Kathmandu is the historical and cultural heart of Nepal and has been a popular destination for tourists ever since Nepal opened its doors to visitors. The city presents a wonderful mix of Hinduism, Tibetan Buddhism and Western influence. There will be a guided tour to UNESCO World Heritage SitesBoudhnath, the largest Buddhist stupa in Nepal and after that to Pashupatinath, the most popular Hindu shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva. You take a tour to Patan also called as Lalitpur (the City of Artisans), which is 5km away from Kathmandu. You walk through Patan Durbar Square, and delight in the architectural wonders of Malla era. Mahaboudha Temple, Kumbeshwor Temple, Krishna Temple and Golden Temple are the major attractions at the square.

After healthy breakfast, you take a half an hour drive to Sundarijal from the city to reach the starting point of this Langtang Trek. You follow Kathmandu's water supply pipe steeply uphill and come out into typical terraced farmland and already the views back to the city are good, planes landing at the airport looking like toys! Continuing up onto a ridge, you enter the forests of the Shivapuri, bamboo, holly-leaved oak and epiphytic ferns and orchids. Glimpses through the trees show that you have crossed the watershed and are beginning to descend a ridge on the opposite side and, as the trees clear even more, views open up towards Jugal Himal, Langtang peaks and Ganesh Himal. You soon reach Chisopani (2300m), a ridgetop collection of teahouses for the night.

After watching the sunrise over the eastern Himalaya in the morning, you start walking towards Gul Bhanjyang for today’s overnight stay. You walk for around 6 hours today through forest and few settlements. You walk past the villages of Patti Bhanjyang and Chipling which have majority of Tamang community but all ethnic groups Chhetris, Brahmins and Newars also live with great harmony in these villages.

After breakfast you walk for couple of hours to reach the first village on the way, Kutumsang (2470m). You walk slightly uphill through terraced fields, meadows and forest as the trail starts changing character as you will be walking from warm, terraced and populated 'middle hills' to the higher, and refreshingly cooler 'temperate' and 'sub-alpine' zones. By the time you reach the top of the climb, you are in amongst rhododendrons and conifers. 5 hours of walk from Gul Bhanjyang we reach Magen Goth for overnight stay.

An excellent morning walking takes you back up onto the main ridge, with sensational views across a middle ground of blue ridges, to the peaks of the Rolwaling and the western Khumbu. Undulating traverses and short climbs bring us along the crest to Tharepati (3490m). In the spring there will be flowering rhododendrons, in the autumn, the reds and yellows of berberris and birch. Your trail now swings away from the ridge and crosses some very steep ground at the head of the valley of the TadiKhola, aiming for the distant Laurebina La. The path takes a series of quite short but steep ups and downs, past the tiny settlement of Ghopte, to the equally small one of Phedi (3500m) for the night. The surroundings are dramatic deep gullies and waterfalls, pinnacled ridges and scatterings of pines and arching bamboo, silhouetted against a blue sky - or ethereal in the mist!

This morning you have a long and steady climb up to the Laurebina La (4610m), the high point of this Helambu and Gosaikunda Trek, through pastures and past small crags, to reach the pass, just above a small lake. The views do not really appear until you have walked a bit further, rounding a corner and then looking down towards the Gosaikunda (4380m) - the very best views are to be had by climbing one of the small hills, either to the right or left, for a panorama of the Manaslu and Ganesh Himal and the very close looking and very snowy peaks of the Langtang. You soon reach the holy lake of Gosaikunda, where the black rock in the middle is said to be the head of Shiva. The water nearby from a glacier is said to have formed by him to slake his thirst after drinking poison. During the full moon in August, the place throngs with Hindu pilgrims and shamans. You now follow an excellently constructed path, contouring the north side of the valley, now the headwaters of the Trishuli Khola, to come out onto a ridge that overlooks the main Langtang Valley, with Syrabrubensi almost 3000m. You descend the ridge to the few lodges of Laurebina Yak (3950m.) where you can leisurely watch the sunset behind Manaslu and Ganesh, and rise again, making the mountains glow pink, beyond the misty depths of the valley of Bhote Koshi. The mountains of Tibet are clearly in view, just right of Ganesh Himal.

