Langtang Valley Trekking

We will begin our trek with a drive from Kathmandu to Syabrubesi. It is located north of Kathmandu in the district of Rasuwa. Syabrubesi is often known as the gateway to Langtang National Park because most of the people who enter the national park enter it through this part of the park. However, there are many other alternative entrances from other places. The drive takes about seven hours and takes us through picturesque villages, farmlands, forests and swirling rivers.

There are two route options up to the point of Bidur, which is the headquarter of the Nuwakot district. We can go directly north from Kathmandu up to Bidur via Kakani or we can first go slightly southwest from Kathmandu to Galchhi and then head north towards Bidur. The first option is shorter but takes us through slightly rugged road in places. The second option is longer but the road is much smoother because the route is part of two frequently used highways in Nepal. We will rest at a guest house in Syabrubesi for the night.

We will start the real part of the trek today. It means we will start walking unlike yesterday when we spent all day driving. The trek starts by crossing the Bhote Koshi river via a suspension bridge. Bhote Koshi is known as the wildest of all wild rivers in Nepal because it roars and thunders like a warrior on a mission. It is one of the tributaries of the Sapta Koshi river, which is the largest river in Nepal.

We will enter the domain of the Langtang National Park after crossing the Bhote Koshi river. We will walk through serenely beautiful forests of rhododendron and bamboo. Some little villages appear here and there in between the forest. These villages are mostly settled by the Tamang people, who are predominantly Buddhists. We will see stupas, prayer flags and chortens on the way to these villages. The Lama hotel is a small tea house located at the intersection point of the road to Langtang village and Gosaikunda. We will stay at the Lama Hotel tonight.

We will leave behind the path towards Gosaikunda lake today and head straight north. Our walk takes us along the dark green canopy of the woods. Some cliffs in these areas are famous for wild honey extraction. We can gauge at the meticulous works of harvesters in makeshift aprons as we move along the path which gets narrower and steeper as we move up. We will also start to get wonderful and clear view of the peaks like Langtang Ri, Langshisha Kharka and Dorje Lakpa.

We will enter a large and elongated valley during the second part of the day, which is shaped like a genie’s cup. The valley flattens out in the middle to reveal a large area drained by the glacial melts and icy cold rivers originating from the northern stretches of the region. At the middle of the valley is located the Langtang village, a settlement of more than 200 houses. This village was the crown jewel of the Langtang region but was badly destroyed by the 2015 earthquake. Since then the village has sprung back to life. We will stay at a guest house in Langtang for the night, enjoy the warm hospitality of the local Tamang people and learn more about their way of life.

We will start our journey towards the relatively underexplored part of the Langtang National Park today. We will do so by travelling northwards from the village of Langtang. The far end of the valley gets narrower and narrower as we move towards it. It converges at a small passage in the Langtang range. The passage has been used by the local people in Nepal and Tibet for generations for trade and travel. We will see the vegetation change from subtropical to alpine as we trek with conifers like pine, fir and juniper starting to dominate the landscape.

We will reach the Kyanjin Monastery after a relatively tough trek compared to two previous days. Kyanjin Monastery also known as Kyanjin Gompa. It  is one of the largest and the oldest Monastery in the region. We can learn about the many facets of Buddhism while touring the Gompa. We will hike to the nearby hilltop known as Kyanjin Ri (With Ri meaning hill) after reaching Kyanjin Gompa. The hilltop provides spectacular view of snowy mountains and glaciers to the north and the wonderful green valleys to the south. We can also visit a cheese factory located near Kyanjin Gompa and enjoy the exotic Himalayan yak cheese. We will stay at a guest house in Kyanjin Gompa for the night.

The trek starts to get mystical as we move more north from Kyanjin Gompa. Settlements are rare except for some settlement of Yak herders. The landscape is full of Yak grazing pastures, glaciers and edgy cliffs. The yak grazing pasture of Langshisha Kharka lies on our way and is one of the most beautiful highland pastures of Nepal. We can rest at the meadows and fields on our way before reaching Tserko Ri (5,050 m/ 16,564 ft).

Tserko Ri is also known as Chorka Ri among locals and is the highest altitude point we will cover during our trek. Tserko Ri hilltop provides an unparalleled view of the mountains like Langtang Lirung, Langshisha, Dorje Lakpa and Ganesh. If we are lucky and the weather is clear we can also catch a glimpse of the mountains in the Rolwaling Valley and Everest Region which are located further east from here. We will spend some time at the Tserko Ri Hilltop and get back to Kyanjin Gompa for the night’s stay.

Today’s trek constitutes of a long and straight descent into the foot of the Langtang valley first. Then we will escape out of the valley to the southern mountain rims. The Lama hotel is located at these rims. We required two days to go from Lama hotel to Kyanjin Monastery during the uphill part of the trek. However, we can easily complete the reverse trek in a single day because we will be continuously moving downhill the whole day.

The walk along the banks of rivers and streams which are often crisscrossed by waterfalls that flow into these rivers is a pleasant one and provides us an opportunity to spot many rare and endangered wild animals like the Red Panda. We will reach the village of Langtang during midday and rest there for a while. We will resume our trek after staying for a while at Langtang and then head out of the valley towards area guarded by swathes of Rhododendron forest, which is the national flower of Nepal.

Today is our last day of walking as we will reach Syabrubesi, the gateway town, at the end of the day. We will meet many trekkers coming in and out of Langtang valley as we move ahead from Lama Hotel. We will also be joined by trekkers from/to Gosaikunda valley on our way. The Gosaikunda valley is the home to the Gosaikunda Lake, which is a lake with religious importance to both the Hindus and the Buddhists.

We will share our experiences with each other while taking small breaks during our walk. We will reach the village of Syabrubesi after five hours of gentle walk from Lama hotel. We will stay at a guest house in Syabrubesi for the night and relieve us from a few days of hard trek in the mountains of Langtang Valley.

We will hit the road once again today, taking the route back to Kathmandu. The drive will take us along the Trishuli river which changes hue from green to blue as we drive along its shore. We will reach Kathmandu after five hours of drive along beautiful villages like Bidur, Battar and Kakani. Our trip officially ends after you check into your hotel.