Har Ki Dun Trek

The Har Ki Dun trek is a moderate 7-day walk from Sankri, in the Supin valley of Uttarakhand, up to the Har Ki Dun valley, with side walks to Maninda Tal and the Jaundhar Glacier. We run it from Dehradun airport and back, pickup and drop included.

Day 1 is the long drive to Sankri. Next morning a short 4x4 drive takes you to Taluka, and you walk beside the Supin, past Gangaad, to the camp at Chillur Gad. Day 3 climbs past Seema, crosses the Har Ki Dun river on a suspension bridge, then goes through farmland and Halche to Kalkati Dhar, with Bandarpoonch, Kalanag and the Ruinsara peaks in view. An easy, mostly downhill walk brings you to the camp at Boslo.

Day 4 is the valley itself. You leave with a packed lunch, pass waterfalls and walk through conifers and rhododendrons to Har Ki Dun, under Har Ki Dun Peak and Hata Peak. From there you explore towards Maninda Tal and the Jaundhar Glacier. On the way down you enter Osla and visit the Someshwar Mahadev temple.

• Days: 7 days, 6 nights, Dehradun to Dehradun. Camping on the trail.
• Grade: moderate. Most walking days are 5 to 6 hours; the Har Ki Dun day is about 6.
• Highest sleep: Boslo, 3,150 m.
• Best months: March to June and September to December.

You sleep at Boslo for two nights and do the high walking on Day 4 and come back down to the same camp, so the day to Har Ki Dun starts from a place you have already slept in.

The groups are small and private. For the next valley over, see Har Ki Dun and Ruinsara Tal.

• Har Ki Dun valley: About an hour and a half from Boslo, past a couple of waterfalls and through conifers and rhododendrons, the valley opens under Har Ki Dun Peak (5,620 m) and Hata Peak (5,838 m).
• Maninda Tal: A side walk from the valley to a lake on the route that carries on to the Borasu Pass. The day is paced so you can take it slowly.
• Jaundhar Glacier: The walk goes towards the foot of the Swargarohini massif, over a wide meadow, where the Jaundhar Gad comes down from the glacier to meet the Har Ki Dun river.
• Two nights at Boslo: The high walking is done on Day 4 from a camp at 3,150 m, and you return to the same tent that night. Nothing on the trek asks you to sleep higher.
• Kalkati Dhar: The Day 3 high point of the walk, with Bandarpoonch, Kalanag and the Ruinsara peaks in view, before the easy, mostly downhill walk to Boslo.
• The Supin from Taluka: The first walk follows the Supin through forest and farmland, past Gangaad, to the camp at Chillur Gad.
• Osla and the Someshwar Mahadev temple: On Day 5 you walk into the village and visit the temple of the deity this valley is tied to.
• Old Govind valley villages: Taluka, Gangaad and Osla, with their old architecture and carpentry, sit along the route, still lived in.
• Swargarohini from Sankri: Four prominent summits of the Swargarohini massif can be seen from Sankri on Day 1, and you walk towards them.
• Private and unhurried: Your own group, usually 2 to 10, a local crew and mules for the camping equipment from Taluka.

Day 4 is the reason for the Har Ki Dun trek, and it is built as a day out from a camp you already know. You sleep at Boslo (3,150 m) on Day 3, leave early on Day 4 with a packed lunch, and come back to the same camp in the evening. The day is about 6 hours and 9 km by our itinerary.

There are no steep climbs. The altitude starts to show, so everyone slows down, and that is the right response. In about an hour and a half you reach Har Ki Dun. The trail passes a couple of waterfalls first, and as you climb the river gets narrower, running through conifers, rhododendrons and meadow. Har Ki Dun Peak (5,620 m) and Hata Peak (5,838 m) stand in front of the valley.

Beyond the valley. The itinerary uses the rest of the day for the side walks that give this trek its name on our page.

• Maninda Tal: a lake in a quiet valley, on the route that goes on to the Borasu Pass, one of the harder passes of Uttarakhand, and across to the Zupica Glacier and Chitkul. If that crossing interests you, see our Borasu Pass trek.
• Jaundhar Glacier: the walk goes up towards the foot of the Swargarohini massif, six peaks of which four stand out. Under the peaks is a vast meadow, and the Jaundhar Gad comes down from the glacier and curves across it to meet the Har Ki Dun river.

