Route library · Outstation · Mountains

Delhi to the Pindari Glacier Road

The Pindari Glacier is the classic Kumaon ‘glacier you can almost walk to’ — a graded trail up the Pindar river valley from the roadhead at Loharkhet / Song, through Khati (the last village) to Zero Point at about 3,660 m, below Nanda Kot and Changuch. You ride to the roadhead in the Bageshwar district, leave the bikes, and walk in.

Outstation Mountains Challenging ~1,150 km round trip 5–6 days Best May–Jun, Sep–Oct

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At a glance

Round trip
About 1,100–1,200 km on the bike, plus ~50 km on foot
Riding + trek
2 riding days each way (split at Almora), and 3 days for the walk in and out
Nights
Nights: 5–6 (three on the trek, at Dwali/Phurkia)
Start point
Delhi (via Kathgodam, Almora and Bageshwar)
Highest point
About 3,660 m at Zero Point
Difficulty
Challenging. The ride is straightforward hill road; the trek is long (three days) but graded and non-technical, at altitude.
Surface
Sealed to Loharkhet/Song via Almora and Bageshwar; the trek is a well-made KMVN trail with rest houses, rough only near Zero Point
Best season
May to mid-June and mid-September to October. The monsoon brings slides to the Bageshwar road and washes out trail bridges; winter closes the upper trek.
DelhiDelhiAlmoraAlmoraBageshwarBageshwarLoharkhetLoharkhetPindariPindari~1,150 km · 5–6 days
Schematic route diagram — not to scale. Distances and heights are indicative.

The ride

Delhi → Kathgodam → Almora → Bageshwar → Song / Loharkhet, the roadhead at about 1,800 m. Bikes stay at a Loharkhet or Bharari homestay.

The trek follows the Pindar through Dhakuri pass, Khati village, Dwali (where the Kafni valley branches off) and Phurkia to Zero Point and the glacier snout, with the Pindari Baba's ashram just below. The parallel Kafni glacier is an easy extension from Dwali if you have a spare day.

Day by day

  1. Delhi to Almora

    Delhi → Kathgodam → Almora (9–10 hours). Overnight Almora.

  2. Almora to Loharkhet, start the walk

    Ride Almora → Bageshwar → Song/Loharkhet (3–4 hours). Secure the bikes and walk over Dhakuri to Khati.

  3. Khati to Phurkia

    Along the Pindar via Dwali to Phurkia (KMVN rest house). A steady day.

  4. Zero Point and back to Dwali

    Dawn walk to the glacier snout and back, then down to Dwali or Khati to sleep.

  5. Walk out and ride to Almora

    Out to Loharkhet, ride back to Almora. Overnight.

  6. Almora to Delhi

    The long highway leg home. First light.

Fuel & services

  • Fuel is easy to Bageshwar — Almora and Bageshwar have pumps.
  • Fill up at Bageshwar before Song/Loharkhet — the roadhead villages have no fuel, and none of the trek does.
  • Loharkhet and the trek stages (Dhakuri, Khati, Dwali, Phurkia) have KMVN rest houses and village homestays — book the KMVN chain ahead in season. Carry cash and a guide/porter from Loharkhet if the pack is heavy.

Road & conditions

Good Kumaon hill highway all the way from Kathgodam through Almora and Bageshwar to Song and Loharkhet. The trek is a well-established KMVN trail with rest houses and bridges, graded and non-technical, rough and moraine-strewn only for the last stretch to Zero Point. The Bageshwar road is slide-prone in the monsoon. Ride in daylight; the trek is the real commitment.

Bike, fuel & getting help

Suggested bike
Easier with more torque and travel — a 250cc-plus or a small ADV. A confident rider can do it on a commuter.
Fuel gap
Longest dry stretch is short — a normal tank covers it with margin.
Spare fuel
None needed for this route.
Emergency & logistics
District hospital at Bageshwar; KMVN rest houses on the trek but no vehicle evac past Loharkhet; the Bageshwar road slides in the monsoon and washes out the Pindar footbridges.
Altitude & acclimatisation ~3,660 m highest point. Moderate — you gain real height. Climb gradually, take any built-in rest day, drink water, skip alcohol, and turn back for worsening headache or nausea. The day-by-day shows where you sleep each night.

Best time to ride

May to mid-June and mid-September to October, when the trail is clear and the bridges are in. The monsoon brings slides to the Bageshwar road and washes out the Pindar footbridges — it is not the time. Winter closes the upper trek from around Dwali.

What to add to your kit

Beyond the standard ride kit: proper trekking boots, a 40 litre pack, a sleeping bag rated near freezing, warm and windproof layers, a rain shell, a headlamp, water treatment, and something for altitude. Basic tools for the ride. Take a porter from Loharkhet for the three-day walk.

A three-day trek to 3,660 m — graded, but still altitude and distance. The trail is well made, but the last day gains height fast to the snout. Sleep at Phurkia before Zero Point, drink water, skip alcohol, and turn back for worsening headache or nausea. Do not walk onto the glacier ice past the marked point — it is crevassed and moves.
The ROAR service stop on this route. The Loharkhet trailhead, the KMVN stages and the Zero Point approach collect trekker litter, and the Pindar carries plastic down. We run a carry-down clean-up of the trail stages and Zero Point and haul the waste out to Bageshwar.

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Ride this with a group

We run the Pindari Glacier road as a five- or six-day ride-and-trek to a Kumaon classic — bikes secured at Loharkhet, porters for the three-day walk, a sleep at Phurkia before the snout, and a trail-stage clean-up carried out to Bageshwar.

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