Welcome to the Himalayan country of Nepal. It’s a panoramic thrill flying into Kathmandu on a clear day. The views of snow-capped mountain peaks sprawling down below you are almost ecstatic, beginning a whole chain of memorable experiences that stay with you for a long, long time. And as your plane hits the tarmac, our waiting support team will meet and greet you at the airport and escort you to your hotel. Welcome drinks will be served and after time in getting refreshed, that evening you will be invited to a welcome dinner in a typical Nepalese restaurant in the heart of Kathmandu. You will also receive a trip briefing before retiring for the night at the hotel.

Today after breakfast we start a guided tour to several of the most historical and spiritual attractions in Kathmandu which are also listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites. We visit the historic Durbar Square, the famous ‘Monkey Temple’ (Swayambhunath) the sacred Hindu temple of Pashupatinath’ and Buddhist shrine (Bouddhanath), which is also one of the largest stupas in the world. At noon, there will be a pre-trip discussion as well as provides opportunity to ask any questions you may have regarding our upcoming adventure.

Today, we will take a domestic flight from Kathmandu to Bhadrapur. The Bhadrapur airport is 621 km far from Kathmandu. It takes 50 min to reach Bhadrapur from Kathmandu via flight. The airport is also called “Chandragadhi Airport”. Bhadrapur is the gateway to India from south-eastern Nepal. Also, it is the gateway to various tourist destinations in the Himalayas. Bhadrapur is the place where we start our trek to the Kanchenjunga region. We will take in a private jeep to Ilam where we spend the night.

This morning we leaveearly and drive passing through tea and cardamom plantations. During our drive, we stop at the top of a pass of which we get our first magnificent views ofMount Kanchenjunga and Mount Jannu in the far distance. We drive onto Taplejungwhere on arrival we meet our trekking crew. After lunch, we start the trek bymaking a steep descent to the Tamur river to reach the village of Mitlung.Today and for the next couple of days, the path is often wet, muddy, and slipperyso two trekking poles are definitely required.

From camp, the traildescends to the Tamur river passing several villages. This is a fertile areawith a range of crops including rice, millet, potatoes, and vegetables. There isa descent to a wooden bridge crossing the Thiwa Khola, then some more ups anddowns before arriving at Chirwa. The village of Chirwa has a bazaar, a fewlodges, and some shops. We camp a short walk from the village in a large fieldamong huge boulders.

The trail follows theTamur river along the valley floor and after a couple of hours, we arrive atTaplechok at (1,380m) where our trekking permit will be checked at the parkgate. From Taplechok we cross a suspension bridge over the river to walk on thewest bank along a path where cardamom can be seen growing among the forest.Cardamon is an important cash crop especially prevalent in the middle hills ofeast Nepal.

We will have lunch at a lodge in Phembu (3 ½ hours) then the trail starts toascend above Tamur river to Lelep at (1,750m). We descend to cross asuspension bridge over Tamor river to enter the more narrow Ghunsa Khola Valleyand then on to our camp at Sekathum. This is a Tibetan village and it is fromhere you get the first views of the high Himalaya where Jannu is visible on aclear day up the Ghunsa valley.

We cross the suspension bridge over Ghunsa river at Sekathum camp and then follow the path through dense forest. In places, the trail is steep and narrow as we walk through a dramatic gorge. We normally have lunch at one of the basic lodges in Solima. After lunch, we follow a switchback trail up through trees reaching Amjilossa high above the gorge.

From Gyabla there is ashort ascent through lush bamboo, oak and rhodendron forests to cross a smallridge. We descend towards Ghunsa Khola at a place called Thyanyani (2,400m)where there are several stone shelters. The trail makes several short climbsand descents before passing a large waterfall and a final steep and rockyascent to Gyabla.

From Gyabla, thevalley opens out and we walk along an easier path for most of the way to Phole.It will start to get cooler today as we climb above (3,000m). At the same time, the vegetation changes and we will see more rhododendrons and azaleas. Beforearriving at Phole we pass through the winter village for Ghunsa in a wideplateau. At Phole village it is worth having a look at the monastery andexploring the village where at some houses you can see the ladies weavingcarpets. From Phole it takes a further 1 ½ hours to reach the larger village ofGhunsa. This is a picturesque Tibetan village with wooden houses covered in colorfulprayer flags. There are several lodges and shops in the village and a smallKanchenjunga Conservation Area office along with a couple of gompas. We willcamp in the garden of one of the lodges however will use their dining room formeals. There are hot showers available in the lodge and also a small shop.

An acclimatization walk will be organised today along the route to Lobsang La. This is a good option as the trail gains height to (4,000m) in about 3 hours from camp and 2 hours to return to Ghunsa. This was a good walk for acclimatizing purposes by following the rule “climbing high and sleeping low”. This will help your body adjust to the gain in altitude and help you adapt over the next three days as you travel up to the northside Kanchenjunga Base Camp. This walk is a 7.5 km return and involves (567m) ascent and descent from and back to Ghunsa.

From Ghunsa the trailmakes a gradual ascent through pine and rhododendron forests along the eastbank of the Ghunsa Khola passing several mani walls and chortens along the way.After three hours of walking, we cross a bridge over Ghunsa Khola and will havelunch in a grassy area called Rampuk Kharka (3,720m). Today as you gainaltitude the mountain scenery becomes ever more spectacular and higher upbefore the landslide area the dramatic north face of Jannu is visible. Be carefulwhen crossing this landslide as there is a risk of rockfall from above. Thetrail contours the hillside then descends to Khambachen. Khambachen is aTibetan settlement with about a dozen houses nestled in a grassy plain withmountains all around.

