Overview
Situated just north of Kathmandu is a place that is called The Switzerland of Nepal. In this valley ringed by the white capped peaks of the Langtang Mountain Range, this valley is one of incredible beauty that is matchless anywhere else in the Himalayas. The place is Langtang National Park and is one of the most spectacular places to visit.
The Langtang Valley is a beautiful, lush green valley. There are dense forests of rhododendrons that come to life in a variety of colors in the spring. There are 108 sacred lakes along with Buddhist monasteries and Sherpa villages.
The park is only a day’s drive from Kathmandu. Inside of the park is an easy to moderate trek in the most popular areas, although there are some high passes that are optional for visitors to go.
There is an abundance of wildlife here, including the Himalayan Black Bear, Ghoral (mountain goat), the rare Himalayan Honey Guide as well as snow leopards. The park is also home to the very shy red panda. You can spot them here if you are patient.
Vertical Expedition is delighted to be able to offer visitors to Nepal the opportunity to trek in Langtang National Park. Come and plan to spend a few days visiting in Langtang on your next trip to the Himalayas.
Itinerary
Arrive at Tribhuvan International Airport where you will be met by your representative of Vertical Expedition and taken by private car to your Three Star Hotel to relax for the night.
There is plenty to see and do in the Kathmandu Valley, including seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites. We will be visiting four of them today within the valley.
We head north by private vehicle from Kathmandu, crossing the valley rim by Shivapuri National Park and work our way northwards to the picturesque village of Syabrubesi. We pass by the Trisuli River as it makes its way southward from Tibet. There are mountain villages and farms along the way. We will spend the night at a really nice local lodge with great food. Travel time is around 7 hours.
We enter dense forests following along the Langtang Khola (river). We will cross several suspension bridges along the way while seeing terraced farm fields that climb up the sides of the hills. We will spend the night in a local lodge.
We continue through dense forests as we make our way up the valley, finally leaving the tree line behind so we can have some magnificent views of the Langtang Range. There are water mills, prayer wheels, chhortens and sacred pilings of rocks with Buddhist inscriptions. Trekking time is 6 – 7 hours, and we will spend the night at a local lodge.
It is a shorter day walk as we adjust to the higher elevation. We will pass through yak kharkas where the local people bring their animals for summer grazing in the high mountains. Our destination will take us to Kyanjin Gompa where we will have some wonderful views of Langtang Lirung, Gangchempu, Nayakhang and other snowcapped mountain peaks. There is also a gompa to visit along with a cheese factory that makes that delicious yak cheese. We will overnight in the local lodge. Trekking time is 3 – 4 hours.
Today is a day to get used to the high elevation, and we will take a day hike to Tsergo-Ri, which will offer you the finest view of the snowcapped peaks of the Himalayas. The trail starts out level for about a ½ hour, then it is climbing up, up and up with the views getting better and better. There are great views as you ascend for about 3 ½ hours. Enjoy the view, and then head back to Kyanjin Gompa for the night. Total trekking time is around 6 – 7 hours.
It’s time to begin your return trip, and we will follow the same trail out as we came in. We pass Langtang Village, and then through the forest to Lama Hotel. It’s about 5 – 6 hours as we descend to our hotel for the night.
We continue walking through dense forests today as we make our way to the village of Pairo for lunch. Here we will pick up a different trail. We will not be returning to Syabrubesi, but take a trail to the village of Thulosyabru. We will have great views of the mountains as we reach our lodge for the night. Trekking time is 5 – 6 hours.
It is our last day of trekking, and our destination is the village of Dunche. We continue to descend through dark forests on our way to our final lodge for the night. Trekking time is 5 – 6 hours.
We return to Kathmandu by private car, which takes around five hours. We will return to our Three Star Hotel for the night.
Today we will be able to visit two popular UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Patan and Bhaktapur. Both cities were once their own kingdom and each features its own royal palace (durbar square) along with incredible temples. In the evening, enjoy a farewell dinner with cultural show.
All good things must come to an end, and today, it is time to travel to your next destination. Your representative at Vertical Expedition can help you to plan your future trip as well as to other destinations around South Asia. Be sure to talk to your representative before leaving Kathmandu about a return trip to this great country. As they say, a lifetime is never enough to explore all that Nepal and the Himalayas have to offer.
Trip Information
- All airport/hotel transfers.
- Four nights in a Three Star hotel in Kathmandu. For duration of trek, local lodges and/or tea houses.
- All accommodations and meals during the trek.
- A full day of sightseeing tour in the Kathmandu Valley including an English-speaking tour guide and entrance fees.
- Private transportation by land cruiser.
- And experienced English-Speaking trek leader (government trained trekking guides), assistant trek leader (4 trekkers = 1 assistant guide) and Sherpa porters to carry luggage (2 trekkers = 1 porter). This includes salaries, insurance, food and lodging.
- Sleeping bag, a Vertical Expedition Duffle Bag, T-Shirt and trekking map. (Sleeping bags and duffle bags are to be returned at the end of the trek.)
- Farewell dinner along with one cultural show.
- A comprehensive medical kit.
- All government and local taxes
- Nepal Visa Fee (bring USD currently and four passport photographs)
- International airfare to and from Kathmandu
- Excess baggage charges
- Personal clothing and gears
- Lunch and evening meals in Kathmandu because of early arrival, late departure, and early return from the mountains (due to any reason) than the scheduled itinerary.
- Travel and rescue insurance.
- Personal expenses (phone calls, laundry, bar bills, battery recharge, extra porters, bottle or boiled water, shower, etc.)
- Cost raised by cancellation, landslide, weather, political unrest or illness will not be our responsibility since these factors are not within our control.
- Tips for guide, drivers and porters.
Extras
FAQS
What will be the crew & group size during this trek?
For this trek, there will be one leader, an assistant leader (4 trekkers = 1 assistant leader) and Sherpa porters for carrying luggage (2 trekkers = 1 porter). This arrangement ensures that if anyone in the group is sick, the trip can still go ahead as planned. Vertical Expedition can run this trek for groups of any size. But, Vertical Expedition generally includes maximum of twelve (12) visitors as this company has found this to be the optimum size for a successful trip. However, if you would like to make a group booking for more than twelve people, Vertical Expedition can arrange this, too.
Where will you be staying during this trek?
All accommodations for the Langtang Valley Lodge Trek are on a twin sharing basis with inclusive trip costs and based on standard of hygiene, standard of service and food, location, etc. There are two styles of accommodations on this trip. In Kathmandu, we will stay four nights in Three Star Hotels. On the trek, we will stay eight nights at local lodges and tea houses which do vary in quality. Most contain unheated rooms with wood beds and foam mattresses. Vertical Expedition provides attached rooms in some major towns; however tea houses or lodges in some places only have shared facilities as well as shared toilet. If we are a solo traveler, we may have to share the room with someone else of the same sex. Please understand that we will try to provide single rooms if at possible for an additional supplemental fee.
What are the meals arrangement during this trek?
During our trek, we can enjoy typical Nepali food as well as some basic foods from different types of cuisines. While in Kathmandu, we can enjoy a great selection of foods from a variety of ethnic cultures. In the larger villages, we will have good selections, but some of the small villages may only feature a single item for dinner. Lunch will be served as a picnic lunch. There will be a farewell dinner that will feature a cultural show in Kathmandu.
