Day 1 - Arrive Kathmandu 1340m

You'll be met at the airport by a representative from the Kathmandu Guest House, so look out for a Kathmandu guest house sign when you leave the airport. They will bring you back to the Kathmandu Guest House, where your rooms are booked.

Day 2 - Fly to Tumlingtar. Drive to Chainpur 1260m

We'll head to the airport after breakfast for our scenic, hour-long flight over green, terraced rice fields, high ridges and past Himalayan peaks to Tumlingtar in far eastern Nepal, a village of Rai, Lhomi and other Nepali hillpeople who carry their loads with traditional Nepali dokas, or baskets. Tumlingtar is the starting point of our trek to Everest via the Arun valley and also east to the remote, Tibetan Kanchenjunga region. On the ground in Tumlingtar we will jump into our vehicle for the bumpy drive to Chainpur where we will meet our staff and set up camp for the night. Nepali chai has been brewed, and we will introduce you to our 'Kamzang style' dining tent and your personal Marmot tents. Enjoy the lower altitudes and take a stroll into rural Chainpur to watch Nepali life go by at the local temple. Beers will be available at the local shops, and you'll be able to sample some traditional Nepali snacks at the bhattis, or Nepali teahouses.

Day 3 - Trek Nundhaki

The next few days until Chirwa and Sukethum are classic trekking through Nepal's lush, green and diverse 'middle hills' following shimmering rivers and contouring around precipitous ridge lines. The villages we pass through are both Hindu and Buddhist, and the architecture traditional mud-brick dwellings, rice paddies, terraced fields and fruit trees. If we're lucky we'll pass through villages celebrating some of the numerous Nepali festivals, very colorful and lively. We are following the GHT 'cultural route', a spectacular and interesting route through some of Nepal's most remote villages.

Day 4 - Trek Samgu

Continuing on the colorful GHT cultural trail heading northeast, we pass the trail leading east to Gupta Bazaar on our right and continue to climb past a chorten through a densely forested and hilly section. It will be a more strenuous trekking day today as we climb and descend to our campsite at Samgu, a village with a post office, a few small hotels and a checkpost. Again, take the afternoon to wash off and visit the village.

Day 5 - Trek Dobhan 645m

Contouring around hillsides as we trek, we pass the small hamlet of Lekuwa, from where we climb for a bit to reach the larger village of Tembe, which has a few small hotels. From Tembe we descend to Dhungesaghu and continue our undulating and hot trek through terraced villages to Dhoban, where we stop for the night. Dhoban is at the intersection of a trail coming north from Basantapur and the GHT trail coming east from Chainpur and west to Taplejung, so a lively market hub albeit on the grubby side. Poor Tibetan living in simple, bamboo dwellings sell tongba in the market. Our staff has set up camp somewhere green-ish, so after unpacking get out and do some exploring.

Day 6 - Trek Siwan 980m

Following the large Tamor Nadi (river) on a high, rough trail it's a busy day of hill-trekking as we pass through numerous Rai and Hindu villages, surrounded by a patchwork of terraced fields. The middle hills continue to be challenging trekking as we have numerous ascents and descent, always rewarded by hazy views of the surrounding terraced hill villages. After crossing the suspension bridge past Dhoban, we continue to trek along the east banks of Tamor Nadi to Khamlung at the intersection of the Mewa Khola, and after a few hours over another suspension bridge before taking a large detour east, reaching the alternative trail north from Taplejung via Asahanpati village. We soon pass the Chettri bazaar at Mitlung (880m), a village with a few small teahouses, and continue along the riverside trail over another suspension bridge spanning the Sisne Khola on to the village of Siwan, and have the afternoon to relax.

Day 7 - Trek Chirwa 1270m

We continue to follow the Tamor Nadi on a rough trail past the settlement of Pithun at the Ima Khola and the intersection of the GHT trail to Tokpegola in the Makalu region. We are parallelling the high trail to our (trekker's) right that we will take on the return trip back to Taplejung. We pass the remnants of old, boulder-strewn slides and debris as the trail worsens and the valley narrows, and after more undulating trekking we reach the intersection of the Nuwa Khola and the small hamlet of Chirwa where our staff has set up camp for the night. Chirwa is a lively bazaar village of bamboo houses built in a boulder-strewn plateau with a small Nepali bazaar.

Day 8 - Trek Sukethum 1565m

Continuing to following the Tamor Nadi, we hike along the east bank of the river for five-six hours as we head along the classic Kanchenjunga Base Camp route. En route, we pass the Chhetri village of Tapletok (1380m) where there is a Kanchenjunga Conservation Area checkpost and a few small teahouses for a cup of chai. At Temewa (1560m) we take the bridge across the river and soon reach Lelep (1750m), the headquarters of the KCA, which was created in 1998 to preserve 2035 sq km of sub-tropical evergreen forest, temperate forests, sub-alpine pine forests and high alpine meadows. We descend to the Tamor River and cross on a new suspension bridge a bit before the confluence of the Ghunsa Khola to reach our camp at Sukethum.

Day 9 - Trek Kyapra 2730m

Gaining altitude as we trek along the Ghunsa Khola, we have another short-ish day as we trek through a bamboo, oak and rhododendron forest past waterfalls and pasturelands, followed by a steep and strenuous climb to the beautiful Sherpa village of Kyapra, also called Gyabla, with an old monastery and ancient Buddhist chortens. Camp has been set up at a lovely green campsite and we'll take the afternoon to explore the village. 

Day 10 - Trek Phale 3140/3210m

A lovely day of trekking through the forested river valley, with groves of bamboo, fir and rhododenron, where Himalayan black bear are said to live. We descend steeply into a deep, narrow gorge and follow the river valley for several hours to the Tibetan village of Phale, with an ancient (and active) gompa filled with colorful thankas and statues. Phale is located on a historic trade route with Tibet so has been an important stop for traders transporting their goods by yak and horse between Tibet and Nepal.

Day 11 - Trek Ghunsa 3595m

We have a short day today, trekking on a good trail through a wide valley, past the intersection of the Yangma Samba Khola, through forests of larch. We soon drop to the square chorten marking the start of the Tibetan village of Ghunsa, fluttering with prayer flags, situated in a deep valley of forested hillsides. Take advantage of this day to acclimatize and get out to explore the lively Tibetan village of Ghunsa, translated as 'winter settlement' although it is occupied throughout the year.

Day 12 - Trek Kambachen 4100m

Heading north along the east banks of the Ghunsa Khola on the GHT high route, we have a 5-6 hour day of altitude gain, cresting the 4000-meter threshold as we ascend through more larch forests, now sprinkled with juniper bushes that are ground and used as incense. We cross a wide, rocky floodplain and then a shaky wood and slab bridge to the north banks of the river at Rampuk Kharka at 3720 meters (kharka means grazing plateau in Nepali; the Tibetan word is doksa). The trail deteriorates as we ascend, passing a small waterfall, and hiking carefully high above the river below us. Another climb and we descend to Kambachen at the confluence of the Nupchu Khola, a remote Tibetan outpost of stone huts where the inhabitants exist on a simple diet of potatoes and rice, supplemented by chang and rakshi (distilled vodka-like alcohol).                       ►