Adi Kailash and Om Parvat by Bike

Written by Himanshu, who's ridden these roads since 2015 · Last updated August 2026

Distance

~1,400 km round trip from Rishikesh

Days needed

9–10 minimum

Route

Rishikesh → Kathgodam/Tanakpur → Pithoragarh → Dharchula → Gunji → Jolingkong

Gunji altitude

~3,200 m

Om Parvat viewpoint (Nabhidhang)

~4,300 m

Adi Kailash / Jolingkong

~4,500 m

Season

Roughly May to October. Closed and impassable in winter

Difficulty

Hard. Sustained altitude, remote, exposed high-mountain road

Permit

Inner Line Permit required beyond Dharchula

Bike

Himalayan 450, no real alternative

Rough cost, 10 days, per person sharing

₹35,000–55,000

This is the hardest thing you can do on a motorcycle in Uttarakhand, and the most extraordinary.

You ride east out of Garhwal into Kumaon, up the Kali river along the Nepal border, through Dharchula and into the Vyas valley — a high, cold, thinly inhabited place that was closed to civilians for decades. At the end of it: Om Parvat, a face at around 5,590 m where the snow settles in the shape of the syllable ॐ, and Adi Kailash at around 6,191 m, which Shiva devotees hold as the second Kailash.

It requires an Inner Line Permit, nine or ten days, real altitude tolerance, and a bike that will not let you down.

The permit and road situation in this region changes frequently. Border-area access, ILP procedure and which sections are motorable have all shifted repeatedly in recent years. Do not rely on any guide — including this page — for the current rules. Confirm with the Pithoragarh district administration or message us and we’ll tell you what we know as of this week.

The Route in Outline

Rishikesh → Tanakpur or Kathgodam (~350 km). Plains and foothills. A long, dull, hot transit day and unavoidable.

→ Pithoragarh (~150 km). Into Kumaon proper. Pithoragarh is a real town — the last one with a hospital, a good workshop and reliable fuel.

→ Dharchula (~90 km). Along the Kali, with Nepal on the far bank close enough to see people going about their day. This is where the Inner Line Permit is checked.

→ Gunji (~70 km). The hard part. A high-mountain road cut into the valley wall, exposed, with sections that are unsurfaced and sections that are dramatic in a way that doesn’t photograph. Gunji at ~3,200 m is the base for everything above.

→ Nabhidhang for Om Parvat (~35 km) and Jolingkong for Adi Kailash (~40 km). Both above 4,300 m, and this is where altitude stops being an abstraction.

Then all of it again, backwards.

The Inner Line Permit

Everything beyond Dharchula is a restricted border area and requires an Inner Line Permit.

What that means in practice:

• It’s issued by the district administration at Dharchula/Pithoragarh
• You need passport-size photos, ID, and a medical fitness certificate
• Foreign nationals are generally not permitted in this sector
• Processing takes time, and it is not guaranteed on the day
• Rules, checkpoints and required documents change

Get this wrong and you will ride 600 km to be turned around at Dharchula. It is the single most common way this trip fails.

Altitude — The Real Constraint

You will sleep above 3,000 m for several consecutive nights and ride above 4,300 m.

This is a materially different proposition from Kedarnath or Badrinath, where you’re high briefly. Sustained altitude means:

• Build in an acclimatisation day at Gunji. Not optional. Arrive, sleep, don’t go higher the next morning
• Ascend to Nabhidhang and Jolingkong as day trips from Gunji, returning to sleep lower
• Persistent headache, nausea at rest, breathlessness at rest, confusion or loss of coordination: descend immediately. Altitude sickness at 4,500 m, six hours from a hospital, is a genuine emergency, not an inconvenience
• Carry a medical kit and know where the nearest doctor is at every stage. Above Dharchula the answer is often “a long way”
• Some seasons require a medical fitness certificate for the permit, and it exists for a reason

Which Bike

Himalayan 450 — ₹1,800/day at the 7+ rate. Ten days is ₹18,000.

We don’t offer a genuine alternative for this route and we’d talk you out of one. Liquid cooling at sustained altitude, 230 mm of clearance for the Gunji road, 200 mm of suspension travel, six gears for the 350 km plains transit, and a 17-litre tank for a region where fuel above Dharchula is not something to plan around.

Himalayan 411 at ₹1,200/day is the only other bike we’d even discuss, and only for an experienced rider travelling light who values roadside simplicity over capability. It’s a real argument — an air-cooled 411 is fixable in places a Sherpa 450 isn’t — but it’s a harder ten days.

Anything else in the fleet: no. We will decline the booking. That’s not us protecting the bike; it’s us not wanting to be the shop that sent someone to 4,500 m on a Classic 350.

Fuel

Fill at Pithoragarh. Fill again at Dharchula.

Above Dharchula, treat fuel as unavailable. The Dharchula → Gunji → Nabhidhang → Jolingkong → Gunji → Dharchula loop is a few hundred kilometres of high, slow, fuel-hungry riding. Carry a jerry can. This is the one route on our site where we say that.

What It Costs

Ten days, two riders sharing a Himalayan 450:

Accommodation above Dharchula is basic and priced for scarcity. Rate card →

Honestly — Most People Should Go Guided

We rent bikes. We would rather rent you one. And for this specific route we tell most people to take the guided version instead, for four reasons:

1. The permit. Handled in advance, rather than gambling a 600 km ride on a counter at Dharchula
2. The backup vehicle. A mechanical failure at Gunji without support is not a bad day, it’s a serious situation
3. Altitude. Someone travelling with you who has watched a hundred people acclimatise and knows what the early signs look like
4. Accommodation. There is very little of it above Dharchula and it is not bookable in the ways you’re used to

Our sister operation runs it as a 9-day expedition with Inner Line Permits arranged, a lead rider, a mechanic and a support vehicle.

Adi Kailash & Om Parvat guided bike tour — itinerary and dates →

If you’re an experienced high-altitude rider travelling with others and you want to do it independently, we’ll rent you the bike, prepare it properly and give you every contact we have. Just come and talk to us first rather than booking online.

💬 Talk to us before you plan this one

💬 Book a bike for this route📞 +91 81928 45805