Langtang Valley Trek (Nepal) - 10D/9N - Rating:

Moderate to Hard

Mon 09-Apr-2018

Group size: No Maximum 

Langtang... Unknown to many, but the Langtang National Park was

the first Himalayan National Park, established in 1976. Unfortunately

it made the headlines when Langtang village was completely swiped

away by a two to three kilometres wide avalanche followed by the

earthquake in April 2015.

The Langtang region sits on Nepal's border with Tibet, a short

distance north of Kathmandu but still a five to six hours' drive. It's a

narrow valley running east to west, wedged between dramatic 6,000

to 7,000m snow-capped peaks. Only its western end can be accessed

by road, from Kathmandu.

The whole valley is dominated by Mount Langtang Lirung (7,227m)

and offers all a hiker can dream of: rolling meadows, alpine forests

with oaks, pines and rhododendrons, swift mountain streams, rugged

rock and snow-capped peaks, glaciers and most importantly many,

many, many stunning mountain views of Langtang Lirung (7,224m),

Kyanjin Ri (4,774m), Kanja La (5,122m), Dorje Lakpa (6,986m), Naya

Kanga (5,844m), Yansa Tsenji (6,567m) and many more.

The Langtang Valley starts from an altitude of 1,500m beside the road at Syabrubesi, disappearing up a

narrow, forested gorge. For much of its length it is less than a kilometre in width, and the mountains rise

sheer on either side. The valley ascends steeply, and gradually widens before emerging into wide open

spaces at Kyanjin Gompa (3,850m), where the last teahouses can be found. Most trekkers go no further

than Kyanjin, but the valley continues east, right up to the high glaciers of the Tibetan border region.

Beyond a doubt the best thing we can do to help the people of Langtang now after the 2015 disaster, is

just go there for a trek and support their micro-economy.

We will spend the first night in Kathmandu in order to take a morning ride to Syabrubesi, a several hours

drive from Kathmandu.

The third day we will start our trek, heading for Lama Hotel. We don't want to force things, so the first

stage will be relatively easy.

The next day we head for Langtang Village. We will enjoy the splendid views of Langtang Ri along the way.

This day we will pass the 3,000m mark.

From Langtang Village we trek to the furthest point of our trek: Kyanjin Gompa. We will have a rest day in

Kyanjin Gompa, but we're certainly not sitting back. Those who want can join us for the climb to Tsergo Ri,

just below 5,000m. No need to mention that spectacular views await you.

The next day we return to Lama Hotel, using the same trail back. However we will divert off course the

next day, with Thulo Syabru Gau as destination.

The last day of our trek, we will put on the boots and hit the trail for Dhunche. We will spend the night

there and will be transferred to Kathmandu the next day for our midnight flight back to Kuala Lumpur.

Accommodation will be in tea houses close to the trail.

For most hikers this will be a challenging trek of more than 70 kilometres in total. This hike is absolutely

not suited for beginners and less experienced hikers who haven't participated for any of our high B-rated

or C-rated hikes.

We realise that this trek can be done in a shorter time, but we don't want to take any chances. We don't

want to put too much pressure on participants by forcing them to hike long days. Hopefully in this way we

can also avoid that any of us will be plagued with fatigue and/or mountain sickness.

The total hiking time per day varies and depends greatly on the individual participant, but someone with a

decent fitness level will need to hike between three and seven hours a day.