Kanchenjunga Circuit Trek

A representative from Bharal Adventure will greet and accompany the guest from the airport to their hotel. The guests are briefly explained about the program they will be participating on. A meeting at our office will be organized where the guests will be able to meet and interact with other participants, team leader and crew members of the expedition. In the evening, a welcome dinner will be organized to familiarize the guests with authentic Nepali cuisine.

On this day, we will complete the official procedures required for trekking and take a cultural and historical tour of Kathmandu. A quick breakfast will be followed by a guided tour to four of the most famous UNESCO World Heritage sites in Kathmandu that are Kathmandu Durbar Square, the sacred Hindu temple of Pashupatinath, the famous ‘Monkey Temple’ (Swayambhunath) and Buddhist shrine (Bouddhanath), which is also one of the largest stupas in the world. The equipments will be checked by the trek leader at noon followed by an interaction between the fellow participants and team leader at Bharal Adventure’s office.

On this day, we will fly to Biratnagar from Kathmandu and on the basis of availability of flying options, we shall fly to Suketar from Biratnagar. There are two possibilities, first, if there is a flight to Suketar, we will spend the night in Biratnagar and fly to Suketar the next morning and if there are no flights available, we will drive to Phidim and spend the night there.

If you have spent the night at Biratnagar on previous day, you will fly to Suketar on this day and if you had spent the night at Phidim, you will be driving to Suketar from there. In either case, on that day, you will be spending the night at Suketar.

The day starts with a downhill walk to Mitlung passing through fertile valleys with stunning pasture lands and small villages throughout the lower sections of the Kanchenjunga region. Crossing the Hangdewa River, we walk alongside the thundering Tamor River and head north following the steep trail before descending 350 meters down on a muddy trail to get to Mitlung.

Going up and down steadily towards the village of Sinwa, we continue our trek downhill further until we reach Tawa from where we ascend to some height and cross the suspension bridge at Thiwa. Passing through the rural landscape along the way we reach Chirwa, a gorgeous Limbu village with few lodges and tea shops.

Passing through varied landscapes encompassing cardamom fields and dense forests, we trek uphill and then descend to the lush green fields below continuing along the Tamor River. Walking through the uphill and downhill trail, we cross the Ghunsa River from where we walk for a longer while to reach Sukathum.

The trek from Sukathum to Amjilosa is a challenging one requiring to trek up and down hill along the rough terrain. We enter a dense forest after crossing the suspension bridge outside Sukathum from where we ascend the steep trail and then descend down crossing yet another river. We climb a gorge from the bottom and pass the Solima village from where we descend further close to the river. Following a tricky trail going uphill and downhill, we reach Amjilosa.

Starting the trek from the river bank, we pass through a dense bamboo, fir and rhododendron forest gradually reaching a small stone house by the river from where we climb uphill across a few small bridges along the way. After another short uphill trek, we arrive at Gyabla.

Descending down the river into the valley opening gradually before reaching Phale, a Tibetan refugee settlement where handicrafts and homemade rugs are available for purchase, we walk through conifer and fine forest before reaching Ghunsa, a Sherpa village known for its hydroelectricity plant. This is also a place where more than 20 prominent conservationists met a tragic end in a helicopter crash.

We spend this day acclimatizing in Ghunsa by going on a short hike towards the Laspsan-La monastery through the lush green forest. After ending some time here, we shall trek back to Ghunsa for the night.

We trek north along the river bank passing through meadows full of gorgeous wildflowers, rhododendron and pine forests. Crossing the bridge at Rampuk Kharka, we contine walking past the waterfall and crossing the tricky section of the landslide where we are rewarded with the spectacular view of Mt. Jannu. From here, we walk further along the tricky mountain trail until we arrive at Kambachen.

This is another day set aside for acclimatization which is spent exploring the Nuphchu Khola Valley area. Moreover, this day is reserved to accommodate the participants in high altitude and to check if anybody in the group has any symptoms of altitude sickness.

Yet another challenging day, this day starts early as we trek through rocky fields and large boulder strewn trail along hillside across riverbank. We cross a bridge to Ramtang monastery and come across a landslide section that we pass through at a steady pace before descending to the river and arriving at Lhonak.

Trekking along the Kanchenjunga Glacier, we move towards Kanchenjunga Base Camp on the northern side. However, since the trail is full with strenuous rocks and tough terrain, we need to be careful as we walk. We climb further to reach the flat grassy base camp at Pangpema.

Retracing our path to Lhonak, we continue down the valley to Ramtang Monastery with the wonderful views of mountains such as Kanchenjunga, Taple Shikharm Gimmigela and Mera Peak among others. We reach Kambachen by the evening for spending the night there.

On this day, we descend down to Ghunsa enjoying the trek through striking forests with the backdrop of imposing mountain panorama.

Following the steep trail going up, we climb up through a dense forest of moss, rhododendron and juniper until we reach Sele-Le where we enjoy our lunch and explore the area further.

Enjoying the mesmerizing south side view of the Jannu Himal and Makalu Mountain, the sixth highest mountain of the world, we trek uphill through the strenuous mountain trail passing through several passes such as Sinion La, Mirgin La and Sinelapche Bhanjyang. Enjoying the mesmerizing views of the mountain peaks, we descend down to Cheram following the steep trail going down.

Ascending past the snout of the Yalung Glacier and walking alongside the Simbuwa Khola passing through Lapsang, village we arrive at Ramche. We walk further up the valley or ascend a ridge for a fabulous view of blue sheep. Following the stream before climbing on a moraine top, we come across southern face of Kanchenjunga Mountain. From here, we walk further ahead to get the glimpse of Jannu Himal. We can also trek further to Oktang Monastery or simply descend down to Cheram to spend the night.

We encounter two trails as we descend to Tortong, among which we had descended down one of them from Sele Le. However, we ignore this route and descend down further along the trail alongside the Simbuwa Khola enjoying the lush rhododendron forest.

We pass through Lasiya Bhanjyang as we descend from Tortong walking up through trees and area of landslides. The terrain here changes after every monsoon, however, by the middle of October, the route becomes more or less stable. We walk further down as we reach the village of Yamphudin that is inhabited by Sherpas, Limbus and Rais.

Descending down from Yamphudin across the bridge at Samekham, we continue following the Kabeli Khola, passing through Mamankhe that houses the Limbu Museum and Cultural Center. From here, we cross the bridge over Khaksewa Khola and ascend through the cardamom forest passing by a few villages and descend further down to Yangpang.

We descend down to Thorpu rather than going back to Taplejung so that we can not only save time but also get a chance to enjoy the beautiful landscape of a different route. We pass through elegant terraced villages as we descend down the trail and reach Thorpu village.

Most likely, we will be driving from Thorpu to Birtamod, a lively town in Eastern Terai. You will be experiencing a warmer climate as you drive further from the mountains and hills towards Terai. The various accommodation facilities provide you with the prospects of comfortable bed and service for spending the night.

We drive a short distance to Bhadrapur from Birtamod and from there fly back to Kathmandu from Bhadrapur Airport. As we arrive in Kathmandu, we go to the hotel for short rest before heading out on a leisurely souvenir shopping around Thamel. In the evening, Bharal Adventure hosts a farewell dinner to commemorate the successful accomplishment of the mission in the Himalayas.

As our Himalayan journey comes to an end, we get ready to say farewell to each other. On this day, a representative of Bharal Adventure will escort the guests to the airport approximately three hours before their scheduled flight.