The northern leg from Simikot to Hilsa is a single-lane unpaved track climbing from about 2,910 m through Yari at about 3,850 m to Nara La (Nara Lagna) at 4,580 m, then dropping through 24 loose-gravel switchbacks into the Humla Karnali gorge to Hilsa at 3,720 m. It is a restricted area throughout, checked at Simikot, Muchu and Hilsa.
Can you drive from Simikot to Hilsa?
Yes, on the right vehicle, in the right season, with a permit and a guide. This section is best known as a trekking route and as the pilgrim transit corridor toward Kailash, and both of those have their own coverage. The route as a walking itinerary is set out on the Humla and Limi destination page and this post deliberately does not repeat it.
What follows is the same ground treated as a driving problem: what the surface is, how wide it is, where it is exposed and what the vehicle has to be able to do. It was ridden by motorbike in monsoon 2026.
The road, described plainly
Single lane throughout, unpaved throughout, and the surface changes character with altitude. Below the treeline it is dirt and stone with the usual hill-road problems of ruts and washouts. Above it, the material becomes coarse loose gravel and scree over hardpack, which behaves differently under a wheel and punishes any input that is not smooth.
Width is the constraint that governs everything else. There is room for one vehicle, with passing places where the ground allowed one rather than where you would want one. Meeting anything on a bad section means somebody reverses, and on a bike it means getting off the line and standing still against the inside wall.
Exposure is real and continuous on the middle sections, where the track winds across cliff faces above the Humla Karnali. There is no barrier anywhere. The consequence of an error on those sections is not a repair bill.
Stage by stage
| Stage | Approximate elevation | What the driving is like |
|---|---|---|
| Simikot | about 2,910 m | The start. Last fuel of any kind, last services, permit check |
| Down to the valley, then Kermi | about 2,700 m | The route loses height first. Warm, wooded, easy going |
| Kermi to the Yalbang side | rising | Cliff-cut sections above the river, suspension bridge crossing |
| Yangar and Muchu | about 3,600 m | Trees give out. Permit checkpoint at Muchu |
| Yari | about 3,850 m | Last settlement before the border zone. Border police post |
| Nara La | 4,580 m | Bare ridge, prayer flags, thin air, cold wind |
| Descent to Hilsa | 3,720 m | 24 steep loose-gravel switchbacks into the gorge |
The counter-intuitive part is the start. The route goes down out of Simikot before it goes anywhere, so the first stage feels like progress in the wrong direction. It is also the reason Kermi works as a sleeping stop, which matters for reasons covered in the Humla altitude profile.
The 24 switchbacks
The descent from Nara La to Hilsa is the technical crux of the whole leg. Twenty-four steep hairpins on loose gravel, dropping roughly 860 m into the gorge, with the surface deteriorating as it steepens.
On a motorcycle the hazard is braking. Loose gravel on a steep hairpin gives very little to work with, and the standard mistakes are all front-wheel mistakes: too much front brake, too much lean, too much speed carried into a turn that is tighter than it looks from above. Engine braking, low gear and patience are the whole technique.
In a vehicle the hazard is geometry. The turns are tight enough that a longer wheelbase means shuffling, and shuffling on a hairpin with a drop on the outside is a slow and unpleasant piece of work. The switchbacks are also where a loaded vehicle finds out about its brakes.
Going up is easier than coming down in every respect, which is worth knowing when planning direction of travel.
Bike or jeep?
A jeep is the sensible answer for most people. It carries fuel, spares, bags and passengers, it is far more survivable in bad weather, and the permit rules mean you are travelling in a group with a guide anyway. Vehicles run this route as part of the pilgrim transit business toward the border, and hiring one with a driver who knows the road is the low-risk option.
A capable dual-sport motorcycle is the other answer and it is a different trip. It is faster on the good sections, more manoeuvrable when meeting traffic, and considerably more exposed to everything. In monsoon 2026 the balance came down on the side of the bike being an excellent way to see the corridor and a poor way to be certain of finishing it.
What neither option changes is that there is no vehicle workshop between Simikot and Hilsa and no fuel of any kind north of the town. Everything you need for both directions goes with you from Simikot, which is the subject of the fuel and spares guide.
Permits and checkpoints on this leg
The whole leg is inside the restricted area. The structure is a permit charged per week, a minimum of two people on the application and a registered Nepali guide, and it is checked at three points: Simikot on the way out, Muchu in the middle, and Hilsa at the border.
Yari has a border police post where domestic and international permits are logged, and it is the last settlement before the border zone proper. Nobody gets through these checks by being agreeable about it, and the paperwork is the paperwork.
Rates change, so no figure appears here. The restricted-area permit guide explains the system, and current costs come from the Department of Immigration or a Simikot operator.
What is at Hilsa, and what is not
Hilsa sits at 3,720 m directly on the border, opposite the Chinese town of Purang. There are customs buildings, a suspension footbridge over the Karnali, a friendship gate and helipads. It is a functional border point rather than a place to spend time, and travellers should arrive knowing that.
