Khaljuni to Badiyakot Trek | May 2026 | Indian Western Himalayas Traverse Guide - Bageshwar, Uttarakhand
Khaljuni To Badiyakot is a Trek in Kumaon Region of Bageshwar District Uttarakhand. Complete Guide, No of Days, Route with GPX file, Food Management, Elevation Gain, Trans Uttarakhand Traverse
A small beautiful village with 10 to 20 small houses. All the young villagers gone to cities for finding the work, only old people (or i would say mostly), staying and farming. Yesterday i covered Namik – Khaljuni Section [ here ] from Trans Uttrakhand Traverse [ here ].
You can also download the route GPX file from my Trans Uttarakhand Traverse Blog.
It was a beautiful morning, woke up at 6:30 am. I could feel the warmth of the sun, a beautiful view. Villagers have started working already, some are waiting for the transport to leave for the town. Womens are leaving for the farming, Old man managing the livestocks. Everything was lively, Homestay owner wife made a breakfast. After having delicious breakfast, continued my hike. The trail to Khati Pass is pretty much visible and easily you can find it. You cross through Meadows and forest and in about less than 2 hours i reached below the pass.
Met few shepherds with lot of sheeps, after navigating my way through the sheeps and unintentionally scaring them, I reached the pass. From the pass you get a view of Nanda Devi National Park Peaks. Khati Pass is at the altitude of 2920 meters.
Now you hike down towards North-west, in between the beautiful forest. Which gives you the feeling of a morning park. The Trail path is made of stones. After an hour or two you reach the road, I was following the trail mapped on OSM, which for the last few hundered meters took me through a forest which was dense enough, where you will have to stop every 20 – 30 meters to look for the trail. There was another trail which i believe goes to Khati Village directly. I reached some 100 meters before Khati village on the road, from there i could see the village. On the road i stopped near a stream and washed myself.
Walking some two or three hundred meters, i could see some dhabas and hotels. As khati village is the basecamp for Pindari Glacier Trek. Stopped at a shop had tea and Maggie. After filling the stomach, continued on the road for a km and then a trail goes down to Pindar river, which we need to cross using a bridge over it. You cross the bridge and trail moves to South-West towards Letauli village.
Now the Trail is pretty much straight, you stay on the slope and in between you cross many small hamlets, which were empty can be that people were working at their farm field. On the left you move alongside the Pindar River Valley all the way till Badiyakot.
Around 3 PM i reached Surag village, where there was a small shop of fast food. Again only BSNL works here. I have Chowmein with 2 can of coke, i know i was too much hungry. Keep cash with you or take a hotspot to pay online. After taking around 30 minutes there, continued my hike further.
I reached Badiyakot around 5 PM and there you can camp in the Panchayat ghar, Advantage is that there is a bank alongside it, which has a community Wifi. I met a local guy, i was telling him about my hike so he insisted to stay at his house and have dinner. As i was not sure what to eat in the dinner, there is a small shop where you can buy Maggi and biscuits but no dhaba. So i enjoyed the hospitality.
That marks the end of this section. I will soon write about next section, which is going to be the last patch of Kumaon region, then I will cover Garhwal. All the previous section detailed blogs you can read [ here ].
Final Note for Independent Hikers
If you are interested in learning independent and solo hiking in the Indian Himalayas, you can opt for the Life On Trails Field Bootcamp in Manali – a 5-day field bootcamp, not just theory.
Where I share my knowledge from hiking 1100+ km from Uttarakhand to Leh Ladakh. I teach Navigation Techniques, Campsite & Shelter Selection, Food & Water Management, Topography and Contouring, Minimalist Gears, Season & Weather Selection, Wildlife & Safety, and Culture & Villages.
You can reach out to me on WhatsApp: 8800822842 or visit lifeontrails.in
