Kanchenjunga Base Camp Trekking

You will land at Kathmandu’s only airport, Tribhuvan International Airport. Before you even land, we will have allocated a ground staff with your nameplate at the arrival gate. You will then board your vehicle and drive towards your hotel in Thamel.
The drive takes about 30 minutes, and you will then check into your hotel. The rest of the day is leisure for you to rest or wander around in the streets of Thamel. In the evening, you will meet your trekking leader, and he shall brief you about the trekking trip. You will have a wonderful evening in Kathmandu.

You have the option of undertaking a sightseeing journey to Kathmandu. This journey involves strolling through the historical heritage of Kathmandu. You will be amazed by the UNESCO sites that spread across Kathmandu.

There are over 7 UNESCO World Heritage sites in Kathmandu valley. You can choose 3 of them for your day tour. You will stay at a hotel in Thamel for the night.

Your morning breakfast will be served at the hotel dining. After a hearty meal, we head towards the airport for our next leg of the journey. We board our flight and take off from Kathmandu, headed eastbound. Biratnagar is a southeastern city bordering India.

It is one of the significant trade transits of Nepal. Since the elevation of this city is a mere 81 meters above sea level, you will feel the temperature and air humidity variation. Our vehicle will drive us to our hotel. There are small attractions in Biratnagar that you can explore during the day. Please inquire with us about additional sightseeing in Biratnagar. We stay in Biratnagar for the night.

Today, you will fly to the initial point of your trek, Suketar. Located in the highlands of Taplegunj district, Suketar Airport serves as the major access point. Due to weather uncertainties, flights to Suketar are rescheduled, especially during winter and summer.

We board our flight from Biratnagar airport for 30 minutes to reach Suketar. This airport is the gateway to the sacred Pathivara temple and Kanchenjunga sanctuary. Upon reaching Suketar, we checked into our hotel for an overnight stay.

Our first day of trekking begins with a gradual descent over the rural farmland of hilly areas. We traverse across the rural villages scattered across the trail. The first village you will encounter today is Asahangpati. You will have a proper insight into the rural lifestyle as you reach this village.

Stone-built houses, terraced farms, stack pile hey, and cattle farming are occasional sights you will encounter. After 4 hours of trekking, we reached a crossroad at Phukadin. From Phukadin, we follow the northbound route along the Tamor River basin. After 2 hours of walking through the river bank, you will reach Mitlung for your night stay.

Your trail today follows the villages located beside the Tamor River. The altitude climbs to more than 300 meters, and the track is easygoing. You first take a slight descent from Mitlung to reach the river level at the bank. The trail then heads northbound, traversing via small hamlets.

As you approach Siwan after 2 hours, you will see two rivers converge into the Tamor River: Methang and Ima Rivers. Then begins your uphill climb, which is steep and through the narrow gorge. Several wild bee hives are visible from far apart on the walls of these rocky cliffs. We reached Chiruwa in the evening for our night stay.

You will initiate today’s stretch after a hearty breakfast at the teahouse. This trek section is relatively easy, with the trail navigating the Tamor River multiple times. You will encounter several villages during the traverse. You will first reach Taplethok. Then, Tamewa crosses a suspension bridge over the Tamor River to reach Lelep. Lelep is a decently inhabited small hamlet with most inhabitants being Rais and Limbus.

After one hour of trekking from Lelep, you get today’s stop, Sukathm. This point is the crossroad for the Kanchenjunga and Lumba Sumba trek. Also, this village is located at the confluence of the Tamor and Ghunsa rivers.

From Suktham, we follow the route headed east through the basin of the Ghunsa River. This river will be our trail navigator until Kanchenjunga Base Camp. It originates from the Kanchenjunga glacier. For most of today’s trail, we will traverse deep through the tropical forests.
Several floral varieties here include Rhododendron, Juniper, Birch, and Pine. The ascent today is over 800 meters and will leave you breathless. You will cross a suspension bridge over the Ghunsa River and follow the trail carved into a cliff wall. After 5 hours of traversing, you will reach the hilltop village of Amjilosa for our overnight stay.

