Langtang Gosaikunda Trek

Trip Itinerary

Day 01: Arrival in Kathmandu Airport
Arrival in Kathmandu airport and then transfer to the Hotel. You will have a nice clean room with attached bathroom and 24 hrs running hot water.

Day 02: Kathmandu Sightseeing
The following morning of arrival you will be taken on Sightseeing tour of the many holy temples and interesting surrounding sights of Kathmandu to show its back ground and history.

Day 03: Kathmandu-Dhunche 1970m.
Drive about 8 hrs in a bus to get to Dhunche. About 45 minutes out of Kathmandu, you pass through the town of Kakani where there are great views of the Himalayas. For part of the way the road clings to the edge of a steep mountain. Dhunche is an attractive village with large stone houses. Here, there is a police check post where you must show your entry permit for the Langtang National Park, which you'll be trekking through. There are excellent views of Gheng (6581m) and Langtang Lirung (7246m) to the north and Ganesh Himal (7460m) to the west from Dhunche

Day 04: Dhunche-Syabru 2150m.  
Trek starts with walking along the road descend to Trisuli River and to Thulo Bharkhu than steep up to ridge through the pinewoods. From here you have fine views up the valley towards the Tibetan border. The trail out of Bharkhu climbs a steep slope to the top of a ridge where there is a good area to take a break. You have now entered the Langtang Valley. The trail contours around the ridge at first before descending a short steep slope into Syabru.

Day 05: Syabru-Lama Hotel 2400m
Descend through the village of Syabru and continue down the ridge until you come to a trail to the east that drops sharply off the ridge and through a dense forest. Trail starts meandering through the cool deciduous forests of oak and maple that cover the lower sections of the valley and climbs through massive stands of spruce, fir and blue pine. Towering walls close in and your paths will skirt precipitous drops, which fall into a silt-laden river below. Cross a bridge (1960m) over a tributary of the Langtang Khola and then climb up from the river and in an hour, shortly after the trail levels off, you join the old Langtang trail from Syarpagaon and Syabrubensi. Another hour from this trail junction brings you to the Lama Hotel in the tiny village of Chongong.

Day 06: Lama Hotel-Langtang Village 3400m. 
1 day further on the forest peters out and you start getting the first tantalizing glimpses of snow-capped peaks. From the Lama Hotel the trail climbs steadily to Ghoda Tabela with glimpses of Langtang Lirung (7246m) through the trees. At Ghoda Tabela the trail leaves the forest and a spectacular view of Langtang Lirung appears. Continue up the valley, leaving the forests behind, the trail ascends steadily up to Langtang village, passing below a monastery about 30min beforehand. Langtang is an interesting Tibetan-style village with stone- walls enclosing houses and fields where you just might see your first yaks.

Day 07: Langtang Village-Kyannjin Gompa 3800m. 
Leaving Langtang, you ascend gradually to a chorten (a small Tibetan Buddhist stupa) behind which is a very long mani wall. The trail passes two small villages and the village widens. You cross some streams and a moraine before arriving at Kyanjin Gompa. Between Langtang and Kyanjin Gompa, the views just get better and better where you'll see Yansa Tsenji (6580m) and Kimshun (6750m) to the north and the Langtang Himal to the northwest. Alternatively, take a good rest and allow your body to acclimatize with the high altitude as much as possible to be fully prepared for more ascending during the next day.

Day 08: Kyanjin Gompa 
A day hike further up the valley past the airstrip will provide more spectacular views that include Langtang Lirung (7246m), Ganchenpo (6400m), Langshisa Ri (6320m), Dorje Lakpa (6700m), Lenpo Gang (7100m), and Urkinmang (6170m). A 4hr walk to the east of Kyanjin Gompa from the village is 5000m Tserko Ri. If you start early in the morning and are well-acclimatized, you should be able to climb this peak and return to Kyanjin Gompa in 1 long day. The reward for climbing to the prayer flags on its summit is a magnificent view of the 7246m Langtang Lirung, the mountain that dominates the valley. Several of the more moderate local peaks are quite climbable and provide breathtaking panoramic views of mountains in Tibet, including the 8027m Chisa Pangma.

Day 09: Kyanjin Gompa-Ghodatabela 
Since you'll be acclimatized and will be descending, we trek down all the way to Ghodatabal through the same trail in a day's walk from Kyanjin Gompa.

