Trekking in Langtang - First Holidays Away from Home

I came to Nepal for a solar energy training program. Long story short it was cancelled In September and I didn’t know, leaving me rather glum. I’d been so excited to be around some culturally familiar people, and to stay in a nice hotel with a HOT SHOWER for the program. Luckily my wonderful friend Flore is also in Nepal; we met at the calligrapher’s in Mongolia and had a plan to see each other briefly again in Kathmandu. When she found out my program had been cancelled, she invited me to join her for a trek! We initially wanted to do the Three Passes in the Everest Region but too many people said it was a bad idea in winter—that we would probably do one pass on foot and the other two by helicopter evacuation… We pivoted to go trekking in Langtang with the help of her friend, the day before we were supposed to leave.

Oh also my debit card got inhaled at an ATM two days before the trek so it was a bit of a panicked scramble on my end. Lots of calling the bank only for them to hang up on me, so I went in person and was insistent enough and got my card back, thank goodness. The rest of the day we finished getting our affairs in order to leave—I bought some sunglasses, we got a map, I bought some more contact solution… etc.

If you're interested in the itinerary more than the story, skip to the end.

Our itinerary was roughly: 12-days total of walking; from 2000m to 5000m, back to 2000m, back up to 4600m, and then over some hills and back to Kathmandu. In Donut that translates to 6000 ft to 16500 ft, and then to 15000 ft again.

Day 1 - Dec. 20

We tried to find a bus to Syapru Besi in the morning, and finally the bus people told us the next one was in three hours and could only take us to a neighboring town called Dhunche. So we killed time with coffee and lunch and learned to count to ten. The bus was actually a minivan, and all things considered the road was in fairly decent condition (aka it existed). Was a tad bumpy. Paying for a seat here actually means paying for half a seat, seeing as we were six to a row for a while. Our packs were strapped to the roof next to a bunch of (live) chickens.

We arrived in Dhunche and paid a total of 2250 NPR ($16) for a room and dinner and breakfast the next morning.

Day 2 - Dec. 21

We tried to find a taxi in the morning to take us to Syapru Besi but there weren’t any, so we walked on the road to Thulo Barku and then up on a trail to Thulo Syabru. Hitchhiking for the road section was a flop. In all it was about 13 miles with 600 m of gain. The hike was already beautiful with views of Tibetan peaks that sit at >21,000 ft! We met and walked with a Sherpa who has been living in India for two years as a monk because his dad thought it would help straighten him out. I wonder if they laugh at how much we carry, seeing as he was carrying nothing but a walking stick. We also learned to count from 11-20, and when we came to a stop because some guy was throwing big rocks off the cliff above us, we learned “oh dai, ekshim!” means “hey brother, stop!” and felt lucky that the sherpa guy was there to help.

We used Flore's portable LifeStraw filter for water, and there were plenty of streams along the path so we didn't feel the need to carry much with us at once. I was probably dehydrated though. Oh also I’m an idiot and before we left Kathmandu I emptied my contact case to put fresh fluid in, and didn’t realize I dumped my lenses out with the fluid. So I didn't have my contacts for the whole trek, luckily I had my glasses but that was a real blonde moment.

The couple at the guesthouse, Ganesh View, was adorable and so friendly. We ate an insane amount of Dhal Baat and had some goofy times.

The more I understand love,

The more I understand what it means, how it feels,

The more I realize I am truly in love with the mountains.

The butterflies are the same as when

I am in love with someone.

Day 3 - Dec. 22

We were off early and the couple gifted us some prayer scarves for good luck and also a lemon. We hiked down from Thulo Syabru through monkey-infested trees, up to a tiny village called Bamboo, and on to Lama Hotel. We stopped at a random little shack and I bought my first piece of jewelry, a little ring, and a hand-woven belt made by the woman. I had some fried rice in Bamboo that was literally just rice in oil—noted that “veg” fried rice is an important distinction to make. The hiking next to the Langtang River in the valley was serene and there were only a few other groups, as it was during the colder off-season. We stayed in a basic accommodation in Lama Hotel and the walls were so thin that I’m pretty sure if the guy on the other side of my wall had farted I would have smelled it. Also the further we went up, the more watery the Dhal Baat was getting. But the atmosphere in the common room at this house was quite cozy and we had a nice time chatting with the other guests and their guides. Overall most of the other trekkers had guides and porters.

Day 4 - Dec. 23

Woke up at 7 AM and had some tsampa porridge (Tibetan flour-ish meal) and started hiking up to Langtang. We stopped to get hot water and make some instant coffee, and the guy working there was our age and managed the house all alone, his name means “baby moon." Then we had lunch at a very nice spot and chatted with a woman from the UK. We kept walking, saw more monkeys that we were sure were going to eat Flore, and stopped for yak milk from an iconic old man. We told him we would stay with him when we came back and asked him if he would be able to make us dinner. He excitedly showed us a bag of saggy potatoes and a questionable half cabbage, but his enthusiasm was adorable and we thought “why not”.