The road stops here in the sense that matters: crossing into Tibet requires Chinese permits and a group arrangement, and no Nepali permit gets a vehicle across. For most independent travellers Hilsa is the turnaround, and the return leg goes back over Nara La or east into Limi.
The historical version of this crossing, when it carried salt and grain rather than pilgrims, is covered in the trans-Himalayan salt trade routes.
When this road is open
The windows are the pre-monsoon weeks and the post-monsoon weeks, which is the same answer as everywhere else in upper Humla. Winter puts Nara La under snow. Monsoon makes the lower sections unreliable and does not guarantee clear high ground, as the snowbanks below Nyalu La (Nyalu Lagna) demonstrated in monsoon 2026.
Getting to Simikot in the first place is by air from Nepalgunj or overland up the Karnali corridor. Flights are the dependable option and the road is the interesting one.
Driving technique on loose surfaces at altitude
Nothing here requires skill that a competent driver or rider does not already have. What it requires is doing the ordinary things earlier and more gently than usual.
Braking is done before the corner rather than in it, because loose gravel gives nothing once the vehicle is turning. Gear selection happens at the bottom of a climb, not halfway up when momentum has already gone. On a bike, weight goes back on a loose descent and the rear brake does most of the work, with the front used lightly and straight.
Altitude adds one thing that surprises people: the engine is down on power and so are you. Judgement gets worse above 4,000 m in ways that are hard to notice from inside, so the useful discipline is to reduce the margin you are working to rather than to trust the one that works at sea level.
And on a single-lane track, drive as if something is coming. On blind bends it frequently is.
Who else uses this road
Less traffic than the route's reputation suggests. Most of the pilgrim movement toward the border goes by helicopter between Simikot and Hilsa rather than overland, so the road itself carries local vehicles, freight and the occasional traveller rather than a stream of tour vehicles.
What you will meet is a mix of jeeps working the route, loaded trucks where the surface allows them, and animals. Mule and yak trains use the same alignments in places, and they have right of way for reasons of physics: stop, get to the inside of the track against the slope, and let them pass. Do not rev an engine at a loaded animal on a narrow shelf.
Mule caravans on the Karnali covers that system and the etiquette around it in full.
Where you sleep on the northern leg
The villages on the route have lodges of the trail-hotel kind, and they thin out as the altitude climbs. Kermi is the standard first stop and it is lower than Simikot, which is why it works. Further north the arrangements are simpler, colder and fewer, and by Yari at about 3,850 m you are in a settlement built tight against the wind rather than a place with an accommodation trade.
Book nothing and expect nothing. Arrive, ask, and be prepared to camp if the answer is no. Carry a sleeping bag regardless of what anybody tells you about lodges, because the gap between the stages is where an unplanned night happens.
Sleeping altitude is not a preference on this leg, it is the plan. The Humla altitude profile sets out why the stop at Kermi does more for the trip than any amount of fitness.
Food on this leg follows the same pattern as the accommodation: dal bhat lower down, and the barley, buckwheat and potato staples of the high villages further north, with salted butter tea offered as a matter of course. Carry your own supplies as a backstop rather than as the plan, and expect the range to narrow with every stage.
Before you travel. Humla is a restricted border district and conditions change without notice. Roads close, flights are cancelled, permit rules and fees are revised, and the Hilsa crossing opens and shuts to different categories of traveller. Confirm the current position with the District Administration Office in Simikot, the Department of Immigration, or a registered local operator before you commit to a route.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far is Simikot to Hilsa by road?
It is better measured in days than kilometres. The route climbs from about 2,910 m through Yari at about 3,850 m to Nara La at 4,580 m before dropping to Hilsa at 3,720 m, on single-lane unpaved track throughout, and pace is set by surface rather than distance.
What is the road surface like?
Dirt and stone lower down, coarse loose gravel and scree over hardpack above the treeline. Single lane the whole way, with passing places where the ground allowed them, and no barrier on the exposed cliff sections.
How many switchbacks are there on the descent to Hilsa?
Twenty-four, from Nara La down into the Humla Karnali gorge, on steep loose gravel. It is the technical crux of the leg, harder descending than climbing, and the place a loaded vehicle finds out about its brakes.
Is a jeep or a motorcycle better for this route?
A jeep, for most people. It carries fuel and spares, copes far better with bad weather, and fits the group-and-guide permit structure anyway. A capable dual-sport bike is a more exposed trip that is excellent to ride and less certain to finish.
Is there fuel between Simikot and Hilsa?
No, and there is no workshop either. Everything needed for both directions is carried from Simikot, which itself has no filling station. Fuel there comes decanted from drums and containers.
Where are the permits checked?
At Simikot, at Muchu in the middle of the route, and at Hilsa on the border. Yari, the last settlement before the border zone, has a border police post where domestic and international permits are logged.
Can you cross into Tibet at Hilsa?
Not on a Nepali permit. Crossing requires Chinese permits and a group arrangement. For independent travellers Hilsa is the turnaround, with the return going back over Nara La or east into the Limi valley.
When is the road to Hilsa open?
The pre-monsoon weeks and the post-monsoon weeks. Nara La is snow-bound in winter, and the monsoon makes the lower sections unreliable while giving no guarantee that the high ground is clear.