| 1 People (per pax) | 2-7 People (per pax) | 8+ People (per pax) |
|---|---|---|
| $4589 | $3990 | $ 3830 |
| Pay $918 Now & $3671 on arrival | Pay $798 Now & $3192 On arrival | Pay $766 Now & $3064 on arrival |
The area between Kangchenjunga and Makalu to the east of Everest contains the two most important conservation areas in the Nepal Himalaya, home to an incredible variety of birds as well as the endangered red panda and snow leopard. Few trekkers visit this area, which is also home to several ethnic groups in Nepal, including the Limbu, Sherpa (Bhotia), Rai, Gurung, Magar, Newar, and Tamang. This is a fantastic trekking vacation from Kangchenjunga to Makalu, following part of the Great Himalaya Trail and crossing several high and remote passes.
There is a huge variety of spectacular scenery along the way. After a short flight to Bhadrapur on the Terai plains, we drive to Taplejung through the Himalayan foothills. We begin our journey here, trekking through a landscape of deep folded river valleys with subtropical forests and hillsides dotted with small villages and emerald lines of rice terracing. As we gain altitude, we pass through barley zones and forests of rhododendron, juniper, and pines to enter an alpine world of rough yak pastures surrounded by the Himalayas' snowy peaks.
We cross the Lumba Sumba Himal, the watershed between the Tamur and Arun river valleys, after spending a day at the otherworldly settlement of Olangchung Gola, with spectacular mountain views from the several high passes that must be negotiated. The trek concludes with a gradual descent of the Arun Valley, bringing us back to warmer climes and an agricultural landscape. Finally, we fly back to Kathmandu from Tumlingtar. This is an uplifting trek that is ideal for those looking to experience a remote trek in Nepal.
Day 1: Arrival in Kathmandu (1300m)
Day 2: Trek preparation
Day 3: Fly to Bhadrapur and Drive to Phidim
Day 4: Drive to Taplejung (1775m) and trek to Mitlung (900m).
Day 5: Trek to Chiruwa (1245m).
Day 6: Trek to Lumthang (1800m)
Day 7: Trek to Selep Kharka (2600m).
Day 8: Trek to Olangchung Gola (3200m).
Day 9: Acclimatisation Day
Day 10: Trek Dinsamba Khola (3700m).
Day 11: Trek to Tangchetar (4200m).
Day 12: Trek to Jannu (4650m).
Day 13: Trek to Selele (4500m) via Lumba Sumba La (5180m)
Day 14: Trek to Thudam (3500m).
Day 15: Trek to Yak Kharka (2700m).
Day 16: Trek to Chyamtang (2250m)
Day 17: Trek to Honggong (2100m).
Day 18: Trek to Barun Bazaar (1100m)
Day 19: Trek to Gadhi (1170m).
Day 20: Trek to Num (1560m). Drive to Tumlingtar
Day 21: Fly from Tumlingtar to Kathmandu.
Day 22 Departure
Day 01: Arrival in Kathmandu (1300m) At the Tribhuvan International Airport, a company representative will greet you. You can get to your hotel by taking a short drive through the City of Temples. You can rest and unpack your belongings at the hotel. You can also choose to explore the surrounding areas as the day draws to a close. Meal Included: Dinner
Day 02: Trek preparation The trek preparation day follows the basic trek preparation. Your guide will inspect your equipment and gear to see if it is up to standard. You can choose to buy any necessary gear or equipment, including trek accessories and snacks, at a nearby store. Your guide will organize trek permits and national park permits. Spend the night in Kathmandu. Meal Included: Breakfast
Day 03: Fly to Bhadrapur and Drive Phidim. After breakfast, we will drive to the airport and fly across the country to the south-eastern corner of Nepal. After the short flight, we will drive for an hour to Kanyam, which is a good place to stop for our packed lunches because it has good views of Kangchenjunga. After lunch, we continue driving for another 4 hours through a fascinating landscape of rural fields and small towns, becoming slightly hillier as we travel north. As we begin our ascent into the foothills to our basic hotel accommodation in the town of Phidim. Meal Included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Day 04: Drive to Taplejung (1775m) and trek to Mitlung (900m). The scale of the terrain is stunning as we proceed down the river basins of the Himalayan foothills, where farm terracing extends to seemingly unimaginable heights. There are new sights and glimpses of pure white giants at every bend, a promise of what is to come. We then began our hike, primarily downhill at first past little towns with cardamom farms to the Hangdewa Khola, which we crossed on a suspension bridge. After a couple of hours, we stop for lunch and then follow this river down to a confluence with the major Tamur River, which leads us to our first night's stay and first camp at Mitlung (900m). Meal Included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Day 05: Trek to Chiruwa (1245m). The day begins with a stroll along the Tamur River for about an hour, undulating slightly and passing through some fragrant forest stands to Siwa Bazaar. We then continue along a trail on the river's true left bank to our lunch stop at Tawa Village (1146m). We cross a suspension bridge over the Tamur and walk for about a kilometer before returning to the true left bank. After a long and sometimes hot day's walk, we arrive at our camp in the small market village of Chiruwa (1245m) Meal Included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Day 06: Trek to Lumthang (1800m) We continue along the Tamur River, passing through small villages and individual farms with terraced rice fields and cardamom gardens. We arrive in Tapethok (1340m) after a little more than an hour, where there are some shops and tea houses as well as a checkpoint for the Kangchenjunga Conservation Area (KCAP) where we must show our permits. We cross the Tamur again on