Kanchenjunga Trek - 19 Days

When you notify us of your arriving flight and airline itinerary, one of our representative will be waiting to greet you at Tribhuwan International Airport. He will drive you in a private vehicle to the hotel that we have reserved. After checking into the hotel, you can take a relaxing walk along Thamel Road in the evening.

The team manager will see you around 9 a.m. and take your old passport in order to prepare the permit. At 5 p.m., the team supervisor will be greeting you at our office to give over your original passport and introduce you to the hiking guide. He will inspect your trekking equipment and recommend that you purchase or rent it from one of Thamel’s trekking shops.

Our 45 to 50 minute domestic flight will depart from Kathmandu (TIA) and arrive at Bhadrapur (Chandragadhi Airport). We’ll grab a local jeep and travel via Kanyam. We drive from Kanyam along the Mechi Highway, passing through tea plantations, to Taplejung or Illam, where the Kanchenjunga Circuit Trek starts.

We’ll eat breakfast, then board a native jeep and start our second-day ride to Sekathum, our destination for today. Typically, hikers choose to climb up to Sekathum from Taplejung, but by shortening our journey and utilizing the available amenities in the region, we arrive two days before other hikers. The route will take us past Mitlung, Chirwa, Thapethok, Lelep, and a few other villages along the Tamor Nadi. On our way, we come across the Kanchenjunga National Park entry point, where our permits are examined and we are authorized to continue on to Sekathum.

After two days of driving, we’ll start our trek with breakfast in Sekathum. The Himalayan adventure begins with an ascent through Ghunsa Khola and going over several bridges along the route, traveling through luscious woods, the little communities of Jonggim and Ghaiyabari before arriving at Amjilosa.

Today, we travel through a woodland track lined with rhododendrons and bamboo before ascending to Gyabla. On the route to Gyabla, we come across a large waterfalls on the other side of the river. We stop at Gyabla after a strong ascent and subsequent descent. Spend the night at a guesthouse in Gyabla.

We arrive in Phale village after walking through the woodlands, which are home to a diverse diversity of vegetation and fauna. We will arrive in Ghunsa village after continuing our trek at a steady pace. Many trekkers pause at Ghunsa for adaptation, but we spend our day in Khambachen.

We will eat breakfast before gradually ascending through a wide pine forest, where we may see blue sheep plus snow leopards. The trail goes through landslide-prone zones. We observe the amazing view of Mt. Jannu, pass through beautiful glacier valleys, and ultimately arrive at Khambachen settlement.

We rest in Khambachen after a few days of trekking. We’ll take a short trip to neighboring glaciers, vistas, and lakes to help our bodies adjust to the altitude. We can encounter many hikers at Khambachen who are returning from or going towards Kanchenjunga North Base Camp.

When we reach the source of the Ghunsa Khola, we’ll continue on the left (north) edge of the Kanchenjunga Glacier, trekking along a steep slope past the intersecting Lhonak Glacier to our left until we reach the high, flat campsite of Lhonak. Although the campsite is cold due to its great height, the views are spectacular, as we will be encircled by some of the highest snow-peaks on the world, including Wedge Peak (6,750m), Mera Peak (6344m), Nepal Peak (6910m), and Twins (7,351m), for approximately 7 hours.

Today, we are going to trek to the north base camp of Mt. Kanchenjunga, also known as Pang Pema. We will steadily rise through the trail, following the moraines, until we reach Kanchenjunga Base Camp. The reward for several days of walking is the sight of prayer flags and the stunning towering third-highest Mount Kanchenjunga. We’ll return to Lhonak for an extra night.

We arrive at Ghunsa after enjoying the vistas of the Mountains and leaving the Kanchenjunga Base Camp behind to retrace our steps. The Kanchenjunga trail reminds us of traveling past stone houses, rising mountain peaks, stony meadows near the trails, and rock-falling zones.

We reach at Sele Le and leave the trail toward Gyabla. We have a chance to spot snow leopards as we move through the deep forest. There are barely any human settlements with a few teahouses that are only open during the peak hiking season. When there is considerable snowfall, there is no alternative route to connect the pathway to South Base Camp till Sekathum. If the teahouses are closed but we can still cross the passes, we can reach Tseram in one day, shaving a day off our planned itinerary.

Leaving Sele Le Pass, we will walk up to the high-altitude passes of Sinion La (4440m.|2758ft.), Mirgin La (4480m.|2783ft.), & Sinelapche Bhanjyang (4645m.|2886ft.). During our ascent, we will be treated to stunning panoramic views of Mt. Jannu, Everest, Makalu, Baruntse, Chamlang, as well as Kanchenjunga. We descended to Tseram and slept there overnight.

Today, after an early breakfast, we continue forward via the Yalung glacier, climbing higher and closer to the panoramas. We will halt for lunch at Ramche after passing the Yalung, which offers a panorama of Rathong (6682m) and Kabru (7412m). We will hike to Oktang/Okhordung, the viewpoint at Yalung Base Camp or Kanchenjunga South Base Camp. We will return to Tseram after enjoying an up-close view of all three peaks of Mt. Kanchenjunga (8420m, 8586m, and 8474m), as well as other towering peaks, and visiting the pristine, unexplored by many hikers Kanchenjunga Base Camp.

The towering snow-capped mountains behind us, as well as the trek through the rhododendron trees, provide us with peace. Our walk begins downhill and concludes in Tortong, crossing through Simbuwa Khola and offering breathtaking views of the Himalayas along the way. We’ll remain in Tortong overnight.

From Tortong, we continue to descend to the Amji Khola, passing with Lasiya/Lamite Bhanjyang (3415m) and Dhupi Bhanjyang (2665m). Walking beyond the steep slope region, we arrive at Yamphudin settlement. There is a Kanchenjunga Conservation Area checkpoint in Yamphudin where our permits are examined if we started our journey from Kanchenjunga South Base Camp.

We begin our exploration of stunning scenery through paths and hiking along the Kabeli Khola pathway after eating breakfast in Yamphudin. We’ll leave the mountain villages and head to Kanyam, a picturesque area surrounded by tea plants. We can view cardamom and tea farms from our windows as we drive to Kanyam. We are now in the lowlands, carrying with us bittersweet memories of the walk at great altitudes. Kanyam is a popular tea garden site, so expect to see a lot of local tourists.

We’ll eat breakfast and then spend some time exploring the green tea farming region. Then we’ll have a 2-3 hour trip to Bhadrapur. We will fly from Bhadrapur to Kathmandu in the evening, which would take 45 to 50 minutes. Once we drop you off at your hotel, we’ll send an invitation to our management team for a farewell dinner that evening.