5844m/19173ft

TRIP PROFILE

The upper Langtang valley still retains a hint of Shangri-La, due to its proximity to Tibet and the isolated wilderness. Himalaya Expeditions leaders have extensive experience of the region and through their enthusiasm and feedback we have developed this wonderful itinerary. The upper Langtang valley has proved to be an ideal location for alpine style climbing holiday and our aim will be to explore this upper valley, following in the footsteps of Tilman, who first ventured into the area in 1949 when he was probing for routes into Tibet.

Whilst climbing Naya Kanga is technically straightforward one should be well acclimatized by spending enough time in exploratory hikes in the upper Langtang valley, beyond which lie the rich meadows of Langshisa Kharka. These high mountain meadows are rarely visited by trekkers and are home to large herds of thar, Himalayan mountain goats, the valley ends with a massive wall of mountains, forming the frontier with Tibet.

OUTLINE ITINERARY

Trip Dossier:

Day 01: KATHMANDU 1336m/4383ft
Arrival & transfer to hotel
Welcome to the Himalayas!
Our staff will receive you at Kathmandu’s International airport and transfer you to the hotel, where you’ll be briefed about Kathmandu, the hotel, trekking, climbing and camping, some do's and don'ts and other related information that you might require while in Nepal. Also notification about tomorrow’s sightseeing tour.

Day 02: KATHMANDU 1336m/4383ft
Half-day guided sightseeing tour
A half-day guided tour of Kathmandu city to places of cultural, religious and historical importance. Experience the sights and sounds of Kathmandu, a medieval city, with quite a history, where myths and legends blend seamlessly and modernism and traditionalism coexist in stark harmony offering a startling travel experience. The city has lots to offer to keen visitors. The tour will be conducted, either, in the morning or afternoon, depending upon previous day’s arrivals of group members, to ensure everyone is well rested.
Overnight in hotel.

Day 03: SYABRUBESI 1460m/4790ft
7-8 hrs bus ride from Kathmandu
The morning bus ride takes you along the winding uphill and downhill road, passing many rural towns and farm villages en route Trisuli Bazaar located in the sub-tropical climatic zone. From here the road climbs uphill to a cooler region leaving behind rice and paddy fields and coming to terraced fields with maize and millet. The culture and people change as the climate does on arrival at the entrance of Dhunche (1965m/6447ft), the one and the only major town of the Langtang area. The trekking/climbing and entrance permits are checked by the army personnel at the nearby Langtang National Park office who also serve as park wardens. From here journey continues farther downhill for 1-2 hours till Syabrubensi village is reached for the overnight camp.

Day 04: RIVERSIDE 2700m/8858ft
5-6 hrs trek
The trek from Syabrubesi is quite pleasant with few climbs for a while but the rest of the way is a gradual walk along a winding trail through terraced farm fields and villages, then it descends and joins the path from upper Syabru at the Riverside Lodge near a place called Bamboo, an ideal spot for camping with ample time for a refreshing splash in the nearby Trisuli River.

Day 05: GHORETABELA 3020m/9908ft
5hrs trek
Today’s trek leads to a cool forest along the gorge of Trishuli upstream. The walk is more an uphill climb in the cool shade of rhododendron and oak forest. After 3 hours trek, we arrive at a small clearing place near Lama Hotel, which provides excellent facilities for campers and also serves as a lodge for backpackers. From this place another 2-3 hours walk brings you to the wonderful spot at Ghoretabela for the overnight camp. Ghoretabla is in the midst of the forest with pines, hemlocks and rhododendron trees and from here onwards you can feel the altitude also.
Note:
‘Ghoretabela’ in Nepali means ‘horse stable’, in the early days people from Langtang and as far as from Kathmandu used to trade with Tibet via the Kiayrong route and used to bring large number of Tibetan ponies, as the place is ideal for grazing cattle and horses with grassy meadows and numerous creeks around for watering. Ghoretabla has a lodge and the Park Warden's barrack where your permits will be checked. This place was once under the Tibetan Refugee Resettlement Project in the late 1960's to 70's.

