Nepal: the Langtang Valley trek to Kyanjin Gompa

1. Day 1: Arrive in Kathmandu

   Tribhuvan International Airport to your hotel in Kathmandu

   • Dinner
   • Stay in Kathmandu
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM), on the eastern edge of Kathmandu, and a driver meets you outside arrivals for the short drive to the hotel. Most nationalities can buy a tourist visa on arrival; have a passport photo and the fee ready to shorten the queue. The afternoon is yours to sleep off the flight or walk the lanes nearby. In the early evening your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a briefing on the trek: how the days are paced, what the teahouses are like, what goes in the porter's duffel and what stays at the hotel. Then we walk together through the streets of central Kathmandu, where shrines sit in the middle of the traffic and the shops stay open late, to a welcome dinner of dal bhat, momos and Newari dishes.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM)
   • Trek briefing with your guide
   • Evening walk through the Asan bazaar
   • Welcome dinner

   Free time: Free until the evening briefing

   

2. Day 2: Pashupatinath, Boudhanath and a gear check

   Pashupatinath and Boudhanath, then back to the hotel

   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Kathmandu
   Day 2 details

   A morning of Kathmandu's two great shrines, which sit about two kilometres apart on the east side of the city. We start at Pashupatinath, the most important Hindu temple in Nepal, on the banks of the Bagmati River. A local guide explains the cremation ghats, the sadhus in saffron and painted faces, and why only Hindus may enter the main temple; we watch from the terraces across the river. From there it is a short drive to Boudhanath, one of the largest stupas in the world, where we walk the kora clockwise with Tibetan pilgrims and stop for a sit-down lunch on a rooftop above the dome. Both are part of the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage Site. In the afternoon your guide runs the gear check at the hotel: boots, layers, the duffel, a sleeping bag and a down jacket to borrow. The evening is free.

   Included

   • Pashupatinath with a local guide
   • Boudhanath and the kora around the stupa
   • Sit-down lunch at Boudhanath
   • Gear check, duffel, sleeping bag and down jacket to borrow
   • Langtang National Park permit and TIMS card, collected for you

   Free time: Evening free in Kathmandu

   Activity: About 3 hours on foot, mostly flat paving and some steps at Pashupatinath.

   

3. Day 3: The road to Syabrubesi

   Kathmandu to Trishuli and Dhunche, then Syabrubesi

   • Drive about 7 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Syabrubesi
   Day 3 details

   This is the longest day in the vehicle, about 125 km and 7 hours, and it is longer than our usual 4-hour limit because there is no flight to Langtang and no shorter road. We make it as easy as we can: a private vehicle for the group, a 7 am start, the one early road start on the trip, which the 7-hour drive needs so we reach Syabrubesi by late afternoon, a tea stop in the Trishuli valley and a sit-down lunch in Dhunche, the district town, where the national park checks our permits. The road climbs out of the Kathmandu Valley over terraced hills, drops to the Trishuli River, then winds up and down the mountainside on the Pasang Lhamu Highway. Some sections are rough and slow after the monsoon. On clear days Ganesh Himal and the Langtang peaks show to the north. By late afternoon we reach Syabrubesi, about 1,460 metres, a riverside village where the trail begins, in time for a walk and an early dinner.

   Included

   • Private vehicle and driver from Kathmandu to Syabrubesi
   • Tea stop in the Trishuli valley
   • Sit-down lunch in Dhunche
   • Langtang National Park entry at the Dhunche checkpoint
   • Dinner in Syabrubesi

   Free time: Late afternoon free in Syabrubesi

   Activity: About 7 hours on the road, rough in places. Take travel-sickness tablets if you need them. A landslide can add time; your guide decides on the day.

   

4. Day 4: Up the Langtang Khola to Lama Hotel

   Syabrubesi to Bamboo and Rimche, then Lama Hotel on foot

   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Lama Hotel
   Day 4 details

   The trek begins on the far bank of the Bhote Koshi. We cross a suspension bridge out of Syabrubesi and follow the Langtang Khola, the river that carved the valley, upstream through forest of oak, alder and bamboo. The first hours are gentle; the climbing comes later. Lunch is a sit-down meal at Bamboo, a cluster of lodges at about 1,970 metres beside the water. In the afternoon the trail steepens through the forest, crossing the river again, to Rimche and then Lama Hotel, about 2,470 metres, which is not one hotel but a handful of family-run lodges in a clearing. Langur monkeys live in this forest, and red pandas too, though they are rarely seen. Your bag arrives with the porters; a hot shower where the lodge has one, dinner by the stove and an early night.

   Included

   • Trek from Syabrubesi to Lama Hotel with your guides and porters
   • Lunch at Bamboo and dinner at the teahouse

   Activity: About 11 km and 6 hours on foot, with a climb of about 1,000 m, most of it after lunch.