We spend two nights at Khambachen in order to help your acclimatization before moving up over (750m) in altitude to Lhonak. We recommend you join a short walk organised by our guides and then spend the rest of the day resting and relaxing around camp. The walk up Nupchu Khola from Khambachen is well worth doing for the impressive views of Mount Jannu. If you would like to do a longer acclimatization walk then you can head up to the Jannu shrine, this is a 6-hour walk there and back. The shrine is just under (4,400m) and is an 11km return distance with (500m) ascent/descent.

From Khambachen the trail contours through azalea and rhododendron along a lateral moraine passing through a seasonal yak herder’s camp at Ramtang (4,370m). After an hour or so the trail becomes rockier and we pass under a landslide area. Like for the landslide before Khambachen it is best to keep moving at a steady pace and to keep alert for any rockfall. We climb through open rocky fields and then cross moraines North West of the Kanchenjunga Glacier to Lhonak. The campsite at Lhonak is near several large stone huts and has incredible views of Wedge Peak (6,750m), Mera (6,344m), Nepal Peak (6,910m), Twins (7,351m) among others. You cannot see the main peak of Kanchenjunga from Lhonak so for this view tomorrow we will walk up to Pangpema.

From Lhonak the trail ascends along the lateral moraine from Kanchenjunga Glacier for about two hours. After passing through several sections of loose rock and landslide area the trail climbs less steeply to reach the stone huts in a grassy area at Pangpema in a further two hours. The view of the vast north face of Kanchenjunga from Pangpema is very impressive. After having lunch while enjoying the mountain vista we start the return walk back to Lhonak, taking about 3 hours.

Walk back along the same trail through Kambachen to Ghunsa village.

From Ghunsa we followa steep rocky trail through the forest then along a ridge with a short, steepsection to Sele La pass at (4,290m). The views are fantastic and you canclearly see High Camp which is about half an hour further walking from thepass. High Camp is well-positioned in a sheltered spot with a couple of woodenlodges and a small lake. From here you can see Mount Makalu in the fardistance.

After an early startfrom High Camp, we follow a good trail as it ascends to our first pass Sinion Laat (4,440m). From here the trail contours the hillside and a short steep climbbrings you to Mirgin La Pass at (4,480m). The trail then descends brieflybefore contouring round before a final short steep climb brings you to the topof Sinelapche La Pass at (4,840m). From the top of every pass, you will berewarded with magnificent views. From the last pass, there is a (1,000m) descenton a trail past a small lake to Tseram which is a small settlement locatedabove the Simbua Khola.

Today we walk up to Ramche for lunch where we pass the snout of the Yalung glacier into an ablation valley. All the peaks to the east straddle the India-Nepal border- Koktang (6,147m), Rathong (6,679m), and some of the Kabrus which are all over (7,000m). There is a lake and a meadow along with two stone houses at Ramche and often blue sheep can often be seen on the grassy slopes above. In the afternoon we follow the ablation valley to Oktang, the whole cirque is above (7,500m) and the three main summits all over (8,400m) can be seen. The climbing route to the summit of Kanchenjunga, first climbed by Joe Brown and George Band in 1955 can be seen from Oktang.

The trail descendsthrough Tseram and follows the river in rhododendron forest to Tortong where wespend the night.

From Tortong it is about 3 hours to lunch as we have (650m) to ascend. The trail climbs steeply through mossy forest and past the landslide that happened in 2013 to the pass at Lamite Bhanjang for lunch. After lunch, the trail descends quite steeply on a good path for about 2 hours before crossing Imja Khola. The trail then contours around the hillside before descending to Yamphudin. This village has a mixed community of Sherpas, Rais, Limbus, and Gurungs and there is also the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area office.

After leaving the lovely village of Yamphudin we take the undulating path high above the river to Mamankhe.

From Mamanke the trail enters a side canyon and crosses a stream on a long suspension bridge before climbing to Ponphe village. The trail climbs to two tea shops on the ridge above then begins a traverse through a series of valleys past several villages. The trail continues up to Kande Bhanjyang where we spend the night.

The trail traverses aridge to the Limbu village of Khunjari and then descends to Pha Khola. Fromhere one and ascends through Pokhara and Shimu villages to Thenbewa thencontinues through the forest to Lali Kharka where we spend the night.

The trail descends to the Pha Khola and climbs steeply through Pokhara and Shimu villages to Thenbewa. It then continues through the forest to Lali Kharka and on to a ridge from where it descends gradually to the airfield at Suketar. We have now completed an amazing journey around the Nepalese side of Kanchenjunga.

Today is our last dayon this journey. After breakfast, we drive to Bhadrapur airport which is 190kilometers approximately. But the road cuts through many twists and turns. The endlesswindings are frequent. It takes almost 9 hours to reach Bhadrapur. In the eveningwe will fly from Bhadrapur to Kathmandu. The flight is a scenic flight. Inclear weather, we will see aerial views of some snowy peaks. The views areimpressive. We will land at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu.Our office representatives waiting for you at Kathmandu airport and transfer you to the hotel. Get rest in a comfortable room or you can stroll around some popularstreets in the afternoon.

Today is your last day in Kathmandu and is an opportunity to do all the bits and pieces you thought of doing over the past few weeks including any last-minute shopping, returning to places that you enjoyed or didn’t get a chance to visit before your trek. Do let us know if would like help organising anything for today.

You are saying goodbye to the mountains as your journey in Nepal comes to an end today. You are free until it is time for us to transfer you to the airport in time for your flight home. We hope you enjoyed the tour with us, and are sure you`ll be back in your trip somewhere in the Himalaya again.