Nayakang Peak Climbing

We will start our journey with a drive from Kathmandu. The drive will take place on a bus or a jeep. The road takes us along the beautiful green Trishuli river. The Trishuli river starts from Tibet and meets with the Narayani river in a place called Devghat in the plains of Nepal. We will go northwards from Kathmandu across a beautiful picturesque road carved along the mountain. There are two options of road, one via Kakani in Nuwakot district and another via Galchi in Dhading district.

Both roads meet at a place near Bidur. Bidur is the headquarter of the Nuwakot district. We will take a few minutes of refreshment break at Bidur and continue towards the north of the Nuwakot district. Syabrubesi lies on Rasuwa district. The Langtang national park lies in Rasuwa and Sindhupalchowk district for the most part. We will reach Syabrubesi after a drive of about seven hours. Syabrubesi is a small town of the Tamang people. It gives us a glimpse of the Tamang culture. We will rest at a guest house in Syabrubesi for the night.

Following breakfast, we will start the walking part of the trek. There are two options for breakfast. You can either enjoy a mainstream breakfast-like continental menu or you can also delve into some exotic Tibetan bread. We will venture into the Langtang Valley heartland today. However, before doing so, we will cross the Bhote Koshi river. The Bhote Koshi river rages wild below a suspension bridge. After crossing the river we will land in beautiful forests of rhododendron, pine, oak, and bamboo.

We will see many exotic varieties of birds, wild animals, and butterflies during our trek through the dark green canopy of the woods. There are little settlements on our way. These villages reflect the Buddhist way of life of the Tamang people. Apart from these far-flung settlements our trail mostly takes us through beautiful verdant forests. Lama Hotel is a small teahouse located in the middle of the forest in an intersection between the road towards Langtang Valley and Gosaikunda Lake.

We will leave the road towards Gosaikunda Lake behind and head directly north towards the core of the Langtang Valley today. We will see a wide-open valley in front of us after walking for a short while from Lama Valley. The view of the mountains like Langtang Lirung, Langshisha Kharka, and Lakpa Dorje in the north is spectacular from the rim of the valley.

We will slowly descend down towards the central part of the valley after seeing the spectacular scenes in the northern Himalayan belt. The Langtang village lies in the heart of the Langtang Valley. The village is a typical Tamang village with more than 200 houses. It is the largest settlement in the region. This village was badly destroyed by the 2015 mega-earthquake that hit Nepal. There were many casualties and the region witnessed sweeping devastation. However, the locals have brought the village back to life. The Langtang region was included in the list of 52 places you must visit by the New York Times in 2017. We will stay at the village tonight and enjoy the warm hospitality of the locals.

We will leave the central part of the Langtang Valley today and head towards the far northern reaches of the region. The vegetation starts to get sparser as we move north. The bamboo and rhododendron disappear and give way to pines, junipers, fir, etc. There are many more grasslands and grazing pastures in the upper belt compared to the more densely forested lower belt. We will also start to clearly see glaciers on the slopes of the mountains as we move along the trekking trail.

We will reach Kyanjin Gompa (Gompa means monastery in the local language) during the second half of the trek. The monastery is the largest one in the region. It has a unique design and is a spiritual center for many people of the region. There is also a yak cheese factory near Kyanjin Gompa. We will only take a short break at Kyanjin Gompa and head towards the Kyanjin Ri hilltop. The hilltop provides a spectacular view of the mountains and valleys in the region. We will come back to Kyanjin Gompa after this and rest at a hotel there. We can enjoy the local meal and fresh exotic cheese at the night.

We will trek to Nayakang Peak Base Camp today. The base camp is located at an altitude of 4,400 m. The vegetation gets sparser as we move towards the base camp. The few remaining Oak forests provide for a pleasant walk as we move towards the base camp. We will get a spectacular view of the mountains like Langtang Lirung, Dorje Lakpa, Langshisha, and Lenpo Gyang on our way to the base camp.

The base camp also provides a sweeping and spectacular view of the valley below. We will walk through a wide and green pasture known as the Nayakang Kharka on the second part of the trek. We will see herds and herds of yaks grazing in the fields as we reach Nayakang Kharka. We will set our camps at the Nayakang Base Camp first and explore the area.

