Booking is open for 2024 and 2025 for all tours and trekking in Nepal.
Kanchenjunga Circuit Trek
5/5 based on 37 reviews
Booking is open for 2024 and 2025 for all tours and trekking in Nepal.
5/5 based on 37 reviews
Trip Duration
25 Days
Group Sizes
1 - 16 People
Difficulty
Moderate
Max. Altitude
5143
Activities
Meals
Accommodation
If you want to get into the very heart of the Himalayas, plunging into another time dimension, then Kanchenjunga Circuit Trek is for you. Kanchenjunga is the third tallest peak in the world with an elevation of 8,586m above sea level. The ice-capped mountain is known as the Five Treasures of the Great Snows because of its five eminent peaks.
The Kanchenjunga circuit trek was opened to tourism in 1988 and trekking activity is very regulated, particularly on an environmental level. The WWF (World Wide Fund For Nature) strongly supports the region which is now home to the snow leopard and the red panda.
This trek takes you into the wild and untouched nature of eastern Nepal: lush farmlands, forested valleys, rhododendron forests, glaciers, and overwhelming mountain views. You will discover the traditional life of the Rai, Limbu, and Tamang ethnic groups while crossing the preserved villages of the lower regions of the Himalayas. They are the Kirantis tribe who consider Kanchenjunga a sacred mountain. The upper part of the route is inhabited by Tibetan Sherpa people who follow Tibetan Buddhism.
The 25-day Kanchenjunga circuit trek is a loop with two excursions to the North and South base camps of Kanchenjunga. Pangpema, the base camp of the North Face (5,140 m), is located on a glacier surrounded by peaks of more than 6,500 meters, a few kilometers from the Tibetan border. From Oktang (4,725 m), southern base camp, we find ourselves facing the immense southern face of Kanchenjunga and its three peaks over 8,000 meters.
On the way back, we will make a stop in the magnificent tea plantations of Ilam. Ilam is the neighboring sister of Darjeeling which is not far across the border.
Our 25-day Kanchenjunga circuit trek begins upon your arrival in Kathmandu followed by a scenic flight to Bhadrapur located in the southeastern Terai region of Nepal. A short drive by jeep will take you to Taplejung and Chiruwa from where you will start your trek. The trek gradually advances through the forested hills to the high mountain inside the Kanchenjunga conservation area.
You will pass Sekathum, Amjilosa, Gyabla, Ghunsa, Kambachen, and Lhonak to the northern base camp of Pangpema or Kanchenjunga. After exploring the base camp area, the trail descends via the usual route through Ghunsa. Then you will ascend to Selele La Pass, Sinion La Pass, to the southern base Camp of Kanchenjunga.
You will then descend to Ramche, Torongding, Yamphudin, Sichewa, and Taplejung and make a day stop at Ilam. You will take a return journey to Bhadrapur from where you will take a connecting flight to Kathmandu.
With smiles and flowers, we will meet you at the airport and take you to the hotel, located in a quiet and cozy corner of the bustling center of Kathmandu. Rest in your room for a while after a long flight.
In the evening, we will meet all the tour participants and our guide who will explain briefly about the tour ahead. You can then walk around the city and dine in one of the best restaurants in Kathmandu with multinational cuisine.
Kanchenjunga Trek requires a special permit as we will be traveling in a specially protected area. Our team will therefore carry on the process to obtain the necessary permits.
We on the other hand will spend the day visiting the beautiful Kathmandu. We will explore the iconic places of the city including Boudhanath, Swayambhunath, Pashupatinath, and Durbar Square. We will take a small walk in the garden of dreams and the evening shop around for the missing equipment in numerous shops in Thamel.
Early morning, we will take a short 45-minute morning flight to Bhadrapur located on the border of India. Next, we drive in a jeep, on which we have a 250 km long road along mountain serpentines to the village of Taplejung- our overnight destination for today.
Today we will cover the rest of the journey by jeep through rice and millet fields, the mountain village of Sinuwa and Tawa, and gorges to reach the village of Chiruwa. Rai, Limbu, and Tamang tribes inhabit the village and have established lodges in their home for welcoming trekkers like us. We will spend the night in one of their lodges.
The hiking journey begins today. After distributing our things to our teams of porters, we will set off on our trek passing through the picturesque jungle along the Ghunsa and Tamor River. We will pass many picturesque rice terraces of Taplethok, Temewa, and Lelep.
