Hello friends, in this article I am going to tell you about the experiences of my first Trek of Langtang National Park (also spells as Lamtang). Langtang Valley Trek is one of the finest and most underrated treks in Nepal. I, Rohit Lamichhane, had visited this place with my friends during the monsoon season in July. This trek has been the wonderful trek of my life and I have experienced so many ups and downs at this trek. Along with the experiences I will also guide you with the itinerary for this trek all inclusive of how and when to conquer this trek.

About this Trek

Langtang National Park is located in the north-central region of Nepal. It flows with the Trishuli and Langtang river with beautiful landscapes and is drastically covered by the adorable sounds and chirpings of the local birds situated there and downward flowing Langtang Khola. Langtang is located in Rasuwa district which is around 130 km from Kathmandu. This area is near to the Kailash Trek also. Langtang is also adorable for its culture and hospitality. The great Tibetan and Buddhist culture followed there make the people of Langtang and the place itself, unique and wonderful. Total distance of this Trek is about 60 km both ways.

Six Day Trek Guide    

Day 1 : Take an early bus from Kathmandu to Syabrubesi. Trek for at least 1 hour or more to reach up to Bob Marley Guest House.(Prefer Timure Travels)

Day 2 : Start from Bob Marley to Ghoda Tabela while having lunch at Lama Hotel.

Day 3 : Trek from GhodaTabela to Kyanjin Gompa while having lunch at the beautiful Langtang Valley.

Day 4 : Trek early to the Kyanjin Ri viewpoint to watch the view of the Langtang Mountains. Then head back to the Lama Hotel for Night stay.

Day 5 :  Head back to the Syabrubesi for the fifth night as no vehicles will go back to Kathmandu after 1 PM.

Day 6 : Take a bus from Syabrubesi to Kathmandu.  

Things to take compulsorily on this Trek

• First Aid Kits including bandage and moov spray
• Medicines for Altitude sickness, Paracetamols, common colds and your regular used medicines
• Salt for Leeches
• Raincoat
• Trekking bag with rain cover
• Slippers
• Trekking stick
• Pocket games
• Water bottle
• Snacks

What is the best time for this Trek?

For most of the Trek, the best seasons are October to December i.e. before winter and March to June for Summer. It was also the same for Langtang Valley Trek. However, we conquered this Trek in the first half of July which was the monsoon season due to which it was risky also. So if possible, prefer Trekking as per the seasons to avoid mishappenings. 

Cost of this Trek for us

We, individually, incurred about Rs. 8,500 for all 6 days. We collected an equal amount of money from all and used that for all the expenses in between. The cost was so less as it was the off-season Trek. During the Seasons, cost may go up above by Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 4,000 for Nepalese Travelers. Foreign Nationals will be charged accordingly as per the menus written which might be a bit expensive.

Our Experiences

We, a group of four friends, were eager to go on Trek but it was the month of July which is a rainy season of course. We all were searching for the Trek for the monsoon as our pre-planned Trekking spots were too risky to conquer, but couldn’t find any. So we head up to ChatGPT for suggestions. After digging for half an hour inside, it suggested us about the Langtang Valley Trek which we were completely unaware of before. And we called at the Lama Hotel ( name of Place) to know about the weather there and they suggested it is rainy but we can do Trek asap.

Later we decided to go on this Trek and reached the Capital City of Nepal, Kathmandu. We were heading tomorrow but we bought the Bus tickets for Syabrubesi one day before to occupy the seats and go comfortably. So finally as per the timing we reached the bus stop and catched the bus. Now, I will write on day wise details for you all to plan accordingly for this Trek.

Day 1: Kathmandu to Syabrubesi

 After taking a bus from Kathmandu, we were heading towards Syabrubesi. The way is so thrilling as its size is too small for the bus which we were going and yet it is a two way road. But simultaneously we started loving our journey as the weather we saw was too good and the view of Hills of Rasuwa with Trishuli flowing beneath is what blows our minds and hearts. We were above the clouds and our bus experience was the same as a plane. The journey of the Trek is uploaded in my Instagram and Youtube,  you can check it there. 

At around 3 PM we reached Syabrubesi which is the Trek starting point. We bought some snacks from there and headed towards our journey of Trek. We reached there early so we planned to trek for some forward way on day 1 and we walked for one hour and headed up to the wonderful place, Hotel Bob Marley and decided to stay there tonight. Fun fact is after walking for 5 min upwards there, it started raining and we enjoyed ourselves.

