The best time to visit Kasol, month by month

One valley, five seasons

Kasol is small enough that the season is most of the trip. The same three nights are a walking holiday in October, a warm and crowded one in June, a wet and empty one in August and a cold one with snow above the road-end in January. The numbers below are the India Meteorological Department's normals for Bhuntar, the airport station 32 km down the valley; Kasol sits well above the airport and runs a few degrees cooler in every month.

March and April — spring, green and quiet

Days of about 23 °C in March and 27 °C at Bhuntar in April, cooler at Kasol; nights of 7–10 °C. The valley greens, the orchards at Pulga and Kalga blossom, and the snow stays on the tops above Tosh. The Kheerganga path clears through April — early in the month it is still a snow walk near the top. The cafés on the Chalal side reopen, the rooms are cheap, and the market is quiet. A good month for the classic three days.

May and June — the warm, busy version

Days of 31–33 °C on the valley floor, the warmest of the year; Kasol stays pleasant for the altitude and the river runs loud with snowmelt. Everything is open: the walks, the camps at Kheerganga, the rooms in Tosh. It is also the fullest the valley gets — the long weekends fill Chalal and Tosh, the Barshaini road is a queue of taxis by ten, and prices sit at the top of their bands. Book a room a day ahead and leave early every morning.

July to September — the monsoon

136 mm of rain in July and 129 mm in August, the two wettest months; September dries fast and by its end the valley is at its best. The Parvati runs high and brown, slides close the road above Kasol for hours, and the Kheerganga path is mud on the steep parts. Manikaran, Chalal and the cafés carry on as before, the rooms are at their cheapest, and the valley is green to the ridgeline. Come to sit, eat and walk short; the monsoon plan is built for it.

October and November — the clear months

Days of about 28 °C in October and 23 °C in November at Bhuntar, nights dropping from 10 °C towards 5 °C; the clearest skies of the year and almost no rain. The walking is at its best — Kheerganga, Rasol, Tosh — and the lower villages are in apple harvest. By late November the first snow is on the range and the camps at the top begin to close. If there is one month for a first visit, it is October; the autumn plan is written for it.

December to February — winter above the road-end

Days of 16–18 °C at Bhuntar and nights near freezing; colder at Kasol, and snow above Barshaini from late December. Tosh, Kalga and Pulga are white for weeks at a time, the Kheerganga path is a snow walk that needs experience, and half the cafés in Kasol shut. The gurdwara at Manikaran, its hot tanks and its langar do not close, and a night at Tosh in the snow is one of the valley's best. The winter plan does exactly that.

The short version

October for the first visit and the walking. April for green and quiet. May and June if you want everything open and can bear the crowd. August for the cheapest, emptiest, wettest version. January for snow at Tosh. The Kasol guide has the rest; our stays page shows what is open in each season.

Plans that include this

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Best Mar–Jun · Sep–Nov

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Kasol in two days — the river, the bridge to Chalal and Manikaran's springs

A two-day Kasol plan for a first visit: the market and the footbridge, the pine walk to Chalal, Manikaran's gurdwara and hot springs, with measured road times.

Best Mar–Jun · Sep–Nov

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2 nights · 3 days · First visitClassic

Three days in Kasol — Chalal, the road-end and the walk up to Tosh, then Manikaran

The classic three days in Kasol: the river and Chalal, the taxi to Barshaini and the walk up to Tosh, Manikaran's springs on the way out, with measured times.

Best Mar–Jun · Sep–Nov

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2 nights · 3 days · TrekkersWalks & treks

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The Kheerganga trek done properly: Barshaini, Nakthan, Rudranag, a night by the spring, down via Kalga, Manikaran's tanks on the way out. Times and bands.

Best Apr–Jun · Sep–Nov

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2 nights · 3 days · CouplesSnow

Kasol in winter — three days with the snow at Tosh and the hot springs after

Kasol from December to February in three days: the half-closed town, a night in Tosh under snow with a stove and a quilt, Manikaran's hot tanks on the way down.

Best Jan–Feb · Dec

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2 nights · 3 days · PhotographersAutumn

Kasol in October and November — three clear days: Rasol, the harvest villages, Tosh at dawn

The Parvati valley's best season in three days: the clear light on the river, the steep walk to Rasol, Tosh at dawn and the harvest orchards at Pulga.

Best Oct–Nov

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