We will rest at the Nayakang Peak Base Camp today and acclimatize ourselves for the tough climb to come. We will also learn to use equipment like ropes, axes, harnesses, etc today in the surrounding slopes. As we get to higher altitudes we will need to learn to walk in a single file and also need to make proper use of gesture-based communication. The wind howls and screams at this altitude making voice communication inaudible.

We can explore the area surrounding the base camp in the evening. We will be blessed with a spectacular view of the sun setting over the surrounding mountains. After sunset, a chilly wind, often laden with snow, starts to blow in the region. So, we will slide readily into our hotel.

We will trek to the Nayakang peak high camp today. The high camp is located at an altitude of 4,960 m. It is freezing cold at this altitude and the air is also significantly thinner. So will take it easy on the road today. We will reach the high camp after walking along the slippery slopes on the mountainside. The Nayakang peak basks with full glory in the foreground while taller peaks like Langtang Lirung, Dorje Lakpa, and others smile in the background. We will have to make temporary shelter (tents) for the night.

We will summit Nayakang Peak today. It is better we rise early because it is wise to be back from mountain peaks before the afternoon. A strong wind blows in the mountains post afternoon making the stay at the slopes difficult. Moreover, being early also provides us a cushion in case we are stuck on slopes or the climb gets delayed due to unforeseen circumstances. However, we won’t have to worry much as the Nayakang peak is only 5,844 m in altitude.

Normally, we will reach the peak without ropes, harnesses, and axes. We might need to make use of these in winter times or when sudden and unexpected weather change sweeps the mountain. We will see a 360-degree view of the mountains in the north and the amphitheater of the valley below. We will get down to the base camp after completing the climb and celebrate our success there.

We will get down towards the Langtang Village today after completing an adventurous trip to the northern reaches of the Langtang Valley. The trip is through the same path that we took on our way up. We will come across beautiful grasslands like Nayakang Kharka on our way down. We will once again get to visit the wonderful Kyanjin Monastery and the yak cheese factory. Once we get down from Kyanjin, we will start to see more and more trees.

We will also notice a sharp rise in the density of rhododendron and bamboo. If we are lucky, we will also get an opportunity to see the endangered red panda. As we walk further down we will meet with the flat part of the valley, wherein lies the beautiful village of Langtang. Since we have completed the tougher parts of our trek, we can also indulge ourselves in some locally malted brew tonight. It will help us shed our pain from the last few days and also gives us an easy sleep.

We will trek down to the Lama hotel tonight. The walk is a soothing downhill stroll across some of the densest woods of the Langtang National Park. The forest is inhabited by endangered and rare wild animals like Asiatic Black Bear, Red Panda, Himalayan Musk, Porcupine, Salak among others. We will also see many exotic varieties of butterflies and birds on our trail.

We will reach the Lama Hotel following a six-hour of walk from Langtang village. The cliffs around Lama Hotel are famous for wild honey extraction. If we are interested and have ample time then we can also visit the honey hunting cliffs and take some dose of wild honey. We will rest at the Lama hotel for the night.

We will trek down to Syabrubesi today. This is the last walking part of our trek. We will walk through dense forests accompanied by occasional far-flung settlements of the local Tamang people. These little villages will provide us with rest in between. We will completely come out of the Langtang Valley today and head into a basin of the river Bhote Koshi.

We will walk along the river basin for some time and then cross it via a suspension bridge. The beautiful village of Syabrubesi awaits us on the other side of the suspension bridge. We can buy locally crafted souvenirs and mementos at the shops in Syabrubesi. We will rest at a hotel in Syabrubesi for the night.

We will drive back to Kathmandu today through the same road we took from Kathmandu to Syabrubesi. We will once again be accompanied by the beautiful forests and countryside of Nepal. The Trishuli river also welcomes for the second time.

We will reach Kathmandu following a memorable drive and introduction of the typical life of the mid-hills of Nepal. We will reach Kathmandu after a drive of about five and a half hours. We will transfer you to your hotel and the trip officially ends following it.