The Trek- pictures
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6-7 Day 8 Day 9-10 Panoramas
In October 2003, We visited the Langtang valley. "We" are Book, Nell and Leslie Ann. This site has lots of pics from our trek as well as some information on the trek itself. It is one of the lesser known treks, but that shouldn't stop you from visiting!
Location
The
Langtang valley is just south of the Tibetan border. The valley itself is between
the main Himalayan range to the north and a slightly lower range to the south.
The most prominent peaks include Langtang Lirung (7246m), Gang Chhenpo (6388m),
Naya Kangri (5846m) and Ponggen Dokpu (5930m).
We started our trek from Dhunche, 117km from Kathmandu. There are several ways to get there. We hired a jeep which cost 9000 rupees and took 7 hours. The bus is considerably cheaper (about 180 rupees) but takes around 12 hours. It is a local bus, which means you will be sharing the bus with locals, chickens, goats and other trekkers! If you are really lucky you will get a helicopter for next to nothing, IF someone has arranged to be picked up in Dhunche. If you want to arrange one yourself, it is much quicker (15 minutes) but waay more expensive ($1000 US!!).
The
buses can't make it all the way to Dhunche, as a landslide has blocked the road
for some time. This now means a 1.5 hour walk across the landslide to a
(hopefully) waiting bus on the other side. If there is no bus, it's another 2-3
hours to walk into Dhunche. You could always try to befriend a well off local
(like we did) and they will have a jeep waiting on the other
side!
The trek can be started from Dhunche, it is called "the old route" in the Lonely Planet- trekking in Nepal book. It adds an extra 2 days to the trek, but is well worth it. There is some easy walking through some pine and rhododendron forest, with only 3 big uphills!
While the trail is very easy to follow, we hired a guide. It made the trek more enjoyable for us as he was able to point out things we may have missed, as well as answer any questions we had about local customs or the area itself. There are plenty of guides in Nepal, so I'll recommend just two: Deny Tamang and Karsang Dawa.
After you have had a look at these pictures, hop on over to my PBase photo gallery to check out some more photos both from Nepal and at home in Australia!
The Trek- pictures
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6-7 Day 8 Day 9-10 Panoramas