A fairly popular trek from Sunjaridal near Kathmandu over Lauribina pass to the Langtag valley, up to Kyanjim Gompa then down to Syabrubesi. I did this trek late in October of 2011 with my guide Pemba.
Sunjaridal to Chisopani
I follow Pemba up sections of concrete steps. There is a large pipeline used to supply water to Kathmandu. Today is day 3 of the Tihar or Dipawali festival and the dogs in the area are all decorated with flower garlands around their necks. We pass a lively group of monkies alongside the track, the cheekiest of the bunch throws an empty juice packet at me.
We arrive in Chisopani after three hours walking. Many of the lodges are full with people visiting for the festival but we soon find a good lodge for the night. The lodge is typical of those found on common trekking routes. It has a dining area, separate rooms, squat toilet and a reasonable menu.
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Chisopani to Kutumsang
We head downhill to Pati Bhanjyang. The track is a little slippery in places. As we go uphill again from the valley floor a black dog joins us on our walk. We stop for tea, black dog waits patiently having a few altercations with the resident dogs and goats.
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Today there are cows with flower garlands as it's now day three of the Tihar festival. We ascend through rice terraces on steep switchbacks, black dog is still with us. At the top of the hill we stop for lunch, no sign of black dog. I talk to a guy from Croatia who's guiding a tour group.
We climb once more to an easy pass and begin a gradual descent to Kutumsang, it's raining lightly and claps of thunder suggest it might get heavier. The onset of rain increases Pembas pace dramatically as he hasn't brought a rain jacket. Fortunately we don't have far to go and arrive at the lodge just before the rain starts dumping down. The lodge owners are very welcoming, Pemba and I join the family around the cooking fire. They're frying up fresh corn kernels which turn out to be very tasty, I enjoy the simple pleasure, savoring it one kernel at a time. They also have corn chaang, a home made beer. Strangely the chaang is served warm but it's very nice unlike some other times I've tried chaang.
The cloud clears just before dusk and I see the snow capped mountains of the Panch Pokhari Range in the distance. Coming back from the toilet after dark I stop to admire the starry sky and hear bats "chirping" or whatever you want to call the sound they make.
Kutumsang to Therepati
The day dawns clear and the family have moved a table and chairs outside for me to have breakfast in the sun. We ascend a gradual slope through stands of strange trees, they are tall but have no big branches to the side. As we reach the top of a hill the weather suddenly become much colder. Soon we come across snow and ice on the ground.
We reach Mangengoth in time for lunch. There we meet an extremely friendly little girl who speaks a little english. She has a go at using my camera and proceeds to take about 20 photos, some of which actually turn out ok. In the dining room of the lodge I meet some other trekkers. There is a dutch couple Hanaka and Felix. Also Brent and Tara, an Australian couple.
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Brent and Tara turn up at the lodge shortly after Pemba and I.
As the afternoon progresses the cloud begins to drop down into the valleys and soon we have clear views out over the top. Looking down on the cloud tops gives me a much greater sense of being high up.
Therepati to Phedi
Very cold outside this morning. Looking across to Laurebina Pass I wonder if the track is as difficult as it looks as it traverses steep ridge lines the whole way.
We stop at the tiny village of Gopte for an early lunch as there is nowhere else to stop on the way to Phedi. A lady at the lodge is making Tibetan tea. They add butter to the tea and mix it in a long wooden cylinder. I love the rich taste of it and have two cups. Brent and Tara turn up and I convince them to try so Tibetan tea. They're not at all impressed so I end up with a third cup, could be a good scam!
We leave Gopte with cloud building all around. Soon we are walking inside the clouds but the track is easy to follow and I'm enjoying the spooky feel created by the mist and black rocks. Again I'm suprised by the quality of the track as we make our way fairly easily through the rugged terrain.
