…
Photo: Anirvan Shukla · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Ladakh's monasteries: etiquette, festivals, routes
Ladakh's gompas are living monasteries, not museums. Visit in the early morning for prayers, dress modestly, walk clockwise,…
Photo: Anirvan Shukla · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Ladakh on a budget: real costs for 2026
A careful saver trip in Ladakh costs about ₹2,000–3,500 a day per person, plus flights or the road trip in. The big savings …
3 guides
Himachal
Photo: Rignam Wangkhang · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Himachali food: dham, siddu, trout and tea
Himachali food is hill farm food: rajma, lentils, maize, buckwheat, yoghurt, ghee and seasonal greens, with feast cooking at…
Photo: Neerajsinghazm · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Himachal on a budget: real costs for 2026
A careful traveller can see Himachal for ₹1,800–3,000 a day by riding HRTC buses, sleeping in hostels, HPTDC rooms and famil…
Photo: Navneet Sharma · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Himachal seasons and altitude, month by month
The best months for most of Himachal are April to mid-June and late September to November. July and August bring monsoon lan…
3 guides
Spiti & Lahaul
Photo: Rodmantyler · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Altitude in Spiti: how to acclimatise well
Almost every night in Spiti is above 3,000 m, and the high villages pass 4,400 m. Enter from Shimla through Kinnaur so your …
Photo: 11th century West Tibetan painter Photography … · Public domain · Commons
Spiti's gompas: a visitor's guide
Spiti's gompas span a thousand years, from Tabo's 996 CE assembly hall to Kaza's monastery completed in 2009. Visit Tabo and…
Photo: Rodmantyler · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Spiti on a budget: real costs for 2026
A Spiti trip by HRTC bus, shared taxi and family homestay costs about ₹2,000–3,500 a person a day in 2026. An 8-night circui…
3 guides
Garhwal
Photo: Atarax42 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Planning the Char Dham Yatra
The Char Dham Yatra visits Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath, traditionally in that order from west to east. By r…
Photo: McKay Savage from London, UK · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Garhwal on a budget: real costs for 2026
Garhwal is one of the cheapest parts of the Himalaya to travel in. A careful traveller using UTC and GMOU buses, shared jeep…
Photo: Sharmaprakharr · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Garhwal by season and altitude
The best months for Garhwal's high valleys are May–June and mid-September to October, when the Char Dham shrines are open an…
3 guides
Kumaon
Photo: Skalvanov · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Best time to visit Kumaon, month by month
October and November are the best months for Kumaon: dry roads, cool nights and the clearest views of Trishul, Nanda Devi an…
Photo: Travelling Slacker · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Kumaoni food: what to eat and where
Kumaoni food is hill farm food: black soybean, horse gram, finger millet, greens, potatoes and buttermilk, cooked in iron po…
Photo: Travelling Slacker · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Kumaon on a budget: real costs for 2026
A careful traveller can see Kumaon for ₹1,800–3,000 a day per person: overnight train to Kathgodam, shared jeeps and Roadway…
3 guides
Nepal
Photo: Gerd Eichmann · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Nepal on a budget: real costs for Indian travellers
Nepal is one of the cheapest Himalayan trips for Indian travellers. With a hostel bed, dal bhat and tourist buses, you can t…
Photo: Gerd Eichmann · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
When to go to Nepal: seasons, monsoon and altitude
October and November are Nepal's best months, with clear skies over every trail. March and April are the second peak, with r…
Photo: Bijaya2043 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Nepal trekking permits, TIMS and guide rules
Every popular trek in Nepal needs at least one permit. The Annapurna treks need the ACAP permit; Everest needs the Sagarmath…
3 guides
Darjeeling & Kalimpong
Photo: Arne Hückelheim 2010-09-21 12:41:53 This is a … · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Best time to visit Darjeeling and Kalimpong
October and November are the best months for Darjeeling and Kalimpong: dry, clear and good for Kangchenjunga views. March to…
Photo: Arne Hückelheim 2010-09-21 12:41:53 This is a … · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Darjeeling and Kalimpong on a budget
You can see Darjeeling and Kalimpong for about ₹2,000–3,500 per person a day in 2026. Take an overnight train to New Jalpaig…
Photo: Arne Hückelheim 2010-09-21 12:41:53 This is a … · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Darjeeling tea and hill food: what to taste
Darjeeling tea is grown on 87 registered gardens and was India's first geographical indication product. Learn the four flush…
3 guides
Sikkim
Photo: IamBumba · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Sikkim food and the peoples behind it
Sikkim's food comes from four peoples: Lepcha, Bhutia, Limbu and Nepali-speaking communities. Expect momos, thukpa, gundruk …
Photo: IamBumba · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Sikkim on a budget: what it really costs
A saver trip in Sikkim runs about ₹2,000–3,500 a day per person if you use homestays and shared jeeps, rising to ₹7,000–12,0…
Photo: IamBumba · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Sikkim seasons, altitude and permits
Go March to May or October to December. Winter closes high roads, and the monsoon from June to September brings landslides. …
3 guides
Bhutan
Photo: xiquinhosilva · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Best time to visit Bhutan, month by month
The best times to visit Bhutan are March to May and late September to November. Spring brings rhododendrons and the Paro Tsh…
Photo: xiquinhosilva · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Visiting dzongs and temples in Bhutan
Dress with long sleeves and long trousers or skirts, take off hats, walk clockwise around chortens and prayer wheels, and ke…
Photo: Afifa Afrin · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Bhutan on a budget: SDF, costs and savings
For Indian nationals, Bhutan on a budget costs about ₹4,500–6,500 per person a day: ₹1,200 SDF, a simple certified hotel, a …
3 guides
Arunachal
Photo: Kthatapalli · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Choosing your first Arunachal circuit
For a first trip to Arunachal, choose one circuit: Tawang via Dirang and Sela for monasteries and snow (6–8 nights), Ziro fo…
Photo: Kthatapalli · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Arunachal on a budget: real costs for 2026
A budget trip to Arunachal costs about ₹2,500–4,000 per person a day if you use shared Sumos, homestays with meals and local…
Photo: Kthatapalli · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Arunachal permits, seasons and altitude
Indians need an Inner Line Permit and foreigners a Protected Area Permit to enter Arunachal; list every district you will vi…
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