While staying at Bob Marley we encountered something which its name itself has suggested. As we got wet earlier, we decided to have hot noodles with eggs and that was literally delicious. We booked two rooms there and had our first day’s dinner at night of course. Very important thing is that we have taken Play Cards for enjoyment and we played several card games. After dinner we felt sleepy as that was our first day and had a lot of food too I guess.

Trivia: The Bob Marley guest house is surrounded by the weeds and we have to cross a bridge over the river to reach there. The sound of the river flowing is so satisfying and yet frightening for beginners.

Day 2 : Bob Marley to Riverside 

We woke up early and got ready for today’s thrill and we started our Trek around 7 a.m. As soon as we crossed Domen and the rain started again and we put on our raincoats and stayed headed towards our journey. We started amusing ourselves with the view we were looking through our bare eyes which no camera could record. Around 10 a.m we reached Bamboo and had breakfast there. We asked them to make Thukpa for us and it was wonderful. 

After some minutes of rest, we headed again as our journey was too far. After walking for some hours we had occurred to the adventurous and obviously dangerous path to conquer. At Rimche Pairo, landslides were occurring by small Pebbles and to cross that area there is no two legs way. We crossed our path by using our four legs ( Two hands obviously). While reading this, you might think this as normal but it was literally ‘One miss – Game finish’ situation for us. After conquering this dangerous path we reached Lama Hotel at around  3 p.m and we had our lunch there. The food was obviously delicious and we played cards there as well. After 4 p.m we made our way to Ghoda Tabela. But it was continuously raining and started becoming dark so we paused our Trek at Riverside for the day. Journey from the Lama Hotel is a bit hard for me to trek as I was tired and exhausted from walking. And we stayed at Riverside and had dinner and played cards as well. FYI, we played cards everywhere we stayed for the night. The food there was tasty but we were a bit unsatisfied by the menu and prices there.

Day 3: Trek from Riverside to Kyanjin Gompa

This day was the semi hardest day of my Trek personally as altitude and my stamina is going up and down respectively. That day our group was separated into two parts, fast movers and slow ones. You know my category very well. We crossed Ghoda Tabela around 8 a.m and headed to Langtang Valley. We crossed Thangshyap Village and very important things got announced at 11 a.m. My CA Final result has just been declared which I was waiting for since morning. And when I saw my results, I was happy and sad at the same moment as I passed one group of my exams. My journey on this trek and my career  seemed parallel at the moment  as both were halfaway.   

Claiming myself to be happy, we again started towards our journey of hills and cliffs. Even though this way was hard for me but the memorable landscapes I saw during the journey were fully worth it now. In the afternoon we reached the Langtang Valley, which was very beautiful but yet empty as it was off season due to which only a few places are available for having lunch. We decided to have chowmein there. At the place, two monks were performing their annual rituals to remove black shadows from the house. We watched that while having our lunch. We were also having the local tea there named ‘Yak Butter tea’. 

Later after sitting there for 45 minutes, we left for Kyanjin Gompa. Now the threads were separated and a group of two were heading. I, with my friend, were going slowly and resting due to which we were too late to our destination. The way to Kyanji Gompa from Stupa was too thrilling for us to move as it was dark and we thought we lost our way. But finally we found ourselves on the right track and we headed to the Hotel we booked earlier. 

We stayed at Namaste Guest House at an affordable rate which had  good food and rooms. We all had Yak meat there for the first time with Yak Ghee. And we planned to go early, to Kyanjin Ri Viewpoint to see the wonderful mountains, at 4 a.m tomorrow.

Trivia: Langtang Valley was flooded by landslides during the 2072 B.S earthquake. That valley was the new village set up later a few meters above the landslide area.

Day 4: Kyanjin Ri to Lama Hotel( Way Back)      

 At 4:30 a.m a group of fast movers got ready to trek above to the viewpoint but I was feeling ill and exhausted that time so we slow ones decided to take proper rest till morning. My friends were so lucky that on that very day only, the weather got so open that all the clouds and fog disappeared and the sun rose. They got enough of the view and satisfied themselves with photos and videos which were also beneficial for us.  After some hours they returned back to the Hotel and showed us some views which was very regretful for us at that time. Later while having breakfast there, I went to the rooftop of the hotel to see whether some mountains were visible from there or not. And surprisingly I found white parts of mountains were visible in the middle of the cloud. I called them all and we also got a chance to view mountains but whatever they saw from above was the best. We got to see glances from the Hotel. We visited the landscape area of Kyanjin Gompa and clicked some photos and videos. Small Yak playing there and the amazing view of landscapes and mountains from there was totally worth it for us.

