The 112th Jauljibi Mela opens on Saturday 14 November 2026 at Jauljibi in Pithoragarh district, where the Gori river meets the Kali on the India-Nepal border. The town’s traders’ association expects more than 400 traders, and with India-China trade through the Lipulekh pass restarted on 1 August 2026, Tibetan goods may be on sale again after six years. The closing date had not been announced by 1 November; recent fairs have run for eight to eleven days, and the 2023 fair ran from 14 to 24 November. Jauljibi is 306 km from Haldwani by Google Maps, about 8 hours by road, and 63.6 km beyond Pithoragarh, which is where most visitors stay.
What the fair is
Jauljibi is a small market town in Dharchula tehsil, at the point where the Gori, coming down from the Munsiyari side, runs into the Kali. Across the Kali is Nepal, and a bridge joins the two banks, so the fair has always drawn people from both sides. Local accounts credit Gajendra Bahadur Pal, the Pal raja of Askot, with starting it in 1914 and inviting traders up from the plains, so that people in these valleys no longer had to walk to Almora or Tanakpur for their supplies. That count makes the 2026 fair the 112th. A news agency report on the 2025 fair gives the founding year as 1916, so you will see both dates.
For most of its history Jauljibi was a three-country market. Tibetan traders brought salt, borax and wool down from the passes, the Rung people of the high valleys brought wool and herbs, and Nepali traders brought goods and livestock, horses among them. Merchants came up from Bareilly, Moradabad, Rampur, Kashipur, Haldwani and Tanakpur to meet them. The 1962 war ended the direct Tibetan trade. After border trade through the Lipulekh pass reopened in 1992, Indian traders carried Tibetan goods down to the fair themselves, until that trade stopped again after 2019. The fair was called off in 2020 because of Covid.
What is different this year
The Tibetan stalls may be back. India and China agreed in August 2025 to reopen border trade through Lipulekh, Shipki La and Nathu La, and the first Indian traders crossed Lipulekh to Taklakot on 1 August 2026, the first trade through the pass in about six years. On 14 October ETV Bharat reported that Tibetan goods could return to Jauljibi this November, while noting that supply was not yet confirmed.
The fair should also be busy. Dhirendra Dharm Sukt, president of the Jauljibi Vyapar Sangh, the town’s traders’ association, expects more than 400 traders. He and the Dharchula SDM, Ashish Joshi, both said preparations had started by mid-October, and the SDM said there would be cultural programmes as in other years.
What a day at the fair looks like
Going by recent years, the riverside fills with stalls of woollens, jackets, mufflers and blankets and household goods brought up from the plains, next to the development exhibition stalls that government departments put up. In 2023 the administration’s plan had local artists on stage from 4 to 7 pm each day and visiting troupes from 7 to 10 pm, with sports competitions on the ground. The bridge to Nepal was kept open from 6 am to 10:30 pm during the fair, with no more than 30 people on it at a time, and the police, home guards, PAC and SDRF were posted at the ground.
The fair usually opens with a visiting dignitary. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami opened it on 14 November 2023, when he gave Rs 10 lakh for the fair and launched a Kali river rafting course for local young people run by KMVN, and he opened it again on 14 November 2025, announcing road and trekking route projects for the area. Nobody had been named for the 2026 opening by 1 November.
Getting there from Haldwani
Jauljibi is a long day’s drive from Haldwani. On 1 November 2026 Google Maps gave 306 km and about 7 hours 55 minutes from the Haldwani bus stand by its fastest route, which follows NH 9 across the plains to Tanakpur and then climbs through Champawat and Pithoragarh. Two routes through the hills are shorter but slower: 249 km in about 8 hours 26 minutes, and 265 km by the Almora to Berinag road in about 8 hours 54 minutes.
