Weekend Trips from Delhi: 7 Friday-Night Getaways Compared

The easiest weekend trips from Delhi leave on Friday night, so you wake up in the mountains or the desert and don't lose a working day. We run seven of them. Chakrata, Kanatal Tehri and Mukteshwar–Kainchi Dham are 1-night trips from ₹4,499 and get you back on Monday morning. Chopta Tungnath, Auli, Jaisalmer and Udaipur–Kumbhalgarh are 2-night trips from ₹5,799 and get you back on Tuesday morning. All of them are listed on our weekend getaways page.

At a glance

• Duration: 1N/2D (back Monday morning) or 2N/3D (back Tuesday morning)
• Departures: every Friday night
• Cost from: ₹4,499 (Chakrata) to ₹7,999 (Auli) per person
• Under ₹5,000: Chakrata; Kanatal Tehri and Mukteshwar are ₹4,999 plus 5% GST
• Under ₹8,000: all seven
• Difficulty: easy (Kanatal, Rajasthan) to moderate (Chopta Tungnath)
• Starts from: Delhi (Udaipur–Kumbhalgarh runs to and from Gurugram); your exact reporting point and time are shared after booking

How Friday-night trips work

You finish work on Friday, report at the pickup point that evening, and travel overnight. The mountain trips run in an AC traveller or bus, or a tempo traveller or cab for Chopta. Jaisalmer uses a tempo traveller or mini bus, and Udaipur an A/C vehicle.

• 1N/2D trips (Chakrata, Kanatal Tehri, Mukteshwar–Kainchi Dham): you arrive Saturday morning, spend the night there, set off on Sunday evening and are back in Delhi early on Monday morning.
• 2N/3D trips (Chopta Tungnath, Auli, Jaisalmer, Udaipur–Kumbhalgarh): you arrive Saturday, stay two nights, set off on Monday and are back early on Tuesday morning. You'll need Monday off, or a long weekend.

Your exact reporting point and time are shared after booking. Two honest warnings. First, you sleep in a vehicle on both nights of the journey, so this isn't for anyone who can't sleep sitting up. Second, "back early morning" means straight to work tired unless you plan a slow start.

The comparison table

Distances are approximate road distances from Delhi, as of September 2026. Different sources give slightly different figures, so we show a range.

Trip	Duration	Price from (per person)	Distance from Delhi	Best months	Effort
Chakrata	1N/2D	₹4,499	~320–340 km	Mar–Jun, Oct–Feb	Easy–moderate: one ~5 km hike to Budher caves
Kanatal Tehri	1N/2D	₹4,999 + 5% GST	~300–325 km	Mar–Jun, Oct–Feb	Easy: camp activities and lake time, no trek
Mukteshwar & Kainchi Dham	1N/2D	₹4,999 + 5% GST	~340–350 km	Mar–Jun, Oct–Feb	Easy: one 1.5 km hike to a waterfall
Chopta Tungnath	2N/3D	₹5,799	~415–425 km	Apr–Jun, Oct–Nov; snow Jan–Mar	Moderate: high-altitude trek to Tungnath and Chandrashila, plus Deoriatal
Auli	2N/3D	₹7,999	~500–525 km (to Joshimath and Govindghat)	Jan–Mar for snow; Apr–Jun, Oct–Dec for views	Moderate: the longest mountain drive, plus the Gorson Bugyal trek
Jaisalmer	2N/3D	₹6,999	~770–800 km	Oct–Mar	Easy on foot, long on the road
Udaipur Kumbhalgarh	2N/3D	₹7,499	~660–700 km	Oct–Mar	Easy on foot, long on the road

Prices are the lowest sharing option (quad sharing, or triple for Auli). Check each trip page for the current price and upcoming departures.

Uttarakhand picks

Chakrata: the quiet one

Chakrata is an old cantonment town at 2,118 m, about 98 km beyond Dehradun. Because it's a cantonment, it has stayed small. On our trip you do the Budher caves hike on Saturday, then Tiger Falls and a sunset at Chirmiri Neck Top on Sunday, with a resort stay and a bonfire in between. It's our cheapest weekend trip. One catch: foreign nationals need prior permission to visit, because Chakrata is a restricted cantonment. Full details are in our Chakrata trip guide, or see the trip page.

