Pindari Kafni Glacier Trek

The Pindari Kafni Glacier trek puts both glacier valleys of the Pindar river into one 10-day walk in Bageshwar district, Kumaon. You reach Pindari's Zero Point (3,771 m) and the snout of the Kafni Glacier (3,895 m), both from the same base at Dwali.

The drive from Kathgodam climbs through Almora, Bageshwar and Song to Loharkhet. Next morning a steep forest climb leads to the Dhakuri Pass (2,940 m), with the Sunderdhunga and Pindar peaks lined up ahead, and a night at the meadow camp of Dhakuri. Day 3 runs through forest, meadow and the villages above Kharkiya to Khati. Then a long day beside the Pindar leads to Dwali, where the Pindar and Kafni rivers meet.

From Dwali you go left to Phurkiya, a short day that keeps you low, then up to Zero Point and the Pindari ice fall, with Nanda Bhanar, Nanda Kot, Changuch, Bauljuri and Nanda Khat around you, and back down to Dwali in one day. After that you go right, up the Kafni river to Khatia, and on to the glacier snout, with Nanda Kot in view, and back to Dwali. The last days retrace the trail through Khati to Kharkiya, and the drive to Kathgodam.

It is a trek of forest, meadow and glacial moraine inside the outer reaches of Nanda Devi National Park, in a quiet corner of Kumaon. Our groups are small and private, and the days are paced so that no night is spent above 3,314 m.

• Days: 10 days, 9 nights, Kathgodam to Kathgodam, pickup and drop included.
• Grade: moderate. Walking days run 3 to 7 hours.
• Best months: May, June, September and October.

Both glaciers are day walks from camps at 3,211 m and 3,314 m, so you sleep low and climb only for the day.

For one glacier only, see Pindari Glacier or Kafni Glacier.

• Two glaciers, one trek: Pindari's Zero Point at 3,771 m and the Kafni Glacier snout at 3,895 m, reached from the same junction at Dwali.
• Dhakuri Pass at 2,940 m: The first big view, with Maiktoli, Mrigthuni and Devtoli on the left and Nanda Khat, Changuch, Nanda Bhanar and Nanda Kot over the Pindar valley.
• Dhakuri meadow camp: A wide meadow with a panorama, which is why we climb the pass rather than skip it by the jeep road to Kharkiya.
• Khati and the villages above Kharkiya: A walk through Bagdanu, Kharkiya, Umula, Jaikuni and Dau, then Khati, the last village on the Pindar trail.
• The Pindar and Kafni confluence at Dwali: The rivers come off their own glaciers and meet here, with a PWD rest house marking the fork.
• Zero Point day: Phurkiya to Zero Point and back to Dwali, about 20 km in 6 to 7 hours, with the Pindari ice fall and a ring of peaks around you.
• Kafni river to the glacier snout: Khatia at 3,314 m, then the source of the Kafni river, with views of Nanda Kot on the way.
• Forest of fir, birch and rhododendron: The outer reaches of Nanda Devi National Park, with open meadows once you leave the trees.
• Low sleeping altitudes: No camp above 3,314 m, so the days are long but the nights are kind.

Dwali is the reason this trek works. It sits at 2,632 m where the Pindar and Kafni rivers meet, each one coming off its own glacier. The trail forks here: left goes up the Pindar to Pindari, right goes up the Kafni. A PWD rest house marks the spot.

On the Pindari Kafni Glacier trek you walk both forks, one after the other, and come back to Dwali after each. That is what separates this page from its neighbours:

• Pindari Glacier trek: the left fork only, to Zero Point. It is shorter, at 8 days. See Pindari Glacier.
• Kafni Glacier trek: the right fork only, to the Kafni snout. See Kafni Glacier.
• Pindari Kafni Glacier trek: both, in 10 days.

The shared part is the same for all three: the road to Loharkhet, the Dhakuri Pass, Khati and the long walk up the Pindar to Dwali. If you are going that far, the two extra days here give you the second glacier at an easy pace.

