Simikot: Humla's Gateway Town and the Start of the Trail to Limi and Hilsa

Most people who read about Simikot meet it as a line in a Kailash itinerary: fly to Simikot, then walk. That undersells it. Simikot is the headquarters of Humla, one of the most remote districts in Nepal, and for a lot of travellers it is the last proper town, with an airstrip and a few guesthouses, before the Himalayas begin in earnest. This page is about the place itself: where it is, how high it is, how you get there, and where the published figures differ.

Where is Simikot, and what is it?

Simikot is the administrative headquarters of Humla District in Karnali Province, in the far north-west of Nepal. The town lies on a gentle slope high above the Humla Karnali River, on an ancient trade-and-pilgrimage route toward Mount Kailash, which sits across the border in Purang County in Tibet. Humla itself is large and empty: the district has an area of 5,655 square kilometres, ranks second largest in Nepal, and had 50,858 people at the 2011 census.

The same site gives Simikot a population of 11,557 at the 2011 census. Be careful with that figure. The page lists an area of 785.89 square kilometres next to it and a ranking among rural municipalities, so it is the whole municipality, not just the bazaar and the airstrip. The town you walk through is far smaller.

How high is Simikot?

Here I have to be straight with you, because four sources give four answers and none of them is wrong exactly. It depends where you stand and who measured it.

Our own pages use two of these. The Kailash trek page gives 2,985 metres and the helicopter tour page gives 2,970 metres, which are the two terrain-model readings above. The published airport figure is lower than any of them by roughly 150 metres, which may simply be a different reference point.

What I would tell a guest is this. Simikot is just under 3,000 metres. It is high enough that you will feel it on the first afternoon, with a faster pulse on any slope and perhaps a light headache, and not so high that it is dangerous for a healthy person who walks slowly and drinks water. If you have never been above 2,500 metres, our guide to acclimatisation on Nepal treks explains what to expect and what to do about it.

How do you get to Simikot?

By air, for almost everyone. The usual route is Kathmandu to Nepalgunj, a Terai city near the Indian border, and then a second flight from Nepalgunj up to Simikot. Our domestic flights guide, which uses the airline fare list valid from 3 August 2026, gives about 50 minutes and about USD 176 for Kathmandu to Nepalgunj, and about 45 minutes and about USD 251 for Nepalgunj to Simikot. It also notes the frequency is limited and that buffer days are essential. I would put those words on a poster.

The runway is short. The airport's runway is 549 metres and, at nearly 3,000 metres elevation, needs aircraft with short take-off and landing ability, such as the Dornier or the Twin Otter. Another published figure lists 650 metres, so even a number as basic as that is not agreed. I would not rely on either for planning. The thing to remember is that it is a small mountain strip, and the weather decides.

You can also reach Simikot by bus from Kathmandu or Surkhet along the Karnali Highway. Our own guests fly, so I can't tell you what the road is like.

What do you find when you land?

Our Kailash trek itinerary describes a small, sprawling settlement of stone houses and government buildings above the river gorge. Flat-roofed houses carry prayer flags on rooftop poles, and Hindu shrines stand at crossroads beside them. The people are a mix of Tibetan Buddhist and Hindu communities, and our itinerary says the district can be reached only by air or by foot trails that take days to walk. If you want to know what the flags and walls mean, our guide to prayer flags, mani walls and gompas covers it. If Kailash is why you are reading about Simikot, our Kailash division, The Kailash Holiday, has the pilgrim side of it.

After the April 2015 earthquake damaged the Tatopani to Zhangmu route, pilgrim traffic to Kailash shifted to Humla, and pilgrims would either spend a night in Simikot's few hotels or be flown straight on by helicopter to Hilsa. That matches how our two Simikot itineraries are built: the trek walks out from Simikot, and the helicopter tour flies on to Hilsa and returns the same way.

What trails start from Simikot?

The Humla route listed by the Department of Immigration runs Simikot, Yari, Limi, Muchu, Tange Khola, Hilsa. Limi is the remote valley in the far north-west, and Hilsa is the border post on the Karnali River with Tibet. The Nepal section of the Great Himalaya Trail ends at Hilsa.

On our 20-day Kailash trek via Simikot, the early days go like this, by our itinerary:

• Day 5: fly to Simikot (2,985 metres), then trek to Dharapuri (2,349 metres).
• Day 6: Kermi, 2,650 metres.
• Day 7: Yalbang Monastery, 3,107 metres.
• Day 8: Tumkot Khola, 3,031 metres.
• Day 9: Thado Dhunga, 4,050 metres.

Look at that first step. You land at nearly 3,000 metres and the trail then goes down by about 640 metres before it starts climbing. That is useful, not wasted. You sleep lower than you arrived, and the real height comes later, in stages. The full day-by-day plan is on our Kailash Trek via Simikot page.

Do you need a permit to walk out of Simikot?

For the Humla route, yes, because it is a restricted area. The Department of Immigration lists the Humla fee as US$50 for the first seven days and US$10 for each extra day. Nepal Tourism Board rules since 31 March 2023 also require restricted-area trekkers to go with a licensed guide and an agency-issued TIMS card, and the Humla Limi route is on that list. Our restricted-area permits guide explains the system. We have no clear ruling on whether walking only the first few hours from the airstrip needs the permit, so ask us before you plan anything shorter.

Crossing into Tibet at Hilsa is a different matter. That needs Chinese permits and a group visa arranged through an agency, and it is not something you can improvise at the border.

What is the Kailash position right now?

I do not want you to read this page and think a Kailash departure is on the table. At present our Kailash departures are on hold after the Rasuwa flood of 26 August 2026, and I am not quoting dates or availability. I keep the current position, in plain words, on our Rasuwa flood and Kailash route page. A Kailash trip also depends on permits issued on the Chinese side, and I will never promise one in writing. If you are thinking about 2027, message me and I will tell you honestly what we know and what we do not.

Simikot is worth knowing about even if Kailash is not your plan. It is a gateway to a part of Nepal that most visitors never see.

How much time should you allow?

More than you think. Mountain flights run in the morning, when the air is calmest, and they are the first thing to be cancelled when it is not. Our flights guide says buffer days are essential, and I agree. If you have an international flight home to catch, do not schedule it the day after you are due back in Kathmandu.

The short version

Simikot is the headquarters of Humla District, a small town just under 3,000 metres high, reached by a short flight from Nepalgunj on a 549-metre mountain strip. Published heights run from about 2,818 to 2,985 metres depending on the source. The trails from here lead west and north toward Limi and the Hilsa border, they need a restricted-area permit and a licensed guide, and our Kailash departures are on hold at present. If you want to talk it through, message me on WhatsApp on +977 9810351300.

Written by Shreejan Simkhada, CEO of The Everest Holiday and third-generation Himalayan guide. TAAN Member #1586. Last updated 2 October 2026.