Limi Valley trek: route, days, season, permits and cost

The Limi Valley is the northernmost part of Humla and borders Tibet³. The trek follows an ancient trading and pilgrim route over high passes, and it opened to foreigners only in 2002⁴. Humla itself is covered in Humla, and the other long routes are in the treks hub.

Route and days

Himalayan Exploration gives two day counts: a header of 12 days starting and ending at Simikot, and an itinerary that runs to 21 days from arrival in Kathmandu to final departure¹. The page carries two versions of that itinerary, an outline and a day-by-day detail, and they differ: the outline gives Kermi at 2,650 m and 5.5 hours, Yari at 4 hours 45 minutes, Jang at 3,960 m, Talung at 7 hours and the second Kermi stage at 6 hours¹. The stage table below follows the day-by-day detail, which gives Kermi (day 6) 4 hours, Yari 5 hours, Jang 3,930 m, Talung 8 hours and the second Kermi stage 7 hours¹. The header rates the trek moderate, with camping as the accommodation¹. Its stages:

The valley itself has only three settlements, Dzang, Halji and Til³. Wikipedia gives their elevations as 3,920 m, 3,700 m and 4,100 m³; the operator’s table gives 4,000 m for Til, 3,670 m for Halji and 3,930 m for Jang¹. Magical Nepal names Halji, Jang and Til as the three villages instead, so the village list differs by source⁴. Where the elevations differ, this page uses the operator’s table.

How long is the trek, and which way in

From Simikot there are two walking routes into the valley. The first follows the Humla Karnali upstream to Hilsa, crosses the river there and climbs east to enter the valley near Til; the walk takes 5 to 7 days³. The second turns north at the confluence of the Salli Khola and the Humla Karnali, crosses the Nyalu pass, enters the Talung valley and reaches the Limi valley near Takche in 4 to 5 days³. The operator’s table passes through both Hilsa and Nyalu La¹.

Great Himalaya Trail lists the Salli Khad pass at 3,144 m, 35 minutes of climbing, and a minor pass above Simikot that takes 3 hours⁵. Much of the circuit follows ancient trade routes linking Tibet, Nepal and India⁵.

Passes and highest point

The two high points on Himalayan Exploration’s table are Nara La at 4,620 m, crossed on day 10, and Nyalu La at 4,950 m, crossed on day 16¹. Wikipedia and ICIMOD both give the Nyalu pass as 4,995 m, and it is the major entry point into the Limi Valley^3,6. This page uses the operator’s 4,950 m only when quoting its table. Nara La differs too: 4,620 m in the operator’s table, 4,580 m on Magical Nepal’s page and 4,560 m on Great Himalaya Trail’s^1,4,5. The header of the same page lists a maximum altitude of 4,200 m, which is below both passes in its own table¹.

Magical Nepal names the Nyala Pass as the highest elevation of its trek, with the Lamka La Pass at 4,300 m and Limi Lapcha, also called Lapcha Syar, at 4,900 m⁴. Talung, the camp before Nyalu La, sits at 4,370 m on the Himalayan Exploration table¹. Great Himalaya Trail puts Simikot at 2,985 m in its flight note, against 2,950 m on the Himalayan Exploration table^5,1.

Season

April to the end of November is the good-weather window on Himalayan Exploration’s page, and Great Himalaya Trail gives the same months^1,5. Most trekkers visit Humla and Limi in the monsoon as part of a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash¹. Outside the warm summer months of June to September there are few trekkers on the trail^1,5. Logistics can be problematic in summer, and local porters demand high pay rates¹.

The area has a harsh climate and a lot of snow, and a study of Limi settlement relocations by Kropacek and Hovden lists a snow disaster in October 2014 among its natural hazards⁷. The Humla road and flight links to the trailhead are in flights to Simikot.

Permits

Humla is a Department of Immigration trekking-permit area. In October 2026 the trekking route and permit fee table listed Humla at USD 50 per person per week, with USD 10 per day beyond 1 week, for Simikot Rural Municipality wards 1, 6 and 7, Namkha Rural Municipality wards 1 to 6 and Changkheli Rural Municipality wards 3 to 5². Limi is a ward of Namkha Rural Municipality³.

Himalayan Exploration’s inclusions list all necessary documentation and permits¹. The Department of Immigration’s USD 50 per week² differs from the US$90 per person for ten days in Himalayan Exploration’s own text¹. Magical Nepal adds that only limited permits are issued each year to protect the Limi Valley ecosystem⁴. How the system works is in restricted-area permits.

Costs

In October 2026 Himalayan Exploration listed the trek at USD 2,860 per person¹. The package includes domestic flights, airport and hotel transfers, Kathmandu accommodation with breakfast, tent accommodation and all meals on the trek¹.

There are few lodges on the Limi Valley circuit, so camping is the only alternative¹. The package excludes international airfare, the Nepal visa fee, meals in Kathmandu other than breakfast and personal expenses¹. Rations and fuel can be costly at Simikot, so more valuable goods are better brought from Nepalgunj¹. Great Himalaya Trail’s page gives the same warning and, as seen in October 2026, lists daily morning flights to Simikot⁵.

The villages and what you see

Til is the smallest of the three villages and is surrounded by fields of barley⁴. Rizing Ling Gompa, a Drukpa Kagyu monastery, stands nearby⁴. ICIMOD names the Limi Valley, Lapcha La Pass and Rinchenling Monastery as attractions in Namkha’s five-year tourism plan⁶.

Halji has an ancient Buddhist monastery⁷. Local people told the Kropacek and Hovden study that Halji was moved many generations ago, seeking refuge around the monastery, and that Til was moved over water availability and irrigation problems⁷. The largest communities of the area call themselves Bhotia, people from Tibet⁵. Losar, the New Year festival, runs for 15 days in the Limi villages, and the Rimche festival, with lama dancing, falls on the February to March full moon for 3 days⁵.

The Limi river drains the valley into the Humla Karnali³. Wild yaks, once thought extinct, were rediscovered here in 2014, and the valley is home to snow leopards and Himalayan blue sheep⁴. Namkha is also a gateway to the Kailash-Mansarovar area in Pulan, where thousands make a pilgrimage every year⁶.

Getting to the trailhead

The trailhead is Simikot, the Humla headquarters³. On Wikipedia’s account Simikot is reached by bus on the Karnali highway or by flight from Nepalgunj³. Himalayan Exploration’s table flies Kathmandu to Nepalgunj on day 3 and Nepalgunj to Simikot on day 4¹. Read Nepalgunj for the transit city.

On the way back the table flies Simikot to Kathmandu on day 19 with a stop at Nepalgunj¹. For the pilgrim route along the same river to the border, see Humla to Kailash.