How the days fall

Day 4 is Khati to Dwali, 12 km in 5 to 6 hours. Day 5 is a short 3-hour walk to Phurkiya at 3,211 m. Day 6 is Zero Point and back to Dwali. Day 7 is a 3-hour walk up the Kafni to Khatia at 3,314 m, and day 8 is the Kafni snout and back to Dwali. Days 9 and 10 take you out.

Notice what the order does. You go up the Pindar first and sleep at Phurkiya, a little higher than Dwali, then drop back. The Kafni side comes after that, when your legs have had four days on the trail. The highest point of the trek, the Kafni snout at 3,895 m, comes on day 8, once you are well settled.

Which one suits you

If you have 8 days and want the better-known glacier, the Pindari trek is complete in itself. If you have the time, doing both lets you compare two very different valleys from the same base: one with an ice fall at Zero Point, the other ending at the source of the Kafni river. Tell us your dates and how you like to walk, and we will help you pick the one that fits.

Day 6 is the main day of the Pindar side, and the longest of the trek. You leave Phurkiya (3,211 m) early, walk to Zero Point at 3,771 m, and come all the way back to Dwali (2,632 m) the same day. It is about 20 km and 6 to 7 hours.

That sounds long, and it is. Two things make it manageable.

You start from Phurkiya. Day 5 is a short walk, just 3 hours and 6 km from Dwali, so you spend the night at Phurkiya, which has a KMVN guest house, and start the big day closer to the glacier. The trail to Phurkiya still runs through sparse forest below the tree line, and a few sections need careful footing. Nanda Khat keeps you company throughout.

The way back is quicker. Zero Point is a climb of about 560 m from Phurkiya. Going down, the same ground passes much faster, and Dwali is a gentler walk at the end of the day.

What you see

A few minutes into the walk the peaks begin to show. Nanda Bhanar, Nanda Kot, Changuch, Bauljuri and Nanda Khat make up the day. The Pindari ice fall is a striking sight, especially at such a modest altitude. Zero Point is a viewing point at the end of the trail: the ice and the peaks of the Pindar basin are all around you.

Plan for it

Start early, carry lunch and water, and keep a steady pace. The day is long rather than steep, so a regular walker in good fitness will enjoy it. Your trek leader sets the turnaround time on the day, depending on weather and how the group is moving. We would rather turn you around than rush you.

Zero Point is the high point of the Pindar side only. The trek's highest point is still to come, at the Kafni snout on day 8. If you want only this glacier, the shorter Pindari Glacier trek covers the same Zero Point day.

The Kafni side is the quieter fork. After the Zero Point day, you return to Dwali and turn right, up the Kafni river, to the highest point of this trek: the Kafni Glacier snout at 3,895 m.

Day 7: Dwali to Khatia

A short day. You follow the Kafni river for about 3 hours and 6 km to camp at Khatia, at 3,314 m. It is the highest camp on the whole trek, and the afternoon is yours to rest. Short walking days like this one are part of how we keep the pace easy.

Day 8: Khatia to the glacier and back to Dwali

Today you walk up to the snout of the Kafni glacier, the source of the Kafni river, which is a tributary of the Pindar. It is about 18 km and 6 to 7 hours, including the return to Dwali. The walk offers good views of Nanda Kot. The terrain here is glacial moraine, so the footing is rough in places and a steady pace works better than a fast one.

You return to Dwali for the night, the same camp you used after Zero Point. After that you start heading out.

A glacier worth understanding

Standing at the snout is the point of the day. This is where the river begins, and where you can see for yourself how a glacier feeds a valley. Glaciers in this region are receding, and a snout like this shows the story more clearly than any photo. The Kafni feeds the Pindar, and by this day you have walked most of the way up that system.

Both glaciers lie within the outer reaches of the Nanda Devi National Park, so we carry out all our waste and leave the camps as we found them.

