Brahmatal Trek (Bhekal Tal - Brahmatal)

trekModerateLohajung, Lohajung

Six days from Lohajung over two frozen lakes to a ridge at about 12,250 ft, staring straight at Trishul and Nanda Ghunti across the Roopkund valley.

Trip details

Brahmatal runs along the ridge west of the Roopkund trail, out of the same base village at Lohajung in Chamoli district, and it exists as a winter trek in a way few Indian routes genuinely do. From Lohajung the trail climbs through oak and rhododendron to Bekal Tal, a small lake in the forest at about 9,900 ft that the operator's own name for the trip renders as Bhekal Tal, and which local usage translates as frog lake. From there it gains the ridge, passing Jhandi Top, to Brahmatal itself, a second lake at roughly 10,450 ft in a bowl below the crest. The summit day climbs to the Brahmatal top at about 12,250 ft and delivers what people actually come for: an unusually close, unobstructed view of Trishul and Nanda Ghunti, with the Ali and Bedni meadows and the Roopkund ridge laid out opposite. From December to March the whole upper route is snow, both lakes freeze solid, and night temperatures on the ridge fall to minus ten or lower. This is a beginner-friendly route in gradient and distance, but the combination of a 10-hour drive from Kathgodam, two nights above 3,000 metres and real cold makes it a step up from a meadow walk.

Safety details & FAQ

Is Brahmatal an easy winter trek?

It's graded Easy-Moderate and the terrain is genuinely non-technical, but one operator rates the route a full level harder than its own Kedarkantha and Dayara Bugyal treks, because of two back-to-back long days: roughly 7-8 hours up to the top on day four, immediately followed by another 7-8 hours of descent on day five. The other thing "Easy" hides is wind — this trek's defining hazard is sustained exposure on an open ridge, not altitude.

When's the best time for Brahmatal?

December to February is why people come — snow from the base, both lakes frozen, the closest big-mountain views of Trishul and Nanda Ghunti you get on any short winter trek. Early spring, March into April, is the best compromise, with rhododendron flowering while snow still lies above Tilandi. Avoid July-September: the Rishikesh and Kathgodam approach roads both run through monsoon-landslide corridors.

What permit do I need for Brahmatal?

Standard forest entry and trek tickets from the Uttarakhand Forest Department's Badrinath Forest Division, arranged at local outposts and check posts on the Lohajung and Wan side by your operator — this isn't a national park permit, since Brahmatal doesn't sit inside one. Carry ID and permit copies; they're checked on the trail.

Is altitude sickness a real risk on Brahmatal?

Low to moderate. Brahmatal Top at 12,250 ft isn't high by Himalayan standards and the gain is spread over four days, but you do sleep above 10,000 ft at both Tilandi (10,495 ft) and the Brahmatal campsite (about 10,190 ft), where AMS is a documented real possibility for anyone, fit or not. Walk at a pace you can talk at, and report headache or breathlessness the first time you notice it.

What do people underpack for Brahmatal?

Face and wind protection specifically — a balaclava or full face buff plus a beanie that covers the ears. Two of the three campsites and most of day four sit on an open ridge known for fast, strong winds, and wind chill at -6C on exposed ground is what actually causes cold injury here, not the still-air temperature. Also carry the full day's water before the climb to Tilandi — there's no water source on that stretch at all.

How do I get to the Brahmatal trailhead?

The nearest railhead is Kathgodam, about 200-215 km and 10-12 hours by road via Almora, Baijnath and Gwaldam — genuinely correct for this trek, since Lohajung sits in Chamoli district, a different region from the Sankri treks. If you're travelling with a Dehradun-based operator, though, confirm your actual pickup city: many drive in from Rishikesh (270-280 km) or Dehradun (294 km) instead, and those two cities are about 350 km apart.

Is Brahmatal in the same area as Sankri treks like Kedarkantha?

No — this is a common mix-up worth clearing up before you book. Brahmatal starts at Lohajung, in Tharali tehsil, Chamoli district, roughly 175 km east of Sankri (Mori tehsil, Uttarkashi district), which is where Kedarkantha, Har Ki Dun and Bali Pass all start. They're different regions, different approach roads, and different railheads — don't assume you can combine a Sankri-based trek with Brahmatal on the same transfer.

—

per person, starting from

Verified operators · free cancellation options

Safety, verified

Safety details last verified 21 Aug 2026 by Madclub.

