Klanchanjunga Base Camp Trek – Nepal

After breakfast, our guide will collect you from your hotel and accompany you to the airport. The short flight to Bhadrapur takes us over the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding hills and through some of the mountains Nepal is famous for. A free mountain flight! On arrival in Bhadrapur, we will drive to Ilam, the heart of the tea plantation area of the country.

After breakfast, we drive for 4 hours through terraced fields and hills to reach Taplejung where we spend the night. There will be time to explore the town after lunch. It is an interesting place with many Buddhist gompas.

At one of these gompas, we can see butter lamps which have been burning continuously for 400 years. A stream outside the gompa turns prayer wheels which send the mantra “om mane padme hum” to the heavens.

Today we start our trek proper! It’s a long day of mainly downhill but we have a chance to catch our breath at the village of Sinwa on the banks of the Tamor River before continuing on.

This is another long day of 7 hours of hiking. But as we pass through Tapethok we enter the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area. Here we have our permits checked before heading across a suspension bridge and ascending to Lelep.

Waterfalls and suspension bridges are part of today’s trail. Plus we come to the first Sherpa village on our trek where we stay overnight. The village of Amjilosa is mainly used during the time when the yaks and sheep are in the pastures so very few families live here full time.

After breakfast, we head off through different forests of pine, bamboo, rhododendron and oak. We notice the villages and people are becoming more Tibetan-like.

We also see yaks, sheep and goats on the trail, not to mention a good variety of birdlife. After lunch, the trail takes us up through dense forest cover and over a wooden bridge onto Gyabla where we spend the night.

Today the trail continues on through forests and passes Phale Village which was a Tibetan refugee camp started decades ago when Tibetans started fleeing from the communist regime in China.

Today it is a winter settlement village. We have time to visit the village where there are some handicrafts for sale. We head to Ghunsa, the largest village in the area and one with a police station, health post and a Kanchenjunga Conservation Office. Telephone and internet services are available here.

We are now at a higher altitude and aiming to go higher! So we take the opportunity to relax and acclimatize in Ghunsa. There is a monastery to explore and a ridge to climb.

From the ridge, there are views of Jannu Peak which is worth the 5 hours plus round trip. Should you wish to climb up the ridge – and we recommend this as it helps acclimatize our bodies – we will take a packed lunch with us.

Views of the Jannu Himal dominate the skyline today. Following a gentle upward path we come to a green glacier valley. Here we may be lucky to spot blue sheep and snow leopards. The trail continues past a waterfall to a landslide-prone area where we take particular care.

Again we take the chance to acclimatize our bodies to the altitude and in preparation for our visit to the North Base Camp. We can climb another ridge today where we get stunning views of Kanchenjunga.

Today the trail takes us mainly over the moraine from the Kanchenjunga Glacier. Walking uphill over large boulders there are wonderful views on both sides of us.

And as we are deep in Snow Leopard territory we keep our eyes open for this rare animal too! This is also an area of summer yak pastures but there are no settlements on the route.

After a good breakfast, we again set out across the moraine from the Kanchenjunga Glacier, gently climbing upwards. At Base Camp, we stand in awe of the surrounding mountains and drink up the atmosphere completed by Buddhist prayer flags fluttering in the wind. We sit here for some time enjoying the tranquillity and a hot drink and snacks! We return to Lhonak for the night.

Trekking over pebbles and moraine we reach Kambachen Village for lunch before heading east along the Tamor River. Now the vegetation is greener as we again return to Ghunsa where we spend the night.

Today the trail takes us through a forest and along a grassy ridge from where we can see Ghunsa and Phole villages as well as Mt. Makalu in the distance.

We start out early this morning towards the Kanchenjunga South Base Camp. Crossing the Sinion La pass (4,450m) the trail takes us along a ridge to Sinelapche La pass (4,830m).

From here the views of Mt Kanchenjunga and its valley are fantastic. We descend along a small trail to Cheram, the only settlement we find on this route. We overnight here.

Today we trek to Ramche where we stop for lunch before walking on for around 40 minutes to reach Kanchenjunga South Base Camp. The Base Camp is right on the edge of the glacier and surrounded by Tibetan prayer flags. We return the way we came to overnight at Cheram.

Today the trail is mostly downhill through a gorge. But the final section is a steep uphill over an area prone to landslides and through forests. There are no settlements until we reach Torongding, where there are a few teahouses.

After breakfast, we head off downhill and then it turns to a steep and long uphill hike. We pass over a landslide-prone area leading to Lasiya Bhanjyang where there is one teashop where we can stop for lunch. Then the trail takes as steep downhill through more forests until we reach the big village of Yamphuding.

The walking is easier now we are back at a lower altitude. We find interesting villages and terraced fields on our route. We continue on to Khebang where we stay the night.

This is the final day of our hiking for tomorrow we take a vehicle to the airport.

Drive halfway to Suketar.

Today we have a long drive in front of us. Time to reflect on the wonderful sights we have seen and rest our tired legs! When we reach Bhadrapur in the evening we can enjoy a hearty dinner with perhaps some beer and relax in a comfortable hotel for the night!

We start out early this morning towards the Kanchenjunga South Base Camp. Crossing the Sinion La pass (4,450m) the trail takes us along a ridge to Sinelapche La pass (4,830m).

After a long trek, you may like to extend one or 2 days rest in Kathmandu, if that is your plan let us know so we can add that to your plan.

This trek stands out as one of the most breathtaking experiences in the Himalayas, maintaining its pristine allure with relatively fewer visitors. A commendable level of physical fitness is essential for those undertaking this journey, particularly for individuals who have prior experience at high altitudes, as this familiarity can prove advantageous. The untouched beauty of the surroundings, coupled with the challenging terrain, underscores the need for a robust fitness level to fully savour and navigate this unspoiled gem in the heart of the Himalayan landscape.