That night we stopped at the village before Langtang because a charming Tibetan woman convinced us to, and I’m happy to support the lesser-known houses. Hers was called Hotel View Point and was only 30 minutes shy of our destination, and she offered us free accommodation and a hot solar shower. The heat didn’t work when I tried after Flore, but I think I just didn’t let the water run long enough. But I’d already committed my mind to not having a shower for two weeks, so I didn’t mind. It almost would have felt like cheating?

Her Dhal Baat was spectacular and we made nice conversations with the German women there too, and the host had us make a TikTok with her. It was hilarious and unfortunately I don’t have TikTok so I can’t see the video. Before going to bed Flore asked her for hot water and she said “why not!.... coconut!!” and I heard an explosion of laughter from the hallway. They love their rhymes here. In Kathmandu you can buy shirts that say “Dhal Baat power, 24 hour!” The German girls were so friendly and we resolved to meet the next night to spend Christmas together. We went to bed early in our cozy little room.

The numbness in my fingers is fading

My cheeks are toasting

Slowly, my toes unfurl

And the heat unzips my jacket.

My hat will start to cook my head

And the numbness to comfort

With a belly full of Dhal and Baat

I will cozy myself to sleep.

Day 5 - Dec. 24

We were up with the sun and had some Tibetan bread and went off to Kyanjin Gumpa, situated at 3800 m. On our way we stopped at a beautiful stupa and then got a bit off trail and had to bushwhack back to the trail, popping out of the bushes and surprising some Nepalese trekkers. We arrived at Moonlight View guesthouse around lunch and realized it was going to be a bit of a rip-off but at that point we were committed. The other girls arrived and we sang some Christmas songs around the fire. For Christmas Flore gave me a ring that she had ever-so-thoughtfully noticed me eyeing in Kathmandu and had gone back to get it for me! Was so sweet of her. And I’d carried for her...drumroll... a Toblerone. We had some coffee and it snowed! and I had some soup while the others ate amazing yak-cheese pasta. For dinner of course a Dhal Baat. The German girl, Malin, was asking me if it was good and I said so-so (even waterier than the last, and lots of gritty sandy crunches) and noticed the woman in the kitchen looking at me and gave her two big thumbs up and said “derei mitcho tcha!” -- very delicious! Flore and I watched “The Snowman," an adorable and beautiful animation from the 80s, and we went to bed early.

Day 6 - Dec. 25

Despite the snow from the day before and the clouds in the morning, we decided to try for Tserko Ri, a peak just short of 5000 m (16500ft). We started hiking at 7:15 and slowly made our way to 4500 m (14400 ft), where a ground of Nepalese guys told us it was too slippery and we shouldn’t go up. We decided to see for ourselves (and we’re not the type to listen to weenie men) and when we arrived at the spot where their tracks turned around we decided it wasn’t so bad. So, each with one walking pole and no crampons, we started our way up the boulder field. We quickly discovered thick, glacial ice and to be honest it wasn’t the best idea, but it wasn’t too exposed so even if we slipped there’s no way it could have been deadly. We were going slowly and cautiously and maybe an hour later we made it to the top! Just in time for it to start snowing. But winds were high so we waited ten minutes and the view cleared, it was breathtaking. Even though it was the highest I’ve been in my life, it felt like we were so low compared to the sharp peaks towering at 7000 m. We danced and hollered and ran out of breath and listened to the flapping of the flags. We were all alone up there. The view of the Langtang glacier was spectacular and we kept laughing because when we crossed a grumpy old Swiss man on our way up the day before, we asked how it was and all he had to say was “We went to the glacier. It shrunk.” Maybe it shrunk but it was still beautiful. Made me wonder if it would be gone in the next twenty years with the way things are going. Who knows.

Eventually we started on our way down from the backside in the sun and sheltered from the wind and it was so pleasant to be off the ice. Until we ended up on the wrong trail and it felt like we were walking on an edge just big enough for our feet and if we slipped we’d fall off the cliff. And then it actually got worse and we were walking on a knife's edge ridge with absurd wind. At that point I started to butt slide down the mountain in the grass to avoid all the ridginess and we were getting really tired. But we decided it was best to stick together, and just then the trail went back to the original one and everything got a lot easier. We were back in Kyanjin Gumpa at 16:00, nine hours after we started. It was frustrating because the ascent only took us three hours, and then the descent took five (with an hour of shenanigans at the summit). That’s not how it’s supposed to work!!!! But then we ate a huge plate of chow Mein and slumped over with satisfied exhaustion. I called my momma for a bit to say Merry Christler and then went to bed. We were exhausted. What an incredible way to spend my first Christmas away from family! I thought it would be lonelier, but it was comforting to be with others going through the same thing and we were in such a different environment that it didn’t feel too weird.