Today you descend down the hill to reach Dhunche; the administrative headquarter of Rasuwa District. It is a pleasant walk along the pines, bearberries and rhododendron with white mass of Langtang Lirung to our right and Ganesh Himal in the front. From here you plunge down through forests, clearings and then fields and pastures, meeting the dirt road for the last few minutes into bustling Dhunche (1950m), thus ending our adventurous Langtang Trek. Overnight at Local Lodge

You drive to Trishuli Bazaar and the long climb over the mountains and into the Kathmandu Valley. In the vicinity of Ranipauwa, there is a classic panorama, including the Annapurnas, Manaslu, Ganesh Himal, and the now familiar Langtang Lirung.

You have free time till departure. You will be assisted to Tribhuwan International Airport as per your flight time. Have a safe journey back home!

TRIP GRADE: Moderate to fairly challenging

This Helambu and Gosaikundatrek is physically tiring. It involves approximately 6 to 8 hours of trekking on up and down well-marked trails. No previous experience is required, you should be moderately fit, used to some regular exercise and enjoy walking in the high altitude conditions.

TREKKING TYPES

Trekking in Nepalis categorized in three different types based on their way of organization (Camping Trek, Tea House Trek and GAP Trek). Helambu and GosaikundaTrekis organized in two ways (Tea House Trek and GAP Trek) due to the abundance of accommodation facilities available in the region.

1. Tea House Trek: This trek includes services like guide, food, accommodation in local Tea Houses and porters.
2. GAP Trek: This trek includes services like Guide (G), Accommodation (A) in the Tea Houses, and Porters (P). Food bills are to be paid directly by the client.

ACCOMMODATION

Helambu and Gosaikunda trekking doesn’t need tremendous logistics in terms of accommodation as you will find plenty of clean and friendly lodges along the trail.

You often have to share rooms but you can also stay in single rooms where possible. Rooms are basic, normally just a bed with a pillow and blankets. A few have electric blanket, hot bags (luxury lodges) and all have a spacious dining room-lounge. We will accommodate you and your group in a comfortable local lodge each day. The Guide coordinates with the local lodge owners and a porter is sent ahead to book the required rooms for the group (rooms cannot always be booked in advance).

Please remember that some of them are very basic and a sense of adventure is necessary. It is cheaper to stay in lodge rather than organizing a camping trek.

FOOD

LODGE TREK:

Meals are included in our price and are taken in lodges available along the trail. You can find a considerable variety of Nepali (rice, curry & lentil, momo, noodles, chapatis etc.) and Western food (pizza, pasta, sandwich, chips, porridge, toast, pancake, soup etc) as well as drinks (coffee, tea, milk, soft drinks, and beer). The Guide suggests you the best option as per the availability.

GAP Trek:

You will have to make your own eating arrangements in the lodges available along the trail. Expect to spend around $25-$30 a day for food. Guide, accommodation and porters are covered in the price.

WATER

On GAP trek and Lodge trek, you will be provided filtered water about 3-4 liters per person per day. The good thing about such water is it doesn’t smell chlorine. We normally use Sawyer Filters. However, you can also buy bottled water in tea houses. You can also bring water purification pills in case you want to drink water from local taps.

PERSONAL EXPENSES– MONEY TO TAKE ON TREK

Money requirement depends largely on type of trek style, duration and trekking region.
For a week’s Langtang trek, you can take about $150-200, more if you intend to get more table drinks (alcoholic/non-alcoholic beverages), snacks while walking (a few smaller shops are available along the trail in some areas), souvenirs, battery charge, internet, hot shower (available in some places) etc. If you are on ‘GAP’ trek style you need to pay for all your meals. Approximately $25-30 a day should be enough to cover your meals. We pay for your accommodation at mountain hut (tea house) along the trail and bear all the expenses of staffs assigned by us, plus extra bar bills, snacks, hot shower, battery charge, internet etc.

CHANGING MONEY

You can change money at a Bank or the money exchange counter in cities like Kathmandu. Many Tourist class Hotels have money exchange facilities. These days, there are availability of ATMs everywhere in Kathmandu and some in Dhunche.