Today’s stretch is straightforward, through the dense forests and streams. In this stretch, you will encounter the natural enriches of the Kanchenjunga Conservation area.
For the most part, your trail will follow along the Ghunsa River, making crossings multiple times. This stretch’s midpoint village is Thyanani, located at 2405 meters. We have our lunch here and further continue the traverse. After 3 hours from Thyanani, you reach Gyabla, an overnight stop for the 9th day of your trekking journey.

On the tenth day of your trek, you will make the steep ascent for the most part. We head for Ghunsa, located at 3595 meters, ascending over 800 meters daily.
The first two-hour stretch from Gyabla follows a dense forest in the River bed.

You will encounter several floral diversity in this section of the trek. Upon reaching Phere, several Buddhist monuments are built along the track. Chhortens, Mani Walls, and Monasteries are dotted along the trail.

From Phere, Ghunsa lies at a distance of 2 hours. This village is the largest settlement in the Kanchenjunga area. At the end of the village is a police station, Kanchenjunga Conservation Area check post, and hospital. Telephone and internet services are available in this village.

A much-needed acclimatization is carried out at Ghunsa. You have several options to engage in for this day. Ghunsa village has a distinct ambiance with its ancient Buddhist heritage.

You may wander around in the nearby monastery and stroll the town. Alternatively, trekkers prefer to hike up to the Jannu Peak viewpoint at the ridge line, which is at a distance of about 5 hours round trip.

It would be best to carry a packed lunch for the Jannu Peak viewpoint hike. Overnight stay at Ghunsa.

The trail leading from Ghunsa is filled with natural enigmas. As you embark on this stretch, several alluring water bodies await your arrival.

The first section of the trek goes along the riverbed through a straight pathway. You will encounter several cascading waterfalls that originate from Yamatari Glacier and Temachhungi Peak(6044m).

After 3 hours of traverse, we cross a suspension bridge at Rampuk Kharka. We then ascend steeply on the opposite end of Kumbhakarna Glacier. After another 2 hours of trekking, you reach your stopover at Khangpachen.

Khangpachen is a small hamlet with stone huts built along. It sits at the base of Annidesha Himal (6066m). To the west of Khangpache are Sarphu II (6164m), Sarpu III (4916m), and numerous other mountains.

We stay at Khangpache for the day to relieve your muscles of stress. During this rest day, you can take a day trip to the base of Kumbhakarna Glacier. This point provides a clear view of Mt.Kumbhakarna (7710m).

As the altitude rises, the topography of your trekking trail begins to change. The lush forests disappear, and water streams become colossal glaciers and semi-arid landmasses. Today’s traverse will be much more challenging than the previous days as the altitude has been gained. We take it slow and steady. This section of the trek is popular for rare sightings of Snow Leopard.
We travel through icy scree and moraines overlooking Mera Glaciers and Romdeng Glacier. Our trail leads us to a small settlement of Lhonak in the evening. Lhonak sits beside the Kanchenjunga Glacier, bestowing an astounding view of Kanchenjunga massifs.

The trail leading towards Pangpema from Lhonak is a gradual ascent for the first stretch. The trail traverses through the deep valleys, showcasing astounding mountain vistas. As you approach a large glacial moraine, the course now ascends through a series of steep climbs.

Your pathway is filled with debris, rocky boulders, icy sections, and glacial deposits. You will have to make multiple river crossings in this section of the trek. We reach Pangpema, our overnight stop, after 6 hours of trekking.

On the 16th day of your trek, you will take an early morning hike towards Kanchenjunga Base Camp. The base camp sits at the confluence of two massive glaciers: Pathibhara (Pyramid) Glacier and Kanchenjunga Glacier.

The base camp allows for astounding views of Mt.Kanchenjunga(8,586 m), Mt.Yalung Kang (Kangchenjunga West)(8505m), Mt.Kumbhakarna/Jannu (7710m) and Mt.Pandim(6691m). You will have the best feeling of your Kanchenjunga Himalayan journey as you sit before these mountains.