Day 7 - Dec. 26

We had some porridge and started back to Lama Hotel. We were quite low on cash, having only exactly what we needed to get back to Syapru Besi instead of continuing our trek. So we decided to climb all the way down to Syapru Besi to find an ATM and then go back up to Thulo Syabru before continuing up around and down to Kathmandu. We thus had to skip the old yak milk man and keep going, which I felt guilty about since we’d told him we would come back and stay the night; my integrity was screaming at me. But we simply didn’t have the means. Then a man said to come to his guesthouse in Lama, so we followed him and his horse back down. Of course we stopped again to have a coffee with Baby Moon and had a Snickers too. Was blissful. Best Snickers of my life.

We went to Jungle View guest house with the horse guy. It was so rickety it felt like it was going to fall apart, and the toilet on the 2nd floor looked like it was about to detach from the building. But he was so sweet. We were the only ones there and we ordered an obscene amount of food: soup, potatoes, pasta, apple “pie” aka a sort of fritter, hot chocolate. On the back of our map we drew our plan for a dream café/bar which we will surely realize in 20 years.

Day 8 - Dec. 27

We started down to Syapru Besi, but then in Bamboo we stopped for some hot water and met an amazing Tibetan woman who told us not to bother and that if we came directly to her sister’s lodge in Thulo Syabru she would lend us the money and we could pay her back in Kathmandu. Her faith and trust in two strangers was remarkable. On our way to Thulo Syabru one of her workers followed us and kept hitting on us and asking if we were dating. Then in the village he told us to keep our distance or he would get beat up by the locals.

We felt super uncomfy but he led us to Yak Hotel, which was refreshingly clean and nice and we ate a HUGE Dhal Baat. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten so much in my life. Everything was so good, with local vegetables and a delicious sauce. Then I took a lukewarm shower! Woohoo! We watched Howl’s Moving Castle and ate some more chow Mein and went to bed. I did a bunch of yoga too cause my lower back was unhappy, reinjured from when I was chopping wood in Mongolia months ago.

Day 9 - Dec. 28

We got going after some porridge with apples and went to the Ganesh View to say hi to our Tibetan parents from our first day. We had a great coffee, bought some provisions (a snickers and a mars bar), and they offered us another tea. They were so sweet, and we gave them some kiwis we bought the day before and Flore gave them incense from Tibet.

We walked at different paces up to Shin Gumpa for lunch, and I only got lost once! I think this was the cutest town we’d seen so far, and we had a great fried rice. Then we walked up to Chyolang Pati, had our permits checked (suddenly we were glad we ended up buying them) and sped up to Lauribina. I was stoked to find a cozy hut with a bunch of dudes, some music, and A GUITAR! Flore made it up right as it started snowing, and we settled in at 4000 m. We sat around the fire and played music and chatted with everyone and this Nepalese dad sang Country Roads with me, it was terrible and somehow he knew the song better than I did. We then danced with a bunch of the hut-men and they gave us Nepalese names. Flore was Biswo Sundari (world beauty) and I was Pari (fairy). They force-fed us Rakshi (Nepal mountain moonshine) and we did a wedding dance, singing about how love was forever.

“This is heaven!” – Dawa Dindu Lama

In fact, many would not call a freezing rickety hut at 14,000 ft heaven. But it was. Does it get better than dancing and laughing in good company in the mountains?

Day 10 - Dec. 29

In the morning we hiked to 4400 m to Gosaikunda to cross the pass. But when we got there I started to have a bad feeling about it, weather was coming in and we were already low on money again and we wanted to make it back to Kathmandu to party for New Years. Also a guy from the hut told us to take his cat with us because it's too cold for the cat up there. We almost did. It was a cute cat. Alas, we had lunch and turned around (catless) and did 2500 m straight of descent (8250 ft). It was brutal on the knees. We made it back to Dhunche just as night fell and it was relieving to say the least. We ate a ton of food but were still hungry, so we ordered more. But the guy thought we meant to order for tomorrow morning and went to bed. We had to ask three other people before they understood we wanted more food NOW. Terribly awkward. We eat a lot, sorry about it. We finally got more food and then went across the street to a bakery and stuffed our pie holes with delicious, gross cake and donuts. We finished Howl’s Moving Castle and went to bed, although we stayed up late to try and prepare ourselves for New Years.

