For my 6th trip to Nepal, where should I hike?
Dolpo? Mustang? Kanchenjunga?
So far I’m leaning towards Makalu. You can fly to the start, avoiding horrendous overland travel. 🙂
Known for its rural farming villages and a diversity of flora and fauna, the area receives few trekkers due to its relative inaccessibility.
OVERVIEW
Starting at 400m in Tumlingtar along the banks of the Arun River, you’ll need strong legs to carry you for an elevation gain of 5120m to reach Makalu Base Camp. A rustic teahouse trek (don’t expect deep-fried snickers bars), you’ll find yourself at the foot of Mt. Makalau (8485m), the world’s 5th highest mountain, with Lhotse (8,516m), Everest (8,850m), Baruntse (7,220m) and Chamlang (7,319m) not far off.
It is a culturally rich perspective on Nepal best suited for people who have been trekking in Nepal before.
related – 2012 trip report by sathya
hiking Portugal’s vineyards
If you love Port and Portuguese wine, consider a week long guided hiking tour through famed Douro valley.
The pitch:
This fantastic program will get you to one of the most beautiful places in Portugal, de Douro region. From Porto to the Douro slopes you’ll take train journeys who lead you to amazing vineyard terraces scenery, today UNESCO heritage site.
While hiking thru the vineyards, you’ll have the chance to taste some of these wines, world class wine!!! Return in a cruise descending to the river mouth at Porto and, finish the trip at the famous cellars of the port Wine.
» UNESCO World Heritage Sites
» One very good time to taste wines from the Douro region.
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I’ve hiked nearby Peneda-Gerês National Park. Combining a wine walk with this National park on one trip would be idea. Click through for more information.
Great Himalayan Trail
The Great Himalaya Trail is a proposed trail of more than 4500 km stretching the length of the Greater Himalaya range from Nanga Parbat in Jammu & Kashmir to Namche Barwa in Tibet thus passing through Kashmir, India, Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet. When completed, it will be the longest and highest alpine walking track in the world …
It will never be “completed”. There are many GHT routes, higher and lower. They can be hiked continuously or by section.
Check out two main websites, both pretty good:
The second mostly covers GHT Nepal.
The guidebook I’m researching is from Trailblazer – Nepal Trekking & the Great Himalaya Trail 2011 by Robin Boustead.
He’s got a coffee table book, as well, that I’ve never seen – The Great Himalaya Trail.
Stuart Bilby solo’d the Nepal GHT Nepal in 127 days in 2014, an incredible accomplishment. No cars, buses, planes, donkeys or yaks for transport. Stuart lost 19kg body weight. Actually, the first half he did with Lisa Lee-Johnson.
Linda Bezemer published a (much more reasonable) GHT Low Route electronic guidebook which you could use with an iPad on the trail. 1550km broken into 11 sections.
Seth, Kathleen and John did a 2014 east-west GHT Nepal traverse.
But my favourite is Gerda Pouler’s account of her 2012 very personal adventure – Great Himalaya Trail: 1,700 Kilometres Across the Roof of the World [Kindle Edition].
Great Himalaya Trail – Gerda Pouler
… This path is perhaps the ultimate walk.In 2012, Himalaya veteran Gerda Pauler set out to walk the length of the trail to raise awareness of autism in Nepal.
Travelling across the country with open eyes and ears, ascending high passes, visiting isolated villages and drinking tea with the locals allowed her to see and hear things many of us might never hear, never experience — and never know.Beautifully written like many great travel books and with a foreword by Sir Chris Bonington, this is so much more than a travel diary — it is a collection of stories from the very heart of Nepal and its people. From Tibetan tea and local beer to corrupt politicians and child marriage; cold nights and monsoon rain to incredible views and searing heat; and from angry yaks and giant spiders to Mr Bean and Jack Nicholson…
home page – gerdapauler.info
Gosainkund & Helabu trek information
We’ve added a information page for those who might want to do Gosainkund and Helambu in the future.
World → Asia → Nepal → Gosainkund & Helambu
One of the best hikes in the world
Gosainkund & Helambu
Ridge walk with sacred lakes, high Laurabina pass and Shivapuri National Park.