  • Known hazards

    A wind-exposed summit ridge with no shelter of any kind, which is a cold-injury and hypothermia risk rather than a fall risk, and is the defining hazard of this trek in winter; Hard, refrozen snow on the climb to the Brahmatal top and on the traverse beyond it, where microspikes are genuinely needed and where a slip is a long slide; The long descent from the top to Tilbudi, on snow in winter and on loose forest trail in summer, which is where tired legs and knees give out; Both lakes freeze solid in winter and people walk on them. Ice thickness is not monitored by anyone; treat a frozen lake as a hazard, not a photo opportunity, and follow your guide's line; Deep unconsolidated snow off the trodden line, which post-holes and turns ankles; Whiteout on the open ridge between Jhandi Top and Brahmatal, where the trail disappears and a spread-out group can lose the line; A very long and landslide-prone approach road from Kathgodam through Gwaldam and Dewal, particularly after rain

  • Best season

    Mid-December to mid-March is the signature season and the reason most people book: both lakes freeze, the ridge is under continuous snow, and the Trishul and Nanda Ghunti view is at its sharpest, at the cost of nights of minus ten to minus fifteen. March and April bring the rhododendron out through the forest section with residual snow higher up and days of 8 to 12 C. May and June are snow-free, green and the easiest underfoot, with days of 12 to 18 C and nights of 5 to 8 C. September to November, after the monsoon, gives dry trails, stable weather and the clearest air of the year with progressively colder nights. The operator sells April and May departures as well as winter ones and those two windows are genuinely different treks.

  • Maximum altitude

    12250 ft / 3734 m — Brahmatal Top, the ridge summit above the lake, sometimes reached via what operators call Brahmatal Pass and descended toward Khorurai, Telandi, Tilbudi or Daldum on the far side. Independent consensus is strong: 12,250 ft / 3,734 m from Himalayan Hikers, The Searching Souls, TrekNomads, Mapping the Himalayas and ClanStays, with Bangalore Mountaineering Club the outlier at 12,600 ft. This must not be confused with Brahmatal the lake, which sits well below at about 10,440 to 10,450 ft. Independent ASTER GDEM v3 sampling supports the picture: the OpenStreetMap Brahm Tal node returns 3,226 m (10,584 ft), matching the published lake figure, and a 121-point grid over the ridge above it peaks at 3,700 m (12,139 ft), consistent with 3,734 m once the usual downward smoothing is allowed for. Jatropani peak further north on the same ridge, tagged in OpenStreetMap at 4,020 m and sampled at 4,007 to 4,018 m, is a separate and much higher summit that is occasionally conflated with this one.

  • Getting there

    Railhead Kathgodam (KGM), approximately 210 to 234 km from Lohajung, 9 to 11 hours by road via Bhowali, Almora, Kausani, Gwaldam and Dewal. This is the operator's pickup point. The alternative approach from Rishikesh or Haridwar via Devprayag, Rudraprayag and Karnaprayag is roughly 250 km and 8 to 11 hours; different operators use each and the choice determines where your onward travel has to be booked from.; airport Pantnagar (PGH), approximately 256 to 267 km from Lohajung, is the nearest airport to the Kathgodam approach. Jolly Grant, Dehradun (DED) is roughly 220 km via the Rishikesh approach but a longer drive in practice. Neither is convenient; most trekkers arrive by overnight train to Kathgodam.

  • Difficulty

    The trail is well-defined, the gradients are steady rather than steep, and the daily distances of 4 to 12 km are modest. What sets the real grade is winter: from late December to early March the upper route carries continuous snow, the ridge is wind-exposed, and night temperatures at the higher camps drop to minus ten to minus fifteen. The summit-day traverse over the top and down the far side is the long day and, in snow, considerably slower than the published hours. Independent grades: Easy-Moderate from Himalayan Hikers, The Searching Souls, ClanStays, Mapping the Himalayas and TrekNomads; Moderate from Bangalore Mountaineering Club; euttaranchal splits it explicitly, calling it easy to moderate in summer and medium to traverse in winter, which is the most honest formulation available. The operator's Easy-Moderate is fair for the April and May window they advertise and soft for a January departure.

  • Safety equipment

    50 to 60 litre backpack with a padded hip belt and rain cover if you carry your own load, or a 20 to 30 litre daypack if you offload. The operator charges separately for porter and mule support; Sleeping bag with a comfort rating of about minus 15 C for December to February and about minus 5 C for April and May. Ask for the number in writing; Sleeping mat with an R-value of 4 or better in winter; 3 or better in spring; 2 x trekking poles with snow baskets fitted. The summit-day descent to Tilbudi is the longest continuous descent on the trek; Microspikes or instep crampons for December to March. The Bangalore Mountaineering Club and Himalayan Hikers both list crampons and gaiters as supplied; confirm with your operator; Headlamp with fresh batteries and a full spare set kept in an inside pocket