TIPS

Tips are appreciated by your support team after the completion of your trekking in Nepal. The amount depends on your budget and appreciation of their work. As a suggestion, we advise that you can allocate 5- 10 % of the total tour cost as tips. It is recommended that you talk to the members and hand it over individually as per the hierarchy on the last day of the trek.

PLACES

SyabruBesi

Situated at 50 miles north of Kathmandu valley, SyabruBesi is a beautiful village in the Langtangregion which lies on the base of the green hill on the way to Langtang valley at an altitude of 2380 meters on the bank of Trishuli river. It is also the gateway of some of the popular treks such as Langtang trek, Gosaikunda trek and Tamang heritage trail. This place offers the impressive views of the Annapurna Himalayas in the west, Manaslu, Ganesh Himal and the peaks of the Langtang region.

Lantang Village

Langtang village lies near the base of Mount LangtangLirung (7234 m), the highest mountain in the region. You can find various lodges and teahouses that offers good meal and accommodation in this village. The fabulous views of snow-capped mountains and Langtang glacier seen from this village is breath taking. This village was completely affected by earthquake that occurred in 2015 but later due to the hard work of enterprising, strong and resilient locals the village was revived in less than 3 years.

Kyanjin

Kyanjinis a traditional and ethnic village which is a home to the alpine forests and have a stunning perspective of Langtang glacier right before your eyes. Visit to Langtang Valley, Kyanjin Monastery, and the Lirung glacier are the major highlights of this place. You can see the spectacular views of the Ice fluted Gyanghempa, LangtangRi, DorjeLakparanges, Ganesh Himal, and Lang Shisha from this beautiful place.

FESTIVALS

Drukpa Tsheshi

This is a unique Buddhist festival celebrated in KyanjinGompa where all the villagers of surrounding villages get together and celebrate for 6 days. Drukpa Tsheshiiscelebratedto commemorate the moment when Lord Buddha turned the wheel of Dharma for the first time. This festival marks the beginning of spreading the religion and the first sermon that the Lord gave to his five disciples.

Ghawa

Ghawa is a Buddhist ceremony celebrated by the locals of the region. Not only the people from one village but all the villagers from near villages flock together and sing and dance in the celebration.

Lhosar

Lhosar is one of the major festival celebrated by Tibetan people, including Sherpa in this region which marks the start of the New Year. People wear new clothes, adorn jewelries, feast, exchange goods and gifts and dance together in this festival. Buddhist monks offer prayers for good health and prosperity at monasteries for the people.

PEOPLE

Tamang

Tamang means “horse Traders”. It is assumed that they were involved in a business of horse trading and riding. Tamang people are rich in tradition who follow Tibetan Buddhism and have their own culture, language and lifestyle. They speak Tamanglanguage which comes from Tibeto-Burman language family. The people who live in Langtang Valley are thought to be the descendants of Tibetan from Kerung who intermix with Tamang from the Helambu area. LangtangValley mostly consists of Tamang people

Sherpas

Sherpas live in the upper regions of Langtang region. They emigrated from Tibet about 600 years ago. In the past they were traders and porters, carrying butter, meat, rice, sugar, and dye from India; and wool, jewelry, salt, Chinese silk and porcelain from Tibet and beyond. The closure of the border between India and China undermined their economy. The Sherpa’s found their load carrying skills, both on normal treks and high altitudes in great demand. Now, these able bodied, hardy and fearless Sherpa are world-class climbers known for their amazing climbing prowess. They are such an inseparable part of mountaineering and trekking in Nepal that any climbers and trekkers can rarely imagine doing a Himalayan adventure without their support.

DISCLAIMER

All facts on this content are based on the best knowledge of our Company staffs or the writer whoever is involved in preparing this Information Dossier. For any alteration on this content due to change in situation, delays in updating and human errors from whoever is involved, Company shall not be held responsible to any liability and it is advised that any specific issues of your interest be reconfirmed separately with our correspondence desk.

If you have any questions regarding Langtang region, please feel free to contact us at enquiry@explorehimalaya.com or directly by phone: 977-1-4418100. We answer all enquiries within 24 hours.