Mukteshwar under snow in February 2022. At 68 km, it is the nearest place to Haldwani that gets snow in most winters. Photo © Itsmeehul, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Every snow spot in Kumaon and Garhwal, ranked by how often it actually got snow in the last three winters, with altitudes, dated reports, drive times and the roads that close when it does.
The short answer: snowfall in Uttarakhand comes between late December and February, sometimes into March, and it settles on ground above about 2,000 m. In each of the last three winters, 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26, snow reached the peaks above Nainital, Mukteshwar, Munsiyari, Auli, Dhanaulti and Chopta; those are your safest bets. Towns between about 1,600 m and 2,100 m, such as Nainital’s Mall Road, Almora, Mussoorie and Chakrata, got it in some winters and often only for an hour. Bhimtal, Ranikhet bazaar and Lansdowne saw no settled snow in any of the three, Kausani only once, and Haldwani never does. The first widespread snow of the winter came on 31 January 2024, on 8 to 9 December 2024 and not until 23 January 2026, so nobody can promise snow on a date you book now.
By Nandini Upreti, Contributor, Almora. About the author ↓
Almost every snowfall in Uttarakhand arrives the same way: a western disturbance, a band of weather that forms over the Mediterranean and drifts east along the winter jet stream, brings a day or two of cloud and rain to the plains and snow to the high ground. No disturbance, no snow, however cold it gets. That is why clear, freezing January weeks can pass without a flake, and why the snow, when it comes, usually follows a grey, wet day.
The window is late December to February, with a tail into March. In 2026 there was fresh snow from Auli to Badrinath as late as 17 to 20 March. The highest shrines see snow from September: Hemkund Sahib had snow on 9 October 2026 and closed for the season the next day.
Altitude decides everything. There is no fixed snow line. The Meteorological Centre in Dehradun, IMD’s office for the state, sets a height in each forecast: in December 2024 it warned of snow above 2,500 m one day and above 2,000 m the next, while its October 2026 forecasts put snow above 3,500 m. In practice, the places on the record below that got snow in all three winters sit at roughly 2,100 m and higher, and the ones that rarely do sit below about 1,900 m. A scientist at ARIES, the observatory in Nainital, told Amar Ujala in January 2025 that snow now falls mostly above 2,000 m and that lower hill towns like Nainital may see less and less of it.
Later and less reliable. Rohit Thapliyal of IMD Dehradun told Down To Earth in January 2026 that western disturbances have declined since 1980 and that snow which used to begin in late December now often waits until February. The 2025-26 winter made his point: November rain was 98 percent below normal, December was completely dry, and the first widespread snow came only on 23 January. But it is not a straight line. December 2024 was 89 percent wetter than normal, with early snow, and after the late start of 2026 the snow kept coming into March. The honest summary is that snow has become later and harder to time, not that it has gone.
We looked for dated news reports of snow at each place in the last three winters. “Most winters” means snow was reported in at least two of the three; “some winters” in one; “rare” in none.