Day 06: KYNGING GOMPA 3850m/12631ft
5-6 hrs trek via Langtang village 3307m/10850ft
After the pleasant halt, the trek continues towards Langtang and its beautiful valley through the cool alpine forest and to a small stream where the tree line ends. The trail heads uphill for an hour then becomes a gradual winding trail with few ups and down till the village of Langtang. From Langtang village, the walk leads through the gradual path for a short while then winds uphill some hours through the prickly Burberry and high alpine shrubs. Along the way we encounter a mani prayer wall, walking around in a clockwise direction is the right way to respect the local culture and religion. The walk leads to a valley opening with grassy meadow and views of numerous snowcapped peaks in the distance. The walk is pleasant and can appear vigorous due to altitude gain as we come to our destination at Kyngin Gompa. It is a scenic and charming spot with peaks looming at all directions, the closest one is the Langtang Lirung over 7000m/23000ft and its icefall is at a leisurely distance from the campsite. A small monastery is located on the top of the ridge and the area has a handful of lodges and a cheese factory.

Day 07: KYNGING GOMPA 3850m/12631ft
Rest & acclimatization
A well-deserved rest day. After breakfast a short walk to the nearby hill called Kyangin Ri 4700m/15420ft where a panoramic view of the surrounding snowcapped peaks adds to your delightful adventure. Also, a visit to the cheese factory with rest of the day for leisure. Above Kyangin stand several hills that provide spectacular viewpoints and are good for acclimatization.

Day 08: BRANCHEN KHARKA (Base Camp) 4100m/13451ft
4-5 hrs trek towards Naya Kanga
The walk from Kyangin follows the downhill track towards the Langtang Khola (a mountain stream) and to a place called Chhona, from where the path climbs the hillside through the rhododendron forest towards Ganja-La. Base Camp will be set up at Branchen Kharka at 4100m/13451ft.

Day 09: HIGH CAMP 5100m/16732ft
Trek and climb
The morning walk leads towards Ganja-La where the High Camp will be set at 5100m/16732ft, below the northeast face. From the Base Camp we continue on the trail to gain the upper cwm filled by a glacier and is a steep climb up the moraine to site of High Camp.

Day 10: HIGH CAMP 5100m/16732ft
Rest, acclimatization & climbing preparation
On this day of leisure day we will scout the area to identify our route to the summit of Naya Kanga. Our guide and leader will be taking lead to locate the most suitable route for tomorrow’s morning climb.

Day 11:NAYA KANGA (SUMMIT) 5844m/19173ft
Ascent of Naya Kanga and return to Base Camp at Branchen Kharka. 6-8 hrs
The route of ascent to Naya Kanga’s summit follows the northeast ridge, which is reached by traversing the glacier shelf and then climbing an easy angled couloir to a col on the ridge. Above this col the ridge steepens, normally a rope is fixed for safety in this section of the route. There are two further steep sections which may require rope fixing, the climbs from here leads to a level area below the summit ridge. The summit ridge is quite broad, and is exposed and corniced and the party will be roped together. The round trip from High Camp to the summit can take about 6-8 hours.

After a magnificent time on the summit with stunning view of the array of snowcapped peaks, a slow descent will bring us to the camp, either, High Camp or Base Camp, depending upon time and physical condition of the group members. It is possible to go down all the way to the Base Camp at Branchen Kharka, to make it easier for the next day’s walk.

Day 12: KELDRONG KHARKA 4298m/14101ft
Traverse Ganja-la 5121m/16801ft & camp at Keldrong Kharka
From the high camp at Naya Kanga the route follows towards Ganja-La, traversing steeply from right to left to the cairned summit of the pass. Few more hours of walking down a steep descent from the glaciers takes us to Keldrong Kharka, with its excellent campsite.

Day 13: KHARKA 4023m/13200ft
Trek to Kharka near Dukpu 3993m/13100ft. 5-6 hrs
Today walk involves a great deal of ups and downs through the hillsides studded with kharkas. There is little water until we reach the last kharka before Dukpu. The kharka can be recognized by its narrow cwm facing east with a big boulder just below the path and a ‘rock shelter’ blackened by smoke on the north flank. The trail ahead climbs and descend a steep. Water is available about five minutes down into the cwm where there is a reasonable site camping site along with a good view of the mountains.

