Rupin Pass is a high-altitude pass across the Himalayan range in the state of Himachal Pradesh. It lies on a traditional hiking route which starts from Dhaula in Uttarakhand and ends in Sangla, Himachal Pradesh. The maximum altitude reaches up to 4650 meters, which makes it a challenging Himalayan trek.
Overview
The Rupin Pass Trek is one of the most dramatic and adventurous treks in the Indian Himalayas. Stretching across the states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, this iconic crossover trek is famous for its constantly changing landscapes, hanging villages, roaring waterfalls, snow bridges, alpine meadows, and thrilling high-altitude pass crossing.
At an altitude of approximately 4,650 meters, Rupin Pass offers an unforgettable journey through deep valleys, dense forests, glacial trails, and remote Himalayan settlements. What makes this trek truly unique is that the scenery transforms almost every day, giving trekkers a completely new experience at every stage of the route.
From walking beside the roaring Rupin River to crossing snowfields beneath towering peaks, the Rupin Pass Trek is considered one of the most visually diverse treks in India.
Highlights
- Thrilling crossover from Uttarakhand to Himachal Pradesh
- Spectacular Rupin Pass summit experience
- Giant waterfalls and hanging valleys
- Snow bridges and glacier sections
- Beautiful alpine meadows and pine forests
- Traditional Himalayan villages and wooden homes
- Ever-changing landscapes throughout the trek
- Panoramic Himalayan mountain views
Itinerary
The Rupin Pass Trek is one of the most breathtaking crossover treks in the Indian Himalayas. Beginning from Shimla and ending back in Shimla, this adventurous journey takes trekkers through remote Himalayan villages, dense forests, giant waterfalls, hanging valleys, snowfields, alpine meadows, and the thrilling Rupin Pass at 4,650 meters.
Known for its constantly changing landscapes, the Rupin Pass Trek offers a completely different experience every single day, making it one of the most scenic and rewarding treks in India.
Drive Distance: Approx. 210 km
Drive Duration: 8–9 Hours
Altitude: 2,300 meters
Your adventure begins with a scenic drive from Shimla through the beautiful Himalayan roads of Himachal Pradesh. The route passes through charming mountain villages, pine forests, apple orchards, and river valleys.
As you move deeper into the mountains, the landscapes become more dramatic and peaceful. Reach Jiskun village by evening and relax while preparing for the trekking adventure ahead.
Day Highlights
- Scenic drive through Himachal Pradesh
- Pine forests and mountain valleys
- Traditional Himalayan villages
- Beautiful sunset views
Stay
Guesthouse / Campsite in Jiskun
Trek Distance: Approx. 12 km
Trek Duration: 6–7 Hours
Altitude: 2,300 meters
The trek officially begins today with a gradual ascent through forests, wooden bridges, waterfalls, and mountain trails.
The route follows the beautiful Rupin River and offers stunning views of hanging cliffs and lush valleys. Reach Jakha, famously known as the “Hanging Village,” is perched dramatically on the mountainside.
Day Highlights
- Riverside trekking trail
- Traditional Himalayan villages
- Hanging bridges and waterfalls
- Beautiful forest landscapes
Stay
Camping at Sewa
Trek Distance: Approx. 7 km
Trek Duration: 5–6 Hours
Altitude: 4,000 meters
Today’s trail enters the most scenic section of the trek. Walk through alpine meadows, glacier streams, snow bridges, and dramatic mountain valleys.
The highlight of the day is reaching the magnificent Upper Waterfall Camp located beside the iconic Rupin Waterfall cascading from towering cliffs.
Day Highlights
- Giant Rupin Waterfall
- Snow bridges and alpine landscapes
- Glacier valley scenery
- Stunning high-altitude campsite
Stay
Camping near Jhaka
Trek Distance: Approx. 12 km
Trek Duration: 9–10 Hours
Highest Altitude: Approx. 4,650 meters
This is the most adventurous and challenging day of the trek. Start early and climb towards Rupin Pass through steep snow slopes, rocky ridges, and glacier terrain.
As you reach the summit, witness breathtaking panoramic views of snow-covered Himalayan peaks stretching across Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
After spending time at the pass, descend carefully towards the beautiful Ronti Gad campsite.
Day Highlight
- Rupin Pass summit crossing
- Snow trekking adventure
- Panoramic Himalayan mountain views
- High-altitude glacier landscapes
Stay
Camping at Upper Waterfall Camp
Trek Distance: Approx. 12 km
Trek Duration: 5–6 Hours
Altitude: 2,700 meters
Begin descending towards the beautiful Sangla Valley through forests, meadows, and mountain trails. The route offers spectacular views of the Kinnaur region and surrounding valleys.
Reach Sangla by evening and enjoy the peaceful beauty of Himachal Pradesh.
