Pindari Glacier

Pindari Glacier is situated at an elevation of 3,353 m above sea level in Bageshwar district. The trek to Pindari Glacier is one of some amazing trekking adventures in the whole world. The trek takes you through the spectacular landscapes, snow covered glaciers, and amazing remote villages in the Bageshwar of the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand.

Pindari glacier is considered as one of the easily accessible glaciers among all the Himalayan glaciers. The glacier flows to the south for about 3 km. It then gives rise to the Pindari River which finally meets river Alakananda at Karnaprayag.

pindari glacier bageshwar

The Pindari Glacier Trek:

Pindari glacier trek is somewhat easy to finish and it doesn’t need you to be extraordinarily physically strong or have high stamina. It doesn’t mean that it is easiest in trek in the world. The trek becomes a little challenging after crossing some distance. You need to cross mountain ridges, spider-walls, and streams. But these challenging activities have their own beauty and adventure.

The trek starts from Loharkhet, a small village which is 20 km away from Bageshwar. Then the trail goes on to a series of villages such as Dhakuri, Dwali, and Phurkia. Further the trek leads to the forests along the south of the of the Nanda Devi Sanctuary. This point of the trek offers you a magnificent views of peaks such as Panwali Dwar and Maiktoli.

Best Time to Visit:

Summers:

This is a good time to go for trekking in this area. The weather remains pleasant, which makes trekking easy as compared to other seasons.

Monsoons:

During the monsoons, the trails remain closed because the trek becomes slippery and dangerous to walk on. Natural calamities such as rain, landslide and road blockage makes it very dangerous. One should avoid this season.

Springs:

During springs weather remains pleasant. Just like summer, it is a good time to trek here.

A Brief History of explorations in Pindari Valley:

Back in 1830s, to link  this area to Tibet many ancient trade routes were developed in the Pindari and Milam Valley. All local and Tibetan traders used these routes for decades. GW Traill, the first Deputy Commissioner of Kumaon, explored a shorter route to Martoli in Milam Valley from Pindari Glacier. This route was much shorter and it went through the Pindari ice-fall, crossing a Col named Traill’s Pass, which is at 17,700 feet above sea level. This was followed by a series of explorations by Schlagintweits (1850), Ruttledge (1926), Japanese Mt. Nanda Kot Expedition team (1936), Osmaston and the surveyors (1938), Arnold Heim (1937) and S.S Khera (1941).

How to Reach Pindari Glacier:

The trek starts from Loharkhet, a small village which is 20 km away from Bageshwar. The city of Bageshwar is easily accessible. It is well connected to all the major destinations of Uttarakhand.

By Road

Bageshwar is well connected to all the major cities of Uttarakhand as well as Delhi. Buses from ISBT Kashmere Gate and ISBT Dehradun are easily available to Bageshwar.

By Train

Kathgodam railway station is the nearest railhead. It is 171 kms from Bageshwar. From Haldwani and Kathgodam, there are number of taxis and buses to Bageshwar.

By Air

Closest airport to Pindari glacier is Pantnagar airport, which is about 205 km from Bageshwar. After reaching the airport, there are many buses and taxis are available to Bageshwar.