Day and night temperatures, snow, rain and crowd levels for every month of the season — plus how much colder it gets at each stage of the climb.
Quick answerKedarnath sits at 3,583m, and the season runs 22 April to 11 November 2026. Daytime temperatures at the temple range from about 4°C in April to 18°C in June; nights run from −9°C in November to about 9°C in July. The two best windows are May to mid-June (warmest, busiest) and mid-September to October (clearest views, far fewer people). July and August are peak monsoon — the temple stays open, but landslides and grounded helicopters make those weeks genuinely difficult.
Almost everyone underestimates Kedarnath in the same way: they plan for the daytime figure and get caught out by the night. A May afternoon at the temple is pleasant in a fleece. That same night is close to freezing, and you will have started the morning in the plains at 38°C. The gap between those two numbers — not the average — is what determines whether the trip is comfortable.
Month-by-month conditions
Kedarnath monthly day and night temperatures, snow, rain and crowd levels
Month
Day
Night
Snow
Rain
Crowds
Verdict
April
4°C to 8°C
−6°C to −2°C
Heavy, lying snow on the trek
Low
Light
⚠️ Go prepared
May
10°C to 15°C
2°C to 5°C
Occasional above Linchauli
Low to medium
Very heavy
✅ Good time to go
June
12°C to 18°C
6°C to 9°C
None
Medium, rising late month
Very heavy
✅ Good time to go
July
11°C to 17°C
8°C to 10°C
None
Heavy — peak monsoon
Light
⛔ Not advised
August
11°C to 16°C
8°C to 10°C
None
Heavy — peak monsoon
Light
⛔ Not advised
September
10°C to 15°C
4°C to 7°C
None at trek level
Low to medium, clearing
Moderate
✅ Good time to go
October
6°C to 10°C
−2°C to 2°C
On surrounding peaks
Very low
Moderate
✅ Good time to go
November
0°C to 3°C
−9°C to −5°C
Heavy, first closures
Very low
Light
⚠️ Go prepared
April — Temple opens 22 April. Snow is still being cleared from the upper trek; it is genuinely cold and the darshan queue moves in the open.
May — The classic window. Clear mornings, rhododendrons in flower, trek fully open. Also the single most crowded month — book accommodation well ahead.
June — Warmest month and the easiest trekking. Monsoon usually arrives in the last week — after about 20 June the risk profile changes.
July — Landslides close the Rudraprayag–Sonprayag road repeatedly. The yatra is not suspended, but multi-day delays are normal and helicopters are frequently grounded.
August — The wettest stretch. Trek surfaces stay slick, leeches appear in the lower forest, and cloud cover means you often see nothing of the peaks.
September — Monsoon withdraws through the first fortnight. From mid-September the air is washed clean and the mountain views are the best of the year, with a fraction of May’s crowds.
October — Coldest of the comfortable months and the finest for photography — visibility is routinely 100km. Nights drop below freezing, so bring real cold-weather gear.
November — Temple closes 11 November on Bhai Dooj. The final week is severe: expedition-grade clothing, and the trek can be snowbound at short notice.
How cold it gets at each stage of the route
The month is only half the answer. On a single day of the yatra you climb from 314m to 3,583m, and the temperature falls roughly 6°C for every 1,000m you gain. This is the table people actually need when they are deciding what to put in the daypack versus what to leave in the vehicle at Sonprayag.
Temperature by elevation along the Kedarnath route, May and October
Stop
Elevation
May (night–day)
October (night–day)
What that means
Haridwar
314m
24°C to 38°C
16°C to 30°C
Plains heat. You start the yatra in a t-shirt.
Guptkashi
1,319m
13°C to 24°C
8°C to 20°C
Most Kedarnath packages overnight here. A fleece is enough.
Sonprayag
1,829m
10°C to 21°C
5°C to 17°C
Vehicle road ends. Shuttle to Gaurikund from here.
Gaurikund
1,982m
9°C to 20°C
4°C to 16°C
Trek starts. Warm by day even in October.
Linchauli
3,048m
4°C to 13°C
0°C to 9°C
Roughly 3km short of the temple. The cold starts to bite here.
Kedarnath
3,583m
2°C to 15°C
−2°C to 10°C
A 30°C swing from where you started that morning in the valley.