AT A GLANCE
- 6-8 days
- 3rd most popular trekking area of Nepal after Everest & Annapurna, but comparatively uncrowded
- majority of hikers hire a guide, porter guide and/or porters but it’s easy to hike independently
- sleep and eat in basic lodges (tea houses)
- mid-October to mid-December best months
- beginning of March to mid-May next best. (Laurabina pass MIGHT stay closed until early May. Many Langtang trekkers do Gosainkund after Langtang.)
- days are short in the Autumn. There’s much more light in the Spring.
- tea houses are not expensive, but many spend more than they anticipate on luxuries. We spent about $30/day in 2014. Cheapskates about $20/day.
- be clear — you might have to QUIT if by bad luck or rushed ascent you suffer altitude sickness (Acute Mountain Sickness or AMS).
- some suffer respiratory problems, headache and fatigue.
Click PLAY or watch David Vanneste’s solo, independent highlights Feb 2014 on YouTube. Off season. Lots of snow. A lovely edit.
Gosainkund and Helambu information page
Langtang Trek information
.
Having just completed 14 days on the popular Langtang, Gosainkund and Helambu Nepal route, We’ve added a Langtang trek information page for those who might want to do Langtang in the future.
World → Asia → Nepal → Langtang
One of the best hikes in the world
Langtang
4000m+ valley north of Kathmandu, parallel to the Tibet border.
Plenty of challenging side trips up high.
AT A GLANCE
-
Nepal minimum 100km (60mi) return
- plus sidetrips
- 8-11 days
- Langtang National Park established 1970 in the Langtang Region, first National Park in Nepal
- majority of hikers in the Langtang region hire a guide, porter guide and/or porters but it’s easy to hike independently
- sleep and eat in basic lodges (tea houses)
- mid-October to mid-December best months
- beginning of March to mid-May next best. (Laurabina pass on the nearby Gosainkund trek MIGHT stay closed until early May. Many Langtang trekkers do Gosainkund after Langtang.)
- the reputation is “generally easy hiking” on good trails with a light pack. Some challenging, potentially dangerous sidetrips possible.
- it is easier than the other main trekking areas of Nepal in that maximum altitude is lower
- Langtang trails are not expensive, but many spend more than they anticipate on luxuries. We spent about $30/day in 2014. Cheapskates about $20/day.
- be clear — you might have to QUIT if by bad luck or rushed ascent you suffer altitude sickness (Acute Mountain Sickness or AMS).
- some suffer respiratory problems. Headaches. Or fatigue.
Why We Like This Hike
- mighty peaks of Langtang (7234m) and Ganesh (7446m) as well as a sprawl of endless 6000m+ summits
- sacred lakes of Gosainkund in the nearby Helambu region
- wonderful photographic opportunities
- colourful Hindu, Buddhist and mountain cultures
Langtang trek information page
It’s always available from the pulldown menu under ASIA.
best treks in Nepal
Updated after our November 2014 visit.
- Everest Base Camp / 3 Passes TOP 10 <trip>
- Everest Base Camp <wiki>
- Manaslu Circuit <site> <trip> and Nar Phu sidetrip
- Langtang
- Gosainkund & Helambu
- Makalu Base Camp <GHT> <blog>
- Annapurna Circuit <wiki>
- Annapurna Base Camp <trip>
- Tamang Heritage Trail <GHT>
- Upper Dolpo Circuit <GHT>
- Mustang Circuit <GHT> <trip>
- Kangchenjunga Base Camp <GHT>
- Upper Humla Valley <trip>
- Royal Trek
- Great Himalaya Trail <wiki> <site> <site> <blog>
There are many more great hikes in Nepal! … This list just scratches the surface.
I’m looking at Makalu Base Camp for my next trip. Perhaps November 2015.
