Best time to visit Dharamkot for work, courses, treks and winter

This is one part of our Dharamkot guide. If you already know you're coming, the homes and rooms are on the Dharamkot homestays page.

TL;DR summary

• Best windows: Mar to early Jun, Oct to Nov. October has 52.6 mm of rain over 2.6 days at Dharamshala. The village is a few degrees cooler.
• Wettest months: July and August. 859 mm and 942 mm at Dharamshala, on 22 and 23 rainy days.
• Coldest nights: 5.9 C in January. Mean minimum at Dharamshala, with a record low of -1.9 C. The village is a few degrees colder.
• Tushita: Shut in Dec and Jan. Winter break. It reopens some time in February.
• Triund in winter: Police permission. Orders since December 2022 ban trekking above 3,000 m. The latest two put Triund under police permission.
• Film festival 2026: 29 Oct to 1 Nov. At the Tibetan Children's Village in Upper Dharamshala. Hotels were 80 to 90 percent full in early October.

Dharamkot temperature, rain and what is open, month by month

The best time to visit Dharamkot is March to early June and October to November. In those months the long-term averages for Dharamshala put days at 22 to 31 C, October brings 53 mm of rain against 859 mm in July and 942 mm in August, and the village, which sits higher than the town the figures come from, runs a few degrees cooler.

Most advice stops there, and for a stay of weeks it leaves out the dates that matter. The monsoon withdrew only on 3 October in 2026, so September is still wet. Tushita closes in December and January, and Triund has been put under winter orders in December or January. October fills up too: in early October 2026 hotels were 80 to 90 percent full, and the Dharamshala International Film Festival follows on 29 October. If you plan to stay a week or a month, homes and rooms in Dharamkot are let that way.

Best time to visit Dharamkot by goal: work, courses, treks, cold

• A working month: October to November, or March to early June. Rain is light and days are mild. Spring is the peak season in the Kangra valley and October has the film festival, so book ahead for both.
• Courses and retreats: February to November. Tushita is shut every December and January. Dhamma Sikhara, the free Vipassana centre beside the village, has every 10-day course full to 26 November 2026. The next one starts on 15 March 2027, and applications for it open around 15 January.
• Triund and day walks: October to November, or March to early June. The trail is slippery in July and August, and winter orders have covered it from December or January.
• Cold and a chance of snow: December to February. Nights in the village sit close to freezing in January, so ask about heating before you book.
• Months to skip: July and August. They bring the heaviest rain, and landslides have cut the roads below the village.

Dharamkot weather: Dharamshala averages and how the village differs

Dharamkot has no weather station of its own, so the figures in the table are the weather department’s 1991 to 2020 averages for Dharamshala, a town at 1,457 m. The top of the village, by the Gallu Devi temple, is about 2,100 m. The lower lanes are nearer 1,900 m, and McLeod Ganj sits at about 1,750 m. Read every temperature as a few degrees lower in the village. Dharamshala gets 3,027 mm of rain in a year, most of it from June to September, and its coldest recorded night is -1.9 C in January.

Dharamkot in winter: cold nights, Tushita shut, Triund by permission

December is dry on paper, with 36.6 mm of rain over about two days and days of 18.4 C at Dharamshala. The cold comes at night. The mean minimum at Dharamshala is 7.1 C in December, 5.9 C in January and 7.3 C in February, and the village is a few degrees colder than that. February is the wettest of the three months, with 128.3 mm on 6.2 days.

What breaks in winter is the calendar more than the road. Tushita takes its winter break in December and January and reopens some time in February. The Library of Tibetan Works and Archives ran its 2026 classes until 11 December. Some cafes close for weeks between seasons without notice, so check before you cross the village for a meal. Heating is the other cost, so ask whether it is included. A gas heater was quoted at ₹200 a day extra at one guesthouse in 2023.

Dharamkot snowfall: what to expect and how the Triund orders work

Snow and sleet are common in winter in the upper parts of Dharamshala, including McLeod Ganj, Bhagsu Nag and Naddi, while the town below gets little. Dharamkot sits above McLeod Ganj. We’d plan for cold nights whether or not snow comes, because the district acts before snow does: the December 2024 order was issued while Triund had still had no snowfall.

