Helambu, Langtang and Tamang Heritage Trail

So we packed up our bags ready to start our trek. We decided to leave the tent and all our usual camping paraphernalia behind in the good ole 'Hotel Festoon in KTM, so that we could experience the delights of 'tea house' trekking, and be unencumbered by all the extra weight that camping entails.  However, to be honest, as I hoisted the bag on my bag, I can truly say it didn’t feel much lighter at all. Maybe I should have left that box of wine behind……..(incidentally we think we may have purchased the wine in Kenya, so it is very well travelled box and frankly very lucky not to be drunk a very long time ago. In the end it travelled up over the high pass and was consumed eventually somewhere in the Langtang Valley).

One of the (many) excellent things about this combination of treks in that you can start  by walking out of Kathmandu (though in real terms you wouldn't because traffic is absolutely mad). So just a 15 minute taxi ride to Sundarajil saw us at the beginning of the Helambu route and ready to start walking- simple as that! The first day was up, up, up…..through jungle and forest and then onto beautifully manicured farmland terraces, which were so perfectly fitted to the mountains that they looked like 3 dimensional contour lines on a map.  The weather was pretty much perfect for the first part of the day, and feeling good, we pushed on a from the first big (this is a relative adjective!) village, to a smaller one a few hours away. Perhaps this was a little optimistic of us; the weather quickly changed in the afternoon and we arrived at Patibanyang in pouring rain and after getting totally lost!

Terraces

I wasn’t expecting too much from the ‘tea house’ accommodation, though perhaps my hopes were slightly elevated by James waxing lyrically about sitting in the sunshine on incredible balconies with dramatic views, or drinking warming cups of tea around cosy fire places. The first night was definitely not like that. Let’s just say that the first was the worst (thank goodness!) and that plastic sheeting does not a good roof make- though it does mean that you are completely aware of the mice that are having a party in  your ‘room’ at midnight.  Fortunately things improved significantly from there on in and there were many, many cosy fireplaces and sunny balconies with incredible views. ....and hardly any more mice! To even things out, though it may have been the worst place to stay, the first night did have the best ‘Dahl Bhat’,the Nepali staple of rice, 2 types of curry, lentil soup, pickle and a poppadom (if you are lucky).

The next few days were more up, up up, though sometime a bit of frustrating down, down down when you knew you should be gaining altitude; you just knew you would have to do double the up! The weather wasn’t brilliant those first few days- swirling cloud, sometimes breaking to reveal gorgeous greenery, villages clinging to ridges, or as we got higher, snow clad mountain caps. It was like being at the top of the magic faraway tree (sorry obscure Enid Blyton reference for those who were bookish geeks like me as children), getting glimpses of exotic lands, but having them move on all too quickly.  Then we started to run into people with terrible tales of the ‘impassable’ Laurebina pass, which was buried in metres of snow, and people who were turning around because they had suffered a week of non stop rain. We weren't too worried; the pattern of getting up early and trying to stop by 2pm before the rain set in was working pretty well for us. We got up early on the day we were heading over the pass, and the weather was crystal clear and, over night, a dusting of snow had settled over everything making it look all sparkly and magical. It also obscured the path on the way, though luckily we found the foot steps in the snow of  a couple of people who had gotten up even earlier than us. The weather that day was absolutely perfect and we had stunning views as far as the eye could see. 


Over the top at Laurebina pass and looking down to Gosainkund

From there on in, and for the next two weeks, the weather was clear and perfect. I think I may have said 'this is the most beautiful place I have ever seen' about 100 times in the last couple of weeks (actually  more according to James) The pics below do it more justice that I can in words.

 

Heading down to Gosainkund

Lakes at Gosainkund...note the fashionable 'trousers tucked in socks' look that I  am sporting!

Lunch stop!

Million dollar view from a two dollar room!



So down we headed from 4610 meters past the sacred lakes at Gosainkund, an incredible trio which spilled into one another with magical waterfalls. We would have loved to have stayed longer in this beautiful place, but our heads were splitting and we were beginning to feel the effects of altitude, so we headed further down for the night, where we fell asleep freezing, but awoke to the most stunnng view from the window.  We continued down and joined the Langtang Valley trekking route, which was noticeably more busy that Helambu- we had seen very few people heading in our direction except for a group of French ‘oldies’ (they called us ‘the youths’ which was highly amusing and incorrect!) , and a handful of people going the opposite way. Once we hit the Langtang route there was however a proliferation of pretty plush tea houses with hot showers.....a treat and needed!



In the Langtang Valley

It was then up the valley, imperceptibly and gently gaining altitude again, until all of a sudden we reached Kyanjin Gumpa , which was surrounded by snow capped peaks and the looming ‘Langtang Lirung’.We had a couple of excellent days walking further up the valley and climbing up to one of the peaks. When not walking we were scoffing cakes and apple pie in a really excellent bakery, which was quite literally in the middle of nowhere.

Prayer walls

Yak!!

Top of Langtang Valley form Kanjin Gumpa

Valley lake

Along the valley from Kyanjin Gumpa

Strolling in the valley- no up hills that day, but we did walk 17kms on our 'day off'!

On the way up to Kyanjin Ri

Heading up still!!!

Panorama from Kyanjin Ri

At the top of Kyanjin Ri- 4600 meters......bit tired!

James- catalogue pose- no eye contact with the camera....apparently it looks better!

Amazing ridge walk down from Kyanjin Ri

On the way back down the valley, we stayed at our favourite place of the whole trek ‘TipTop Lodge’. A gorgeous family run it- the kids entertained us into the night with their ‘magic tricks’. They even had real coffee( a treat – we had been drinking a lot of tea) and Tibetan bread with pesto and yak cheese for breakfast which was a yummy break from the ubiquitous omelet. We then linked up with the Tamang Heritage Trail, and the scenery remained just as beautiful, but once again we were a bit more off the beaten track- it was quieter and there were gorgeous  stone and timber villages, with the Tamang people going about there everyday business, rather than everyone being in the tea house business as on the Langtang route.

Houses in Thuman on the Tamang Heritage Trail

Nagthali

Langtang Lirung- from the other side



Chorton in the fields near Gatlang





It was with a bit of sadness that we actually found ourselves finished, and a bit ahead of our planned schedule thanks to our new found ability to race up the ascents- our descent times are not improving however! So here we are in Kathmandu, where eating a massive steak or a massive pizza (no meat at all the past 3 weeks!) is high on our list of priorities, as well as getting washing done. And lucky us we will be heading to Pokhara tomorrow where the Annapurna’s await. It doesn’t get much better!