Day 14: TARKEGHYANG 2560m/8400ft
5-6 hrs trek
Today we head to Tarkeghyang, which is the largest Sherpa village in Helambu. From the kharka it is another 20 minutes to Dukpu where water is not available during the post monsoon season. A final ridge is marked with chortens and prayer flags and is reached after two hours of walking. Then it’s a long downhill descent to Helambu area. Landslides near the village of Tarkeghynag has washed away the final section of the trail past the Gompa leaving a slightly unpleasant, loose ravine top, before the steep descent can be made to the camp site just above the village. This is quite a long and difficult downhill day.

Day 15: TARKEGHYANG 2560m/8400ft
Rest day above Tarkeghyang
A well-deserved day of rest after days of challenging treks.You can go for a short hike or visit the famed Tarkeghyang village.

Day 16: THAREPATTI 3597m/11801ft
5-6 hrs trek
From the campsite a downhill walk leads to a stream near Melamchi another nice and scenic village of this region. We walk through the village with a brief stop for lunch if time permits. From Melamche a steep haul of nearly two hours brings you to Tharepatti for the overnight camp. This area is joined by trails from Gosainkund and Kathmandu. A lovely spot on the high ridge showcases a magnificent views of the snowy peaks of Jugal Himalayan range in the east and Ganesh-Manslu massifs in the west; you can also make out the ridge and the trail coming out of Gosainkund.

Day 17: GUL BHANJYANG 2125m/6972ft
5 hrs trek
The trail descends for 2-3 hours to Kutumsang village via Mangeghot, a nice place overlooking the hills and valleys of Helambu region. The trek from here onwards leads to farm fields, villages with forested areas inhabited by Sherpas and Tamangs (a hill tribe), from where the winding path takes you up and down the slopes past more farmed terraces and villages all the way to Gul Bhanjyang for the overnight stop.

Day 18: CHISOPANI DANDA 2195m/7201ft
5 hrs trek
The walk is pleasant passing through number of rural farm villages bringing you to the village of Pati Bhanjayang after a 3-4 hrs trek, from this village it’s a short uphill climb to the overnight stop at Chisopani Danda, a scenic hilltop en route to Kathmandu and to other places at the rim of Kathmandu Valley.
Chisopani has an army camp nearby and the place offers fantastic views of the Jugal Himal range in the northeast and Ganesh-Manaslu and Annapurna range in the west. Also, lovely views of the surrounding landscapes and valleys down below.

Day 19: SUNDARIJAL 1380m/4528ft & KATHMANDU 1336m/4383ft
Trek to Sundarijal & drive back to Kathmandu
The last day of our beautiful trip starts with the cool morning walk leading through serene forests and farmlands then climbs to the top of the ridge of Burlang and Chepu Bhanjyang at 2438m/8000ft from where you get a great view of Kathmandu Valley, then the track descends to Sundarijal (meaning beautiful water), a lovely spot with cool patch of forest with monkeys and fresh streams and waterfall. A popular picnic spot for the people of Kathmandu who want to escape the drudgery of city life. Another hour of downhill walk brings you to the road head at the eastern suburb of Kathmandu Valley where we board a vehicle for the drive to the inner sanctums of Kathmandu, passing the famed Boudhanath Buddna, renowned for its enormous Buddhist chaitya or stupa and the ever-present all seeing mystical eyes of Lord Buddha.

Day 20: KATHMANDU 1336m/4383ft
Leisure day in Kathmandu. Options: mountain flight and sightseeing tour
The whole day is free to explore Kathmandu, perhaps to continue where you left off the last time. Please inform our staff if you would like to go for a guided tour of the city or enjoy the early morning mountain flight to view the spectacular Himalayan ranges. Surely a lot remains to be explored and discovered in the enchanting city and from the sky!

If you have more time you can extend your trip to engage in white water rafting and do a jungle safari in the tropical forests of Chitwan National Park for few days.
Overnight in hotel.

Day 21: Transfer to Airport for the International departure.
Transfer to airport for International departure.
As per your international flight time, keep your confirmed air ticket and your passport handy. Our staff will take you to the airport for your final departure from this amazing Himalayan nation.
Farewell and see you again!