Kheerganga in 2026: The Hot Spring Is Closed. Is the Trek Still Worth It?

Most people trek up to Kheerganga for one reason: the hot-spring bath at the top, a steaming pool at nearly 3,000 metres with the snow peaks straight ahead. But I have to begin with the bad news: the bath is closed.

I write this from Kullu, and I have not soaked in that pool myself, so I rely on what trekkers who went this year have reported, and they all say the same thing. One trekker who went in September noted sadly that the warm spring bath is now closed. Another was blunter: “I went at the end of September and they have closed the spring bath” (r/HimachalPradesh). Locals put it more starkly: the devta ordered that the Parvati Kund be taken apart after years of visitors misusing it (r/HimachalPradesh). A widely shared Kasol-valley video even shows the kund gone. Confirm the current situation before you commit, but plan your trek with the expectation that the soak is no longer available.

What changed, and why

Kheerganga became a victim of its own fame. For years, the reels and stories sold the same picture: trek up, soak in the hot pool, sleep in a tent in the meadow under the stars. Today, both halves of that are gone.

The hot pool was closed because it was wrecked by overuse. A traveller on the sub described the wider pattern bluntly. He said the place was peaceful ten to fifteen years ago, but is now crowded to the brim. The same fate befell Tosh (r/HimachalPradesh). The camping went by order: in 2024, the Forest Department banned overnight stays at the meadow, enforcing a morning-up, afternoon-down window and real penalties for breaking it. Advice that was normal two years ago, like the redditor who told a visitor to take the Kheerganga trek, to stay on the top for a night and come back down (r/HimachalPradesh), is now simply illegal. Another asked about a December trip, and summed up: you can no more stay in Kheerganga! (r/HimachalPradesh ).

The Kheerganga hot-spring bath, in better days. Multiple 2025-26 traveller reports and local accounts say the main Parvati Kund has since been closed and taken apart; confirm before you go. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

So is it still worth the walk?

Honestly, yes, but for different reasons than you were sold. You are no longer going for a hot soak or a night under the stars. You are going for a walk through the forest, a few hours up through deodar and pine along the Parvati river, past a waterfall, out onto one of the prettiest high meadows in the valley. I call it a fine day out!

It is also one of the gentler treks to attempt, which is half its appeal. As one trekker put it, it is a beginner-level trek, but ask the locals for final advice(r/HimachalPradesh). It is busy enough that you are rarely truly alone. Another first-timer was reassured that Kheerganga is an easy day hike, that there are shops and cafes on the way where you can take shelter if it rains, and that, being a busy trek, you will find help in case of any emergency (r/HimachalPradesh). Head for the meadow at the end, and you will not feel cheated. Seek the bath and you will.

The walk is the reason to come now. The trail climbs from Barshaini through forest before the meadow opens out. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The trek, as it is now

You start at Barshaini, the roadhead above Kasol. The path climbs first to Nakthan, a small village with tea stops, past the Rudra Nag waterfall, a Nag shrine beside a cascade that makes a natural halfway rest. From there, it is a steeper pull-up to the meadow at roughly 2,960 metres. The trail stretches for about twelve kilometres uphill, and the most reasonably fit walkers complete it in four to six hours.

The Parvati, loud below the trail for most of the climb. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The path through the forest, flanked by deodar and pine, is made unforgettable by the river’s powerful voice echoing beneath. One of the trekkers recalls the top for the crisp air more than anything. He describes it as “the crispiest air I have ever felt” (r/HimachalPradesh). The fresh air and the meadow are still there. The things that were built, the pool and the tents, are gone.

Most of the climb is under deodar and pine, with the Parvati loud below. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

How to do it in 2026

As it is now a day trek, the shape of the trip has changed. You no longer sleep at the top; instead, you sleep below and walk up for the day. These are the honest options:

As a day trek. Heading out early from Barshaini, you can reach the meadow by midday and be back down by mid-afternoon, well within the permitted window. The exact timing rules and permit details are in our ban explainer, so I won’t repeat them here.

Sleeping below. If you want the upper-valley nights that camping once offered, base yourself in Nakthan, the last village on the trail, or down in Pulga or Kalga, and take a day hike from there. And if a tent night under the stars is the whole point for you, camping is still permitted higher up on the thaches, which is its own adventure, covered in our off-grid camping guide.

Guided. If you would rather not figure out the buses, the timing and the trail logistics yourself, Refuje offers a guided Kheerganga trek from this side. Think of it as a guided day walk, and be sure to confirm the current overnight and spring situation directly when you book, since both have changed. You can find the details here.

When to go, and the part that matters most

Plan your trek during the dry months April to June and September to October. Avoid December, when it snows on the upper trail; as one trekker warned, I won't recommend trekking to Kheerganga in December, you never know, it might snow. (r/HimachalPradesh), Skip the July to August monsoon, when the trail is slick and the rivers become dangerous. Walking is far easier on a dry trail than on a wet one.

The meadow when camping was still allowed. Tents like these are gone now; the grass is recovering. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

And the part that matters most, the whole reason the pool and the camps are gone: tread lightly. Kheerganga lost the things people loved precisely because too many people loved them carelessly. Carry your garbage down; do not try to sneak a tent up. Respect that the kund is a shrine before it became a swimming pool. Our guide to travelling Himachal without wrecking it is the long version, and Kheerganga is the cautionary tale at the centre of it. If you are coming to the valley for the first time, our honest Kasol guide and the quiet villages above Kasol pair well with this.

A one-day plan, and what it costs

Kheerganga is not what the reels still show, and there is no point pretending otherwise. The pool is closed, the tents are gone, and the meadow is quietly getting better for it. Tread through the deodar, enjoy the waterfall and the fresh air at the top. Just leave the soak out of your plans, and leave the place cleaner than the last lot did.

FAQ

Written from Kullu. I know the Parvati spur as a regular up the valley, not as someone who has soaked at Kheerganga; the trail and closure reports above are travellers on r/HimachalPradesh and a Kasol-valley video, linked or noted at each mention. The camping ban is confirmed; the hot-spring closure is reported by multiple 2025-26 accounts but worth reconfirming on the day. Checked June 2026.