KANCHENJUNGA
TREK
Kanchenjunga is one of the most remote and beautiful
areas in Nepal, which, unused to foreign visitors,
still lies shrouded in mystery. The features of
the walk in are pleasant villages then in the high
regions, glorious mountains and abundant wildlife.
This includes musk dear, blue sheep and for the
believer, the Yeti! Magnificent views of Everest,
Makalu and the Kanchenjunga massif will make the
trip memorable.
Day 1 Kathmandu - Hille
We fly to Biratnagar, an industrial city n the lowlands
of Eastern Nepal. From here we drive to Hille, a
Tibetan settlement where we pitch our first camp.
Day 2 Hille - Shidua
We take the trail to Burnase Danda, towards the
Tamur River along a ridge. At the top of this ridge
we arrive at Shidua, where we camp for the night.
Day 3 Shidua - Door pani
We trek through a forest rich in wildlife to Chitre.
The views of Makalu 8476m and Chamlang are today’s
highlights. We continue through rhododendron forests
to the hamlet of Door Pani 2780m for overnight camp.
Day 4 Door pani - Gupa Pokhari
After a gentle climb through more rhododendron forest
to a mountain ridge, we drop down to the village
of Tongise Phedi and continue to Chanki, an area
used for summer pasture. We continue through grassy
fields with Mt. Makalu in constant view. Soon the
Kanchenjunga range appears and we come to Mongol
Bharai pass, lined with mani stones. We descend
to a lake, Gupa Pokhari, for our camp.
Day 5 Gupa Pokhari - Nesum
Today we cross a pass at 3025m, descend through
a dense forest towards Gurja Gaon and Nesum (106105m)
with Mt. Jannu and Mt. Kanchenjunga behind us. We
camp in Nesum.
Day 6 Nesum - Taplejung
Today we visit the central hub of this region, Taplejung.
We descend to Doban through paddy fields and start
the trek up the Tamur River to Taplejung.
Day 7 Taplejung - Chirwa
Continuing up the Tamur River in a valley populated
by the Limbu peoples, the descendants of the Kirati
warriors who ruled Nepal at the dawn of Nepalese
history, we camp near Chirwa, a pleasant bazaar
with a few houses and shops.
Day 8 Chirwa - Sakathum
We continue up the Tamur past Tapethok and cross
the Simbuwa Khola, a river formed by the Yalung
Glacier. We climb over another ridge to join the
Ghunsa Khola valley and camp by the banks of the
river at Sakathum.
Day 9 Sakathum - Amjilassa
We follow a steep and narrow trail up river. From
the high spots there are wonderful views of the
Ghunsa Khola below. The path descends steeply and
we arrive at the mountainside village of Amjilassa
for our overnight stay.
Day 10 Anjilassa - Kyapar
We shall be doing some real climbing during the
next 5 days! We climb steeply to Kyapar, perched
in the middle of terraced hills about 350m up from
the Ghunsa Khola.
Day 11 Kyapar - Ghunsa
We descend from Kyapar and make am easy climb up
the right bank of the Ghunsa Khola. After the village
of Phere, we enter rhododendron forests and climb
a gentle hill before descending back down to the
Ghunsa Khola and crossing a wooden bridge to the
village of Ghunsa.
Day 12 Khambachan
Today we glimpse the Jannu Glacier. Later on we
get a view of Jannu (7710m) we descend the mountainside
to our camp at Khambachjan.
Day 13 Khambachan
We have had to climb over 2500m in the last 4 days
and so deserve a rest today to collect our thoughts
on how wild and wonderful everything has been so
far.
Day 14 Khambachan - Lhonak
Well rested, we shall now start a stint of real
climbing. We trek to the edge of Kanchanjunga Glacier
and cross over to the Lhonal Glacier. We arrive
at our camp side at Lhonak, from where we can see
the trekking peak Mera (6476m)
Day 15 Day trip to Pangpema
We shall have excellent views of the towering peak
of Kanchenjunga today.
Day 16 Khambachen - Tha Passes
We select to cross either of the 2 passes today
depending on the weather conditions: Lapsang La,
the higher pass at 5180m or the Mirgin La at 4500m.
Day 17 High Camp
We shall again rest today to recover from the efforts
of the previous days.
Day 18 High Camp - Ramche
We descend to the Simbuwa Khola valley and camp
at Ramche.
Day 19 Ramche - Tseram
We take a day trip to the Yalung glacier for a magnificent
view of the Kanchenjunga south face from a chorten
at about 4500m. We descend later to Tseram for the
night.
Day 20 Tseram - Torontam
We are starting to descend from today. We steadily
descend through forests of rhododendron to Torontan
at 3000m.
Day 21 Yamphudin - Yamphudin
We descend today to Yamphudin (1650m) a mixed community
of Sherpa, Limbus, Rais and Gurungs and are the
first real village since Ghunsa.
Day 22 Yamphudin - Ponphe
We descend form Yamphudin to the Kabel Khola and
climb to Ponphe 1680m.
Day 23 Ponphe - Pha Khola
From Ponphe we climb to a ridge then descend through
as series of side valleys past Phun village to Kesawa.
The trail continues to ascend to Gurung settlement
at Bhanjyang (pass). From here the trail traverses
a ridge and descends to the Limbu village of Khunjari.
We camp below on the banks of Pha Khola.
Day 24 Pha Khola - Taplejung
We descend today to the airport of Taplejung for
our overnight stay.
Day 25 Taplejung - Kathmandu
We fly this morning back to Kathmandu via Biratnagar
after an amazing trek.
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