Day 10: Lama Hotel-Syabru  
We continue keep retracing our steps back on the same trail and you should be able to reach Syabru in another day descending.

Day 11: Syabru-Sing Gompa 
Leaving behind the pleasant village of Syabru , climb past the gompa, school and army post, and switchback up the steep hill above the village. There are a few houses and potato field steep trail and pleasant teashops in the settlement of Dursagang. The trail continues less steeply, now mostly in forests, past an old chorten to the top of the ridge and two shoddy teashops. Coming out of the forest, the trail climbs a bit more before reaching the top of the ridge. The trail continues across the head of a second valley, and then reaches a final ridge. The small Buddhist monastery of Sing Gompa is about 100m along the trail to the left.

Day 12: Sing Gompa-Gosainkunda 4380m. 
From Sing Gompa the trail continues climbing steadily through rhododendron forest with the Trisuli Khola far below. The trail crosses over to the Langtang side of the ridge you are climbing and stays in deep forest for a while, then emerges onto a saddle at Cholang Pati then entering the Gosainkunda protected area where the killing of animals, lighting of wood fires, and grazing of goats is prohibited. There are good views of Langtang Lirung from the north side of the ridge, and looking west, you can see the Mustang, Himalchuli, and Manaslu. You cross high altitude summer pastures for sheep and goats before going back to the south side of the ridge overlooking the Trisuli Khola. When you cross to the south side of the ridge the trail becomes much narrower than it has been up to now, and finally be able to see the first of the largest lake, the holy Gosainkunda, which is evident from the large stone Shiva lingam and the guesthouses around its shores, Saraswati Kunda from here

Day 13: Gosainkunda-Ghopte 3430m.
Leaving Gosainkunda, the trail skirts the shore of the lake before ascending towards the Laurebinayak Pass 4610m. The trail now descends, steeply at first but becoming more gradual, to the southeast on a rocky path. In about an hour you'll come to some roofless stone herders' huts, and from here the trail descends another ridge, crossing several streams and passing two waterfalls. After passing another stone hut, you climb to another ridge and Ghopte, where overhanging rocks form a cave that is used as a campsite by trekkers can see the lights of herders.

Day 14: Ghopte-Tharepati 8013m.
From Ghopte, the trail descends to more caves and enters a thick forest of Pine and rhododendrons. After crossing a stream, which is dry for part of the year, the trail will make a final ascent to Tharepati (3490m), a grouping of small stone huts used in the summer months by herders. After lunch, we'll take a moment to climb the hill to the east of the ridge for views of Dorje Lakpa, Shisha Pangama (8013m) and peaks all the way to Khumbu.

Day 15: Tharepati-Melamchigaun 2530m.   
Leaving the village soon we come to end of the settlement and switchbacks steeply down a ravine then vegetation changes to large fir, oaks and rhododendron. Descend to a stream and traverse to a chorten and a pasture, further down through huge, gnarled rhododendrons. The main trail crosses the Chhyadi Khola on a suspension bridge, and then makes a short final climb to reach the prosperous Sherpa village of Melamcigaun.

Day 16: Melamchigaun-Tarkegyang 2490m.
A short descends through forest to a sturdy suspension bridge across the Melamchi Khola then the immediately begins a long climb to Tarke Ghyang a picturesque large village on a shelf high above the river.

Day 17: Tarkegyang-Sermathang 2600m.
The trail drops from the edge of the ridge but soon starts climbing through deep forests, crossing a number of streams en route to a large Gomba in Chumik and further to a big village of shermathnag where you can visit houses statues of Guru Ringpoche, Chenrising and Sakyamuni.

Day 18: Shermathnag-Kakani 2000m. 
The trail follows the ridge all the way down to last Sherpa village Kakani passing chorten, teashops and chir pine forest.

Day19: Kakani-Kathmandu
The trail enters the lowlands in habited by Brahamans and Chhetries. We descend steeply past a small village and further down to the attractive last village near the confluence of the Indrawati and Melamchi Kholas. Finally we cross a large suspension bridge over the Indrawati River into Malachi Pul Bazaar 890m. And then drive to Kathmandu.

Day 20: Rest day.
Join the farewell dinner in the evening most probably with cultural program.

Day 21: Transfer to the airport for Departure.