If you only want the Kafni

We run the Kafni side on its own as well, in a shorter trek. See Kafni Glacier. The version on this page is for those who want to see Pindari too.

Before you reach either glacier, the Pindari Kafni trek spends three days on the approach. They are worth doing properly, and they are the part some people skip.

Day 1: the drive to Loharkhet

You leave Kathgodam (554 m) early and drive through Almora, Bageshwar and Song to Loharkhet, at about 1,834 m. It is a full day: about 225 km and 8 to 9 hours, and the road narrows beyond Kapkot. The night is in a hotel. Our team meets you there and we talk through the trek over tea and a light meal.

Day 2: Loharkhet to Dhakuri over the pass

This is the one real climb of the approach, about 900 to 1,000 m up through forest to the Dhakuri Pass at 2,940 m. It takes 5 to 6 hours and covers about 11 km. Take your time on it.

From the pass you see Maiktoli, Mrigthuni and Devtoli of the Sunderdhunga valley on the left, easing into Nanda Khat, Changuch, Nanda Bhanar and Nanda Kot above the Pindar valley. To the right the view extends to Rajrambha and Ngalaphu near the Dharma valley, and as far as Api and Jethibahurani on the Nepal border. We rest at the top, then descend a few kilometres to the camp at Dhakuri (2,650 m), in a wide meadow.

A newer jeep road now runs from Loharkhet on to Kharkiya, near Khati, and it skips the pass and the Dhakuri camp. We still go over the pass. The meadow camp is worth the climb. Starting at Kharkiya is possible if time is short, but you lose the best viewpoint of the approach.

Day 3: Dhakuri to Khati

An easier day: 8 km, about 4 hours, mostly downhill through forest and open meadow, with a few short climbs. You pass the villages of Bagdanu, Kharkiya, Umula, Jaikuni and Dau, and arrive at Khati (2,230 m). Khati is a small village with a backdrop of Himalayan peaks, and has a few huts, private guest houses and a tourist rest house. It is a good place to see everyday life in the Kumaon hills.

From Khati the trail leaves the Sunderdhunga valley and follows the Pindar upstream. The glaciers begin on day 4.

This is a moderate trek on a long route, and the way we run it is mostly about pacing and logistics.

Pace and altitude

After the first night at Loharkhet, you sleep between about 2,200 m and 3,314 m. Loharkhet is at about 1,834 m, so the drive in is not an altitude problem. The days that go higher, to Zero Point and the Kafni snout, are day walks from camps at 3,211 m and 3,314 m, and you come down to Dwali after each. Acclimatisation is built into the order of the days, with a short day 5 to Phurkiya and a short day 7 to Khatia. Most walking days are 3 to 6 hours. The two glacier days are 6 to 7.

Private groups

Your group is just your group, usually 2 to 10 people, with a local team that knows this valley. We camp at Dhakuri, Khati, Dwali, Phurkiya and Khatia, and spend the first night and the night of day 9 in hotels. We carry our waste down and follow Leave No Trace in the Nanda Devi outer reaches.

Season

The best months are May, June, September and October. We do not run it in the monsoon, from July to mid-September, when landslides can hold up the road for hours. From December to February heavy snow usually closes the trail beyond Loharkhet. Autumn brings clearer skies and stable weather, and both seasons work.

Getting there and back

The trek starts and ends at Kathgodam. The nearest airport is Pantnagar, and Kathgodam is the Kumaon railhead; the road to Loharkhet is about 210 to 225 km. We treat the drive as a full day on both ends. Leave a spare day after the trek before any onward flight, since a landslide can cause delays. The forest entry permit is issued in Bageshwar, and we arrange it.

Remote ground

Mobile signal is patchy, often BSNL only. The last ATMs are at Kapkot and Bharadi, so draw cash there. Evacuation is possible from most but not all campsites, which is another reason we keep groups small and decide each day on what we see.

Tell us your dates, your walking experience and the pace you like, and we will shape the days. For the neighbouring valley across the Dhakuri ridge, see Sunderdhunga.