Orders in December 2022, December 2024 and on 6 January 2026 banned trekking above 3,000 m. The latest two made the Kangra police superintendent’s permission compulsory for Triund and Kareri. A weather alert from the Shimla office cancels permissions already given, no end date has been published, and the district says such orders come ahead of worsening weather, so an alert in any month can matter. From December to March, ask at the Gallu check post or the police before you set out.

Winter has caught people out on this trail. Four guides were booked in December 2024 for leading a group towards Triund. A British man died after a fall near Thathri on the Triund trail in February 2025, while a temporary ban on high-altitude trekking was in force. At the end of December 2025, police rescued four trekkers from Delhi who had lost their way towards Triund.

Dharamkot in spring, March to early June: warm days, peak season

Mustard fields at Heini in February 2015. Photo: Ktoya, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Days at Dharamshala climb from 22.5 C in March to 26.9 C in April and 30.8 C in May, with nights of 10.7, 14.8 and 19.0 C. The village is comfortable for work through April and warm by May. April and May are the drier months, with 65.7 mm and 72.4 mm of rain, while March is showery at 111.3 mm on 6.1 days. You share it with other visitors, because March to June is the peak tourist season in the Kangra valley.

Several dates fall inside the season. Tibetan Uprising Day on 10 March brings rallies and marches in Dharamshala. The Library of Tibetan Works and Archives ran its 2026 classes from 11 March, with a break from 14 to 31 July, and Dhamma Sikhara restarts its 10-day courses on 15 March 2027. In May the stadium hosts cricket. The IPL matches fell on 11, 14, 17 and 26 May in 2026, and rooms and taxis get scarce on match days, so check the fixtures before you book and agree a taxi fare before you get in.

This is also the season for Triund and the other treks. Since November 2025 every trekker must register at the check post at Gallu temple, by order of the district magistrate, and guides may take at most 10 trekkers in a group. Day walkers can be turned back at Gallu after about 11:30 am, so start by mid-morning. We’d take a guide above Triund. The Indrahar Pass is about 4,300 m and takes four to five days, and an Israeli man who had been staying in Dharamkot went missing near that trail on 6 June 2025 and was found alive on 15 June.

Dharamkot in monsoon, late June to September: what the rain breaks

Upper Dharamshala from Naddi on a rainy day in August 2009. Photo: Kiran Jonnalagadda, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The monsoon reached Himachal on 30 June in 2026, seven days later than the normal 25 June, and withdrew on 3 October against a normal 25 September. In 2025 it arrived on 20 June and left on 26 September. Across the state the 2025 season ran 39 percent above normal and the 2026 one 11 percent below, so the same village can have a very different summer from one year to the next.

• June: 279.0 mm over 10.7 days at Dharamshala. The first days are still in the good window, and the rain settles in once the monsoon arrives.
• July and August: the wettest weeks, with 859 mm and 942 mm on 22 and 23 days.
• September: 377.7 mm on 13.9 days. The rain tapers, but the month is still wet and the monsoon may not have left.

Roads go first. The only road to the village has been in poor repair since about 2024, with collapsed retaining walls, and autos struggle on it. Above the road head everything is on foot. Below the village, the Khada Danda shortcut between Dharamshala and McLeod Ganj was washed out in August 2025, and the detour by the Forsyth Ganj church bypass is 13 km. On 20 August 2025 the district disaster authority shut the ropeway between Dharamshala and McLeod Ganj after a landslide, and bus services on many routes around Dharamshala were suspended. The ropeway runs again in 2026. In September 2025 another landslide, near St John’s church at Forsyth Ganj, cut the main McLeod Ganj road and affected thousands of residents of Dharamkot and Bhagsunag. Ask your host which road is open before you travel in and just after the monsoon, and read how to reach Dharamkot for the routes. Do not plan around the Kangra Valley train. It reopened on 2 June 2026 after nearly four years, and landslides near Jawalamukhi damaged it in September 2026.

The walks suffer too. Triund is slippery in July and August, and the forest department can turn people back in heavy rain. The district has issued monsoon orders that bar entry to rivers, streams and waterfalls, so stay out of the water on the Bhagsu and Gallu walks from July to September.

Dharamkot in autumn, October to November: dry weeks and full weekends

Rain nearly stops. Dharamshala gets 52.6 mm on 2.6 days in October and 18.8 mm on 1.2 days in November, with days of 25.6 and 22.0 C and nights of 14.2 and 10.2 C. The village is a few degrees cooler than that.

