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from ₹13,500
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Kedartal — Thalay Sagar from Kedartal in the West
Gangotri NP, Uttarkashi · Uttarakhand

Kedartal Trek

also Kedar Tal, Kedartal Lake

ModerateQuiet7/100
normalized 55.1/100
Duration
6 days
Max altitude
4,750 m
Total ascent
1,900 m
Longest day
12 km · 8 h
AMS risk
high
Best months
May–Jun and Sep–Oct
Price from
₹13,500

Kedartal is a 6-day trek in Gangotri NP, Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, topping out at 4,750 m. On TrekBaba's normalized scale — the same formula applied to every trek in this catalogue — it scores 55.1/100, which puts it in the Moderate band: you want a few weekends of walking in your legs and no fear of long days. Operators usually market it as "Difficult"; the gap between that label and the computed grade is exactly why the grade exists. With a high point of 4,750 m, AMS risk is high; plan the acclimatization days in, and do not push through a headache that is getting worse.

Operator says Difficult — normalized grade: Moderate.

Photo: Kailas98 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Satellite + elevation

Explore the route

Scrub the trail — satellite view, live altitude. 9.1 km

0.0 of 9.1 km
3,100 m· Day 1
approximate — not a surveyed trail
Elevation profile

Approximate route. No surveyed track exists for this trek yet, so the line joins its real waypoint coordinates directly — treat it as a shape, not a trail. Imagery © Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics | Route data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Route outline

Kedartal route, point by point

3 recorded points from Gangotri to Kedartal over about 9 km. Operators' day splits vary — compare them below.

  1. Day 1GangotriRoadhead · 3,100 m
  2. Day 3Kedar KharakCamp · 4,270 m
  3. Day 4KedartalLake · 4,750 m7 peaks in view
One formula for every trek

Why Kedartal is graded Moderate

  • Max altitude 4,750 m — altitude is weighted 35% and non-linearly, because AMS risk climbs steeply above ~3,500 m.
  • Total ascent 1,900 m over 6 days — how much climbing your legs actually do.
  • Longest day 12 km (about 8 h) — one brutal day makes a trek harder than the average does.
  • Trail type: scree — exposure (snow, scree, ice, pass crossings) is weighted 35%, the same as altitude.

Score 55.1/100. Bands: Easy <40 · Moderate <64 · Difficult <85 · Very Difficult ≥85. How the formula works. Easier alternative: Valley of Flowers. Next step up: Milam Glacier.

Computed viewshed

What you'll see from Kedartal

From Kedartal, a line-of-sight computation over the terrain model proves Jogin II (6,342 m), Manda II (6,568 m), Manda III (6,529 m), Bhrigupanth (6,772 m), Thalaiyasagar (6,904 m) and Chagle (5,883 m) are actually visible — not merely nearby. The model looks 40 km out, so a famous giant further away (Kangchenjunga from the Singalila ridge, say) is not listed even where it is visible.

Manda II6,568 m · ENEManda III6,529 m · ESEBhrigupanth6,772 m · SEThalaiyasagar6,904 m · SSEJogin II6,342 m · SWChagle5,883 m · NBhairon Jhamp5,251 m · N
swipe to pan →

Only peaks proven visible by line-of-sight over the terrain — not nearby-but-blocked ones — placed by true bearing and sized by how much they fill the view.

Computed sun alignment

Dawn & dusk from Kedartal

In August, sunrise breaks right behind Manda II at 05:40 — from Kedartal.

Sunrise · August
05:40
73° · ENE
Sun comes up behind
within 12° of the sunrise line — backlit
  • Manda II3°
Catching first light
within 35° of the opposite side — the lit face
  • Jogin II21°
Sunset · August
18:57
287° · WNW
Sun goes down behind
within 12° of the sunset line

Nothing lines up this month.

Holding last light
within 35° of the opposite side — alpenglow
  • Manda III5°
  • Bhrigupanth23°
13 h 17 m of daylight · IST · computed for the 15th

Sun times and azimuths come from the NOAA solar-position equations for this viewpoint's GPS; the peak bearings are our own viewshed moat. Times assume a flat horizon — a ridge to your east delays real first light on the ground, often by 20–60 minutes, while a high summit opposite catches it a few minutes early. The 12° and 35° bands are editorial choices, not physics: a peak 90° from the sun is side-lit, which is often the better photograph.

When to go

Best time to do Kedartal

The best months for Kedartal are May–June and September–October. April, July–August and November are risky (Jul–Aug: Gangotri road landslides; the Kedar Ganga gorge traverse (the 'spider wall') is loose and wet). The route is effectively closed in December–March. Expect snow on the trail in November–April. Reanalysis climate data for the route's own altitude puts the coldest camp night at about -22 °C in January, and the warmest daytime high near 9 °C in July.

