Chakrata
Restricted cantonment near Delhi, untouched forest and falls
Best time to visit Chakrata
- Jan, shoulder season
- Feb, shoulder season
- Mar, shoulder season
- Apr, peak season
- May, peak season
- Jun, best avoided
- Jul, best avoided
- Aug, best avoided
- Sep, best avoided
- Oct, peak season
- Nov, peak season
- Dec, shoulder season
peak shoulder off-season avoid
- Go: April to May and October to November
- Shoulder: December to March, quieter, and the weather is less of a sure thing
- Skip: June to September
Chakrata season by season
Winter December to February Shoulder
Cold and often snowy above 2000m, roads to higher points like Deoban can close after heavy snow
Summer March to May Prime time
Pleasant, forested, and still nearly empty of tourists. A genuine off-the-radar escape
Monsoon June to September Do not go
Landslide-prone forest roads and a dangerously slippery Tiger Falls trail
Autumn October to November Prime time
Clear, dry, and the best time for the Tiger Falls hike and Deoban forest walks
What Chakrata is actually like
Barely visited even by Indian tourists. Likely the only outsider at Tiger Falls
Getting to Chakrata
Train Dehradun 90km, 3h taxi; foreigners need prior permission
Practical ways in: road
Trip facts
- How long to stay
- 2 days
- Budget
- Shoestring
- How busy
- Quiet at its peak
- Solo travel
- Doable solo with some planning
- Altitude
- 2118 m
- State
- Uttarakhand
- Coordinates
- 30.7020, 77.8656
Common questions
When is the best time to visit Chakrata?
April to May and October to November is peak season in Chakrata. December to March is shoulder season: thinner crowds, a bit more risk in the weather. Avoid June to September. Pleasant, forested, and still nearly empty of tourists. A genuine off-the-radar escape.
How many days do you need in Chakrata?
2 days is the usual stay. Barely visited even by Indian tourists. Likely the only outsider at Tiger Falls.
How do you get to Chakrata?
Train Dehradun 90km, 3h taxi; foreigners need prior permission. Practical ways in: road.
Is Chakrata expensive, and does it get crowded?
Shoestring by Indian travel standards, and it runs quiet at the busiest time of year. Doable solo with some planning.
Nearby, and where to go next
-
Nag Tibba
Uttarakhand
Weekend snow summit at 3020 m above Pantwari village
50 km from Chakrata, roughly about 1 h by road
-
Mussoorie
Uttarakhand
Colonial 'Queen of the Hills', Delhi's easiest escape
50 km from Chakrata, roughly about 1 h by road
-
Renuka Lake (Renuka Ji)
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal's largest natural lake, ringed by a leafy parikrama
50 km from Chakrata, roughly under an hour by road
-
Churdhar (via Nohradhar)
Himachal Pradesh
Sirmaur's 3,647 m Shiva summit above a sea of foothills
60 km from Chakrata, roughly about 2 h by road
-
Kalesar National Park
Haryana
Haryana's only sal forest with leopards on the Yamuna edge
60 km from Chakrata, roughly about 1 h by road
-
Sankri (Har Ki Dun)
Uttarakhand
Govind park trailhead for Har Ki Dun and Kedarkantha
80 km from Chakrata, roughly about 2 h by road
-
Kanatal
Uttarakhand
Deodar ridge of apple orchards and campfires above the Tehri valley
80 km from Chakrata, roughly about 2 h by road
-
Chail
Himachal Pradesh
Deodar hill station with the world's highest cricket ground
110 km from Chakrata, roughly about 3 h by road
More places to visit in Uttarakhand
- Abbott Mount (Lohaghat) Uttarakhand
- Almora Uttarakhand
- Auli Uttarakhand
- Badrinath & Mana Uttarakhand
- Bageshwar Uttarakhand
- Binsar Uttarakhand
- Chaukori Uttarakhand
- Chopta Uttarakhand
- Haridwar Uttarakhand
- Harsil Uttarakhand
- Jageshwar Uttarakhand
- Jim Corbett (Ramnagar) Uttarakhand
- Kanatal Uttarakhand
- Kausani Uttarakhand
- Kedarnath Uttarakhand
- Khirsu Uttarakhand
- Lansdowne Uttarakhand
- Mukteshwar Uttarakhand
- Munsiyari Uttarakhand
- Mussoorie Uttarakhand
- Nag Tibba Uttarakhand
- Nainital Uttarakhand
- Patal Bhuvaneshwar Uttarakhand
- Ranikhet Uttarakhand
- Rishikesh Uttarakhand
- Sankri (Har Ki Dun) Uttarakhand
- Sattal Uttarakhand
- Valley of Flowers Uttarakhand