Monsoon trekking in India

Where monsoon trekking is good

The southwest monsoon normally reaches Kerala around 1 June and covers the whole country around 8 July, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). It withdraws from the whole country around 15 October. In 2026, IMD announced the monsoon had withdrawn from the entire country on 15 October.

Those dates shape where you can trek:

• The Western Ghats (Sahyadris). This is the classic monsoon country: green forts, mist and waterfalls. It is also where the rain is heaviest. IMD explains that the Western Ghats act as a barrier to the monsoon winds, which brings heavy to very heavy rain to the west coast. Short day treks on well-used forest and fort paths work best. Long, exposed ridges and walks along stream beds do not.
• Rain-shadow valleys of the high Himalaya. Places beyond the main range, such as Ladakh and Spiti, get far less rain. The roads to reach them can still be cut by landslides, so build spare days into the trip.
• The rest of the Himalaya. Many lower and middle Himalayan trails are wet, cloudy and prone to landslides in July and August. If you go, choose a trek whose page lists monsoon among its best months, and check the closure notes.

Whatever you choose, check the IMD district forecast and any warnings the day before and on the morning you start.

Leeches, slippery rock and flash floods

Leeches are common on wet forest trails in the monsoon. Know how to deal with them before you meet one.

• To remove one, pull the skin tight, slide a fingernail or a card under the mouth end (the narrower end) and flick it away. Or wait. It will usually drop off by itself in about 30–45 minutes.
• Do not pull it off, burn it, or put salt, shampoo or insect repellent on it. Healthline warns these can make the leech vomit into the wound and raise the risk of infection.
• The bite may keep bleeding for a while. Clean it, cover it with a plaster, and change the plaster until the bleeding stops.
• See a doctor if the bite becomes red, hot, painful or oozes, if you get a fever, or if bleeding is heavy, especially if you take blood thinners.

Slippery rock and mud. Trails become slippery and slushy in the rains. This was one of the reasons Karnataka gave for closing the Kukke Subramanya–Pushpagiri trail, which includes Kumara Parvatha, through the summer and rainy season in 2024. Take shorter steps, use trekking poles, keep off mossy rock and wet laterite slabs where you can, and keep three points of contact on rock sections. Walk down steep sections slowly.

Flash floods and landslides. NDMA’s guidance:

• Flash floods can hit streams, drainage channels and gullies suddenly, with or without rain clouds or heavy rain overhead.
• If a flash flood is possible, move to higher ground immediately. Do not wait for instructions.
• Do not walk through moving water. Six inches (about 15 cm) of moving water can knock you down.
• Muddy river water can mean a landslide upstream. Listen for cracking trees or boulders knocking together.

A stream you crossed easily in the morning can be impassable by afternoon. If the water rises, wait on the safe side or turn back.

Forts and waterfalls: closures and rules

After drownings and accidents, district administrations in Maharashtra now issue monsoon orders for forts, waterfalls and dams. These are legal orders, and violators face action.

• Pune district, July 2024. After a woman and four children were swept away at a waterfall near Bhushi Dam, Lonavala, the Pune Collector issued orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Disaster Management Act, 2005. They covered sites in nine tehsils, including Bhushi Dam, Tiger Point, Lion’s Point, the Pavana Dam area, Tamhini Ghat, the area around Sinhgad Fort, Malshej Ghat, the Shivneri Fort region, and fort areas in Bhor and Velha. The orders banned gatherings of five or more people, entering deep water, and selfies and reels at these spots.
• Rajgad taluka, 22 June to 30 September 2025. A Sub-Divisional Officer’s order covered Rajgad and Torna forts, Madhe Ghat waterfall and the areas around Panshet, Varasgaon and Gunjavani dams. It banned swimming in or entering fast-flowing rivers, climbing or sitting under waterfalls, alcohol, loud music, littering, risky selfies and filming, and parking on narrow or dangerous roads.
• Karnataka. In 2024 the forest department closed the Kukke Subramanya–Pushpagiri trail from February to October. Down To Earth reported that treks would be capped at 300 people a day and allowed only where there is a government online booking system.

These orders change every year, and new ones usually come out in June or July. Before a monsoon trek:

• search the district collector’s website and local news for that year’s order
• check the forest department’s booking portal, such as Karnataka’s Aranya Vihaara
• obey the boards at the base village, even if your group “always goes” another way

Never go into a waterfall pool, sit under a falling stream or stand at a cliff edge for a photo in the rains.

What to carry

Use our gear checklist and add:

• a poncho or rain jacket. Indiahikes notes a poncho covers both you and your backpack and weighs very little
• a backpack rain cover, with clothes and electronics packed in plastic bags inside
• quick-dry T-shirts and trek pants (not jeans or cotton) and a spare set of dry clothes for the ride home
• trekking shoes with a deep, grippy sole, and a spare pair of socks
• trekking poles
• antiseptic, plasters and a small first-aid kit for leech bites, cuts and blisters
• a headlamp, in case low cloud and rain slow you down
• a fully charged phone in a waterproof pouch, and the numbers of the local police station and forest office

Start early, keep your group together, and set a turnaround time. In the monsoon, the best decision is often to turn back.