| Place | Altitude | Snow in 3 winters | Odds | Getting there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Badrinath, Kedarnath | 3,133 m, 3,581 m | Every winter | Every winter, but closed | Temples shut November to April |
| Auli | 2,500 to 3,050 m | 3 of 3 | Most winters | Delhi about 515 km |
| Chopta, Tungnath | about 2,900 m, about 3,680 m | 3 of 3 | Most winters | Delhi about 450 km |
| Surkanda Devi | 2,750 m | 3 of 3 | Most winters | Near Dhanaulti |
| Harsil | 2,660 m | 3 of 3 | Most winters | Uttarkashi 75 km |
| Naina Peak, Snow View, Kilbury | 2,611 m, 2,270 m, 2,194 m | 3 of 3 | Most winters | Haldwani about 40 to 50 km |
| Mukteshwar | 2,286 m | 3 of 3 | Most winters | Haldwani 68 km |
| Dhanaulti, Lal Tibba | 2,286 m, about 2,275 m | 3 of 3 | Most winters | Delhi about 290 km |
| Munsiyari, Khaliya Top | 2,135 m, about 3,500 m | 3 of 3 | Most winters | Haldwani about 280 km |
| Dhanachuli | about 2,134 m | 2 of 3 | Most winters | Haldwani about 50 km |
| Chaubatia (above Ranikhet) | above Ranikhet town | 2 of 3 | Most winters | Haldwani about 90 km |
| Jageshwar | about 1,870 m | 2 of 3 (one at Vriddh Jageshwar) | Some to most | Haldwani about 120 km |
| Binsar | about 2,400 m | 1 of 3 | Some winters | Haldwani about 110 km |
| Chakrata town | 2,118 m | 1 of 3 (Lokhandi above it: 3 of 3) | Some winters | Delhi about 300 km |
| Nainital town, Mall Road | about 2,084 m | Flakes in all 3; reports disagree on how much settled | Some winters, light | Haldwani 38 km |
| Mussoorie town | about 2,005 m | Light in all 3 | Some winters, brief | Delhi about 250 km |
| Almora town | about 1,640 m | 1 of 3 | Some winters | Haldwani 87 km |
| Chaukori | about 2,010 m | 1 of 3 | Some winters | Haldwani about 200 km |
| Abbott Mount, Mayawati | 1,940 m (Mayawati) | 1 of 3 | Some winters | Haldwani about 195 km |
| Kausani | 1,890 m | 1 of 3, the first since 2019 | Rare to some | Haldwani about 140 km |
| Ranikhet bazaar | about 1,869 m | 0 of 3 | Rare | Haldwani 86 km |
| Pithoragarh, Lohaghat, Champawat towns | 1,615 to 1,706 m | None found | Rare | Haldwani about 170 to 200 km |
| Lansdowne | about 1,706 m | A flurry in February 2024 | Rare | Pauri district |
| Bhimtal | 1,370 m | 0 of 3 | Rare | Haldwani 31 km |
| Haldwani | 424 m | Never | Never |
Altitudes are from the district administrations’ tourist pages where they publish one (Nainital, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Tehri, Dehradun, Uttarkashi) and from the Garhwal Commissionerate for the two dhams; the others are commonly cited figures. Snow records are built from the dated reports in the sections below. Distances from Haldwani are this site’s own figures where we have published a route, otherwise district figures or road-map estimates; Delhi figures assume the Delhi to Dehradun Expressway, opened on 14 April 2026.
The nearest snow to Haldwani, and the most reliable within a day’s drive. Naina Peak (2,611 m), Snow View (2,270 m) and the Kilbury and Pangot ridge (Kilbury 2,194 m) got snow in all three winters: light snow on Naina Peak on 1 February 2024; snow on Himalaya Darshan and Naina Peak on 9 December 2024; about five inches at Snow View and Himalaya Darshan on 12 January 2025; and China Peak and Kilbury white on 23 January 2026, while the town below had rain and hail. The lake and Mall Road are another matter; see below. Month-by-month odds for the town and the peaks are in our Nainital snowfall guide, and the cold months themselves in Nainital in December.
At 2,286 m by the district’s figure, Mukteshwar is 68 km and about two and three quarter hours from Haldwani, and it got snow in all three winters, if only for ten minutes on 22 February 2024. On 12 January 2025 it had heavy snow with Dhanachuli, Pahadpani and Ramgarh, and on 23 January 2026 the season’s first snow fell across Mukteshwar, Ramgarh, Dhanachuli and Managher. Dhanachuli, about 50 km from Haldwani on the Bhowali side, had half an hour of snow on 9 December 2024 that melted by nine in the morning, then heavier falls in January 2025 and January 2026. Routes and stays are in our Haldwani to Mukteshwar guide.
The surest snow in Kumaon, and the furthest: about 280 km and ten to eleven hours from Haldwani, usually split with a night in Almora or Chaukori. Munsiyari town (2,135 m) often gets only a dusting, but the ridge above it does not: on 5 February 2024 Khaliya Top had two and a half feet and Kalamuni two feet while the town had half an inch. In 2024-25 Munsiyari had six inches on 10 December, and in 2025-26 three inches on 23 January, with five at Khaliya. Khaliya Top, around 3,500 m, is a steep half-day climb from Balati Band, a few kilometres before the town.
