How to Reach Adi Kailash from Delhi: Train, Road, Distance

Adi Kailash stands in the Vyas Valley of Pithoragarh district, in far north-east Uttarakhand. From Delhi, the darshan point at Jolingkong is roughly 645 km via Tanakpur — the Pithoragarh district administration lists Pithoragarh as 457 km from Delhi by road and Adi Kailash as 188 km beyond it — and roughly 710–730 km via Kathgodam, which the same source puts 432 km from Adi Kailash. Nothing on rails or wings reaches the mountain itself; the journey ends in 4x4 country beyond Dharchula.

What works is an overnight train to Kathgodam or Tanakpur, a flight into Pithoragarh, or a vehicle from Delhi — then the hill roads to Dharchula on the Kali river, and 4x4s up the valley to Gunji, from where both peaks are separate day trips. At a safe pace, that’s 8 days door-to-door. Our ex-Delhi yatra runs exactly this, starting from ₹37,500 per person, with morning pickup from anywhere in Delhi NCR — home, hotel, airport, or railway station.

Delhi to Adi Kailash distance, segment by segment

Quoted figures contradict each other because writers pick different endpoints.

Leg	Distance	On the road
Delhi → Tanakpur	about 290 km	day 1 by road; railhead too
Tanakpur → Pithoragarh	138–151 km (sources differ)	the fast highway via Champawat
Delhi → Kathgodam (the other side)	280–300 km	overnight train, or by road
Kathgodam → Pithoragarh	196–210 km	most of a day
Pithoragarh → Dharchula (915 m)	90–95 km	3–5 hours
Dharchula → Gunji (3,200 m)	71–90 km (sources differ)	half a day, road permitting
Gunji → Jolingkong, 4,572 m (Adi Kailash darshan)	35–40 km one way	full day trip
Gunji → Nabhidhang, 4,340 m (Om Parvat darshan)	separate day trip (Lipulekh road)	early start

Anchored to the Pithoragarh district administration’s published distances (pithoragarh.nic.in): Adi Kailash is 188 km from Pithoragarh, 432 km from Kathgodam railway station; the district’s How to Reach page puts Pithoragarh 457 km from Delhi and 138 km from Tanakpur railway station. Where a row shows a range, that’s the spread of the published figures.

To Dharchula, the gateway town, Delhi is roughly 550 km via Tanakpur on the district’s figures, and 570–650 km on the Kathgodam side depending on the road.

Which route from Delhi: Tanakpur side or Kathgodam side?

We drive in on the Tanakpur side: Delhi → Bareilly → Tanakpur (about 290 km) → Champawat → Pithoragarh, with the first night at Pithoragarh (1,627 m). The Tanakpur–Pithoragarh stretch is the fastest road into the district — wider and quicker than the Almora side — so day 1 ends in the hills without night driving, and day 2 into Dharchula is short. The Kathgodam side (Delhi → Moradabad → Haldwani → Almora → Pithoragarh) is the classic hill road with the busier railhead; we take it on the way back over three slower days — Patal Bhuvaneshwar, then Jageshwar and a night at Almora, then Kainchi Dham on the run down — so the yatra sees both sides of Kumaon without repeating a road. If you’re planning the drive yourself, the leg everyone underestimates is the foothills to Dharchula: modest on the map, a whole day in the hills whichever side you take.

Can I reach Adi Kailash by train?

Only to the foothills: “by train” means Kathgodam or Tanakpur, then road. Overnight trains reach Kathgodam early morning; we suggest the Ranikhet Express (check IRCTC for timings). The connection is the trick, which is why our Kathgodam route starts at the railway station, so the overnight train costs you no daylight. For most groups, the train wins.

Is there a direct bus from Delhi to Dharchula?

No — there’s no direct Delhi–Dharchula bus we’d plan a trip around. On a budget, take the overnight train to Kathgodam or Tanakpur and pick up a shared or private taxi to Dharchula at the station, a 6–8 hour ride; fares change year to year. Many groups arrive that way the evening before our ex-Dharchula Darshan Express, which begins and ends at Dharchula, starting from ₹16,500 per person.

Can you fly to Pithoragarh?

Yes, and it’s the quickest way into the district. Alliance Air flies Delhi to Naini Saini airport (code NNS), which sits about 4.5 km from Pithoragarh town — you land in the hills instead of spending two days driving up from the plains. From there it’s 90–95 km on to Dharchula, and the valley legs beyond are the same as everyone else’s.

Plan it with a fallback, though. Service here has stopped and restarted before — flights were suspended in February 2020 and the airstrip went roughly four years without them, resuming in January 2024 — and small hill airstrips lose days to weather. Confirm your flight is operating for your dates before booking anything non-refundable around it. Pantnagar, down in the plains, is the other option, and still a full day’s drive from Dharchula.

Do you have to trek to Adi Kailash?

No. Older articles describe a 30-odd km trek from Gunji through Kuti village; that was the old route, not today’s darshan yatra. On our batches, 4x4s drive to both darshan points, with short walks at the sites. The altitude is still real: Gunji sits at 3,200 m, both darshan points above 4,300 m. That’s the reason for the rest day at Gunji on our 7-day itineraries — and why the 8-day ex-Delhi route, which spends its extra days on the temple circuit home instead, is screened harder before booking. Reliable network ends at Dharchula, so tell your family they may not hear from you for two or three days.

How far can I take my own car?

As far as Dharchula, it’s the same road our Tempo Travellers and Innovas run. Beyond Dharchula the road needs a 4x4 (our packages switch vehicles there), and the rules on private vehicles further up change season to season, so confirm before driving your own. Either way you’ll pass permit checks at Tawaghat and Lakhanpur: every yatri needs the Inner Line Permit, which we file for our travellers.

Pithoragarh to Om Parvat distance

You won’t find this pair on a signboard, so add it up stretch by stretch: Pithoragarh to Dharchula is 90–95 km, Dharchula to Gunji another 71–90 km, and Nabhidhang sits further up the Lipulekh road beyond Gunji. Nobody drives it in one stretch; permit checks and altitude split it over days, with at least a night at Gunji.

Munsiyari to Adi Kailash distance

No road crosses the ridges between Munsiyari and the Vyas Valley, so the short map distance means nothing. Munsiyari faces the Panchachuli peaks from the Johar side; Adi Kailash sits on the Kali. You come back down and around to the Dharchula road near Jauljibi — a full day’s drive.

Why do ex-Delhi itineraries run 6 to 8 days?

The distance doesn’t change; what the days are spent on does. Six-day ex-Delhi packages get there by driving at night, which costs sleep and comfort — we drive only in daylight. Our 8-day version goes in on the Tanakpur highway with nights at Pithoragarh, Dharchula, and Gunji, runs the two darshan day-trips back to back, and then turns the return leg into a second pilgrimage: Patal Bhuvaneshwar’s cave shrine, Jageshwar and Chitai Golu with a night at Almora, and Kainchi Dham on the final day. What this route does not hold is a separate rest day at Gunji — travellers who want one should take the Kathgodam route, which keeps it. All four routes are compared on the Adi Kailash Yatra guide.

Picking your dates

The route runs May–June and September–October with a monsoon pause between; the opening-date guide tracks each season’s announcements. For 2026, our weekly 12-seat batches run from 15 September (ex-Delhi) and 16 September (via Kathgodam) to early November — the route reopens 17 September after the monsoon pause, and both routes reach the inner line only from that day; the last ex-Delhi batch returns 10 November. Message us on WhatsApp with your month and group size and we’ll confirm the batch, the train that connects with it, and your permit-document deadline.