Most people break the journey at Pithoragarh. From the Pithoragarh bus stand the fair is 63.6 km, about 1 hour 56 minutes, on the road to Dharchula, and vehicles running to Dharchula pass through Jauljibi. If you are coming by train, Tanakpur is the nearest station to Pithoragarh, and Kathgodam the next. Drive the hill stretch in daylight: the last part is a narrow valley road above the river.
Where to stay
Pithoragarh has the most rooms within reach of the fair, including the KMVN tourist rest house and homestays registered with the state. Rooms in Jauljibi itself are few, and Dharchula, further up the valley, has only a handful. If you are coming from Delhi or the plains, a night in Haldwani or Kathgodam before the long drive makes the trip easier:
- Hotels near Kathgodam railway station, if you arrive by train the evening before.
- Hotels near the Haldwani bus stand, for an early bus or start towards Tanakpur.
- Every hotel in Haldwani and Kathgodam, our directory of 403 stays with Google ratings.
Good to know
- The fair opens six days after Diwali (8 November) and runs into the week of Igas, Uttarakhand’s own Diwali, on 20 November.
- Indian citizens can enter Nepal with a passport or a voter ID card. If you want to walk over the bridge, ask the police post at the bridge what they are checking that day.
- The road beyond Dharchula to Gunji and Adi Kailash is a separate trip with its own permits; our Adi Kailash run page covers that road.
- Evenings in the valley turn cold in mid-November. Carry a warm layer for the cultural programme after dark.
What we could not confirm
By 1 November 2026 the district had not announced the closing date, the guest for the opening, or the programme of cultural evenings, and nobody had confirmed that Tibetan goods will actually reach the fair. We will update this page when they do. If you are from Jauljibi or have a stall at the fair, write to hih.editorial@gmail.com.
Questions about the Jauljibi Mela
When does the Jauljibi Mela 2026 start and end?
It opens on Saturday 14 November 2026. The closing date had not been announced by 1 November. Recent fairs have run for eight to eleven days, and the 2023 fair ran from 14 to 24 November.
Where is Jauljibi, and how far is it from Haldwani?
Jauljibi is in Dharchula tehsil of Pithoragarh district, where the Gori river meets the Kali on the India-Nepal border. By Google Maps it is 306 km from the Haldwani bus stand, about 8 hours by road, and 63.6 km, about 2 hours, beyond Pithoragarh.
Why is it called an international fair?
Because traders from three countries have met there. Nepal is just across the Kali, Tibetan traders came down from the passes until 1962, and after 1992 Indian traders brought Tibetan goods over the Lipulekh pass. Merchants from the plains, from Bareilly to Tanakpur, made up the rest.
Will Tibetan goods be sold at Jauljibi this year?
Possibly. Trade through the Lipulekh pass restarted on 1 August 2026 after about six years, and local reports in October said Tibetan goods could return to the fair, but supply had not been confirmed by 1 November 2026.
Who started the Jauljibi fair?
Local accounts credit Gajendra Bahadur Pal, the Pal raja of Askot, who started it in 1914, which makes 2026 the 112th fair. Some reports give the year as 1916.
Where should I stay for the fair?
Pithoragarh has the most rooms, about 2 hours from the fair, including the KMVN tourist rest house and homestays. If you are travelling from the plains, a night in Haldwani or Kathgodam before the 8-hour drive makes the journey easier.
How we listed this
We list local events editorially and are not the organiser. The 2026 opening date, edition, trader numbers and the possible return of Tibetan goods are from ETV Bharat’s report of 14 October 2026, which quotes the Jauljibi Vyapar Sangh president and the Dharchula SDM. The 2023 dates and arrangements are from Amar Ujala of 1 November 2023, the 2023 opening from ETV Bharat of 14 November 2023, and the 2025 opening from an ANI report of 14 November 2025. The restart of Lipulekh trade is from ETV Bharat of 1 August 2026, and the older trade goods from published histories of the fair. Distances are from Google Maps on 1 November 2026. Tell us at hih.editorial@gmail.com if anything here has gone out of date.