The ridges beyond Almora get snow more often than the towns. Chaubatia, the orchard ridge above Ranikhet, had snow on 9 December 2024 and 23 January 2026, while Ranikhet bazaar had only rain. On 23 January 2026 there was heavy snow at Binsar, Jageshwar, Kasar Devi and Mornaula, and snow fell in Almora town itself, which had been rare enough for an earlier fall in January 2020 to be called the first in five years. On 9 December 2024 the snow reached Vriddh Jageshwar and the Dhaulchhina heights but not the town. Routes from Haldwani, 87 km to Almora and 86 km to Ranikhet, are in our Haldwani to Almora guide.
The high valleys of Pithoragarh district are snow country from early autumn. Adi Kailash and Om Parvat had their first snow of this season on 25 and 26 September 2026, four to five feet at Adi Kailash by Amar Ujala’s report, and more fell on 9 and 10 October. The road beyond Dharchula towards Gunji, about 71 km of it, is closed by snow beyond Kuti in winter; on 28 January 2026 it lay under two to two and a half feet. Visiting needs an Inner Line Permit and the tours run in the warmer months, so in winter this is a view from a distance, not a trip. Dharchula town itself, at about 940 m, does not get snow.
The towns of the southeast are mostly too low. Pithoragarh, Lohaghat (1,706 m) and Champawat (1,615 m) had no dated snow in the three winters, though Abbott Mount and Mayawati above Lohaghat had snow on 9 December 2024. Chaukori, on the ridge towards Munsiyari, had snow on 23 January 2026, the same day that brought Gangolihat its first snow in twelve years and Kausani its first since 2019, by Amar Ujala’s report.
The best-known snow names in the state are in Garhwal, and since the Delhi to Dehradun Expressway opened on 14 April 2026, about 210 km and two and a half hours, Mussoorie, Dhanaulti and Chakrata are a morning’s drive from Delhi. From Haldwani they are a long day across the state.
Auli’s slopes run from 2,500 m to 3,050 m by the Chamoli district’s figure, 16 km above Joshimath and about 515 km from Delhi. Snow fell in all three winters: 17 to 18 January 2024, 8 to 9 December 2024 with more in late December, and, after a bare start, over a foot on 23 January 2026. The ropeway from Joshimath has not run since January 2023, when land subsidence in the town shut it, and it was still closed in June 2026, so the road is the only way up. Snow deep enough for ski racing is less certain: the national winter games were postponed for lack of snow in January and again in March 2025, while the National Skiing Championship went ahead on fresh snow from 13 to 16 February 2026. Our guide to Auli in winter goes month by month, with temperatures, the chairlift and ski courses.
Chopta, at about 2,900 m in Rudraprayag district, is the base for the walk up to Tungnath, the highest Shiva temple of the Panch Kedar, whose deity spends the winter at Makkumath. Snow came in all three winters but its timing swings: up to two feet on 1 February 2024, late December 2024, and not until the last week of January in 2026, when Chopta was still bare on the morning of the 23rd. Delhi is about 450 km and twelve to fourteen hours away; most people break the journey at Rishikesh. The walk up, and how it compares with the other snow treks, is in our guide to winter treks in Uttarakhand.
Dhanaulti (2,286 m) and the Surkanda Devi temple above it (2,750 m) got snow in all three winters, often light. Mussoorie is two places for snow: Lal Tibba and the Char Dukan end of Landour, around 2,275 m, get it most winters, while the Mall Road town gets brief, light falls. On 1 February 2024 the Mall Road had three inches and Lal Tibba five, the town’s first snow of that winter; on 23 January 2026 about four inches fell in town and six or more on the higher points.
Chakrata town (2,118 m) gets snow in some winters; Lokhandi, Deoban and Koti Kanasar on the ridge above it get it in most, and on 23 January 2026 about 80 tourists were stranded at Lokhandi under around three feet. It is about 98 km from Dehradun by the district’s figure.
Harsil (2,660 m by the Uttarkashi district’s figure), with Mukhba and Dharali, gets snow most winters and is about 75 km beyond Uttarkashi. The road above Sukhi Top is the problem: on 28 January 2026 only four-wheel-drive vehicles with non-skid chains were allowed beyond it.
