Manikaran
town · 8 min from Kasol
2 nights · 3 daysTrekkersWalks & trekspacked
Kheerganga from Kasol — the walk up the valley, a night by the spring, and down
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.
Kheerganga is a walk, not a mountaineering trek: from the road-end at Barshaini to a high meadow with a hot spring, four hours up and three down on a well-used path. The point is the night at the top. Day walkers see the pool at its busiest and leave before it is any good; this plan sleeps there and has it at dusk and at dawn.
The order matters. Up on the first day with fresh legs, down on the second with Kalga as a lunch stop and a real bed in Kasol at the end, and Manikaran's spring tanks on the last morning as the reward. Nothing is booked ahead — camps take you on arrival, guides are found at the Kasol counters — and every price here is the band we last checked.
Photos: Photos Worldwide (CC0) · ArjunChhibber01 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photos Worldwide (CC0) · Timothy A. Gonsalves (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Vikrant (CC BY-SA 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Who this is for
Anyone who walks a few hours at a time without trouble. It is not a technical route and children over ten manage it; it is a long day in heat or in snow. Not for the monsoon, when the path slides, and not for December to February without snow experience — see the winter plan for what works then.
Day by day
Day 1
Up the valley to the spring
The taxi to Barshaini early, then the whole day on foot — Nakthan, the waterfall at Rudranag, the climb through the forest — to reach Kheerganga by mid-afternoon with light to spare for the pool.
- 15:00Kheerganga Hot SpringThe taxi to Barshaini by eight, 37 minutes and typically ₹800–1,500 one way as of Sep 2026; guides at ₹1,000–2,000 a day are found at the Kasol counters the evening before. Cross the bridge and take the path up the left bank. The walk: Nakthan, the last village, in about an hour — fill water there; Rudranag, the waterfall and shrine with a dhaba on its bridge, at the halfway mark for lunch; then two to three hours of steady forest to the meadow. Camps and huts at the top are typically ₹500–1,500 per person with dinner as of Sep 2026, arranged on arrival or through the Kasol counters. The pool is best at dusk after the day walkers have gone down.
Day 2
Down to the road, and Kalga on the way
An early soak, breakfast at the camp, and the three hours down. Kalga makes a slow lunch stop above Barshaini before the taxi back to Kasol for a real bed and the river.
- 12:30KalgaThe descent first: the pool at first light when it is empty, away from the top by nine, tea at the Rudranag bridge on the way, three hours down the path you came up. Then twenty minutes above Barshaini, the hamlet in the apple trees across the stream from Pulga — a late lunch on a terrace before the last stretch to the road-end and the taxi.
- ↓ 38 min by road · 16 km15:30ChojA camp or a room on the water at the near end of the far bank, two minutes from the market by taxi with the bags. A long shower, dinner by the river, and the legs get the evening off.
Day 3
Manikaran, and the road out
The gurdwara and hot springs at Manikaran, eight minutes up the road, before the bus or taxi down the valley. An hour in the spring tanks is the right end to a trek; the road down goes through Jari.
- 09:00ManikaranThe gurdwara's langar hall and the spring-fed tanks under it — head covered, shoes off, nothing to pay — then the lane across the bridge and the temple. Early is quieter; the day-trip buses arrive by eleven.
- ↓ 27 min by road · 12 km11:30JariTea at the junction on the way down, where the Malana road turns off; Bhuntar and the airport are about an hour below.
Getting there
Kasol is the base, reached through Bhuntar (32 km, about 70 minutes). Arrive the evening before day one so the taxi can leave Kasol by half past seven; the overnight bus from Delhi lands at Bhuntar in the morning, which is too late for a same-day start. The plan ends at Manikaran, on the road down, so an afternoon flight or bus from Bhuntar fits.
Where to stay
Night one is at Kheerganga, in a camp or a hut — bring a warm layer whatever the month; the meadow is cold after dark. Night two is at Choj, on the water across the bridge from Kasol, or in the market if the camps are full. If a tent is not for you, walk up and down in one long day from Barshaini and sleep in Kasol both nights, but know that the pool is then a crowded midday stop rather than the evening it should be.
Know before you go
- Leave Barshaini by eight; the climb from Rudranag is the hot part and better done before noon.
- Prices are bands checked in September 2026; camps and guides quote on the day and rise in May–June.
- Two litres of water from Nakthan up; the dhabas sell more but not always.
- A warm layer and a hat for the night, even in June; a torch for the pool after dark.
- The signal ends above Barshaini and the card machines with it — cash for the camp and the dhabas.
- Do not walk the descent in the dark; if the pool holds you late, stay a second night.
If plans change
Without the night out: the classic three days walks up to Tosh instead and sleeps in Kasol.
A longer walking week: the solo slow week puts Kheerganga, Rasol and Tosh on separate days from one base.
With friends and more time: the friends plan adds a Tosh night before the trek.
Places on this route
Other ways to do it
All Kasol itineraries →
2 nights · 3 days · First visitClassicThree 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
See the plan →
3 nights · 4 days · FriendsClassicKasol with friends — four days: a Tosh night, the Kheerganga walk, and Chalal to finish
A four-day Kasol plan for a group: a night in Tosh, the walk to Kheerganga and a night by the spring, down to Chalal, Manikaran on the way out.
Best Apr–Jun · Sep–Nov
See the plan →
6 nights · 7 days · SoloslowA slow week in Kasol alone — one base, one walk a day, and nowhere to be
Seven days in the Parvati valley from one room in Chalal: Rasol, Kheerganga as a day walk, Manikaran's tanks, the high villages — hard days and easy ones.
Best Mar–Jun · Sep–Nov
See the plan →
2 nights · 3 days · CouplesSnowKasol 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
See the plan →Questions people ask
How long is the Kheerganga trek?
From Barshaini, four hours up and three down at a normal pace, with Nakthan and Rudranag as the two stops on the way; the path climbs the whole way after Nakthan. The path is well used and needs no guide in clear weather, though one is cheap and worth it for a first time.
Can I do Kheerganga in one day?
Yes, from Barshaini at first light, but it makes a seven-hour walking day with the pool at its most crowded in the middle of it. The night at the top is the whole point of the walk; this plan sleeps there.
What does the Kheerganga trek cost?
Using the bands checked in September 2026: the taxi Kasol–Barshaini is ₹800–1,500 each way and a camp or hut at the top ₹500–1,500 per person with dinner. A guide is ₹1,000–2,000 a day if you take one; dhaba meals on the path are a few hundred rupees. No permit or entry fee.
When is the best time for Kheerganga?
April to June and September to November, when the path is clear of snow and the monsoon is not on it. July and August bring slides on the Barshaini road and a slippery path; December to February turn it into a snow walk that needs experience.