a suspension bridge and continue along the riverside to Phembu, where we stop for lunch. It takes about an hour to get to Lelep, another village with some shops and lodges. We are now deviating from the trail up to Kangchenjunga Basecamp (at Pang Pema) and heading north along the Tamur River towards Olangchung Gola. Our journey now takes us through dense pine forest and cardamom fields, steadily ascending to Lumthang (1800m) and our camp in a clearing at Goatar. Meal Included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Day 07: Trek to Selep Kharka (2600m). We continue upstream on the Tamur River, passing two impressive (100-meter-high) waterfalls, crossing the tributary Phedi Khola, and climbing to the small Sherpa village of Ela Danda, where we have good views of snow-capped peaks. We then gradually descend to Sukepani and a possible early lunch stop. We then cross a second suspension bridge, this time over the main river, and hike steadily uphill for the majority of the way through the bamboo forest, which is home to the rare and elusive red panda Meal Included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Day 08: Trek to Olangchung Gola (3200m). A shorter and easier day, continuing our trek north into the main Himalayan chain and passing through Jongim (2641m), a big clearing with views of the snowy peaks. We reach another rhododendron forest and cross the Tamur River on a suspension bridge before climbing for an hour to Ramite (2685m) for lunch. This area has more opportunities to see red pandas, and we cross another gorgeous waterfall. Our overnight stop is at the Sherpa community of Olangchung Gola (3200m), a charming village with 45 wooden dwellings and a 465-year-old gompa perched above the village. This is a vital commercial hub for products crossing the passes from Tibet and up from India's plains. Meal Included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Day 09: Acclimatisation Day Olangchung Gola is an excellent place to recover and acclimate in preparation for the higher terrain ahead of us. We may spend the day seeing the hamlet, meeting the locals, and visiting the 3-story Gompa, which is thought to be one of the oldest in Nepal. Olangchung Gola is the last civilization we will see until we reach the Arun Valley, and it is only a day's walk from the Tibetan border. Because of its proximity to Tibet, the area was previously off-limits until recently. We stay another night in the village. Meal Included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Day 10: Trek Dinsamba Khola (3700m). Another short day as we try to maintain a moderate rate of elevation between camps. We set off, following herders' and Tibetan traders' trails and trekking alongside the tumultuous Tamur River to its confluence with tributary Dinsamba Khola. We arrive at 'Junction Camp' around lunchtime after crossing the river a little beyond the confluence of the rivers. The main trail separates here, with one branch traveling north towards the Tibetan border and the other branch turning west towards the Lumba Sumba mountains. Meal Included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Day 11: Trek to Tangchetar (4200m). We've turned away from the Tamur River and are now following the Dinsamba Khola west, then north-west. This route (which is part of one variation of the Great Himalaya Trail) has been traversed by very few outsiders. We travel through some rhododendron forest, and the peaks of the Lumba Sumba Himal appear ahead of us. We conclude our day's journey before noon and set up our streamside camp in Tangchetar (4200m). During this leg of our journey, we'll be on the lookout for snow leopards, which are frequent visitors to this high valley. Meal Included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Day 12: Trek to Jannu (4650m). Another short day as we make our way down a large valley to the Lumba Sumba La. Few trekkers come this way, and the sensation of isolation is palpable. Our trail goes up over a black granite band at the valley's end into another smaller valley where we camp. We are now well above the tree line, and looking down the valley, we can see Jannu (7710m), one of the Kangchenjunga Massif's outliers. Meal Included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Day 13: Trek to Selele (4500m) via Lumba Sumba La (5180m) We get an early start and hike up for an hour to another probable camping spot at 4770 meters. Lumba Sumba High School is located here. Half an hour beyond this point, we get our first good views of Kangchenjunga's five summited ridge, the world's third highest peak, while the rocky Lumba Sumba Peak is considerably closer to us. We can now see the pass ahead of us, and we make our way up through the boulder-covered ground and possibly old snow patches. The first pass, at 5150 meters, is draped with colorful prayer flags. At this pass, our 2016 group discovered numerous recent snow leopard footprints on the snow. Another 30 minutes brings us to the highest point of the Lumba Sumba La, at 5180 meters. The views from here are spectacular, stretching east to Kangchenjunga and Jannu and west to Makalu and the sight of Everest. This is a truly special area, and weather allowing, we will want to stay and even have our packed lunches here. After lunch, we descend for about 2 hours on a steep track that eventually leads to a more open valley and the first decent camping place. Selele is a camp on a rugged yak pasture at an elevation of roughly 4500 meters. This is, without a doubt, the most unforgettable day of the journey. Meal Included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Day 14: Trek to Thudam (3500m). We set off again from our overnight halt, traveling west through a rocky