Trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

Bamboo 1970m to Syabrubesi 1503m

I only had a couple of hours left on foot to reach “civilization” (slow internet). So it was a late awakening and a leisurely descent.

Always a pleasure watching newbies heading up … while you are heading down. 🙂

Needless to say, descending the Langtang gorge requires a fair bit up ascent.

I was feeling pretty mellow, at this point.

There she be. The big city of Syabrubesi.

Needless to say, China is keen on road building into Nepal. A mixed blessing. This new road is one of the three easiest ways to drive across the border.

Having been offline for 8 days, I was keen to get online. Unfortunately clouds reduced the speed of satellite link.

There is a bank and ATM in Syabrubesi. But the town is pretty quiet aside from early morning, when buses leave. And late afternoon, when buses arrive.

I caught up with Kevin and Delphine in town. Their trekking peak, Kyanjin Ri, had been a thrilling success.

The France Canadians would head back to Kathmandu 7am next morning, with 4 days left on their Nepal holiday to explore the valley.  Delphine is ready for early retirement. 🙂

We celebrated our excellent Langtang adventure with beer and peanuts. Guide BJ even had a sip or two of alcohol. He normally does not drink.

There’s plenty of partying in Syabrubesi when people finish their treks.

Me?

Next day I’d carry on up to the icy Gosainkund lakes. And from there walk back to Kathmandu via the Helambu. Another 8 days or so.

see all my high res photos from this day

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Trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

Lama Hotel 2420 to Langtang Village 3430m

Again I had only milk coffee for breakfast, fortified with some instant coffee I brought along with me.

For some reason we all felt stronger today, ascending the 1000m elevation gain fairly easily.

My guidebook uses words like: tranquil, trancelike, enchanting, …

But I come to Nepal to get close to the highest mountains in the world. We began to get glimpses of the wall bordering Tibet.

So far I’d managed to avoid Nepal pit toilets. This is one of the most unsanitary nations in the world. Here, for example, is a tea house toilet that drains directly into the only river. The main water source for every guesthouse below.

That’s the Riverside Lodge, if you’d like to avoid it!

Oct 31st, it’s autumn in Nepal. The higher you climb, the more obvious winter’s coming.

Finally. We left the gorge.

And reached the high, open Langtang valley.

This is a Buddhist valley. Prayer wheels. Mani walls.

Seasonal Yak herders all seem to have solar panels to charge their mobile phones.

In 2014, however, mobile phones are not yet working in Langtang. In fact, this valley has not changed much in 30yrs or more. The lodges are old. There’s no school, no internet. No active monasteries. The monks left for Kathmandu long ago.

Destination for the night, Langtang Village.

The last hour or so I did start feeling the altitude. We’d come up a long way in a relatively short period of time.

The Tibetan Lodge was filled with Canadians this evening, most of them from Alberta.

Trekkers to Langtang are mostly from France. Also Germany and Israel. There’s no shortage of Canadians. 🙂

Late afternoon we wandered the village, starting with the Nak Cheese factory.

There are too many lodges in this town. Too many locals chasing too few trekkers. Even in high season.

Walking just outside town we enjoyed alpine meadows with horse, mules, buffalo and yaks.

Here are my new friends, Kevin and Delphine, both born in France. Both now living happily in Quebec.

Like this chough, we planned to fly high tomorrow. Saving our strength, opting not to make the 1-2hr side trip to a waterfall viewpoint.

Still, a wonderful day in the Himalaya. 🙂

see all my high res photos from this day

day 0 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | day 7 | day 8 | info | … Gosainkund

Trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

Pairo 1800m  to Lama Hotel 2420

Slowly. Slowly.

That’s the mantra when starting a Himalayan trek.

I was last to leave the teahouse (9am), leisurely sipping weak milk coffee and petting the lodge cat.

My guide from last year’s Manaslu Circuit trek, BJ Dhakal and his two Canadian clients, greeted me on their way up. BJ had spotted me in one of the checkpoint lineups the previous day.

I pushed the cat off my lap and joined them on the ascent.

There are plenty of flowers hence plenty of bees.

I’d call it semi-tropical, but not jungle.

All day we ascended the narrow Langtang river gorge, footing muddy in places.

BJ stopped for lunch at Bamboo 1970m. So I joined them for yet another pot of milk coffee. And egg noodle soup, a staple of mine in the mountains.

Langtang is busier than I expected given that it’s so much less famous than Annapurna and Everest.

The 2014 Nepal snowstorm disaster motivated some people to switch their destination from Annapurna to Langtang. We weren’t sure whether the high passes on Annapurna and Manaslu were yet open.

The trail works it’s way up both sides of the Langtang Khola (river), depending on which is easier. Bridges are superb.

Everyone but me had seen Langurs on the trail. Finally I stumbled into a big troop.

Almost anything can grow in this climate.

Greens (something like spinach) are needed for the local staple, dal Baht.

BJ had booked rooms at the Origin Lodge, Lama Hotel 2420m, opened 1976. One of the elder men running the place had been here 30 years not once returning to his home village.

We arrived by 2pm. I washed up in the river (rather than buying a solar heated shower), then had a siesta, delaying dinner until 7pm.

For the first time I’d brought with me an adaptor to plug into the light socket. It powered up my phone and laptop in no time.

My legs were working. Feet good. A chronic sore heel (something like a bruise) was my only concern.

Lama Hotel is one of the most popular spots on the Langtang, a good altitude to sleep both up and down. Too crowded for my liking.

see all my high res photos from this day

day 0 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | day 7 | day 8 | info | … Gosainkund