Day Highlight
- Scenic valley descent
- Beautiful Sangla Valley
- Forest and meadow trails
- Traditional Himachali villages
Stay
Guesthouse / Campsite in Sangla
Drive & Exploration Day
Altitude: Approx. 3,450 meters
Today is a relaxing exploration day. Visit Chitkul, the last inhabited village near the Indo-Tibetan border, famous for its wooden houses, Baspa River, and breathtaking mountain scenery.
Spend the day exploring the peaceful valley, local culture, and stunning Himalayan landscapes.
Day Highlights
- Visit to Chitkul village
- Baspa River views
- Kinnauri culture and architecture
- Beautiful Himalayan landscapes
Stay
Guesthouse in Sangla
Drive Distance: Approx. 220 km
Drive Duration: 8–9 Hours
After breakfast, begin the scenic drive back to Shimla through the beautiful Kinnaur Valley.
Enjoy the final views of rivers, forests, and snow-covered mountains while carrying unforgettable memories of the Rupin Pass Trek.
Day Highlights
- Scenic mountain drive
- Beautiful Kinnaur landscapes
- Farewell to the Himalayas
Includes/Excludes
Cost Includes
- Pre-Trek Support by Experienced Trek Coordinators:-
- This is a special component of Touch Himalayas, where a personalized trek coordinator is assigned to each trekker and who makes your preparation easy before coming on a trek, all your doubts, queries, myths are clarified, and you are mentally and physically guided to ensure that you come fully fit for your adventure. Every aspect from what to carry, what exercises need to be done, and how to prepare yourself for the trek, all will be guided by Touch Himalayas’s Experienced Trek Coordinators.
- What is included during the trek:-
- The offered cost covers all major essentials that are mandatory for a successful Adventure, such as accomodation, meal, permit, team of experts, trek equipment, safety gears and mules / potters support. We provide you all the services that are involved in the trek. Below find specifics.
- Accommodation: 2 nights in homestay on triple / quad sharing while 4 nights stay in dome styled tent on twin sharing basis. You will find the best tent accommodation with proper hygiene and reliability for both water and wind proof perspective.
- Meal: Your meals with Touch Himalayas starts with evening tea & snacks on day 01 in Jiskun and ends with breakfast on Day 07 at Ronti Gad. All meals provided by Touch Himalayas involve pure vegetarian and nutritious meals. We offer you breakfast, lunch, tea, snacks and dinners. The meals are freshly cooked and non repeated with delicious sweet dishes each night.
- Food Preferences for Jains:-
- A large percentage of our trekkers belong to the Jain community, therefore we understand their concern very well. When we have Jain trekkers on our treks, we will create special, custom-made meals without garlic and onion. We cook these separately from other foods prepared by us, maintaining the same great quality, taste, and hygiene.
- Special Occasions Celebration:-
- Whether it is a birthday, anniversary, group summit, or another event, we enjoy celebrating all these occasions with you by presenting you with a cake that is freshly prepared for your special moment. Touch Himalayas will ensure that every special moment you have here is never forgotten; in fact, it will become an extra special moment.
- Permit: All camping and Trekking Permits from Forest Department, full assistance in documentation and formalities will be given by the team Touch Himalayas.
- Team of Experts & Professionals:-
- Trek Leaders: Qualified and Experienced Trek Leaders to lead your group when on Trek. Touch Himalayas Trek Leaders are AMC, BMC certified and trained for immediate First Aid with search & rescue Course.
- Assistant Trek Leaders: They are super wise under the Trek Leader guidance focussing on the safety, logistics and trekkers engagement.
- Local Guides: Experienced local guide familiar with region & routes. They understand the way of conduct better, especially being locals.
- Support Staff: A team of high altitude including mountain chefs and Helpers to prepare and provide you healthy and freshly cooked meals on your trek.
- Trek Equipment: Touch Himalayas provided high quality of trekking equipments for your adventure, all equipments provided on the trek is 100% customised by Touch Himalayas, any equipments provided is tested on high altitude by our mountain experts and thereafter qualified for use of our trekkers, each fabric and designed are carefully chosen.
- Dome Stye Trekking Tents: The sleeping tent we provide is 6/6 ft. in size giving extra comfort for your sleep in the high altitude.
- Sleeping Bags: To provide you warmth, comfort and cosy sleeping.
- Sleeping Mattresses: Warm Form mattresses are provided inside your dome tents.
- Kitchen tent: A designated area at the campsite where all the cooking staff prepare all the meals.
- Dining tents: A large common area where all the meals are ready to be served. It is the social space for enjoying meals together.
- Toilet tents: These are the private space away from the main campsite area to avoid smell and maintain hygiene. We have two separate toilets for male and female.
- Camp Chair/ Table: Portable stools and tables are provided at your campsite.
- Cooking & Service Utensils: All the necessary cooking and serving utensils.