Phedi to Cholongpati
It's clear this morning. My breath comes easily as we ascend gradual towards Laurabina pass. Cloud building in the valley below, I hope it just stays there. Soon the cloud is swirling around us, it doesn't leave much hope of views from the pass but as we near the top we climb free of it. Now on the pass looking out over the top of the clouds we see a scatterring of snow, crystal clear blue lakes and distant mountain ranges. I'm not keen to linger here for long as a strong icy wind is blowing. We head down the other side of the pass. The descent is gradual and very pleasant as we are out of the wind a bit and passing by more alpine lakes.
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Reaching Gosainkund we stop for lunch and find that the accomdation is booked out. It would be a nice place to stop but it's quite cold and early in the day so we decide to move on. I'm wishing we had arranged a place to meet with Brent and Tara.
We stop for tea at Laurebina. I talk to friendly guy who is Tamang, thats one of the races that come from this area. It seems a bit early to stop for the night so we continue down to Cholongpati and stay at the lodge on the southern side of the track. It has a large dining room with plenty of sun coming in, I have a hot shower which they don't charge for.
Cholongpati to Bamboo
We head down a side trail from Cholongpati. The main trail continues towards Sing Gompa but there good track that head in a more direct line to Thulo Syabru. As we descend there are more and more terraces for agriculture.
Thulo Syabru is a surprisingly modern looking town and I'm surprised to find they have internet here. Leaving Thulo Syabru behind we drop down quickly to a river and swing bridge. We traverse for a while stopping to watch a lady weaving blankets with a loom, she is constantly smiling, a big, warm and genuine smile. Soon we begin descending switchbacks all the way to the valley floor.
We stop for tea at "Landslide", the name of the village makes the bluffs towering overhead more than a little disconcerting. A tourist charges through the village, running at great pace down the rough rock steps with trekking poles flailing everywhere, Pemba suggests he might be training for the upcoming everest marathon.
Now in the main valley the gradients are much easier, the trail is good and I'm loving the views of the river raging below, it would be impressive to see it during the monsoon. We're at about 1800m altitude now and it's a pleasure having so much oxygen available. There are a lot more people in the Langtang valley compared to Helambu and Gosaindkunde. We stop for the night at the Sherpa Guesthouse in Bamboo six hours after we set off having descended 1800m. The lodges here have some picnic tables near the raging river views of waterfalls and bluffs, unfortunately clouds roll in shortly after our arrival making it a bit unpleasant sitting outside. I'm pleased to see Brent and Tara turn up after losing them yesterday.
Bamboo to Ghoda Tabala
We make our way up the valley crossing the Langtang Khola on a suspension bridge. I'm still thankful that the bridges are in better condition than I had expected, they feel a lot more secure than a lot of the ones in New Zealand.
We have lunch at a village called Hotel Lama, I guess the village must have just started off as one Hotel but it has expanded a lot with many lodges all packed closely together. I'm hungry so I order dal bhat as almost all lodges will give you a free second helping of it.
We stop for the night in Ghoda Tabala which Pemba tells me means horse saddle.
Ghoda Tabala to Kyanjin Gompa
We stop for lunch in Langtang. I order tengmo, a Tibetan dish which turns out to be fist sized dumplings and curry. Making our way up the valley towards Kyanjin Gompa we see increasing numbers of yak and some strange looking sheep.
I've been looking forward to some local cheese for a few days now, so I quickly head for the cheese factory. With the surprisingly cheap cheese secured I head back to the lodge for a delicious lunch of fresh tibetan bread and cheese. Pemba finds great amusement in me referring to the cheese as yak cheese ... apparently the term yak actually refers to the male of the species, so it's really nak cheese he tells me.
Soon I'm off to visit the bakery! They actually have an oven and proper coffee machines here. My chocolate cake and coffee make a welcome treat. The owner of the bakery is a cheerful chap with good english. He has an Apron with the New Zealand flag on it apparently given to him by Peter Hillary (Edmund Hillarys son).