Crowds are the price of the weather. In early October 2026 hotels were 80 to 90 percent full over the long weekend, and extra police were posted at McLeod Ganj, Dharamkot and Bhagsu. The Dalai Lama came back to Dharamshala on 4 September 2026, and his presence has been drawing visitors. Listed nightly rates for mid and late October 2026 started around ₹1,330 for a hostel bed and reached ₹3,200 for a private double, with a coliving in the village at about ₹2,500 to ₹2,650 a night for two. Ask for weekly and monthly quotes for two start dates.

Autumn is also when the courses run. Tushita’s 10-day Introduction to Buddhism is held on 14 to 23 October, 3 to 12 November and 17 to 26 November 2026, and then the centre shuts for winter. The Himalayan Iyengar Yoga Centre in the village runs a 5-day course on 23 to 27 October from ₹5,500 and a 9-day course from 29 October to 7 November from ₹21,500. Public teachings by the Dalai Lama need advance registration, and the things to do guide has the rules.

Events that fill Dharamkot, from October 2026 to June 2027

The cricket stadium at Dharamshala in May 2019. Photo: BibhasCD, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

• Dharamshala International Film Festival, 29 October to 1 November 2026. The 15th edition runs at the Tibetan Children’s Village in Upper Dharamshala, with four venues. It falls inside the October rush, so we’d book rooms early.
• Losar, 7 February 2027. The Tibetan New Year. Astrologers set the date, so confirm it locally the week before. Norbulingka closes admission that day.
• Tibetan Uprising Day, 10 March. Rallies and marches in Dharamshala.
• Cricket in May. The IPL matches fell on 11, 14, 17 and 26 May in 2026, and an international one-day match was listed for 14 June.
• Dalai Lama teachings. Register at the main temple courtyard from 9 am to 1 pm and 2 pm to 5 pm, starting a few days before the first day and closing the day before it. The fee is ₹10, foreigners bring copies of passport, visa and C form, and residents of India a copy of their Aadhaar card. The teachings are free.

Working from Dharamkot by season: internet, power, heat, damp, water

Internet. Fibre reaches coworking spaces and some homes in the village, and BSNL Bharat Fibre and Airtel Xstream are the providers in use. Ask your host for a speed test taken in the room that week, and keep a second SIM as a hotspot, particularly on storm days.

Power. Brief cuts can come in monsoon storms, and many colivings and homestays have an inverter. Ask what the backup runs and whether it covers the router. Electricity is billed at ₹7 to ₹10 a unit.

Heating. A monthly power-and-gas budget of ₹1,500 to ₹2,500 can rise to ₹3,500 with heating or firewood. Ask whether a heater is included and what it costs.

Damp and sun. A guest at one village coliving described a room that got no sunlight and felt a little damp. Ask which way your room faces before you commit to a wet month.

Water. Water on this slope can run short. In August 2025 landslides damaged supply lines to Dharamshala and McLeod Ganj, and Tushita asks its students not to wash laundry on site because of water shortages. Ask your host how water reaches the house.

Supplies. There is no ATM in the village, one small pharmacy that stays open to 9 pm and a few small general stores. Anything else is in McLeod Ganj, a 25 to 40 minute walk down and longer back up. Delek Hospital, below McLeod Ganj, is open 24 hours, and a landslide blocked the road near it on 20 August 2025. Carry cash and any regular medicine in hand before July.

Who should visit Dharamkot when: a quick decision guide

• Remote workers: come in October to November or March to early June. Wait if you cannot work through full hotels and film-festival crowds, and take spring instead.
• Course and retreat students: come from February to November, and apply early. Wait if you want Tushita in December or January.
• Trekkers: come in October to November or March to early June, and register at Gallu. Wait for spring if you do not want to ask the police first.
• Cold-weather people: come from December to February with warm layers, and check the heating. Skip it if you want cafes and courses at full strength.
• Flexible stayers: July and August are the wettest months, so come only if your dates can move and you can live with landslide delays. Otherwise take October.

Where to sleep is covered in where to stay in Dharamkot, and what a month costs in the Dharamkot cost of living guide.

Frequently asked questions about the best time to visit Dharamkot