Langtang Valley Trek – One Of The World’s Most Beautiful Valleys

You arrive in Kathmandu.

You have the second day to spare while the provider arranges things. Kathmandu is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so you could use the time to explore some the incredible local sites. Or you could do some last minute shopping around the markets.

Leaving early in the morning, you embark upon a seven-hour drive to Syabrubesi at the bottom of the Langtang Valley, the valley of glaciers. The second half is unpaved and the drive becomes quite rough. You might share a bus with goats and chickens. Sometimes, during the rainy season, the road is blocked by landslides. The route is dazzling, passing through high ridges and with a marvellous panorama of the Himalayas that includes the Annapurnas, Ganesh Himal, Manaslu and the peaks of the Langtang range. There are many waterfalls and wild bee hives. You could also potentially see yellow-throated martins, Himalayan black bears or red pandas, which are endangered. There will certainly be no shortage of monkeys.

Here the trek begins proper. The trail takes you across the Bhote Kosi, which emanates from Tibet and lies in a deep gorge. You then climb through sub-tropical forests that teem with bird life, connecting to the trail from Syabru. One of these birds is the danphe, which is colourful bird and the national bird of Nepal. You follow the river, ascending through uninhabited forests of oak and rhododendron, catching sight of langur monkeys if fortune smiles upon you. Vegetation becomes sparser as you go. You camp in a forest.

This day sees more climbing, with the occasional glimpse of Langtang Lirung visible through the trees. The trail leaves the forest at Ghora Tabela, now a Nepalese army post. The trail climbs comfortably and the valley grows wider. In summer, you will pass the temporary settlements of herders whose livestock grazes here. There are numerous chortens and mani walls, structures featuring inscriptions. In Tintin in Tibet, Captain Haddock was informed that you should always walk to the left of a chorten or demons will be released, but this was an invention of the author, so there is no cause for worry. Shortly before the village of Langtang, there is a monastery for your delectation. The village is the headquarters of the Langtang National Park, which opened in 1976, the first in the Himalayas and the most unspoiled in Nepal. Houses there are of Tibetan style, with flat roofs and surrounded by stone walls.

You climb slowly through small villages and yak pastures. The valley opens, allowing for even better views. Having crossed a few small streams and moraines (patches of dirt or rock), before lunchtime, the trail arrives at the settlement of Kyangjin. Here there are facilities for the production of spiritual fulfilment and cheese: a small monastery and a famous government-owned factory. The factory makes Swiss cheese from yak milk and is supported by the Swiss government. Really, it should be called nak milk, as that is the female. This is just a small, three-roomed building, but it churns out prodigious quantities of cheese in summer. The snow-covered peaks in every direction make this spot very dramatic and beautiful.

This is a rest day you will probably use to explore. The glaciers of Langtang Lirung are sensational. You could even summit Kyangjin Ri (14,209 feet), known locally as Brana Chumbo, which is immediately behind the village and provides a breathtaking 360-degree view of the Langtang peaks.

You retrace your route towards Langtang village. The trail heads is down hill through forest following the river. You pass through ethnic Tamang settlements who strictly follow religious and cultural  practices similar to that of the Tibetans.

You continue the return journey, finishing at Syabrubesi. This is roughly a 5 hour walk and the easy trail goes mostly downhill through lush green vegetation.