Kanchenjunga Circuit Trek

After breakfast, a private vehicle will take you on a tour around the Kathmandu valley. You can begin by heading to the religious sites of Swayambhunath, Pashupatinath, and Boudhanath. From here on, you can explore Kathmandu Durbar Square. All of these are UNESCO enlisted world heritage sites and reflect the very history of the Kathmandu Valley. In the evening, we will be discussing the trek. 

The flight to Bhadrapur is a short one. The plane will soar above hilly vales and river valleys with the views of Everest, Makalu, and Kanchenjunga ranges. The flight will be a little over 45 minutes. From here on, we have a lengthy drive to Taplejung. The road will wind up the hills and can get bumpy at some places.

Today, we will not be making hard ascents or descents. The trail will rather be fully up and downs. The route will be surrounded by lush subtropical forests with coniferous and deciduous vegetation. The trail will soon lead you to a ridge which then opens up to a meadow to Lalikharka. You will camp for the night in this open meadow.

Today, the first village on our way is the Limbu village of Tembewa. From here, we trek along the Phawa Khola till we reach Yanpang. From here, it will be a steady climb to Phumphe Danda and we will further ascend to Khesewa. On the trek today you will also see the first glimpse of Kanchenjunga (8586m).

We will trek down to the bank of the Kabeli Khola. The trail passes through thick forests and several streams. We will travel along hillsides through dense forests. The openings along the way also house the cultivated terraces. We will arrive at the village of Anpan in the afternoon. From here, we descend and cross the Khesewa Khola. The last stretch of the trek will be a steady climb to Mamankhe village.

The trek will begin taking us along the Kabeli Khola as we observe the river valley, ridges, and cliffs. The trek will mostly be a steady and easy uphill with great views of the foothill landscapes. The route gradually becomes level as we trek through several settlements home to the Rai, Limbu, and Sherpa people. After trekking along the gradually ascending trail, you arrive at Yamphudin in around 2-3 hours. 

Today will be a gradual and lengthy trek to Tortong. The trail is well-set and runs through the terraced farmlands, lush forests, and grazing fields. The trek will take us from the Kabeli River along the Amji River. Then, you will cross the Lasiya Bhanjyang Pass (3310m). From the top, we head downwards along the Simbuwa River to Tortong.

We continue along the right bank of the Simbuwa River studded with Rhododendron trees. The trek from the valley is steep as we steadily climb above the tree line. The views on the trek include the wonderful Tuplung peak (4488m) and the Yalung Glacier. As we move closer to Cheram, Kabru and Rathong peaks also appear above the Yalung Glacier. We will be camping the night here in Cheram.

As over the last two days, we have climbed a significant amount of altitude, we need to camp at Cheram to acclimatize. Cheram is a beautiful village and is an ideal place to acclimatize. The Yalung Glacier is close by and we can go exploring around the moraine to get accustomed to glacial walking. There is also a viewpoint nearby which can make for a great acclimatization hike. 

Ramche is the gateway to the southern base camp of Kanchenjunga. We travel along the Yalung Glacier to make our way up the valley. We can view several peaks in the Rathong and Kabru ranges as we trek ahead. As we follow the Simbuwa River, we will arrive at the village of Lapsang. From here on the next destination in Ramche.

From Ramche, we walk further up the valley and continue on the glacial moraine. On the way, we are offered great views of the south face of Kanchenjunga (8586m). Further ahead on the ridge, we get a glimpse of Januu Himal (7711m). We will continue onwards to the Oktang Monastery. Yalung Base Camp is further upwards, as we leave behind the monastery and get along the moraine. After exploration, we head to Cheram.

First, on the trek, we cross the Sinion La Pass, the tallest of the passes on the trek today at 4656m. We can observe the Kanchenjunga (8586m), Yalung glacier, Rathong and Kabru range from the top. From here, we move north and descend slightly to Selele La Pass (4480m). Traversing along this path is easy on the legs but be careful. The rocky slopes and the deep snow in winter can make travel tricky. From the top, we descend to a wide opening where there are a few seasonal lodges.  

After breakfast, we head to Tanbharma Hill. The top of the hill is marked by a Chorten decorated with prayer flags. From here on, we make a steep descent winding down the hillside. Our route is again decorated by the Rhododendron and Pine trees. We will soon arrive at Ghunsa, a beautiful village.

The trek from Ghunsa to Kambachen takes us through high grassy meadows. Here, vegetation is limited to a few shrubs and rare wildflowers. The views of the mountains are great, especially of Mount. Januu (7711m). The trail will ascend from the south bank of the Ghunsa River up to Rampuk Kharka on the north side of the river. We arrive at Kambachen after crossing waterfalls and a bridge at Rampuk Kharka.

The trail from Kambachen to Lhonak sees very few travelers so, there are also no settlements on the trail. We will be treading on along the moraine of the Januu Glacier. On a trail of rocky moraines and large boulders, we will walk on to the Ramtang Monastery. From here, we will continue along the northern edge of the glacier moraine to reach Lhonak.

Lhonak is the gateway to the North Base Camp of Kanchenjunga, also known as Pangpema. There is no set trail and snow can make it even more difficult. The trek will be primarily along the Kanchenjunga Glacier. The route is straightforward as we arrive at Pangpema. From here, we get wonderful views of Kanchenjunga, Januu, and Tent peak ranges amongst the other Himalayas in the distance. 

Today, we gradually trek back to Lhonak. We retrace our steps along the Kanchenjunga Glacier to Lhonak. Since there are no settlements and proper places to rest on the trail, we will be traveling along an isolated trail. The views of the Kanchenjunga and Januu ranges will keep us company as we head over to Lhonak.

We head to the village of Ghunsa from Lhonak retracing our steps on those rocky trails. We will pass the Rampuk Monastery and then again trek along the north edge of the Januu glacier. As we descend, the vegetation becomes thicker with trees all the way to Ghunsa. Here, we can visit the Tashi Choding Monastery as well.

After breakfast, we will be heading to Amjilosa from Ghunsa. The trail is a descent back down to the thick tree line. We travel through Juniper and pine forests to Phale. There are many Mani walls and Chortens as well as a monastery a little ahead from Phale. We cross the Chhundarangka River to reach the village of Gyabla. From Gyabla, we continue onwards to reach Amjilosa.

We begin our trek after breakfast. The first village on our way is the settlement of Solima, which is preceded by a beautiful waterfall. From Solima, we take a suspension bridge crossing the Ghunsa River. Crossing the river, we arrive at Sukethum. From here, the trail passes through many settlements and hamlets to finally settle at the Chirwa village.

From Chirwa, we head to Taplejung, the main town of the eastern district. On our way to Taplejung, we also pass the village of Mitlung. Mitlung is a beautiful village set amongst the hilly forests. After a lengthy but fairly easy trek, we will arrive at Taplejung. Here, we can rest and celebrate the success of our trip.

We drive down the eastern hills from Taplejung to Bhadrapur. It's a long ride but the scenery and the village life you get to witness along the way are worth it. Say your final goodbyes to the Kanchenjunga Himalayas as your vehicle dances around the hilly curves to reach Bhadrapur.

We get on a 45-minute flight back to Kathmandu where we can see endless sights of the mountains to the north. In the evening, please note that we have hosted a hearty farewell dinner that we wish for you to attend. We bid you thanks with pleasant Nepali cuisine.

Today, we say our farewells. Our staff will thank you for traveling with us. A company representative will come to pick you up at your hotel. We will leave you at the airport and wish you have safe travel.