Best time to hike the Markha Valley Trek
Best: July–August. Also good: June and September.
The Markha Valley Trek is 67 km long, in 5 stages. Below is the average weather for every month at about 3,816 m, the middle height of the trail (3,179–5,264 m), from 10 years of daily data (2015–2024).
Weather month by month
| Month | High °C | Low °C | Rain mm | Rain days | Daylight h | Snow cm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −5° | −19° | 46 | 8 | 10.1 | 46 |
| February | −4° | −19° | 35 | 7 | 10.9 | 35 |
| March | 0° | −14° | 54 | 10 | 11.9 | 54 |
| April | 6° | −5° | 46 | 8 | 13.0 | 28 |
| May | 11° | 0° | 31 | 8 | 13.9 | 2 |
| June | 16° | 4° | 28 | 7 | 14.4 | 0 |
| July | 22° | 8° | 54 | 16 | 14.2 | 0 |
| August | 22° | 8° | 44 | 14 | 13.4 | 0 |
| September | 18° | 3° | 28 | 9 | 12.3 | 0 |
| October | 9° | −2° | 15 | 4 | 11.3 | 4 |
| November | 2° | −10° | 28 | 4 | 10.3 | 27 |
| December | −3° | −17° | 22 | 3 | 9.9 | 22 |
Higher up it is colder: about 6 °C less for every 1,000 m of height. The highest point of the trail is 5,264 m.
Season notes from our guide
The season is mid-June to mid-September. Before mid-June snow can block the Kongmaru La, and in September nights at Nimaling fall well below freezing and the tent camps close. July and August are the busiest and warmest months, but melting snow makes the rivers higher: the crossings between Markha and Hankar can be knee to thigh deep, and walkers in 2023 and 2026 reported 15 to 20 crossings on the descent from the Kongmaru La. Cross early in the day, when the water is lowest.
Stages, map, elevation profile, places to stay and emergency help, free.
Read the full Markha Valley Trek guideHike it with Outest
Offline maps, stages and places to stay on your phone.
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Weather: NASA POWER (MERRA-2 reanalysis), daily values 2015–2024 near 33.87, 77.47, adjusted to 3,816 m. Rain days: days with at least 1 mm. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th of the month.