fort40 min from Banjar2 h walk from the road

Raghupur Fort

Raghupur Fort is a grass-topped ruin on the ridge west of Jalori Pass, 1.8 km and 47 min up from the road: old walls round a meadow, the valley below.

What it is

The grass-topped ruin of a hill fort on the ridge west of Jalori Pass: a few courses of wall round a wide meadow, a stone hut, and the whole valley on one side with the Kullu ranges on the other. An hour's climb from the road. The view is the point; the fort is the excuse.

Photos: Nathan Pratyksh Khanna (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Gannu03 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Prabhmeet Singh (CC BY-SA 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.

Getting there

By road to the pass, 21 km and 40 minutes from Banjar, a taxi typically ₹1,500–2,500 one way as of September 2026, waiting at the top. Then the path west from the dhabas: about 1.8 km and 47 minutes up by our measure, 22 down, steep through forest and then open grass. No guide in clear weather; a layer for the top in every month.

The day

Up before the cloud, an hour on the meadow, down for lunch at the dhabas — and if the legs allow, Serolsar lake the other way in the afternoon, which is the whole of the pass in one long day. Most people give the fort its own morning; the October–November plan climbs it in the dark for the sunrise.

When to go

April to June and September to November; October and November for the clearest air and the gold grass. Snow on the path from December, when the pass road shuts in spells; cloud and mud in the monsoon. The top is exposed — not in a storm.

Around it

Serolsar lake east along the ridge from the same pass. Shoja below the pass, the nearest bed and the earliest start. Jibhi for the cafés afterwards.

Plans that include this

All 5 plans that stop here →

Jibhi and Jalori Pass in two days — the stream, the gorge and the waterfall, then the climb to Raghupur Fort

1 night · 2 days · First visit · Walks & treks

Two days at Jibhi: the gorge at Mini Thailand and the waterfall on the first afternoon, Jalori Pass and the climb to Raghupur Fort on the second, with times.

Best Mar–Jun · Sep–Nov

See the plan →

A tent pitched on the meadow at Jalori Pass under a wide sky

The Tirthan valley's activities in three days — the park's ecozone on a permit, a rod on the river, a night under canvas at Jalori, and the fort at dawn

2 nights · 3 days · Friends · Adventure

Three days of everything the Tirthan offers on foot: the park's ecozone on a permit, a rod on the river, Serolsar lake, a tent at Jalori, the fort at dawn.

Best Apr–Jun · Sep–Oct

See the plan →

Snow ranges seen from Jalori Pass under cloud

Jalori Pass in October and November — Shoja as the base, Serolsar at dawn, Raghupur at sunrise, and Bahu lake on the way down

2 nights · 3 days · Photographers · Autumn

The Jalori ridge in its clearest months: Shoja as the base, the ridge walk to Serolsar lake at sunrise, Raghupur Fort at first light, Bahu lake on the road.

Best Oct–Nov

See the plan →

Jibhi with friends — four days: the waterfall, both Jalori walks with a night at Shoja, then the river and the Chhoie fall

3 nights · 4 days · Friends · Classic

Four days in the Tirthan valley for a group: Jibhi's waterfall, Raghupur Fort and Serolsar lake from Jalori Pass with a night at Shoja, then the river.

Best Mar–Jun · Sep–Nov

See the plan →

Wooden houses on the wooded hillside at Jibhi

A working week at Jibhi — a café with a signal by day, the stream and the tower in the evenings, Jalori at the weekend

7 nights · 8 days · Workation · Classic

Seven nights at Jibhi with a laptop: a terrace with a signal by day, the gorge, the waterfall and Chehni Kothi after work, Raghupur and Serolsar at the weekend.

Best Mar–Jun · Sep–Nov

See the plan →

Nearby places

waterfall · 5.0 km away

Mini Thailand

viewpoint · 5.5 km away

Nearby destinations

All destinations →

The wide flat meadow at Shangarh with forest behind it and a few people walking

Sainj

27 km away · 2 itineraries · 7 places

Tall fir trees on Hatu Peak with a snow-covered ridge in the distance

Narkanda

33 km away · 3 itineraries · 3 places

Sarahan

42 km away · 4 itineraries · 3 places

Mandi

44 km away · 3 itineraries · 7 places

Been here?Help the next traveller — our team checks every contribution.

Questions people ask

How do you reach Raghupur Fort?

From Jalori Pass, 21 km and 40 minutes above Banjar by road as of September 2026: the path leaves the dhabas and climbs west through forest and then open grass, about 1.8 km and 47 minutes up by our measure, 22 down. No guide is needed in clear weather; the taxi from Banjar waits at the pass.

Is the Raghupur Fort trek hard?

Short and steep rather than hard: an hour and a half to two hours' climb on a clear path, the top exposed to wind and cold in every month. Children who can manage two hours uphill do it, and it is the better Jalori walk for the view. Shoes, water and a layer for the top.

What is at the top of Raghupur Fort?

Not much fort: a few courses of old wall round a wide meadow, a small stone hut, and the view — the Tirthan valley on one side, the Kullu ranges on the other, and on a clear day the snow to the north. The meadow is the point; the ruin is the excuse.