Langtang Valley: A Week in the Mountains Without a Flight

Due north of Kathmandu, a single valley runs east into the mountains along the Tibetan border. Langtang can be reached by road in a day, walked in a week, and takes you from subtropical forest to glacier viewpoints near 5,000 metres. It is among the best-value treks in Nepal, and its recent history gives it a weight that other routes lack.

Getting to the start

The trailhead is Syabrubesi, a small town about 120 kilometres from Kathmandu. The drive takes seven to eight hours on a road that is paved in parts and rough in others, winding high above the Trishuli River. Buses and shared jeeps make the journey daily; a private jeep is more comfortable. No flight is involved, so weather does not dictate your schedule.

The walk in

Day one: Syabrubesi to Lama Hotel (5–6 hours). The trail crosses the river and climbs through dense forest of oak, maple and bamboo beside the roaring Langtang Khola. Langur monkeys are common, and the forest is one of the places in Nepal where red pandas live, though seeing one is rare. Lama Hotel is a cluster of lodges in the trees at about 2,470 metres.

Day two: Lama Hotel to Langtang village (5–6 hours). The forest thins and the valley opens into a broad glacial trough with the white summit of Langtang Lirung above. You pass the army checkpost at Ghodatabela and enter yak pasture country. The night is spent in or near Langtang village, at around 3,430 metres.

Day three: Langtang to Kyanjin Gompa (3 hours). A short morning's walk past long mani walls, prayer wheels turned by streams and small stone hamlets leads to Kyanjin Gompa at 3,870 metres, the last settlement, ringed by peaks.

The 2015 avalanche

On 25 April 2015, the earthquake dislodged an enormous mass of ice and rock from the slopes of Langtang Lirung. It fell on Langtang village and buried it almost entirely. Several hundred people died: residents, trekkers, guides and porters.

Today the trail crosses the debris field, a wide grey fan of rubble where the old village stood. A memorial wall lists the names of the dead. Survivors rebuilt a new village a little further up the valley, and lodge owners throughout Langtang reopened within a couple of years. Walking here supports families who lost almost everything, and most are willing to talk about it if you ask with care.

Days at Kyanjin Gompa

Stay two nights at least. The settlement has an old monastery, a cheese factory established with Swiss help in the 1950s where you can buy yak cheese, and several bakeries.

Three classic day hikes start from the door:

• Kyanjin Ri (about 4,770 m). A steep two-hour climb to a prayer-flagged summit directly above the lodges, with a close view of Langtang Lirung and its glacier.

• Tserko Ri (about 4,980 m). A longer, harder ascent of four to five hours for a 360-degree panorama including peaks in Tibet. Start before dawn.

• Langshisha Kharka. A long, level walk up the valley floor past yak herds to a high pasture beneath glaciers. It involves no steep climbing and gives a strong feeling of remoteness.

The people

The valley's inhabitants are Tamang and closely related communities of Tibetan origin, Buddhist in religion, who herd yaks and grow potatoes and barley. Lodges are family-run, and evenings round the stove are sociable. Try the local yak-milk curd and butter tea.

Coming back

Most trekkers retrace their steps to Syabrubesi in two days. Alternatives include climbing out of the lower valley to the cheese-making settlement of Sing Gompa and on to the holy lakes of Gosaikunda, or branching off on the Tamang Heritage Trail through villages to the west.

Difficulty and altitude

The walking is moderate, with long steady climbs. The ascent from Syabrubesi to Kyanjin gains about 2,400 metres in three days, so take the third day slowly and consider an extra night at Langtang village. The viewpoint summits are optional and can be skipped if you feel the height.

Season

October to early December and March to May. Spring brings rhododendrons in the forest section. Winter is cold but often clear, and some lodges stay open. In the monsoon the lower trail is wet and landslide-prone.

Permits

The trek lies inside Langtang National Park, which charges an entry fee, and the current guide and registration requirements for foreign trekkers apply. Carry your passport for the checkposts.

The appeal in a sentence

Langtang delivers the full Himalayan progression, from jungle to ice, in seven or eight days door to door from Kathmandu, among people whose resilience you will not forget.