Kanchenjunga Trek

Kangchenjunga is located in the easternmost part of Nepal, which gets triple the amount of annual rainfall compared to western Nepal—these mountains on the foothills of the world’s third highest mountain get upwards of 3,500 mm of rain a year. The effect is most visible in the vegetation: thick, verdant forests with heavy undergrowth.

Even at the height of the dry season, the jungle trails are moist and fresh. The rhododendron in eastern Nepal is some of the most spectacular, especially the Milke Danda range north of Taplejung which has been declared a sanctuary for Nepal’s national flower. The whole trek through the moist forests is also an orchid enthusiast’s delight. If orchids are actually parasites, then you could call the Tamur River basin a Parasite Paradise.

• DAY 1

  ARRIVE IN KATHMANDU

  When you arrive in Kathmandu, you'll be taken to your hotel. While in Kathmandu you will have time fascinating Buddhist and Hindu temples and shrines reflecting ancient local traditions are highlighted on our guided tour. There's time to explore the city's many charms on your own too. In the evening delicious traditional Nepali well come dinner await for you. O/N in Kathmandu. (Welcome-Dinner)

• DAY 2

  KATHMANDU CITY TOUR

  After breakfast, we'll visit Swoyambhunath temple, and said to be 2000 years stupa on a hillock offers breath-taking view of Kathmandu City. We will then processed to Visit Pasupatinath and Bouddhanath. After lunch we'll visit Kathmandu Durbar Square, Patan (Lalitpur) - which is the oldest of the three major cities in Kathmandu Valley - famous for its Buddhist monuments and Hindu temples, and you can catch the traditional artisans working with wood, stones and metals. O/N in Kathmandu. (B/L/D)

• DAY 3

  KATHMANDU / HILLE

  We take a 45 min. flight to Biratnagar, an industrial city in the lowlands of Eastern Nepal and you will be welcomed by our guide and other crew at the airport. We drive to Hille, a Tibetan settlement at 6,070 ft. where we pitch our first camp. O/N in Hille at Tented Camp. (B/L/D)

• DAY 4

  HILLE / SHIDUA

  We already start to trek. We take the trail to Buranse Danda, towards the Tamur River along a ridge. At the top of this ridge we arrive at Shidua ( 7,450ft. ) where we camp for the night. O/N in Shidua at Tented Camp.

• DAY 5

  SHIDUA / DOOR PANI

  We are trekking through a forest today to Chitre. We have opportunities to see wildlife along the way. The views of Mt. Makalu (27,825ft. ) and Chamlang (24,000 ft. ) are today's highlights. We continue through rhododendron forests to the hamlet of Door Pani (9,120 ft. ) for overnight camp. O/N in Door Pani at Tented Camp. (B/L/D)

• DAY 6

  DOOR PANI / GUPA POKHARI

  After a gentle climb through more rhododendron forests 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. O/N in Gupa Pokhari at Tented Camp. (B/L/D)

• DAY 7

  GUPA POKHARA / NESUM

  Today we cross a pass at 9,922 ft. and descend through a dense forest towards Gurja Gaon and continue to descend to Nesum (5,297 ft.) with Mt. Jannu and Mt. Kanchenjunga behind us. We camp in Nesum. O/N in Nesum at Tented Camp. (B/L/D)

• DAY 8

  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. O/N in Taplejung at Tented Camp. (B/L/D)

• DAY 9

  TAPLEJUNG / CHIRWA

  Continuing up the Timur 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 tea houses and shops. O/N in Chirwa at Tented Camp. (B/L/D)

• DAY 10

  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. O/N in Sakathum at Tented Camp. (B/L/D)

• DAY 11

  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 mountain side village of Amjilassa for our overnight stay. O/N in Amjilassa at Tented Camp. (B/L/D)

• DAY 12

  AMJILASSA / KYAPAR

  We shall be doing some real climbing during the next 5 days ! We climb to Kyapar perched in the middle of terraced hills about 1000 ft up, steep climbs from the Ghunsa Khola. O/N in Kyapar at Tented Camp. (B/L/D)