Kilian – best trail runner EVER
Kilian Jornet Burgada is the most dominating endurance athlete of his generation. …
… He has run across entire landmasses (Corsica) and mountain ranges (the Pyrenees), nearly without pause. He regularly runs all day eating only wild berries and drinking only from streams. …
A few years ago Jornet ran the 165-mile Tahoe Rim Trail and stopped just twice to sleep on the ground for a total of about 90 minutes. In the middle of the night he took a wrong turn, which added perhaps six miles to his run. He still finished in 38 hours 32 minutes, beating the record of Tim Twietmeyer, a legend in the world of ultrarunning, by more than seven hours. When he reached the finish line, he looked as if he’d just won the local turkey trot. …
So what’s next when you’re 25 and every one of the races on the wish list you drew up as a youngster has been won and crossed out? You dream up a new challenge. Last year Jornet began what he calls the Summits of My Life project, a four-year effort to set speed records climbing and descending some of the world’s most well known peaks, from the Matterhorn this summer to Mount Everest in 2015. …
Gosainkund & Helambu – day 6
Trip report by site editor Rick McCharles
Chisopani 2165 – Sundarijal 1460m
Last day. I’d bus to Kathmandu from Sundarijal, the end of the Helambu.
Up before dawn again.
Pot of milk coffee on the hotel roof.
The Helambu finishes with a walk through Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park, established 2002.
The trails have been recently improved. That means stairs, stairs, stairs.
And some trenches.
There are brief glimpses of the high peaks all the way to the capital.
I was feeling pretty mellow, my long trek ending. It had been a success.
What would the world do without Peruvian potatoes?
It’s a bit surreal walking back into civilization.
sidewalks?
Here’s one of the main water supplies of Kathmandu.
You can’t get lost finishing if you follow the water pipe.
I got lost.
Finally, a local musician pointed me the right direction to the bus park.
One of the finest Tibetan artists in the world sat down beside me. How about that? He and his wife were on the way to Sikkim, India for a big commission. He’d have between 40-60 artist assistants on the project.
It took about an hour to get back to Kathmandu by bus, far better than the 7 ½ hours it had taken to get started.
The Army was using scissors to cut the grass on the main square. Very Gandhi.
The crappy streets of Thamel were being paved. 🙂
What’s going on?
Nothing is ever fixed in Kathmandu.
Ah ha. A few days after I quit Nepal, there’s a major international forum in Nepal. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. I’m happy to get away before that happens.
In the afternoon I relished in the best travel bargain in Asia, a Nepali barber shave. Smooth as a baby.
I finished the Helambu with a Korean couple who I’d been with on and off for the past 13 days. They are Himalayan fanatics, this being their 3rd major trekking holiday. They took me to their favourite Korean restaurant, Festival.
Cost of this meal was about $5.
Crazy good value. Better than anywhere in Korea. The chef had lived their 14yrs and was fluent in language and cooking. 🙂
see all my high resolution photos from this day
day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | info | … Langtang
Gosainkund & Helambu – day 5
Trip report by site editor Rick McCharles
Mangengoth 3420m – Chisapani 2165
Though I struggled to wake in time, I did walk back up to the Green View viewpoint for dawn.
This morning the teahouse owner led the trip up to point out all the mountains from Annapurna to Everest. In fact, this might be the very best of many famed Himalayan viewpoint hills.
This same owner told the story of a big stupa near Phedi. One like this.
He’d been commissioned to build it in 1992 by the family of a young Japanese man who’d been killed when a Thai Airlines plane crashed into the mountain.
I talked most to 3 young Germans just starting their adventure, hiking the opposite direction. (The wrong way.)
One keener was planning to cycle from Munich to the Rio Olympics.
This day I got on the trail as quickly as possible. I had a long, long way to go to get to the famed viewpoint of Chisapani, a hill station popular with residents of Kathmandu.
It looked pretty easy on the map. Long but mostly downhill. Unfortunately Nepali down = equal ups and downs.
Quite quickly I was back in summer. Rice was still being harvested!
The ridge walk went on and on.
I stopped only twice this day, once here for lunch.
My dogs were barking.
Down. Down.
The sun was failing. I was worried. Late in the afternoon there’s nobody left on the trail.
Exhausted, I finally stumbled up hill in the dark to the relatively luxurious lodges of Chisapani 2165m. You should never hike the Himalayas in the dark. I’d done it 3 times so far this trip!
see all my high resolution photos from this day
day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | info | … Langtang
