Skip to content
Enquire
Journeys

Flagship pilgrimage

Adi Kailash & Om Parvat

The flagship pilgrimage to Adi Kailash and Om Parvat, guided from Kumaon.

Ask about this journeyWhat to prepare

What is settled, and what is not

Everything below is either a fact somebody here has checked, or the words “to be confirmed”. There is no third state, and nothing has been filled in to make the page look finished.

Nights
9
Starting gateway
Kathgodam / Pithoragarh
Highest point
To be confirmed
Days written up
8
Service tiers
Comfort, Private, Standard
Content last reviewed
To be confirmed

How the tiers differ

Concrete differences only. A tier that still reads “to be confirmed” has not been signed off, and we would rather say that than describe a service nobody has agreed to run.

  • Comfort

    To be confirmed.

  • Private

    Private departure

    To be confirmed.

  • Standard

    To be confirmed.

A high glacial valley above the treeline, a braided stream on the valley floor

Day by day

The days as they are actually run. Where a day turns on the road or on a permit, it says so on that day. Neither of those is ours to decide, and both change through the season.

  1. Day 1

    Kathgodam to Almora

  2. Day 2

    Almora to Pithoragarh

  3. Day 3

    Pithoragarh to Dharchula

  4. Day 4

    Dharchula to Gunji

    You sleep high tonight. Move slowly and drink more than you want to.

    Depends on the road and on permits, and may change.

  5. Day 5

    Gunji: acclimatisation day

    You sleep high tonight. Move slowly and drink more than you want to.

    Depends on the road and on permits, and may change.

  6. Day 6

    Gunji to Nabhidhang, Om Parvat darshan

    You sleep high tonight. Move slowly and drink more than you want to.

    Depends on the road and on permits, and may change.

  7. Day 7

    Adi Kailash darshan

    You sleep high tonight. Move slowly and drink more than you want to.

    Depends on the road and on permits, and may change.

  8. Day 8

    Return to Dharchula

    Depends on the road and on permits, and may change.

Where you sleep, night by night

Altitude sickness is about where you spend the night, not the highest point you touch during the day. This is the sleeping altitude for each night of the journey.

1,645mPithoragarh910mDharchula3,160mGunji3,160mGunji4,260mNabhidhang910mDharchula
A hollow point is a rest night: a second night at the same altitude, which is what acclimatisation actually means.
  • Night 2 · Pithoragarh · 1,645m
  • Night 3 · Dharchula · 910m
  • Night 4 · Gunji · 3,160m
  • Night 5 · Gunji · 3,160m · rest night
  • Night 6 · Nabhidhang · 4,260m
  • Night 8 · Dharchula · 910m

How this journey compares with general guidance

  • Day 4 raises where you sleep by 2250m, from Dharchula to Gunji at 3160m. Commonly cited guidance above 3,000m is 300-500m a night.
  • Day 6 raises where you sleep by 1100m, from Gunji to Nabhidhang at 4260m. Commonly cited guidance above 3,000m is 300-500m a night.
  • This itinerary climbs 3,350m above 3,000m with 1 rest night up there. A rest night for every 1,000m gained is the usual advice, which would mean 3 here.
  • We have not published a verified altitude for Kathgodam, Adi Kailash, so those nights are not plotted. We would rather leave a gap than put a number on this page that somebody judges their fitness against.

General mountaineering guidance on gradual ascent. This is not medical advice and not specific to you; altitude affects individuals very differently and fitness is no protection. Please speak to a doctor.

The highest you sleep is 4,260m, with 3,350m of climbing above 3,000m and 1 rest night up there. Talk to us about the pace before you book, and talk to a doctor about yourself.

Before you decide

This is high altitude travel on mountain roads. We do not assess anyone’s fitness and cannot tell you whether the journey is safe for you or for your parents. Please speak to a qualified doctor first. What we can do is tell you honestly what the days demand.

Ask us about the paceAll journeys