   

5. Day 5: Into the open valley: Langtang village

   Lama Hotel to Ghoda Tabela, then Langtang village on foot

   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Langtang village
   Day 5 details

   The forest thins as we climb, and the valley opens into a wide U of meadows with Langtang Lirung, about 7,230 metres, appearing above it. We stop for lunch at Ghoda Tabela, about 3,000 metres, once an army post and now a few lodges by the national park checkpoint, then walk on past water-driven prayer wheels and stone walls of yak pastures. Langtang village, about 3,430 metres, was buried by an avalanche and landslide set off by the earthquake of 25 April 2015, and many villagers and visitors died. The village has been rebuilt a little further along the valley by the families who survived. In the late afternoon your guide walks with you to the memorial chorten. The teahouse tonight is run by a Langtang family, and dinner is your first chance to try the local yak cheese.

   Included

   • Trek from Lama Hotel to Langtang village with your guides and porters
   • Lunch at Ghoda Tabela and dinner at the teahouse
   • The 2015 earthquake memorial in Langtang village

   Activity: About 13 km and 6 hours on foot, with a climb of about 960 m. You sleep above 3,000 m for the first time; walk slowly and drink plenty.

   

6. Day 6: Kyanjin Gompa: the monastery and the cheese factory

   Langtang village to Mundu, then Kyanjin Gompa on foot

   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Kyanjin Gompa
   Day 6 details

   A short morning on purpose, so the body has time to adjust. We walk gently uphill through the hamlets of Mundu and Sindum, past long mani walls of carved prayer stones, with glaciers on both sides of the valley, and reach Kyanjin Gompa, 3,870 metres, by lunchtime. Kyanjin is the last village in the valley and our base for two nights. After lunch and a rest we visit the small monastery that gives the place its name, then the yak cheese factory, which local sources date to the 1950s and Swiss support. The afternoon light on Langtang Lirung and its icefall is the reason to sit outside with tea. Your guide checks how everyone is feeling at dinner, and we agree who climbs Kyanjin Ri in the morning and who takes the easy option.

   Included

   • Trek from Langtang village to Kyanjin Gompa with your guides and porters
   • Kyanjin Gompa monastery
   • Yak cheese factory visit
   • Lunch and dinner at the teahouse

   Free time: Afternoon free at Kyanjin after the visits

   Activity: About 7 km and 3 hours on foot, with a climb of about 440 m.

   

7. Day 7: Kyanjin Ri at first light

   Kyanjin Gompa to Kyanjin Ri and back, or a morning in the village

   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Kyanjin Gompa
   Day 7 details

   The high point of the trip. We leave at about 6:30 am, while the air is still and before cloud builds around the peaks, and climb the grassy then rocky ridge above the village to the lower summit of Kyanjin Ri, about 4,600 metres. It takes two and a half to three hours at a slow, steady pace, with stops to breathe. From the prayer flags the view runs across the Lirung glacier to Langtang Lirung, Kimshung and the peaks along the Tibetan border, and down the whole valley you walked up. Those with energy can carry on to the upper summit, about 4,773 metres. We are back in Kyanjin for lunch, and the afternoon is free: sleep, read in the sun, or walk out to the yak pastures. Sleeping a second night at the same height helps everyone.

   Included

   • Guided climb of Kyanjin Ri (lower summit, about 4,600 m)
   • Lunch and dinner at the teahouse

   Easier option: Skip the climb: a slow breakfast, then a flat walk with one of the guides to the yak pastures and the moraine below the Lirung glacier, back for lunch.

   More active option: Ask before the trip for Tserko Ri, about 4,984 m: a full day of 8 to 9 hours with an extra guide, for strong walkers who are acclimatising well.

   Free time: Afternoon free at Kyanjin

   Activity: About 4 to 5 hours return with a climb of about 730 m to the lower summit, steep and rocky near the top. Your guide may turn the group back if anyone shows signs of altitude sickness.

8. Day 8: Down the valley to Lama Hotel

   Kyanjin Gompa to Langtang village and Ghoda Tabela, then Lama Hotel on foot

   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Lama Hotel
   Day 8 details

   The long day down, about 20 km, but with the altitude behind us it goes faster than it sounds. We leave after breakfast and retrace the route: Mundu, the mani walls, Langtang village, where we stop for tea, and the open meadows to Ghoda Tabela for lunch. Walking down the valley you see the faces of the peaks you had at your back on the way up, and the morning light is on them. Below Ghoda Tabela the trail drops back into the forest and the air thickens and warms. By mid to late afternoon we are at Lama Hotel, in the same group of lodges as on the way up, with time for a hot shower before dinner. Poles help your knees on the steeper steps, and the porters are with us all the way.

   Included

   • Trek from Kyanjin Gompa to Lama Hotel with your guides and porters
   • Lunch at Ghoda Tabela and dinner at the teahouse

   Activity: About 20 km and 6 to 7 hours on foot, with a descent of about 1,400 m. Hard on the knees; walking poles help.

