Himalaya only · Saver trips from ₹7,500
Try "Spiti", "snow leopard", "Char Dham", "homestay", "Tiger's Nest"
Himalaya only · eleven valleys, west to east
Villages packed onto the sunny side of a slope, joined by old salt, wool and pilgrim paths. We plan trips into eleven of them, from ₹7,500 Saver trips by shared jeep and homestay to the best lodges in the range.
Everest 8,849 m · Nanga Parbat to Namcha Barwa ≈ 2,400 km
The arc
From Kashmir in the west to Arunachal in the east, the Great Himalaya runs about 2,400 km. The dotted line follows its crest through twelve real summits. Hover a hive to see what it costs and when it is open.
Pick your price, keep the valley
Same valleys, same altitude rules, same planner. What changes is how you move, where you sleep and what you spend.
Trips from, per person₹7,500
The affordable Himalaya. Shared jeeps and state buses, homestays and government tourist bungalows, local food. Simple, safe, and planned so the money goes to the valley.
Trips from, per person₹38,000
A private car and a driver who knows the road, good three and four star hotels and the best homestays, with time built in for altitude and weather.
Trips from, per person₹1,10,000
The best hotels and lodges each valley has, a private guide, and slow days. The Himalaya at its most comfortable.
The affordable Himalaya
State buses, shared jeeps, homestays and government rest houses. Prices are per person from the start point, indicative 2026, with the trade-offs written down.
Saver trips
Saver trips
Saver trips
Good in October
Photo: KennyOMG · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Trailhead village for Lidderwat, Kolahoi and Tarsar
Photo: Anirvan Shukla · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Old caravan town at 3,500 m, and where every Ladakh trip begins
Photo: This Photo was taken by Timothy A. Gonsalves. … · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
A riverside stop on the Manali–Leh road at 3,200 m
Photo: Atarax42 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
The Yamuna's shrine, where rice cooks in a hot spring
Photo: Saroj Pandey · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Potters, pagodas and the king of curds
Photo: Pinakpani · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Misty forest village at the gate of Neora Valley
Photo: Devsutapabublu · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
A ridge town with a giant Buddha and Sikkim's only tea garden
Photo: Christopher J. Fynn · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
The old capital where two rivers meet below the dzong
Field notes
Small, true facts from inside each hive, with the source named so you can check. They change each day.
The name Tsomgo is usually translated from Bhutia as source of the lake. The lake is fed by melting snow from the surrounding mountains and freezes over in winter.
Source: Lake Tsomgo
The Memorial Chorten was built in 1974 in memory of the third king and, unlike most stupas, holds no human remains; his mother, Queen Phuntsho Choden, was its main patron.
Source: Memorial Chorten, Thimphu
Dachigam means ten villages, remembering the settlements relocated to create the reserve. The area has been protected since 1910 and became a national park in 1981.
Source: Dachigam National Park
Lamayuru is one of the largest and oldest gompas in Ladakh and belongs to the Drikung Kagyu school, the same lineage that runs Phyang Monastery near Leh.
Source: Lamayuru Monastery
The 1905 Kangra earthquake, of roughly magnitude 7.8, killed around 20,000 people across the region and destroyed most of the buildings in the Dharamshala cantonment and McLeod Ganj.
Source: 1905 Kangra earthquake
Pin Valley National Park was established in 1987 and covers 675 km², ranging from about 3,500 m near Ka Dogri to more than 6,000 m. It also shelters 22 rare and endangered medicinal plant species.
Source: Pin Valley National Park
Planners' picks
Photo: Fulvio Spada from Torino, Italy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Comfort
Private car with driver
Photo: Anirvan Shukla · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Comfort
Private SUV with driver; local car in Padum where required
Photo: Unknown author · Public domain · Commons
Comfort
Private car with driver
Photo: Sumita Roy Dutta · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Comfort
Private SUV with driver
Photo: McKay Savage from London, UK · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Comfort
Private car with driver
Photo: Skalvanov · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Comfort
Private car with driver
Photo: Gerd Eichmann · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Comfort
Domestic flights to Lukla, private car in Kathmandu, five days on foot
Photo: Auli Raha (অলি রাহা) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Comfort
Private car with driver
The almanac
Dark cells are the best months, pale cells are good, empty cells are closed or hard. A ₹ marks months when rooms and transport cost least.
Coming up
Photo: Himalayaputra · CC BY-SA 4.0 · CommonsKullu's great autumn gathering begins on Vijayadashami, the day Dussehra ends elsewhere in India. For seven d…
Photo: Shivam Kumar 766 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · CommonsTwice a year the doors of Kedarnath change hands between summer and winter. In spring the Panchmukhi doli of …
Photo: Jorge Láscar · CC BY-SA 3.0 · CommonsDashain is the biggest festival of the Nepali-speaking Gorkha community, and in the Darjeeling hills it is th…
Photo: Rahul Kumar Shakya · CC BY-SA 4.0 · CommonsTihar is the five-day Gorkha festival of lights, held around Diwali. Each day honours someone: crows, dogs, c…
Read before you go
Photo: Fulvio Spada from Torino, Italy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Kashmiri food runs on mutton, rice, dried spices and milk-free gravies coloured with Kashmiri chilli and cockscomb flower. L…
Photo: Rodmantyler · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
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: Gerd Eichmann · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Nepal is one of the cheapest Himalayan trips for Indian travellers. With a hostel bed, dal bhat and tourist buses, you can t…
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