  • Guide requirement

    [{'name': 'Forest entry permit, Lohajung / Wan range', 'issued_by': "Uttarakhand Forest Department; issued at the Lohajung base camp check post. Himalaya Trekkers describes the wider area's permits as handled by local range offices on the Lohajung and Wan side", 'where': 'Lohajung check post, against a valid government photo ID', 'who_arranges': 'operator', 'notes': 'A forest entry permit is mandatory and is obtained at Lohajung on production of a government ID. Reported fees are inconsistent: ClanStays and a search-derived summary give around INR 500 to 1,000 per person for Indian nationals, while the standard Uttarakhand sanctuary tariff quoted elsewhere in the state is INR 150 per Indian national and INR 600 per foreign national per day. That gap has not been resolved from any government source and the higher figures may bundle camping charges. Operators levy their own foreign-national surcharge on top, reported at INR 1,600 by Himalayan Hikers. No Inner Line Permit is needed. Brahmatal is within the wider Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve but outside the restricted core of Nanda Devi National Park, which has been closed since the 1980s.', 'source': 'https://clanstays.com/brahmatal-trek-guide-route-difficulty-permits/'}, {'name': 'Alpine and sub-alpine meadow camping rules', 'issued_by': 'Uttarakhand High Court order of 2018, three directions of which were set aside by the Supreme Court of India on 20 July 2026; enforced locally by the Badrinath Forest Division', 'where': 'The ridge meadows on the Brahmatal route and the wider Lohajung area', 'who_arranges': 'operator', 'notes': 'This is the one trek in this batch where the 2026 change is directly documented at division level. The Supreme Court order of 20 July 2026 in SLP (Civil) 24801/2019 set aside direction C (the 200-visitor cap), direction E (the overnight camping prohibition) and direction L of the 2018 High Court judgment in PIL 123/2014, leaving the rest in force. The Badrinath Forest Division, which covers Chamoli and therefore Lohajung, issued a compliance order (Letter No. 527/29-3(3), 27 July 2026) directing range officers to enforce it. Overnight camping on the meadows and unrestricted visitor numbers are therefore permitted again here; permanent structures, commercial grazing and new encroachment remain barred and waste must be removed. Separately, ClanStays reports that camping immediately beside the Brahmatal lake itself is restricted for environmental reasons, which is a narrower rule and should be confirmed with your operator.', 'source': 'https://himalayatrekker.com/trek-updates/bugyal-camping-ban-lifted-in-uttarakhand-2026/'}, {'name': 'Guide requirement', 'issued_by': 'Advisory rather than mandatory', 'where': 'Lohajung', 'who_arranges': 'n/a', 'notes': 'ClanStays states that a guide is highly recommended for winter safety and navigation but is not mandatory. Given that the specific hazards here are whiteout on an open ridge and cold on an unsheltered summit, that advisory should be read as close to a requirement for anyone going between December and March.', 'source': 'https://clanstays.com/brahmatal-trek-guide-route-difficulty-permits/'}]

  • Emergency evacuation

    The worst evacuation profile of the four treks in this batch, and the reason to take the medical screening seriously. From the Brahmatal camp or the ridge top, the nearest road heads are Wan on the far side and Lohajung on the near side, both roughly 6 to 12 km of walking, realistically most of a day for a person who cannot walk unaided. From Lohajung there is a primary health centre at Dewal about 30 km away with very basic facilities. Anything serious means the district hospital at Gopeshwar, roughly 120 km and about four hours by road, or descending toward Karnaprayag and Rudraprayag, which is the faster direction because it runs downhill; Base Hospital Srinagar Garhwal is the nearest larger referral centre and full trauma capability effectively means Dehradun or Haldwani. The state ambulance line is 108. Private helicopter ambulance services operate in Uttarakhand but are weather- and daylight-dependent, need a cleared landing area and payment up front, and are exactly unavailable during the snowfall events that would cause you to need them. Plan on being walked or carried out, and buy insurance that explicitly covers trekking above 3,500 m and helicopter evacuation.

  • Fitness prerequisite

    Build for six weeks. A workable target is 5 km of jogging in 35 minutes, or a 45 minute brisk walk with 400 m of ascent, done comfortably three times a week, plus two sessions a week of stairs or hill repeats carrying a 6 to 8 kg pack. Train for the summit day, which is 7 to 9 hours with about 500 m of climb and a long descent, in cold. Anyone who cannot climb ten flights of stairs without stopping should postpone. This route is regularly sold to complete beginners and is a reasonable choice for one, provided they arrive genuinely fit and properly insulated rather than merely enthusiastic.

Payment protected — held until your trip starts.

Cancellation policy

Free cancellation terms vary by trip. You'll always see the exact refund amount before you confirm any cancellation.

Refunds return to your original payment method.

—per person
No upcoming dates are open for booking yet. Check back soon.