Jan: closed
Feb: closed
Mar: closed
Apr: risky
May: ideal
Jun: ideal
Jul: risky
Aug: risky
Sep: ideal
Oct: ideal
Nov: risky
Dec: closed
IdealShoulderRiskyClosed

Jul–Aug: Gangotri road landslides; the Kedar Ganga gorge traverse (the 'spider wall') is loose and wet

What the thermometer actually does up there

-23°C
typical January night at Kedartal
9°C
warmest daytime high (July)
July
wettest month · 11 wet days
0°
-23°
9°
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day highnight lowmean daily min/max, 2016–2025
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wet days (≥5 mm)snow days (≥1 cm)days in a typical month · ~10 km area, not the camp

Computed from 10 years of Open-Meteo ERA5 reanalysis (2016–2025), with every sample point lapse-rate-downscaled to its true altitude — this is Kedartal at 4,750 m, not the valley town. Temperatures are downscaled to the point; wet and snow days come back at the reanalysis grid scale (~10 km), so read them as weather over the area. A climate estimate, not a forecast.

Cost & operators

Kedartal trek cost — operators compared

Kedartal costs ₹13,500–₹23,000 per person with an organised operator (7 of 13 listed operators publish a price; the cheapest captured is Moxtain). That works out to roughly ₹2,350 per trek day. Fees typically cover meals, tents and guides from the base village; transport from the railhead, gear rental and permits vary — see the inclusion grid below. Prices are read from each operator's own page (latest capture 2026-09-22) and link straight to it.

  • Moxtain ↗
    ₹13,500
    as of 2026-09-22
    Days
    6
    They grade it
    Moderate
    • ·Transport
    • ·Meals
    • ·Stay
    • ·Permits
    • ·Gear
  • Trekkers of India ↗
    ₹14,999
    as of 2026-09-22
    Days
    7
    They grade it
    Moderate to Difficult
    • ·Transport
    • ·Meals
    • ·Stay
    • ·Permits
    • ·Gear
  • Trekup India ↗
    ₹15,450
    as of 2026-09-22
    Days
    7
    They grade it
    —
    • ·Transport
    • ·Meals
    • ·Stay
    • ·Permits
    • ·Gear
  • Indiahikes ↗
    ₹16,450
    as of 2026-09-22
    Days
    7
    They grade it
    —
    • ·Transport
    • ·Meals
    • ·Stay
    • ·Permits
    • ·Gear
  • Thrillophilia ↗
    ₹18,300
    as of 2026-09-22
    Days
    6
    They grade it
    Moderate
    • ·Transport
    • ·Meals
    • ·Stay
    • ·Permits
    • ·Gear
  • Himalaya Shelter ↗
    ₹18,500
    as of 2026-09-22
    Days
    7
    They grade it
    Moderate to Difficult
    • ·Transport
    • ✓Meals
    • ✓Stay
    • ✓Permits
    • ·Gear
Show 7 more operators

Operators self-declare difficulty. TrekBaba grades every trek by one formula — normalized: Moderate. We link out to each operator; we never copy their words or photos. Prices were read from each operator's own page on the date shown — confirm with the operator before booking. Where we have read a price more than once, the sparkline is our own dated capture log, not the operator's.

Not affiliated with any operator. Prices are dated facts read from each operator's own page; confirm before paying. See every operator on the operators index.

Logistics & safety

How to reach Kedartal & staying safe

To reach Kedartal, the nearest railhead is Rishikesh / Dehradun and the nearest airport is Dehradun (Jolly Grant). The road ends at Gangotri, which is where the walking starts. Withdraw cash before Uttarkashi (none at Gangotri — carry cash) — it is the last dependable ATM. The last reliable shop is at Gangotri.

Roadhead
Gangotri
Nearest railhead
Rishikesh / Dehradun
Nearest airport
Dehradun (Jolly Grant)
Last ATM
Uttarkashi (none at Gangotri — carry cash)
Last reliable shop
Gangotri
Nearest hospital
District Hospital, Uttarkashi (99 km)

Plan 1 acclimatization day into the itinerary. At its most remote point the route is about 6.0 hours from the nearest drivable road (near Kedartal) — a floor for any evacuation, not a promise. The nearest hospital is District Hospital, Uttarkashi, 99 km from the trailhead. Water: Kedar Ganga alongside to Kedar Kharak; the lake itself.

How far you are from a road

Estimatedthis route line is a straight waypoint chain, so treat the shape as a rough estimate
6 h 1 m
from a road at your most committed point (Kedartal)
3 h 10 m
typical, half the route is worse
35%
of the route is more than 4 h out
2.6 km
longest unbroken stretch beyond 4 h
4 h6 h 1 m
0 km2 km5 km7 km9 km
Estimated walking-out time, sampled every 500 m along our own route line.