Kanatal Tehri: the easy adventure weekend

Kanatal sits on the Chamba–Mussoorie road at roughly 2,600 m. Day 1 is at the campsite: zip line, Burma bridge and sky cycling are included, plus visits to Dhanaulti Eco Park and Surkanda Devi temple. Day 2 is Tehri Lake. Water sports there (jet ski, banana ride, speed boat) are paid directly on the spot, and you may get Ganga Aarti in Rishikesh on the way back if time allows. This is a good pick for first-timers and office groups who want activities rather than walking. See the Kanatal Tehri trip.

Mukteshwar & Kainchi Dham: the calm one

Mukteshwar is a Kumaon hill town at about 2,170 m, known for its old Shiva temple and wide views of the mountains. Day 1 has a short 1.5 km hike to a waterfall, Chauli ki Jali and the Mukteshwar temple, then a bonfire. Day 2 has adventure activities (paid separately), a visit to Kainchi Dham (Neem Karoli Baba's ashram), and time in Nainital or Bhimtal before a 9 pm departure. Kainchi Dham draws big crowds on some dates. Our guide on how to reach Kainchi Dham from Delhi covers timings and the route. See the Mukteshwar trip.

Chopta Tungnath: the proper trek

This is the most physical trip on the list. You stop at Devprayag on the way up. On Day 2 you climb to Tungnath, at 3,680 m the world's highest Shiva temple, and on to Chandrashila at 3,960 m (weather permitting). On Day 3 you walk to Deoriatal from Sari village and come back via Rishikesh. The Tungnath temple is closed in winter. As of September 2026 it's expected to close in early November, but the date is announced by the Badri-Kedar Temple Committee, so check before you go. Winter trekkers can still get snow on the trail from January to March. Read our Chopta Tungnath guide before booking the Chopta trip.

Auli: snow and big views

You stay both nights at Govindghat, about 20 km beyond Joshimath, and spend Day 2 in Auli: skiing or snow play in season, or the Gorson Bugyal trek. The ski season is roughly January to March. Be aware that the Joshimath–Auli ropeway has been shut since January 2023 because of land subsidence, and reconstruction is still being planned as of 2026. The ropeway is excluded from our price anyway, so plan on going up by road. At around 500 km each way, this is the longest drive of the Uttarakhand trips. See the Auli trip.

Rajasthan picks

Jaisalmer: the desert weekend

Day 1 is the fort, the havelis and Gadisar Lake. Day 2 goes to the Longewala battlefield, then a night in Swiss tents with a bonfire and folk music. Day 3 has the camel ride and jeep safari on the Sam sand dunes and the abandoned village of Kuldhara, and you leave around 4–5 pm. Jeep dune bashing and the camel safari are included. It's a long road trip at 770–800 km each way, so it's best for people who don't mind a lot of time in the vehicle. Summer daytime temperatures can pass 45°C, so we'd only go between October and March. See the Jaisalmer trip.

Udaipur & Kumbhalgarh: lakes and a fort

Both nights are in a hotel in Udaipur. You get Saheliyon ki Bari and Fateh Sagar Lake on Day 1, then Lake Pichola, the City Palace, Jagdish Temple and Gangaur Ghat on Day 2, with the Bagore ki Haveli folk show or a flea market in the evening. Day 3 is Kumbhalgarh Fort, about 85 km from Udaipur, whose walls run for about 36 km. Transport runs to and from Gurugram, not central Delhi. See the Udaipur trip.

Best pick by season

When	Best picks	Why
October–November	Chopta Tungnath (before the temple closes), Chakrata, Mukteshwar	Clear post-monsoon skies and mountain views
December–February	Jaisalmer, Udaipur, Chakrata (chance of snow on higher ridges)	Pleasant desert days; cold, crisp hills
January–March	Auli, Chopta	The snow and ski window (Auli ski season roughly Jan–Mar)
April–June	Kanatal, Mukteshwar, Chakrata, Chopta	Escape Delhi's heat; green meadows at Chopta
July–mid September	Shorter trips only, with a flexible plan	Monsoon landslides and road closures hit Uttarakhand hill roads hardest in July–August

Avoid Rajasthan from April to September. It's too hot for sightseeing in the middle of the day.