   

9. Day 9: Out of the forest to Syabrubesi

   Lama Hotel to Rimche and Bamboo, then Syabrubesi on foot

   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Syabrubesi
   Day 9 details

   The last walking day is downhill through the forest, along the Langtang Khola and over the suspension bridges you crossed on day 4, now in morning light. We stop for lunch at Bamboo beside the river and are back in Syabrubesi by early afternoon, which gives you a free afternoon: a proper hot shower, laundry, a walk down to the river or simply a long rest. We stay in Syabrubesi tonight rather than driving straight to Kathmandu, so nobody faces a 7-hour road at the end of a trekking day. In the evening the group sits down with the trek leader and the porters for an end-of-trek dinner, the usual moment to say thank you and hand over tips. It is a good night to sleep at a lower altitude, too.

   Included

   • Trek from Lama Hotel to Syabrubesi with your guides and porters
   • Lunch at Bamboo
   • End-of-trek dinner with the trek leader and porters

   Free time: Afternoon free in Syabrubesi

   Activity: About 11 km and 4 to 5 hours on foot, with a descent of about 1,000 m.

10. Day 10: Back to Kathmandu

    Syabrubesi to Dhunche and Trishuli, then Kathmandu

    • Drive about 7 h
    • Breakfast and lunch
    • Stay in Kathmandu
    Day 10 details

    After breakfast, at about 8 am, we drive back to Kathmandu on the same road, about 125 km and 7 hours, again longer than our usual 4-hour limit because there is no other way out of the valley. The private vehicle stops for tea and for a sit-down lunch in the Trishuli valley, and the views you may have missed in morning cloud on the way in, Ganesh Himal and the terraced slopes above the river, often show on the way out. We reach the hotel in Kathmandu by late afternoon. The duffel you left behind is waiting, and the evening is free for a long dinner of your choosing in Thamel or a quiet night in. If a landslide holds us up on the road, day 11 is the spare day that takes the delay, and we tell you on the day what changes.

    Included

    • Private vehicle and driver from Syabrubesi to Kathmandu
    • Sit-down lunch on the way

    Free time: Evening free in Kathmandu

    Activity: About 7 hours on the road, rough in places.

11. Day 11: Patan and a farewell dinner

    Kathmandu to Patan Durbar Square and back

    • Breakfast and dinner
    • Stay in Kathmandu
    Day 11 details

    A slow morning, then a short drive south across the Bagmati River to Patan, the old Newar city that is now part of greater Kathmandu. With a local guide we walk Patan Durbar Square, a tight cluster of brick and carved-wood temples in front of the old royal palace, and go into the Patan Museum, set in a restored palace courtyard, which holds one of the best collections of Hindu and Buddhist metalwork in Nepal. From the square, the lanes lead to the Golden Temple, a Buddhist monastery courtyard of gilded roofs and prayer wheels. The afternoon is free for shopping, a massage after the trek or a nap. In the evening the group meets for a farewell dinner. If the road from Syabrubesi was closed on day 10, we spend today driving back instead and drop the Patan visit.

    Included

    • Patan Durbar Square with a local guide
    • Patan Museum
    • The Golden Temple (Hiranya Varna Mahavihar)
    • Farewell dinner

    Free time: Afternoon free in Kathmandu

    Activity: About 2 to 3 hours on foot on flat paving.

12. Day 12: Depart Kathmandu

    Your hotel to Tribhuvan International Airport

    • Breakfast
    Day 12 details

    Breakfast is your last meal with the group, and there is no activity planned today so you can leave at any time. A driver takes you from the hotel to Tribhuvan International Airport for your flight home; the airport is about 6 km from Thamel, but the traffic can make that 30 to 45 minutes, so we time the transfer to reach the airport three hours before an international departure. If your flight leaves in the evening, keep the morning for one last walk to a sight we did not visit, such as Swayambhunath on its hill west of the centre, and ask your guide to store your bag at the hotel. Any flight home today works, because the spare day for road delays is already built in on day 11.

    Included

    • Drop-off at Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM)

    Free time: Free until your airport transfer

    Activity: Any flight time today works; the spare day is day 11.

Wildlife and weather: October and November usually bring the clearest views of Langtang Lirung and the valley peaks, with cold nights at Kyanjin, often below freezing. March to May is warmer and hazier, and the rhododendron forest below Lama Hotel flowers in April. Cloud tends to build by late morning, which is why the Kyanjin Ri climb starts early. The forest below Lama Hotel is red panda and langur habitat; sightings are rare and never promised.

• Kathmandu2 nights
• Syabrubesi1 night
• Lama Hotel1 night
• Langtang village1 night
• Kyanjin Gompa2 nights
• Lama Hotel1 night
• Syabrubesi1 night
• Kathmandu2 nights