After an hour at the base camp, we begin our return journey. We descend further ahead from Pangpema and reach Khangpachen after 5 hours to trek for the overnight stop.

The trail descending from Khangpachen to Ghunsa is scenic and bewildering. This section of the trek offers breathtaking views of Chang Himal (6750m.), Ramtang Peak (6700m.), Lupche Peak (6044m.), and Dango Peak (6250m.).

Additionally, the area boasts vast yak pastures for your enjoyment.

Our route diverges from Ghunsa as we take the southeastern route from hereon. We deviate from the path that we took on our ascent. The route is easy, with a gradual climb after 2 hours from Ghunsa.

We cross the Yamtari River on the trail and make small accents before reaching Sele La Base Camp after 6 hours of traverse. Sele La Base Camp is located at the base of Boktoh Peak at 6114 meters. Our overnight stay will be at Sele La Base Camp.

It is a long but easy journey to Cheram. We pass through the wilderness and secluded sections of the Kanchenjunga trek; in between lies Simon La (4440m), Mirgin La(4480m), and Sinelapche Bhanjyang (4646m). After these passes, the trail starts to descend gradually.

It would be a leisurely walk through rocky cliffside terrain towards Cheram. Cheram village is the crossroad point for the Kanchenjunga and Yalung Base Camp treks.

We take the northeastern trail from Cheram and head towards Yalung Base Camp. Our route follows the Simbuwa River, which originates from Yalung Glacier.

After 2 hours of traverse, you will follow through the technical trail along the Yalung Glacier. We reach Ramche and savor the enigmatic views of Kabru I (7412m), Kabru II (7339m), Kabru III (7338m), Kanchenjunga West (8505m), Kanchenjunga Central (8482m) and Kanchenjunga South (8476m). We return to Cheram for the night stay.

We start our return journey from Cheram, following along the Sibuwa River. The journey is filled with deep, lush forests and wilderness of Kanchenjunga Conservation Area.

The trail is fairly easy, with multiple ascents time and again. You will encounter a large stretch of Rhododendron forests in between this stretch.

Today’s trekking is filled with rollercoaster ascents and descents. The first stretch of the trek makes a slow ascent towards Lasiya Bhanjyang (3310m) and then descends towards Yamphudin.

You will encounter hilly area vegetation along the trail. You will reach Yamphudin after 5 hours of traversing for your overnight stop.

Traverse today is on an easy-going track through the rural setup of Taplejung district. We walk through the hilly area landscape involving rural villages, terraced farms, and greenery.

Upon reaching Khebang, Tawa River will be your guide for the further journey. We walk through the river basin and get to Yangyang in the evening.

The trail is easily navigable in today’s stretch. You will encounter modern hotel amenities as you descend lower on the trek. We walk for about 6 hours through a rural hilly landscape to reach Tharpu for our overnight stay.

The trail today heads towards the plain of Terai. We trek towards the bustling Birtamod city located on the east-west highway.

You will have your night stay at a luxurious hotel with a delicious meal in Birtamod after weeks of Himalayan journey.

We will schedule a morning flight from Bhadrapur for your journey back to Kathmandu. We drive towards Bhadrapur airport from Birtamod, which takes about 20 minutes.

We take off from Bhadrapur airport and fly towards Kathmandu, headed westward. It’s a 45-minute flight flying parallel to the Himalayan vista to the north. Our representative will pick you up at the airport and transfer you to your hotel. The rest of the day is leisure for you to explore or rest.

This day is kept as a buffer day to negate delays or any unforeseen circumstances.

You may have a shopping day on your own.

 Options: You can take the Everest Heli tour, which takes about 3/4 hours. Alternatively, you can choose for an hour plane tour.

We have tons of options for this day. Inquire, please. Overnight stay at Kathmandu.

Our representative will drop you off at the International Airport for your final departure. We bid farewell until next time.

Travelers Note: The Check-out time is Noon from the Hotel.