How far you take these walks is decided on the day. The guide watches the pace of the group, the weather and the clock, and turns back when it is right. You are not racing to tick off three places: the trek is built so that Day 4 is long enough to explore, and you walk it unhurried.

Keep the daypack light: packed lunch, water, rain layer, warm layer and a hat. You will be out for most of the day.

The trip is an out-and-back from Boslo, so there is no need to carry anything higher than the day requires. That is one of the quiet advantages of Har Ki Dun over treks that push the sleeping altitude up each night. Tell us your pace and your experience at altitude, and we will say how we would shape the day.

Har Ki Dun is as much a valley of villages as a valley of peaks. Taluka (1,800 m), Gangaad (2,400 m), Dhatmir (2,400 m) and Osla (2,700 m) belong to the upper Supin catchment, and they are some of the oldest settlements of the Govind valley, with their own food, dress and architecture. The carpentry of the houses is worth a look as you pass.

The valley is tied to Someshwar Devta, the deity worshipped here. Har Ki Dun itself is read as the "land of Lord Shiva", and the name tells you how the people of these villages see the mountains above them.

Where you meet them on the trek.

• Day 2, Taluka and Gangaad. The walk starts at Taluka, where you meet the mule handlers while the team loads the camping equipment. The trail then follows the Supin, with the sound of the river beside you, and passes Gangaad on the way to the camp at Chillur Gad.
• Day 3, Seema and the farmland. After the suspension bridge and the steep switchbacks, the trail runs through farmland, a reminder that people live and work at this height.
• Day 5, Osla. On the walk back from Boslo you enter the village of Osla and visit the Someshwar Mahadev temple.

Part of the pleasure of the trek is that the villages are still lived in, not set dressing. A few simple habits make the visit easier: enter quietly, ask before photographing people or the inside of a temple, and follow your guide's lead on the customs of the place. The same rule applies on the trail: we carry our waste down and leave the places as we found them.

If you want to see more of this side of the Tons basin, the Kedarkantha and Har Ki Dun circuit adds a second trek to the same journey.

The Har Ki Dun trek is a walk up one river and back, and the river is the key to reading the valley. The Har Ki Dun Gad, the Ruinsara Gad and a stream from Dev Kyara come together to form the Supin, and the river is called the Supin from there on. From Sankri, the Supin valley opens out below Taluka, and the Supin joins the Rupin to become the Tons.

The route, and the mountains it shows you, come in this order.

• Sankri, Day 1. Four prominent peaks of the Swargarohini massif can be seen from here. Swargarohini 1 is 6,252 m, with Swargarohini 2 at 6,240 m, Swargarohini 3 at 6,168 m and Swargarohini 4 at 6,000 m.
• Taluka to Chillur Gad, Day 2. You walk beside the Supin, past Gangaad.
• Seema to Kalkati Dhar, Day 3. After a gentle climb of about 2 km to Seema, you cross the Har Ki Dun river on a suspension bridge and climb steep switchbacks for about a kilometre. The route eases through farmland, then climbs again past Halche. From Kalkati Dhar the views include the Bandarpoonch twins (Bandarpoonch West at 6,316 m, Bandarpoonch East at 6,045 m), Kalanag (6,387 m), and the Ruinsara and White Needle peaks. Then it is an easy, mostly downhill walk to Boslo.
• Boslo and Har Ki Dun, Day 4. Har Ki Dun Peak (5,620 m) and Hata Peak (5,838 m) rise ahead of the valley. The Jaundhar Gad, from the Jaundhar Glacier, meets the Har Ki Dun river.

The whole walk lies inside the Govind Pashu Vihar National Park. The terrain changes with the altitude: farmland and forest low down, then meadow, with snow on the high peaks. Temperatures on the trek range from -3 to 15 degrees Celsius over the season.

If you like the view of Kalanag from Kalkati Dhar, the Kalanag Base Camp trek goes closer to it. For the same peaks from the Ruinsara side, see Har Ki Dun and Ruinsara Tal.