Cherko Ri Side Trip
Awake again, it's just after six and I look out the window to see clear skies and snow peaks all around. I jump out of bed and go to wake Brent. The door of the lodge is still locked from the outside so I climb out of a window in the dining room. After a little advice from other Brent and I set off for Kyanjim Ri. Climbing above the valley floor I'm soon extremely out of breath, Brent is setting a faster pace than I'm used to. He's chatting away and my responses soon dwindle to single syllables as I gasp for air. The hill isn't overly steep but the altitude is definitely making itself felt, we're well above 4000m now. It's very cold especially given that we're walking uphill, usually a good way to stay warm. We agree it's just as well we hadn't started earlier in the morning.
We begin to follow the other trekkers and it soon becomes clear that they're ascending Cherko Ri which looks much more impressive than Kyanjin Ri. So Brent I decide to go for Cherko Ri.
The trail becomes rockier and less defined as we continue upwards. At about 4600m The trail takes a turn to the right and we head in more of a westerly direction. I'm finding it really difficult as we make our way through the large rocks and over slippery snow. We're going really slow now, stopping to rest every 20 metres or so. I don't think I've ever had so much trouble making it over this sort of terrain. Brent and I didn't bring nearly enough food for the trip; altitude and hunger seems to make a particularly nasty combination. The prayer flags at the top look very close now but it's going to take a while at this pace. Finally we're free of the rocky area and walk the last few metres of easy terrain to the summit. The weather is clear but windy and cold. I'm glad I brought my down jacket up with me.
After 20 minutes on the top the cloud starts to roll up from the valley below and we set off back down the hill before the visibility gets too bad.
Kyanjin Gompa - Rimche
Retracing our steps from a couple of days ago we head back down the Langtang valley.
After lunch Pemba is in a hurry as he needs to get down the valley back to the road today so he can catch a bus tomorrow morning. He'll be cooking for the everest marathon starting in a few days. We're breaking into a run on some of the downhills and I'm having trouble keeping up with Pemba on the slippery sections of track.
At the moonlight hotel in Rimche I say goodbye to Pemba and he continues on his way down the valley. A group of Israelis turn up in the evening, they're helping a lodge up near Langtang, supplying them with a coffee machine and a bunch of other stuff, changing it from very basic lodge/restaurant into something special that tourist will notice. They stayed with the family who are very poor and felt compelled to help them in some way. It's great to see people acting on those feelings.
Rimche - Syabrubesi
Today I'm walking with Tara and Brent. We ask the lodge owner about the trail to Sherpagaon, it's easy to find the junction a couple of hundred metres along the trail with confirmation from another local that we're heading the right way.
We stop at a newly built lodge in Khangjim for lunch. It will definitely be one of the plusher lodges in the area with attached bathrooms in each room and western style toilets ... a rare find in the hills of Nepal.
After a fairly long and steep descent we arrive in Syabrubesi and soon find ourselves back in town mode, ignoring people that approach us as they're almost guaranteed to be selling something.
Syabrubesi - Kathmandu
I rise early to catch the bus. The seats are as small as I expected and I'm glad I requested an aisle seat as I need to turn sideways with both legs out in the aisle. Tara and Brent are on the bus as well as Mike. I remember the zigzag rd across the valley and hope this road isn't as bad. Soon enough we come to a scary looking section of road that has been cut into the hillside. Many places have had slips across the road and it becomes very narrow and lumpy. The lurching of the bus over the lumps is a troubling with so little room for error.
The bus stops in a small town and the shouts of "kanah kaha" tell me that we're having lunch here, I'm stoked at having understood them, language learning is a lot more fun than I had imagined. The restaurant is packed and churning out dahl bhat at a tremendous rate. 90 rupees gets me a huge serving of dahl bhat and they still come around to top it up.
After lunch the road is much better, sealed and not too narrow. After a while though the bus stalls a couple of times, then the driver can't get it started again. The engine turns over strongly but refuses to start. The driver and his helper inspect the engine for a while before the problem becomes clear ... no petrol! Fortunately a queue of buses has built up behind us and the driver takes a bucket to get a little petrol from each of them. The petrol does the trick and we're on our way again. The rest of the journey to Kathmandu is fairly uneventful and I'm glad when we arrive in kathmandu about nine hours after we set off from Sybrubesi.
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