A six hour bus ride from Kathmandu will get you to Chautara. Four hours if you are in a car or a bike.
What to take:
Everything but the kitchen sink, and if you have space for it, then that too. Sleeping bags, mats, cooking utensils, enough edibles to last for at least six days, water bottles, hiking boots with crampons (or snow boots although the weight will kill you), a compass and maps.
Cost:
If you stay for a day at Chautara and Lamidanda then possibly Rs 500, but while trekking, there are no shops to buy anything from.
Initially the hiking trail usually started from Chautara, but now, a dart road leads all they way up to Sano Kkhreni. Thronged with huge mounds of mud and holes two feet deep, even our motorbikes, required a fair bit of manoeuvring. A four wheel drive can easily be commissioned in Chautara though.
The real trail starts from Lamidanda in Sano Okhreni. The small village lies at the base of the first hill and even from here, the view left us speechless. The clouds spread out beneath us, a veritable blanket of vapour, almost as if it could be walked upon. And rising up above it in the distance was the magnificent Langtang range, glinting yellow like jagged teeth in the morning sun.
One word of warning, there is absolutely no water on the main walking trail. If you don't know the trail well, you need to get a guide from Sano Okhreni along because pretty soon even those five litres of water will run out and dehydration can set in.
Straight away, the hiking trail is steep but two or three of the average hills later, you are faced with one major hill. The trail is not so steep but what makes it worse is the hard, packed snow. If you don't have proper boots you could end up slipping along every step. Making it even worse is the fact that it runs alongside a steep cliff and a very lond drop.
Walking for maybe ten to twelve hours will bring you to Bhanjyang, and a small cowshed. Despite having a Global Positioning System (GPS), a compass and a map, we happened to get lost along the way and wandered for four hour in the underbrush, surrounded by short bamboo. We had been following a small one-person wide trail, which disappeared beneath an avalanche of snow. While lost in the jungle, we crossed literal landslides with just footholds and handholds, in the dark, with just five headlamps among the eleven of us. We finally managed to reach Bhanjyang, the trail and a clearing where we camped for the night.
What to take:
Everything but the kitchen sink, and if you have space for it, then that too. Sleeping bags, mats, cooking utensils, enough edibles to last for at least six days, water bottles, hiking boots with crampons (or snow boots although the weight will kill you), a compass and maps.
Cost:
If you stay for a day at Chautara and Lamidanda then possibly Rs 500, but while trekking, there are no shops to buy anything from.
Initially the hiking trail usually started from Chautara, but now, a dart road leads all they way up to Sano Kkhreni. Thronged with huge mounds of mud and holes two feet deep, even our motorbikes, required a fair bit of manoeuvring. A four wheel drive can easily be commissioned in Chautara though.
The real trail starts from Lamidanda in Sano Okhreni. The small village lies at the base of the first hill and even from here, the view left us speechless. The clouds spread out beneath us, a veritable blanket of vapour, almost as if it could be walked upon. And rising up above it in the distance was the magnificent Langtang range, glinting yellow like jagged teeth in the morning sun.
One word of warning, there is absolutely no water on the main walking trail. If you don't know the trail well, you need to get a guide from Sano Okhreni along because pretty soon even those five litres of water will run out and dehydration can set in.
Straight away, the hiking trail is steep but two or three of the average hills later, you are faced with one major hill. The trail is not so steep but what makes it worse is the hard, packed snow. If you don't have proper boots you could end up slipping along every step. Making it even worse is the fact that it runs alongside a steep cliff and a very lond drop.
Walking for maybe ten to twelve hours will bring you to Bhanjyang, and a small cowshed. Despite having a Global Positioning System (GPS), a compass and a map, we happened to get lost along the way and wandered for four hour in the underbrush, surrounded by short bamboo. We had been following a small one-person wide trail, which disappeared beneath an avalanche of snow. While lost in the jungle, we crossed literal landslides with just footholds and handholds, in the dark, with just five headlamps among the eleven of us. We finally managed to reach Bhanjyang, the trail and a clearing where we camped for the night.
The cowshed at Bhanjyang had two people and those were the only people we saw for the entire trek up. The next day's trek is steeper but you'll have a choice between a straight 60 degree climb, scrambling over boulders, or a long and leisurely beaten path. If you choose the longer route then you will need to camp for the night at Hille Bhanjyang. There is nothing to tell you that you have reached Hille Bhanjyang except two empty, long rectangular cowsheds.
If you choose the shorter, more arduous route, you can reach Narsinghpati by six or seven in the evening, provided you don't rest too much and that you started out fresh and early in the morning. Narshinghpati lies at the top of the Hille Bhanjyang hill. And from here, the mountains seem within touching distance. There is snow all around, not hard ice but soft powdery snow. There is a shed to sleepin, and even dry wood for a fire.
If you choose the shorter, more arduous route, you can reach Narsinghpati by six or seven in the evening, provided you don't rest too much and that you started out fresh and early in the morning. Narshinghpati lies at the top of the Hille Bhanjyang hill. And from here, the mountains seem within touching distance. There is snow all around, not hard ice but soft powdery snow. There is a shed to sleepin, and even dry wood for a fire.
The view from Narshinghpati is one to die for. Especially in the evenings, when the sun setting, it sends out bold rays of yellow light straight on the mountains, staining them in an ethereal yellowish-orange glow.
Three to four hours walk the next day will get you to Paanch Pokhari from Narsinghpati and a day's walk from Hille Bhanjyang. The trai is easier, not as steep and the snow isn't as slippery. Paanch Pokhari is magnificent. One big pond surrounded by four smaller ones, the five lie in a sheltered vale. There is a temple, from the base of which rushes out spring water. You can easily camp here for a day or two, if you manage to forage for firewood, although the evening winds can get really strong and chilly. Be prepared to run after your tent if you haven't pegged it properly.
From Paanch Pokhari, a day's hike gets you to Dudhpokhari and another day's trek to Tillman's pass. Tillman's Pass leads to the other side of the Langtang range, the Kyanjin Gompa and Dhunche route. From the top of the hills bordering Paanch Pokhari, you can see Tillman's Pass with absolute clarity. Two massive peaks shelter the pass, a glacier that seems almost liquid.From Narsinghpati and Paanch Pokhari, another perk is the night time sky. The stars came out in startling clarity. Huge twinkling masses, like fireflies strewn across a blanket of the darkest velvet. Lying there, on a yellow mat and staring up at the inky blackness of the sky perforated with a million twinkling globes, one realises how insignificant we humans are in the grand scheme of things.
Getting down is easier but not very. Snow makes it easy to lose your footing and slip. A walking stick should be your best friend if not, the foliage, creepers and shrubs. Coming down will take two days; a day to Bhanjyang and another to Lamidanda where you can recharge you batteries and interact with the friendly locals.
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