Time to
visit or Trekking in Himalaya
In Himalayas has two main trekking seasons, pre-monsoon
& post-monsoon.
Pre-monsoon season
Pre-monsoon season
The pre-monsoon season starts around the end of February and
up to the end of May. In late February it is still the tail end of winter so
temperatures are colder especially at higher altitudes. Early March is a good
time to visit places at a lower elevation (between 800m and 2000m).
As one gets into April and May it will be very hot & sweaty at these lower altitudes and visibility keeps very poor. Weather become haze from dust & pollution from Northern India as well as smoke from villages in the Himalayas.
If you are looking to trek high passes over 5000m like Cho La, Larkya La or Dhampus Pass it is better to leave it until April & May. If you attempt passes in March you will normally find that they are still blocked with winter snows, whereas by April and into May much of this snow has melted.
A typical characteristic of pre-monsoon weather is to get clear blue skies in the morning with clouding building during the day. Often there is precipitation in the afternoon and then the skies clear off again in the evenings.
One of the best advantages of trekking in the pre-monsoon season is that there are fewer other trekkers around compared to October & November.
Post-monsoon season
October is the best trekking month in the Nepal Himalayas. This is because the weather is generally stable with clear blue skies with god visibility and, unlike the pre-monsoon season, it is often clear for the whole day with no afternoon cloud blocking the sun.
The beginning of the post-monsoon trekking season starts at a different date each year as it depends on when the monsoon finishes. Sometimes the stable weather can start in early to mid September whereas other years it can go into October.
By mid October the weather should have settled, this is the best time to view the Himalayan peaks and for photography because the monsoon has cleared the dust and other impurities from the air. As the season progresses into November the weather becomes more stable and predictable with most days having sun and blue skies. The temperature begins to cool off especially in the evenings once the sun has gone down, for this reason you should make sure you have a warm sleeping bag!
It is also possible to trek during December although of course the temperatures are colder at night. This is one of my favourite times of year to visit more popular places like the Khumbu because there are far fewer people around compared to October and November.
It is possible to get snowfall at this time of year and if it does snow it is likely to settle at a relatively low altitude and could stay on the frozen ground for a long time. However, over the last few years there have been dry winters in the Himalayas so has been a great time to trek.
At a glance
in all month wise
|
January
|
Cold and icy but generally clear
skies. “…Sometime around mid-January. Very quiet (few people) in winter
season, cold at night, fresh and beautiful
|
|
February
|
Cold, icy but warming towards the
end of the month
|
|
March
|
Good weather. Not too cold high
up, not too warm down below.
|
|
April
|
Getting hot in lower Region
|
|
May
|
Hot, sweaty and hazy weather
|
|
June
|
Weather Cooling down with rains
|
|
July
|
Monsoon
|
|
August
|
Monsoon
|
|
September
|
Monsoon dies away, haze and rains
still possible.
|
|
October
|
Magnificent Weather
|
|
November
|
Fabulous, cooling down weather but
you can still streaking comfortably.
|
|
December
|
Very very cold weather and not
suitable for trekking.
|