What's included vs not

These patterns come straight from each trip's listed inclusions. Always read the specific trip page too.

Usually included

• Transport there and back: AC traveller or bus, tempo traveller or cab, or mini bus, depending on the trip
• Stay: resort (Chakrata), campsite (Kanatal), Swiss camps or rooms (Mukteshwar, Chopta), hotel (Auli, Udaipur), hotel plus Swiss tents (Jaisalmer)
• Breakfasts and dinners on the trip. Most trips also include evening snacks or high tea
• Sightseeing as per the itinerary, and a trip coordinator, captain or leader
• Bonfire and music on most mountain trips

Usually not included

• Lunches and any meals beyond the listed ones, and on the Rajasthan trips, dinner on the drive home
• Entry tickets to monuments and public places
• 5% GST on Kanatal Tehri and Mukteshwar (charged extra)
• Paid activities: Tehri Lake water sports, adventure activities at Mukteshwar, the Auli ropeway
• Personal and medical expenses, and extra costs from landslides, roadblocks or other events outside anyone's control

How to choose

• Tightest budget: Chakrata at ₹4,499.
• No Monday leave: stick to the 1N/2D trips (Chakrata, Kanatal Tehri, Mukteshwar).
• You want a real trek: Chopta Tungnath. Train for a few weeks if you don't walk regularly.
• You want snow: Auli or Chopta between January and March. Chakrata sometimes gets snow on its higher ridges.
• Faith plus hills: Mukteshwar and Kainchi Dham.
• Office group or first trip: Kanatal Tehri. It's activity-led and needs little fitness.
• You're sick of hills: Jaisalmer or Udaipur between October and March.
• Who shouldn't book an overnight trip: people with bad motion sickness on mountain roads, and anyone who can't sleep in a moving vehicle. Consider driving up a day earlier instead.

Want different dates, a private group or a company offsite? Use our trip planner or contact us.

Ready to pick one? Browse every Friday departure on our weekend getaways page, or start with the cheapest, the Chakrata trip.

Sources

• Wikipedia, Chakrata: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakrata
• Wikipedia, Kanatal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanatal
• Wikipedia, Mukteshwar: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mukteshwar
• Wikipedia, Kumbhalgarh: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumbhalgarh
• Holidify, Delhi to Chakrata: https://www.holidify.com/places/chakrata/how-to-reach/delhi--to-chakrata-2082.html
• Yatra, Delhi to Kanatal distance: https://www.yatra.com/distance-between/distance-from-delhi-to-kanatal.html
• Yatra, Delhi to Mukteshwar distance: https://www.yatra.com/distance-between/distance-from-delhi-to-mukteshwar.html
• Tour of Uttarakhand, Delhi to Chopta distance: https://tourofuttarakhand.com/delhi-to-chopta-distance/
• Travanya, Delhi to Joshimath distance: https://www.travanya.com/tourism/india/uttarakhand/temples/joshimath/distance/from-delhi/
• Yatra, Joshimath to Govindghat distance: https://www.yatra.com/distance-between/distance-from-joshimath-to-govindghat.html
• MakeMyTrip, Delhi to Jaisalmer route: https://www.makemytrip.com/routeplanner/delhi-jaisalmer-distance.html
• MakeMyTrip, Delhi to Udaipur route: https://www.makemytrip.com/routeplanner/new-delhi-udaipur-distance.html
• Indiahikes, Tungnath temple dates: https://indiahikes.com/blog/the-complete-guide-to-tungnath-temple-history-trek-distance-weather--opening-dates
• Business Standard, Joshimath–Auli ropeway halted: https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/land-subsidence-halts-ropeway-service-connecting-joshimath-to-auli-123011400546_1.html
• Pioneer Edge, Jyotirmath–Auli ropeway inspection: https://pioneeredge.in/joint-team-conducts-inspection-of-jyotirmath-auli-ropeway/
• News on AIR, Uttarakhand monsoon road closures: https://www.newsonair.gov.in/uttarakhand-gets-brief-rain-respite-yellow-alert-issued-as-150-roads-remain-blocked-due-to-landslides
• Holidify, best time to visit Jaisalmer: https://www.holidify.com/places/jaisalmer/best-time-to-visit.html

Last checked: September 2026.