Badrinath and Kedarnath get snow every winter, and they are closed for it. The 2026 closing dates had not been announced on 15 October; the temple committee usually fixes them on Vijayadashami, which falls on 20 October this year. In 2025 Gangotri closed on 22 October, Kedarnath and Yamunotri on 23 October and Badrinath on 25 November. Hemkund Sahib closed on 10 October 2026.
| Winter | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2023-24 | A dry December (75 percent below normal), with snow only on the highest ground, such as Khaliya Top in November and early December 2023. First snow at Auli on 17 to 18 January 2024. The main fall came on 31 January to 1 February: Mussoorie’s first of the season, Dhanaulti, Chakrata, Harsil, Naina Peak and Munsiyari, with up to two and a half feet on Khaliya Top by 5 February. Ten minutes of snow at Mukteshwar on 22 February. |
| 2024-25 | An early, wet winter: December rain 89 percent above normal. First snow on 8 to 9 December across Munsiyari, Auli, Mussoorie, Dhanachuli and the Nainital peaks; more on 23 and 27 to 28 December; the biggest Nainital-area fall on 12 January 2025, with five inches at Snow View; and snow again on 28 February, the day of the avalanche at Mana. |
| 2025-26 | The driest start in years: November 98 percent below normal, December dry. Light snow on the high Himalaya above Munsiyari on 2 January. The first widespread snow came on 23 January 2026, Vasant Panchami, from Kedarnath (about two feet) to Auli, Mussoorie, Dhanaulti, Chakrata, Munsiyari, the Nainital peaks, Mukteshwar, Binsar, Jageshwar and Almora. More on 27 and 29 January, and on 17 to 20 March. |
Three winters, three first widespread snowfalls spread across eight weeks. If snow is the point of your trip, choose a place high enough to catch it, and keep two or three days loose in January or February rather than fixing a date in October.
Snow closes roads before it closes towns, and the closures are set day by day by the district police and administration, not by a standing rule. These are the patterns from the last three winters.
The danger after snow is ice, which the hills call pala: shaded bends freeze overnight and stay glazed into the morning. The district authorities spread salt and lime on the worst stretches, but they cannot cover every bend. On 27 January 2026 a car carrying seven snow tourists went into a gorge in Champawat district; the SDRF rescued them. Drive after the sun is up, come down before dark, and if you have never driven on a frozen hill road, hire a local driver; fares and operators are in our Haldwani cab guide.
If you are planning around the snow rather than chasing it, the rest of the season, month by month, with what is open and what closes, is in Uttarakhand in winter; and if November is your month, Nainital in November explains why it is the clearest month for the snow peaks even without snow on the ground.
The places that got snow in each of the last three winters are the peaks above Nainital (Naina Peak, Snow View, Kilbury), Mukteshwar, Munsiyari and Khaliya Top in Kumaon, and Auli, Chopta and Tungnath, Dhanaulti, Surkanda Devi, Lal Tibba in Mussoorie and Harsil in Garhwal. Badrinath and Kedarnath get snow every winter but are closed. Towns between about 1,600 m and 2,100 m get it only in some winters.
Mostly from late December to February, with occasional snow in March. In the last three winters the first widespread snow came on 31 January 2024, 8 to 9 December 2024 and 23 January 2026, and in 2026 snow fell again as late as 17 to 20 March. The highest shrines see snow from September.
Rarely. Bhimtal sits at 1,370 m, about 700 m below Nainital, and we found no report of snow there in any of the last three winters. For the nearest snow from Bhimtal, go up to the peaks above Nainital or to Mukteshwar.
The peaks above Nainital, Naina Peak, Snow View and the Kilbury road, about 40 to 50 km away, and Mukteshwar, 68 km away. Both got snow in each of the last three winters. Haldwani itself, at 424 m, never does. Go the morning after the weather clears, and come back before dark, when the shaded bends freeze.
Not in Pithoragarh town, at about 1,645 m, in any of the last three winters, but the district's high ground gets heavy snow: Munsiyari and Khaliya Top every winter, and Adi Kailash and Om Parvat from September. The road beyond Kuti towards Adi Kailash is closed by snow in winter.