Computed against our own route line and the OpenStreetMap drivable road network over Copernicus GLO-30 elevations: hours = (crowfly_km x 1.4) / 4.0 + max(0, elev_point - elev_road) / 600 [terrain factor 1.4, 4 km/h walking, 600 m/h descent]. It is a floor, not a promise — a real evacuation with a casualty is slower, and a crow-fly line ignores what stands between you and the road. Read it as relative remoteness: which part of this trek commits you. Nearest drivable ways: unnamed residential, unnamed service.

Estimated, not measured. Remoteness is computed from our own route geometry against the OpenStreetMap drivable road network (motorway-track) and Copernicus GLO-30 elevations; mobile coverage is a terrain line-of-sight estimate, not a carrier guarantee. Treat both as planning aids.

Permits

Kedartal permits & restrictions

Permit required: Yes · Gangotri National Park (forest check-post at Gangotri)

Park entry per day (Indian/foreigner differ) + camping — same regime as Gaumukh–Tapovan

Foreigners pay higher park fees; passport at check-post

⚠ Daily entry quota into Gangotri NP; registered guide mandatory beyond Gangotri; the gorge traverse above Bhoj Kharak is exposed

How busy

Crowding, and where to go instead

Busier than 7%
of the 37 treks we have an attention signal for · ranked #35
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When the interest arrives, relative to this trek's own busiest month (January).

A percentile of trailing-12-month English Wikipedia pageviews for Kedartal (44 months observed)— measured within TrekBaba's own catalogue, bots excluded. It is a proxy for attention, not headcount.

Questions

Kedartal trek FAQ

How difficult is the Kedartal trek?

Kedartal is graded Moderate (55.1/100) on TrekBaba's normalized scale, which weighs max altitude (4,750 m), total ascent (1,900 m), the longest day (12 km) and terrain exposure identically for every trek. Operators label it "Difficult".

What is the best time to do Kedartal?

May–June and September–October. April, July–August and November are risky (Jul–Aug: Gangotri road landslides; the Kedar Ganga gorge traverse (the 'spider wall') is loose and wet). The route is effectively closed in December–March. Expect snow on the trail in November–April. Reanalysis climate data for the route's own altitude puts the coldest camp night at about -22 °C in January, and the warmest daytime high near 9 °C in July.

How much does the Kedartal trek cost?

Between ₹13,500 and ₹23,000 per person with an operator, based on 7 published prices captured from operator pages (latest 2026-09-22). The cheapest listed is Moxtain.

How many days does Kedartal take?

6 days is the standard itinerary; operators run it as 5/6/7/9 days including travel from the base town. The longest walking day is 12 km (~8 h).

What is the maximum altitude of Kedartal?

4,750 m (15,584 ft), which TrekBaba rates as high AMS risk. Plan 1 acclimatization day.

Is a permit required for Kedartal?

Yes — issued by Gangotri National Park (forest check-post at Gangotri). Park entry per day (Indian/foreigner differ) + camping — same regime as Gaumukh–Tapovan. Foreigners pay higher park fees; passport at check-post.

Which operators run Kedartal?

Moxtain, Trekkers of India, Trekup India, Indiahikes, Thrillophilia, Himalaya Shelter, Himalayan Hikers, Trekmunk, Himalayan High, Danu Adventure, Tour My India, Universal Adventures, Trek The Himalayas list Kedartal. Each is linked to its own trek page above with the captured price, days and inclusions.

How do I reach the Kedartal trailhead?

To reach Kedartal, the nearest railhead is Rishikesh / Dehradun and the nearest airport is Dehradun (Jolly Grant). The road ends at Gangotri, which is where the walking starts. Withdraw cash before Uttarkashi (none at Gangotri — carry cash) — it is the last dependable ATM. The last reliable shop is at Gangotri.

Is Kedartal suitable for beginners?

For a fit beginner, yes — but it is a Moderate trek, with a 12 km longest day and a 4,750 m high point. One easier trek first makes it far more enjoyable.

Which peaks can you see from Kedartal?

From Kedartal, a line-of-sight computation over the terrain model proves Jogin II (6,342 m), Manda II (6,568 m), Manda III (6,529 m), Bhrigupanth (6,772 m), Thalaiyasagar (6,904 m) and Chagle (5,883 m) are actually visible — not merely nearby. The model looks 40 km out, so a famous giant further away (Kangchenjunga from the Singalila ridge, say) is not listed even where it is visible.

Keep exploring

Treks like Kedartal

Difficulty grade, peak horizon, per-camp climate, remoteness, sun alignment and the crowding index are all computed — the moats — and every one of them is an estimate, labelled as such where it appears. Found-fact and operator values are public approximations pending field + source verification, not citations. Peaks named on this page: Jogin II, Manda II, Manda III, Bhrigupanth, Thalaiyasagar.