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.
Machapuchare, the 6,993 m 'Fishtail', is the closest high peak to Pokhara. It is considered sacred and climbing it is prohibited.
Source: Pokhara
Lakes and glaciers of this plateau feed the headwaters of the Teesta, which flows south through the whole length of Sikkim.
Source: Teesta River
Flights into Paro are allowed only under visual flying conditions and in daylight, and the approach passes peaks of about 5,500 m, so only a small number of specially certified pilots operate here.
Source: Paro International Airport
Sela Pass stands at about 4,170 m, and local Buddhist tradition says there are about 101 sacred lakes in and around the pass. The main lake beside the road sits at roughly 4,160 m.
Source: Sela Pass
Yusmarg sits on the bank of the Doodh Ganga, a tributary of the Jhelum, at 2,396 m, and lies about 18 km south of the town of Charar-e-Sharief.
Source: Yusmarg
During Minjar Mela, people wear a minjar, a silk tassel said to represent shoots of maize or paddy, and at the end of the fair the minjars are offered to the Ravi river.
Source: Minjar Mela
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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