Difficulty
Hard
Duration
20Days
Max Elevation
5000m at Makalu Base Camp
Group Size
2-8
Accommodation
Teahouse/Camping Tent
Transportation
Private Vehicle
Start / End
Kathmandu/ Kathmandu
On arrival at Kathmandu Tribhuvan International Airport, you will be greeted by our staff, who will escort you to the hotel, where our Sherpa guide or the office staff will give you a brief orientation about the hotel, Kathmandu itself, trekking, and the do's and don’ts of the area. They will also review any additional information that you might require while in Nepal, including an overview of the next day's sightseeing tour. In the evening, you will enjoy a complimentary welcome dinner at one of the finest traditional Nepalese restaurants in Kathmandu, with the necessary transfer to and from the hotel by taxi, bus. Overnight in Hotel
Max Altitude: 1300m/ 4265 ft
After your breakfast, you will precede to Kathmandu Durbar Square, where you will tour the ancient palace, the temple of the Kumari, the living goddess of Nepal, Hanuman Dhoka, and Kasthamandav Temple with a guide knowledgeable about Nepalese history, architecture, and religion. From there, you will proceed by taxi, bus to the Buddhist site, Swoyambhunath Stupa, also known as the "Monkey Temple" because of its lively troops of resident monkeys. You will then visit Pashupatinath Temple, the holiest shrine for Hindus, situated on the banks of the holy Bagmati River, a popular cremation site. Before returning to the hotel, you will visit Boudhnath Stupa, a Buddhist pilgrimage center and home to many colorful gompas, or monasteries. Once back at the hotel, you will receive a briefing about the trek and have a chance to meet your guides and ask any last minute questions before tomorrow morning's departure. Overnight in Hotel
Max Altitude: 1300m/ 4265 ft
After an early breakfast, we will take a bus to the domestic terminal of Kathmandu Airport for the 50 minute scenic flight to Tumlingtar, overlooking a vast range of snow capped peaks from Lang tang all the way to Mt. Everest, Makalu & Mt. Kanchenjunga. Tumlingtar airport and its village township is located on a shelf above the Arun River, walk across to meet our trek crew beside the airstrip. Clearly visible and far off to the north, the white peak of Makalu. Once we land we’ll drive to Chilchile following a bumpy road for about three hours. Overnight at tented camp
Max Altitude: 1840m/ 6036 ft
Duration: 03 Hrs
In the clear dawn have a good view of Makalu and its satellite peaks, from this magical spot of Chilchila, perched high above the surrounding countryside. The walk to Num leads us through the cool and serene forest of rhododendron, oak trees and hemlocks, as we climb to the ridge top. From the ridge top it is almost downhill for two hours to the overnight camp at Num. Num a small village with about fifteen houses and a primary school on a large flat ground, from where we have good view of our route for the next couple of days. Opposite, across the Arun River, is the village of Seduwa, our camping place for the next day. Overnight at tented camp
Max Altitude: 1500m/ 4921 ft
Duration: 06 Hrs
From Num, the path leads down the incredibly steep and terraced slopes towards the Arun River, nearly 800 meters below. The lower slopes of this narrow valley are densely forested and the paths are quite slippery, after reaching the bottom, we cross the suspension bridge across the torrential Arun River, at the height of 670 meters, which starts the climb back out of the rain forest, reaching to the lunch place at Runruma. After lunch, we will take a steep climb and head towards Sedua; a village with a small health post and a primary school. Overnight at tented camp
Max Altitude: 1493m/ 4898 ft
Duration: 06 Hrs
The trek to Tashigaon is a short walk of three to four hours, where is plausible to set up lunch and camp on the same spot. Today, leads to more rural farm villages, on the gradual trail through the terraces, as the trek nears to Tashigaon; it's an uphill climb for an hour through the millet and rice fields. Tashigaon is a Sherpa village, unlike the Sherpa of Everest, they are bit different in the way they live in, the dress and the style of houses. After being settled in the low, warmer areas they are engaged more in agriculture and cattle industry. In the afternoon, you'll have time to wander around and acquaint yourself with the village. Overnight at tented camp
Max Altitude: 2070m/ 6791 ft
Duration: 05 Hrs
Tashigaon is the last village on-route to Makalu basin, after this village the walk is refreshing for an hour and a half in the beautiful shade of the rhododendron and oaks forest. At which point we will leave the dense forest and arrive into summer pastures with traces of temporary made shepherd huts. From here onwards to Kohma ridge is a strenuous uphill climb, as the tree lines declines for the bushes of rhododendron and juniper. After the climb, we come up to the open area of Kohma for the overnight camp. From this spot a grand view of the far landscapes with the 3rd highest mountain Kanchenjunga, are well in view towards the North East and Mt. Makalu towards North West. From here onwards you can feel the cold chill of the Himalayas. Overnight at tented camp
Max Altitude: 3560m/ 11679 ft
Duration: 06 Hrs