• DAY 13

  KYAPAR / GHUNSA

  We descend from Kyapar and make an 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. O/N in Ghunsa at Tented Camp. (B/L/D)

• DAY 14

  KHAMBACHAN

  Today we glimpse the Jannu Glacier. Later on we get a view of Mt. Jannu ( 25,289 ft ). We descend the mountain side to our camp at Khambachan. O/N in Khambachan at Tented Camp. (B/L/D)

• DAY 15

  KHAMBACHAN

  We have to climb over 8,000 ft. in the last 4 days. We deserve a rest today to collect our thoughts on how wild and wonderful everything has been so far. O/N in Khambachan at Tented Camp. (B/L/D)

• DAY 16

  KHAMBACHAN / LHONAK

  Well rested, we shall now start a stint of real climbing. We trek to the edge of Kanchenjunga Glacier and cross over to the Lhonak Glacier. We arrive at our campsite at Lhonak, from where we can see Mera Peak (20,208 ft. ) O/N in Lhonak at Tented Camp. (B/L/D)

• DAY 17

  DAY TRIP TO PANGPEMA

  We shall have excellent views of the towering peak of Kanchenjunga today. O/N in Lhonak at Tented Camp. (B/L/D)

• DAY 18

  KHAMBACHEN / THA PASSES

  We select to cross either of the 2 passes today depending on the weather conditions: Lapsang La, the higher pass at 17,000 ft., and Mirgin La the lower pass at 15,000ft. O/N in High Camp at Tented Camp. (B/L/D)

• DAY 19

  HIGH CAMP

  We shall again rest today to recover from the efforts of the previous days. O/N in High Camp at Tented Camp. (B/L/D)

• DAY 20

  HIGH CAMP / RAMCHE

  We descend to the Simbuwa Khola valley and camp at Ramche. O/N in Ramche at Tented Camp. (B/L/D)

• DAY 21

  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 15,000 ft. We descend later to Tseram for the night. O/N in Tseram at Tented Camp. (B/L/D)

• DAY 22

  TSERAM / TORONTAN

  We are starting to descend from today. We steadily descend through forests of rhododendron to Torontan at 9,800 ft. O/N in Torontan at Tented Camp. (B/L/D)

• DAY 23

  TORANTAN / YAMPHUDIN

  We descend today to Yamphudin (5,360 ft. ) Yamphudin is a mixed community of Sherpas, Limbus, Rais and Gurungs and is the first real village since Ghunsa. O/N in Ghunsa at Tented Camp. (B/L/D)

• DAY 24

  YAMPHUDIN / PONPHE

  We descend from Yamphudin to the Kabel Khola and climb to Ponphe ( 5,500 ft. ) for our camp. O/N in Ponphe at Tened Camp. (B/L/D)

• DAY 25

  PONPHE / PHA KHOLA

  From Ponphe we climb to a ridge at 5,700 ft. We descend through as series of side valleys past Phun village to Kesawa (6,120 ft.). The trail continues to ascend to a Gurung settlement at Bhanjyang (6,640ft.) From here the trail traverses a ridge and descends to the Limbu village of Khunjari ( 5,250 ft. ). We camp below on the banks of Pha Khola. O/N in Pha Khola at Tented Camp. (B/L/D)

• DAY 26

  PHA KHOLA / TAPLEJUNG

  We descend today to the airport of Taplejung for our overnight stay. O/N in Taplejung at Tented Camp. (B/L/D)

• DAY 27

  TAPLEJUNG / KAHMANDU

  We fly this morning back to Kathmandu via Biratnagar after a well remembered trek. O/N in Kathmandu (B/L/D)

• DAY 28-29

  FREE DAY IN KATHMANDU

  After breakfast you're free as your own in Kathmandu. O/N in Kathmandu (B/L/D)

• DAY 30

  DEPARTURE

  After breakfast free for you until time to leave the international airport for your final destination.