Langtang National Park Travel Answers

No problem - Pleased to help The only route that you can cross from Langtang to Helambu without Guide and Porter is via Gosaikund over Laurebina La. This can be done in 16 days – Bus to Syapru Besi and overnight there, from there I would recommend entering the valley on the high level route via Sherpagon, If you are fit you can get to Lama Hotel for your 1st night, Then Langtang Village for your 2nd and Kyangin Gompa for your 3rd, spend 2 nights there and explore the upper valley and a chance of a minor peek in the day between, then down to Ghortabela for your 5th night, Thulo Syapru 6th, Singh Gompa 7th, Laurebina Yak 8th, Gosaikund 9th, Ghopte 10th, Tharepati 11th, Kutumsang 12th, Chiplang 13th, Chisopan 134h and back in Kathmandu for your 15th night. There is a link to a downloadable Langtang Trekking map on my packing lust tips, you can check the route out on that. Good Luck and happy trekking Rob

Just want to second my friend Intothinair; Ganja La is an expedition style pass, not like Thorong La or the other frequented passes in Nepal. You need to be expedition outfitted, a guide, ropes and all, and be prepared to turn back in case of heavy snow fall. The approach from the Langtang Valley side is avalanche prone. On the Helambu side there are no services until you are back on the regular trail net from Gosainkunda. I suggest instead that you mess about the glaciers and lesser peaks in the upper Langtang before heading out via either Gosainkunda or the lekh/ridge south from Ganesh Himal. From Syabrubesi you head up to there via Gatlang, and you can shorthen that trek by jumping on a vehicle toward Ganesh Himal Base Camp.

Thank you all for the information. I suspect, based on your suggestions and others' advice here in Kathmandu, we will probably not go for Ganja La or dish out a little more dough for guide and porters. We're entertaining other options as well: What information can you give me on the Tilicho Lake trek in Annapurna range? We were told that this can be done "guideless." We ARE planning on going in earlier March and information suggests that the lake will be frozen over and the area significantly cooler than May and after. Please let me know if this is a viable option for the first or middle two weeks of March. Thanks in advance

Again – No problem I would say that you have a fair chance of getting to Tilicho Lake in March, Start off as per The Annapurna Circuit as far as Manang where you will spend an extra night to acclimatise (Trekking schedule on page 2 of my Sports and outdoor tips) – Then the next night at Khangsar and from there to Tilicho base camp lodge (There are 2 possible routes, High and Low level so make enquiries at Khangsar to which one is the best as landslides keep changing the paths) Then spend two nights at to Tilicho base camp lodge and visit Tilicho Lake on the day in between. Then you have two options 1) Trek to Letdar and pick up the route to cross Thorung La 2) Return the way you came If you wanted to cross over then passes form Tilicho lake to Jomsosm you would need a fully supported camping trek as this takes at least 3 days from Tilicho base camp lodge with no further accommodation available, One other thing is to be aware that a lot of the paths in the Tilicho lake area shown on trekking maps don’t actually exist on the ground ;-) Good Luck and Happy Safe Trekking Rob

Would it not be possible to trek via the "Mesokanta La" pass or the new "Touriste La" pass into Jomsom without a guide? We intend to rent whatever gear is necessary and bring our own food supplies. We welcome the challenge but do not want to get in over our heads, of course. Our greatest hindrance is finances. We prefer something that will definitely prove challenging and require careful planning but would like to go without a guide or porter(s), as our finances likely won't allow (we've checked with agencies including HMA and probably cannot afford such aid).

As I said on my earlier reply – The Big problem you are up against is the accuracy of the maps – These show paths where no paths exist and no paths where paths do exist – So how to you go about planning without accurate information being readily available ?? To hire one guide is only around25 per day and you could dispense with his services once you reach Jomsom, so the cost would only be around300 and this split amongst your group – This is a real wilderness area and if you were to get lost / injured you would Really be in Big Trouble. This is the best site that I have come across as it gives you a fairly detailed description of the route lowdin.nu/Treks/Mesokantola/... All I can say is if it were me then I wouldn’t even contemplate trekking this route without an experienced guide Good Luck and please remember to pop up a post and let us all know how you get on Best Regards Rob