With the wonderful morning and the superb views of the surrounding landscapes and snow capped peaks, our trek follows a gradual trail with few ups and down as the walk passes through the Thulo Pokhari (big pond) and Sano Pokhari(small pond). In the very heavy snow, the path from here can be misleading, and it will be arduous task to find the trail at times. After the last pond, we cross the pass of Tutu-la at 4,075m. From here onwards it is all downhill back to vegetation, as the day trek ends we set up camp at Mumbuk, in a small clearing place for camping in the middle of the woods of pines, hemlock, birch and rhododendrons. This area provides nostalgic felling of truly being in the wild. Overnight at tented camp
Max Altitude: 3,400m/ 11154 ft
Duration: 6 Hrs
Due to the camp being in the dense shade of the tree line; the view of the Khumbakarna can be seen through the vegetation. The walk from here is downhill to the enclosed and concealed Barun Valley, one of the least explored areas in the eastern Himalayan region of Nepal. This unique landscapes within the Makalu-Barun National Park are some 3,000 species of flowering plants, 440 bird species, and 75 species of mammals, including the endangers clouded leopard, red panda and musk deer. The remarkable bio-diversity is considered to be of global significance, and provides a living laboratory for international scientific research. As we reach the lush alpine area of Barun Valley the walk is very pleasant with only gradual uphill slopes, the trail follows the Barun River upstream on the valley gorge towards the place for the overnight camp at Nehe-Kharka, which is one of the summer pastures for the local people of Tashi and Navagoan. Overnight at tented camp
Max Altitude: 3750m/ 12303 ft
Duration: 06 Hrs
A little beyond the camp, we will cross the Barun river by way of couple of wooden bridges, which make use of conveniently situated boulders. There is a large prayer wall located at Ramara, and after 2-3 hours walk, from here the vegetation gets sparse, although the rhododendron, barberries, and juniper bushes persist for some time. This is a lovely day's walk, through the high alpine. As the walk come nearer to Sherson, with a good view of the lower Barun glacier and the towering majestic Mt. Makalu. Sherson is also the lower base camp of Mt. Makalu. There are number of stone enclosures at this high grazing ground with outstanding view of host of peaks, including the upper part of Makalu south face, and Mt. Baruntse 7,220m towering its head above peak 4. Overnight at tented camp
Max Altitude: 4,600m/ 15091 ft
Duration: 6 Hrs
We will hike to Makalu Base Camp after many days of acclimatization from the starting of the journey. We’ll enjoy Base Camp with the superb views of the Himalayan Mountains throughout the day. Return back to Shersong. Overnight at tented camp
Max Altitude: 5000m/ 16404 ft
Duration: 06 Hrs
We’ll descend back down the valley and take our last glimpse of Makalu before turning the corner and eventually reaching Yangle Kharka. Overnight at tented camp
Max Altitude: 3600m/ 11811 ft
Duration: 05 Hrs
Today we’ll be continuing with our descent through the rock fall, then climb up the rock gully to Mumbuk. We will be again greeted by the greeneries below. Overnight at tented camp
Max Altitude: 3550m/ 11646 ft
Duration: 06 Hrs
Today we’ll retrace the journey back to Kohma Danda (ridge) via Shipton-la and Thulo Pokhari for the overnight camp. Overnight at tented camp
Max Altitude: 3560m/ 11679 ft
Duration: 06 Hrs
Today, we will continually descend down to Tashigaon. The descent will be a long and steep one. We cut across the hillside to eventually reach the Sherpa town of Tashigaon. Overnight at tented camp
Max Altitude: 2070m/ 6791 ft
Duration: 06 Hrs
It’s another day to retrace the same path that we came by. We exit the Makalu Barun Camp. Descend down to Arun Khola and Seduwa again. Then we hike through the forest to Num. We follow our footsteps all the way back down to the river. Climb back up the opposite side of the valley to Num. Overnight at tented camp
Max Altitude: 1500m/ 4921 ft
Duration: 05 Hrs
Again we retrace our steps to Chichila. The final return leg of the trek will see us overnight at Tumlingtar, ready for an early departure to Kathmandu the following day. Transfer to Tumlingtar. Overnight at tented camp
Max Altitude: 1840m/ 6036 ft
This morning can be at leisure, depending upon the schedule flight time, sometime the flight time can be delayed due to bad weather and other reason beyond our control. After obtaining a boarding pass, we make our way to the terminal for security check; the flight from Tumlingtar to Kathmandu takes less than an hour. This panoramic flights offers view of the snow capped mountains that are visible from window of the plane. Arriving at Kathmandu domestic terminal, one of our tour officers will be waiting to receive and escort you back to the Hotel.
Max Altitude: 1300m/ 4265 ft
This is a free day in Kathmandu. But do not hesitate to let our staff or tour officers know if you would like to go on another short tour in and around Kathmandu Valley or for scenic mountain flight, or even hot air ballooning. Overnight in Hotel
Max Altitude: 1300m/ 4265 ft
Keep the departure time of international flight in mind, and make sure to keep your confirmed air ticket and passport handy! Our staff will take you to the airport for your final departure from beautiful Nepal.