Day 11 - Dec. 30

We got a spot on the main public bus and loaded in. Halfway to Kathmandu I had to pee so bad, so Flore and I went to ask a woman selling food at the next stop if we could quickly use the toilet. She said yes—if we bought something. When I came back up I was debating between buying Sprite or Fanta, and she put two hard boiled eggs in my hand and through a toothless smile said “100 Rupees!” I panicked and bought the eggs and came back on the bus to a hysterical Flore, who watched it all go down. I bought the eggs and therefore I felt obliged to eat one. Immediately my stomach started to hurt and I prayed I wouldn’t get food poisoning on this rickety bus. Lesson learned, quoted from the marvelous Gaby Lemieux, “Oh my god honey you don’t have to, never eat a bus egg you don’t want to eat.” Always listen to Gaby.

We finally made it back to Kathmandu and went to find lunch and spoil ourselves silly. We ordered salads for the freshness, and they came with a plate of naked chopped radishes and onions and cucumbers. Ok. So we ordered some Penne Arrabiatta and the spice made us choke on our tears. So we thought “surely they can’t mess up an affogato.” We asked them to make sure, what is an affogato, and they said oh duh it’s coffee and ice cream. Satisfied by their confirmation, we ordered two, and they came out with a scoop of strawberry drowning in cold coffee. It was the kind of disappointment you can only laugh about. We made our way back to Maya’s guest house and my stomach was feeling all sorts of ways so I skipped dinner and slept until the morning. Darn that egg. Was feeling better-ish the next day, just in time-ish for New Years.

All in all the trek was incredible, with views I couldn't have conjured in dreams, and people whose warmth was infectious. It was my first time around Tibetan culture and these people are so kind, colorful, expressive, and humble. I was grateful for Flore’s companionship, and I couldn't think of a better way for us to both spend our first holiday season away from home.

Abbreviated Itinerary:

Bring about 3000 NPR per day to be safe. Usually it will be closer to 1500 but the higher you go the more it costs. If you are 1-2 people and take several meals in the same guesthouse it's not uncommon to have free accommodation but you have to ask, and don't be a bumhole about it if they say no. When we had free accommodation we made sure to eat enough to make it worth their while. We were there during the off-season so there was plenty of availability in the teahouses, but if you go during the high-season I've heard you have to book ahead of time. Bring a sleeping bag. I have a 15 degree (F) Big Agnes bag and was plenty warm. They also have blankets in the guesthouses. You can pay for Wi-Fi in almost every guesthouse, and likely won't have service.

Day	Goal	Elevation Gain (m)	Walk Time (hrs)	Lodge
1	Dhunche to Thulo Syabru	~600	6 hrs	Ganesh View
2	Thulo Syabru to Lama Hotel	~1000	8 hrs	Lama Guest House
3	Lama Hotel to Langtang	1100	5.5 hrs	Hotel Viewpoint
4	Langtang to Kyanjin Gumpa	400	3.5 hrs	Moonlight View
5	Kyanjin Gumpa to Tserko Ri to Kyanjin Gumpa	1200	7-9	Hotel Viewpoint
6	Kyanjin Gumpa to Lama Hotel	-1420	6	Jungle View
7	Lama Hotel to Thulo Syabru	+400/-580	5.5	Yak Hotel
8	Thulo Syabru to Lauribina	1500	6-7	Maya Hotel and Lodge
9	Lauribina to Gosaikunda Dhunche	+400/-2500	10	Hotel Ki Yang
!!	IF YOU DON'T RUN OUT OF MONEY KEEP WALKIN TO KATHMANDU	:)	:(	:/
11	Lauribina to Lubrina La Pass to Ghopte	+500/-1200	5	The first lodge you come across
12	Gopte to Kutumsang	+360/-1050	5.5	IDK
13	Kutumsang to Chisapani	+910/-1215	6	IDK
14	Chisapani to Kathmandu	IDK	IDK	Depends on if you walk back or hire a jeep

2 opmerkingen

Wondervu

27 jan

May I say first that Flore is a beautiful and (clearly!) energetic companion for these adventures. She seems marvelous! And secondly, I suddenly view my 14 mile trek on the Dingle peninsula as such small potatoes, although I will be proud forever of that adventure, grateful to you for your kind deceptions "I think we're almost there!" and a wee bit embarrassed as I cried once my ass hit the back seat of a car, and the arms and kind words of my two favorite amazing young friends were comforting me. So I look at your trekking and mega-trekking and uber-fucking- trekking with the greatest admiration. You are a marvel! Can't wait to to hug you and hear some st…

Gast

14 jan

Love getting these and reading about your adventures Stella. Keep it up! and stay safe x