Now after packing our stuff from the hotel we decided to go back to home but yet whatever altitude we have taken we had to drop that down too and by walking obviously. All three friends went to buy Yak Cheese at Kyanjin but as I was slow I decided to go on, thinking they would soon catch up. At around 10 a.m I was separated from them and from that time my Solo Trek had begun. My speed while going down was so fast even my fast movers friend took 4 hours to catch me up. The feeling of moving alone with your thoughts and with the beauty of nature was totally different. I never felt those things before. I was so satisfied with the weather, views, roads ,etc that I was seeing. After some hours of walking, my right ankle started paining and I found that it was swelling. It was a sprankle. Luckily, I had a moov and bandage in my bag but yet it was so difficult for me to walk on those difficult paths. Again I was solo traveling as all my friends kept moving but I was alone back walking slowly with agony. 

We had noodles at a riverside hotel and we started trekking. I was ahead of them all during this path which was so horrorful for me. On the way to Riverside to Lama Hotel, I was completely alone with my thoughts but my thoughts were striking at the Short movie “Chhal” meaning betrayal  which I watched a few years before. The path I was heading was between woods and at one side there was a river below the cliff. I was so thirsty but also moving with my exceptional speed. Suddenly, I heard something jumping from the Trees which I could not see properly. But my brain was in shock about what just happened. I was thinking, “Is that Chhal. But my heart was usual, it was clear about whatever happens to be, will happen at any cost. I literally sat there exactly where I was stopped and opened google maps to see how far is Lama Hotel but luckily or unluckily the internet got connected after 2 minutes. I found out that the lama hotel is 200 meters away and I thought of heading. My friends were still in a loop. Finally I reached Lama Hotel and removed my thirst first and I called my friends. They were a few minutes apart. I told them my experience as well. 

That night we slept at Lama Hotel at the same place where we had lunch two days before. And also surprisingly, it was the same hotel where we called before Trek to confirm the weather. Name of the hotel was “Hotel Jungle View”. We slept unlimitedly without any alarm there.

Day 5 : Lama Hotel to Syabrubesi

As we know we have to stay a night at Syabrubesi, we woke up late and started our trek around 11 a.m. We again encountered ‘Rimche Pairo’ which was more dangerous than we saw before. But we had no options as we decided to not to go a long way and took that path even though it was so risky. However, as team work we crossed that deadliest landslide area. My ankle was still in pain and my solo trek was going on that day too. In the afternoon some hours before Syabrubesi, we went into the waterfall and took a bath there with chilled water directly falling from the hills.

We reached Syabrubesi around 4 p.m and we booked a ticket for Kathmandu at the Counter for the next day and we took the hotel. We had a very satisfying bath and enjoyed a good internet connection there. The food there was so good. All of us were adding extra rice and vegetables. They were so kind that they also added some extra chicken soup for all of us. After dinner, we performed our all regular business i.e. Playing cards. After some hours, we did our settlements for money about total expenditure and balances.

On the 6th day, we woke up early and moved towards our bus for our journey to Kathmandu. We were playing music on the music system of the bus from our spotify. Bus took different routes while returning back due to which we got a chance to see the different areas of Nepal as well.

Conclusions 

Langtang Valley Trek was one of my best experiences. For me, It was adventurous, thrilling, experienceful, thoughtful and mind blowing Trek. No doubt, Nepal is a heaven on earth. Langtang Trek was amazing and the special thing about this Trek was not only the destination, but the journey I had occurred. 

The pain in my ankle, altitude sickness, tiredness, lostful; with the beauty of mother nature, all had been that experience which I myself can count on forever. It was never known that the Trek suggested by Artificial Intelligence would give us so many thrills and experiences.

My friends expressions about their experiences

Devendra  Adhikari: ” I have already done ABC and Mardi Himal trek, but Langtang Trek was unique in its own way. I won’t say better or worse than those two because I don’t want to compare, but I totally enjoy every second of the trek. It was full of thrill, adventure, peace, and of course leeches. What I like most about this trek is the unique Tibetan culture, river and waterfalls on the way and the whole valley while it was sunny and of course the mountains from the view point.”

Amrit Thapa:  “It was a breathtaking adventure with lots of exhilarating moments leaving me with an adrenaline rush and a profound sense of accomplishment.”