The daily pattern, and why you start early
Kedarnath weather is more predictable within a day than it is across a week. Mornings are usually clear. Cloud builds from the valley through the late morning, and by early afternoon the peaks are typically hidden; on monsoon days the rain arrives with it. This is why guides push groups out of Gaurikund before first light and why helicopter sorties are concentrated in the morning slots — by 2pm the visibility minimums often stop being met.
It also means a same-day return trek is a weather decision as much as a fitness one. Leaving Gaurikund at 4am gives you a clear-sky darshan and a descent finished before the afternoon deteriorates. Leaving at 9am, which is what happens when a group is slow to assemble, routinely ends with the last two hours walked in rain and failing light.
Where these figures come from
There is no long-running IMD observing station at Kedarnath itself. Nearly every published “Kedarnath temperature” is interpolated from Rudraprayag (690m) or Ukhimath (1,311m) and then adjusted for altitude, which is why sites disagree by 5–8°C for the same month. The bands above are what our drivers and guides have recorded on the route since 2010, cross-checked against IMD regional data — published as ranges rather than single figures because a single figure would be a false precision.
What to pack, by season
Always
✓Waterproof boots with real grip
✓Rain poncho (fits over a daypack)
✓Sunscreen SPF 50+ and lip balm
✓Refillable water bottle
✓Personal medicines, in the daypack not the luggage
April, Oct & Nov
✓Thermal base layers, two sets
✓Down or heavy fleece mid-layer
✓Windproof shell
✓Wool cap and gloves
✓Wool socks, 3–4 pairs
May & June
✓Fleece plus a light windproof
✓Wool cap for the evening
✓Sunglasses — snow glare is real
✓Light layers for the valley heat
Monsoon (Jul–Aug)
✓Full rain gear, not just a poncho
✓Dry bag for phone and documents
✓Quick-dry trousers
✓Spare socks in a sealed bag
✓Two buffer days in the itinerary
Weather is also the main driver of altitude sickness on this route, because cold pushes people to climb faster to stay warm. If you are travelling in April, October or November, read the altitude sickness guide before you go. For live conditions during the season, check road status, and for the trek itself see the Kedarnath trek guide.
Frequently asked questions
It depends on the month, and the day/night gap is larger than most people expect. Across the season, daytime temperatures at the temple run from about 4°C in April to 18°C in June, while nights range from −9°C in November to about 9°C in July. The two most comfortable stretches are May to mid-June and mid-September to October.
Late September and October, if you want clear views and manageable crowds. May and early June are warmer and are the traditional choice, but they are also the most crowded weeks of the year. Both windows are good; September–October is the better one for photography and for anyone who dislikes queues.
Below freezing for most of the season. Nights sit around −6°C to −2°C in April, 2°C to 5°C in May, 6°C to 9°C in June and July, and drop back to −2°C in October and −9°C in November. If you are staying overnight at Kedarnath rather than descending the same day, pack for genuine sub-zero conditions in every month except June, July and August.
The temple stays open through July and August and the yatra is not formally suspended, but we do not recommend those months. Landslides close the Rudraprayag–Sonprayag road repeatedly, helicopter services are grounded for days at a time, the trek surface is slick, and cloud cover means you often see nothing of the mountains you came for. If your dates are fixed in the monsoon, build two spare days into the plan.
Occasionally, above Linchauli, and it usually does not settle on the trek. Lying snow on the path is an April problem rather than a May one — the route is normally cleared by the time the temple opens on 22 April, but the last stretch can still hold packed snow into the first week of May.
There is no long-running weather station at Kedarnath itself. Published figures are interpolated from the nearest observing stations at Rudraprayag and Ukhimath and then adjusted for altitude, which is why different websites quote figures that disagree by 5–8°C for the same month. The ranges on this page are the bands our drivers and guides have recorded on the route since 2010, cross-checked against IMD regional data, and they are presented as bands for that reason.
Layers, because you will pass through a 30°C temperature swing in a single day. Start from Gaurikund in a t-shirt and light fleece, carry a windproof outer shell and a warm cap for the top, and add thermals if you are staying overnight or travelling in April, October or November. Waterproof boots with grip matter more than any other single item — the trek is stone, and it is wet in patches in every month.
Last verified: August 22, 2026 · Season: 22 April – 11 November 2026 · Sources: Shiv Ganga Travels route records (2010–2026), IMD regional data, Shri Badarinath Kedarnath Temple Committee season notifications. Published under CC BY 4.0 — free to cite with attribution.
Plan your Kedarnath yatra around the weather
Best windows: 1 May – 15 June and 10 September – 31 October · Packages from ₹5,250