landscape, with great views of Makalu, Baruntse, Chamlang, and Lhotse ahead. We have to cross several streams today, and when we reach the Chejung Khola, we are on another trade route, this one leading down from the Umbak La (5200m), which connects Tibet and Nepal. We bridge this stream and continue our descent, more steeply for the last half hour, to Thudam's scattered wooden dwellings (3500m). This is a Sherpa (Bhotia) community of about 30 wooden dwellings with significant commercial and cultural ties to Tibetan settlements over the border. Meal Included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Day 15: Trek to Yak Kharka (2700m). We'll be crossing some tough terrain with possibly exposed paths today, and we'll be carrying packed lunches because there won't be somewhere for the cook crew to set up for a cooked lunch. We return to the forests below Thudam. There is much evidence of felling here, and wood from these forests is used for fuel in Thudam as well as traded with Tibet via yak caravan across the Umbak La. We travel west through a steep-sided valley, navigating multiple landslides before steadily ascending to a pass (3370m). Makalu and its satellites provide breathtaking vistas. Weather permitting, this is an excellent spot to pause and enjoy our packed lunch before returning to the forest. Much of this woodland is bamboo, and there is a potential of seeing red pandas. We continue our descent to a little clearing known as Yak Kharka wooden dwellings with significant commercial and cultural ties to Tibetan settlements over the border. Meal Included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Day 16: Trek to Chyamtang (2250m) We begin the day with a brief forest climb to a crest, followed by a 2-hour (1000-metre) descent through dense woodland with rhododendron trees. We get our first glimpse of the Arun River in the valley below at Chaurikharka, and here is a wonderful location to pause for lunch before continuing our descent to a suspension bridge. After crossing the bridge, we climb steeply for about an hour and a half, passing past millet fields on our way to our overnight camp in the Bhotia village of Chyamthang (2250m). Meal Included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Day 17: Trek to Honggong (2100m). We're back in warmer weather today, and the woodland is alive with birds singing as we circle above the Arun River's north bank. We pass through various small villages in the Chepuwa district, which are populated by Rai and Bhotia people. We also cross many tributary rivers on suspension bridges and obtain views of Makalu to the northwest in one or two spots. More beautiful views of the Makalu range await us at our lunch halt in Gimber. The afternoon hike to the Bhotia settlement of Honggong is very short and pleasant along a decent track (2100m). Meal Included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Day 18: Trek to Barun Bazaar (1100m) After 3 hours of trekking south over the river and progressively decreasing, we arrive at Hatiya (1570m), the entry point to the Makalu-Barun National Park. There are Bhotia and Gurung residents here, as well as a hospital. We have a quick look around this interesting settlement before heading back down the river to its junction with the Barun River, which transports meltwater from Makalu's glaciers. A road is being built into this valley, but we can escape it by staying on the original track. We spent the night at Barun Bazaar (1100m). In the early part of the year, a religious festival is held here. Meal Included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Day 19: Trek to Gadhi (1170m). We'll take the newly constructed dirt road through Gola to Thado Khola for the first hour and a half today. We leave the road and follow a trail that climbs above the Arun River through farmland to a lunch halt at Pathibhara (1550m), a tiny Gurung settlement with a variety of tea houses, shops, and lodges. The trail continues beyond Pathibhara, descending through lush agricultural terrain to Gadhi (1170m), which means "fort" in Nepali. This is where the Nepalese Army met an invading Tibetan force, eventually forcing them back over the passes. Gadhi is now a vibrant market town with shops, hotels, a health post, a school, and a police station. Meal Included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Day 20: Trek to Num (1560m). Drive to Tumlingtar. Our final morning of walking takes us across the river to Num (1560m), which is only 3 or 4 kilometers away as the crow flies. After crossing the river via a suspension bridge at Chauribas, we begin a long climb up the steep hillside above the river to the ridge-top village of Num on a decent track. After refueling at one of the nearby tea houses, we boarded our waiting vehicles for the 4-hour drive down the ridge to Tumlingtar (450m). We spent our last night on the trail in Tumlingtar. Meal Included: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Day 21: Fly from Tumlingtar to Kathmandu. We take a flight from Tumlingtar to Kathmandu. This is usually done in the morning to take advantage of the clear weather, but there is no set schedule for these flights and it is impossible to predict when we will fly. We get into our hotel in Kathmandu and have the rest of the day free. Meal Included: Breakfast/Dinner
Day 22: Departure As the journey comes to an end, you prepare to leave the country and travel to your next destination. A company representative will help you with all of the necessary procedures and will accompany you to the airport before your flight. Meal Included: Breakfast
I recently had the incredible opportunity to embark on an unforgettable trekking adventure to Everest Base Camp Plus Gokyo through Chola Pass with