- Safety Gears: Touch Himalayas stands proud itself that all our Treks and adventures operated since 1993 are without any single casualty as we take safety of our trekkers and staff on high priority, following are some of the gears that are included in your trek cost.
- Oxygen Cylinders
- First Aid and Medicine
- Stretchers
- BP Machine to regulate your blood pressure
- Oximeters to regulate your oxygen flow
- Health cards to measure your daily BP and Oxygen reading
- Walkies Talkies for Immediate communication
- Micro Spikes
- Gaiters
- Other Safety Equipment such as Helmets, Rops, Ice Axe, Carabiners much more as per technicality of a Trek.
- Porters / Mules Support: Porters / Mules are provided to carry your common trekking gear, rations, trekking equipment and other supplies.
- 3 - Post-trek Assistance
- This section implies with the following -
- Trek Feedback and improvement advice call from your Trek Coordinators.
- How to overcome Trek injuries and settle to normal life.
- Advice and suggestions for Next Adventure Trek.
- Completion Certificate: -
- It is the best way to recognize someone’s adventure journey with a certificate. A well recognized certificate (IMF, ATOAI & Uttarakhand tourism development board) approved is provided to the trekker by two ways:
- Reached at Summit: we are giving certificates of summiteer to those trekkers who have completed their trek at the Summit.
- Incomplete Summit: we also provide our certificate for those who have not reached the final summit due to medical reasons but they are part of the trek.
Cost Excludes
- Travel to/from Pickup Point: Arrival at the pickup point & from the dropping point at Old Bus Stand, Shimla is exclusively your call, you can book a bus, train or flight one day prior & after your trek starts or ends.
- Meals & Accommodation: Any meals or accommodations that are not mentioned in the inclusion that completely manage at your own cost.
- Transport Cost: We provide you with the transport facility from Shimla to Jiskun and return from Sangla to Shimla at the cost of ₹ 4,000 per person.
- Personal Services: Other personal services like laundry, phone calls, charging batteries, beverages, bottled / mineral water, or some other services are completely at your own cost.
- Medical Expenses: Any personal medication for your cause is at your own risk. Trekkers are encouraged to bring all your prescribed medicine and any personal first-aid supplies to avoid any uncertainty at the trek.
- Personal Trekking Gears: If you need any extra essentials, you can rent these items like Rain Poncho, Trekking pole, Head Torch, Crampons, Shoes gaiters, etc. For renting these gears, you can contact us at +91-9286429119. Note: Book your trekking gear 10 days before your trek starts.
- Note: Book your trekking gears 10 days before your trek starts.
- Backpack Offloading: It is a totally optional service. If you have luggage & you want to carry for the whole trek. So you can book before your trek starts. Offload Charges: ₹4,620 per bag for the entire trek if paid online in advance & if you book on the spot, an additional 30% extra cost will be applied.
- Tips for Crew: Tipping is a personal gesture of appreciation to the team’s hard work. If you really like the crew team for their behaviour, kind & welcoming attitude towards the trekkers. So it's up to you how you appreciate them with some cash or gift. It's exclusively your wish.
Rupin Pass Trek – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
General
The Rupin Pass Trek is located in the Indian Himalayas and connects Uttarakhand with Himachal Pradesh. The trek passes through beautiful valleys, forests, waterfalls, and high-altitude mountain landscapes.
The trek is considered moderate to difficult due to high altitude, glacier terrain, steep ascents, and long trekking distances.
The highest point of the trek is Tapovan, located at approximately 4,463 meters (14,640 feet).
The trek is considered moderate to difficult because of steep ascents, long trekking hours, high altitude, snow sections, and glacier terrain.
The highest point of the trek is Rupin Pass at approximately 4,650 meters (15,250 feet).
The Rupin Pass Trek is generally completed in 6 to 7 days, depending on the itinerary.
The best seasons for the trek are:
- May to June – Snow-covered trails and pleasant weather
- September to October – Clear skies and beautiful mountain views
The trek is famous for:
- Dramatic changing landscapes
- Giant waterfalls
- Snow bridges and glacier trails
- Hanging villages
- Scenic alpine meadows
- Exciting high-altitude pass crossing
The trek is not ideal for complete beginners. Trekkers should have good fitness and preferably prior high-altitude trekking experience.
Trekkers can witness views of:
- Kinnaur Kailash ranges
- Bandarpoonch range
- Snow-covered Himalayan ridges
- Multiple glacier valleys and peaks
The trek usually starts from Dhaula in Uttarakhand or Jiskun, depending on the itinerary.
Temperatures may range between:
- Daytime: 5°C to 15°C
- Nighttime: -5°C to 0°C
Higher camps near the pass can become extremely cold.
Essential items include:
- High-ankle trekking shoes
- Warm jackets and thermals
- Waterproof gloves and rain gear
- Sunglasses and sunscreen
- Trekking poles
- Water bottles and energy snacks
- Personal medicines