Har Ki Dun starts after a road journey, and most of the planning questions on this trek come from that road. Sankri sits at about 1,950 m in the Supin valley and is reached only by road: 190 to 200 km from Dehradun, 8 to 9 hours with stops. The route runs through Vikasnagar or Mussoorie, Naugaon, Purola, Mori and Naitwar. We run the Har Ki Dun trek from Dehradun airport and back, with pickup and drop included, so you do not need to arrange the drive yourself.

Arrival timing. Day 1 is the drive to Sankri, and we aim to reach it by evening. Jolly Grant Airport is the nearest, and the first Delhi flight lands at around 10 am, which leaves little daylight for 8 to 9 hours of road, especially late in the season. If you can, fly in the day before, or tell us your flight time and we will plan the day with you. Aim to reach Sankri before dark rather than drive the last stretch at night.

The road. From Mori, the last 22 km or so are narrow and rough in places and run inside the Govind Pashu Vihar National Park. From late June to September landslides can block the road for hours or days. Heavy snow, mostly from late December to February, can close the Jarmola ridge and the last stretch into Sankri for a day or more.

Taluka. The road continues about 11 km beyond Sankri to Taluka, where the walk starts. On Day 2 you drive this stretch in a 4x4 in about 45 minutes. On Day 6 the same drive takes you back to Sankri.

Permits. The forest department issues Govind Pashu Vihar trek permits at its check-post in Sankri, only to groups with a registered local guide. Bring a photocopy of photo ID for each trekker.

Cash and signal. Sankri has no ATM or bank. The last ATM is at Mori, which is not always working, and Purola has more, so bring cash from Dehradun. Mobile signal in Sankri is weak, mostly BSNL, and Mori is the last place with steady coverage. Tell the people at home that you will be hard to reach.

The way back. Day 7 is the drive from Sankri to Dehradun, about 7 hours. Buses leave Sankri between about 5.30 and 8 am, and we set off early too. Allow about three hours of buffer, and book onward travel from Dehradun for the evening.

If you tell us your dates and how you are arriving, we will suggest the arrival day that works for you.

The Har Ki Dun trek takes 7 days and 6 nights, from Dehradun airport and back, and is graded moderate. The days are short enough to enjoy and the plan is simple.

• Day 1, the drive. To Sankri, by evening. We meet over evening tea, you meet the team, we issue your personal equipment for the trek and brief you on the latest news from the trail.
• Day 2. Drive to Taluka, then walk to Chillur Gad (2,500 m) beside the Supin, about 5 to 6 hours.
• Day 3. Chillur Gad to Boslo (3,150 m) by Seema and Kalkati Dhar, about 5 to 6 hours.
• Day 4. A full day out from Boslo to Har Ki Dun, with the side walks to Maninda Tal and the Jaundhar Glacier, back to the same camp. About 6 hours.
• Days 5 and 6. Back to Chillur Gad through Osla, then to Taluka and the drive to Sankri.
• Day 7. The drive back to Dehradun.

The logic is the one we use on every trek: gain height gently, do the high walking from a camp you have already slept at, and come back down to sleep. Acclimatisation is built into the days, not left to chance. Boslo at 3,150 m is the highest camp, so the walk to Har Ki Dun is a day out, not a move.

Camps and team. You camp at Chillur Gad and Boslo. At Taluka you meet the mule handlers, who carry the camping equipment while the trekking team walks with the trek leader and the guide. It is a local crew, paid fairly, and the trek leader checks in with everyone each day. Waste is carried down.

Season. The trek runs from March to June and again from September to December, and not in the monsoon. Temperatures over the season range from -3 to 15 degrees Celsius.

Who it suits. Walkers who like a small private group, usually 2 to 10, an unhurried pace and a guide who decides by conditions rather than by the clock. It also suits people who want a first multi-day trek in the Himalaya with real scenery and real villages. If you would like to go further up the valley, Har Ki Dun and Ruinsara Tal adds the lake, and the Bali Pass trek is the next step for a fit, experienced walker.

Tell us your dates, your trekking experience and how you walk at height, and we will shape the days around you.