We will then move on to cross the Simbu River and go on a steep climb along the narrow trail that leads us to Sekathum where we will stop for the night.
After breakfast, we continue to gain altitude, slowly lush thickets are replaced by pine and bamboo forests. We will walk along the canyon of the Tamor River. The transition alternates between smooth climbs and equally smooth descents to the river. Traversing via the villages of Ghaiyabari, Jongim, and Solima, we will arrive at Amjilosa- the first Sherpa village along the route.
Leaving Amjilosa, we begin a short climb to the ridge and reach the Thnayani Village. Then our path leads through lush bamboo thickets, followed by a rhododendron forest. Enjoying the views, we go down to the Ghunsa River, where a serpentine path takes us to a large waterfall, after which there is a steep climb to the village of Gyabla, where we will stop for the night.
Leaving Gyabla, we will follow an easier path to the village of Phale where we will stop for lunch. There is a monastery in the village, and we will probably meet local women weaving carpets and leading their usual way of life, which has not changed much in recent centuries.
The landscape now rapidly changes, the dense bamboo and tropical forests are replaced by rhododendron and coniferous forests. We will now move along picturesque steep paths along the side of the gorge of the powerful Ghunsa Khola to the cozy village of Ghunsa, where a hot shower, wifi, battery recharging and even coffee await us.
We will leave Ghunsa and hike along the Ghunsa Khola passing through pine and rhododendron forests. The path ahead is decorated with Mani Walls and chortens of Sherpa Buddhists. After about 3 hours, we cross the bridge and reach Rambuk Kharka- a seasonal shepherd’s house from where we will have lunch observing the beautiful Mount Jannu (7711 m), Sobi Thongje (6652 m), Phole Peak (6645 m), and Ghabur Peak (6044 m).
Another 3 hours of ascent and we will arrive at the Sherpa village of Khambachen where we will be spending the night.
We are at an altitude of more than 4000 m so we will spend a day at this altitude to acclimatize. To do this, we will adhere to a simple but effective rule – walk high, and sleep low. We have two options to spend this day: one is to hike to Jannu Base Camp where we will observe the powerful Kumbhakarna/Jannu peak.
The second option will be to make a radial trek along the Nupchu Khola glacier and reach 4500 m to admire the impressive view of Mount Jannu.
In the evening we will descend to our lodge and rest to prepare our body for the next day’s hike.
After breakfast, we will walk on the trail that goes along the river bed and emerge onto the rocky moraine of Kanchenjunga glacier. We will encounter numerous Yak Kharkas (seasonal huts for Yak herders) along the way. The path now becomes more rocky and we will cross the landslide zone where we must be extra careful. Now we are at Lhonak- where we will have extraordinary views of Kanchenjunga, Yalung Kang, and Kangbachen.
Today we will approach the northern wall of the mighty Kanchenjunga – 3 km up cliffs, icefalls, and avalanches. At first, we will climb slowly across the plain and engage in steep ascend. We will eventually arrive at Pangpema or the northern base camp of Kanchenjunga.
Our team will set up the camp for cooking, sleeping, and latrine. We will then have a hot delicious meal with the massive Kanchenjunga upfront along with Langpo Glacier and Drohma Ri.
You can now exhale, this is not the end of our journey and many more surprises await us. But we have already passed the highest culminating part of our route and then everything will be much easier. Today we descend to warm, sunny, and cozy Lhonak, where a hearty delicious dinner and a well-deserved rest await us.
Leaving Lhonak, we again hike along the rocky moraine till we reach the Kambhachen Village where we will have lunch. Then we will head east following the Tamor River once again to reach the sunny green village of Ghunsa where we will rest for the night.
It’s time to make our way to the southern base camp of Kanchenjunga. We will overcome the impressive massif that separates two valleys, originating from the opposite slopes of Kanchenjunga.
On the way, we have as many as 5, although not difficult, but high passes. Today we get into the rhythm, we will pass the first and lowest of them – the Sele La Pass 4290 m. Behind it, there is a seasonal camp with wooden houses for travelers, where we will stop for the night. The panorama around is impressive; you can even see the neighboring eight-thousand giant Makalu.
Leaving Sela La Pass, we will move on to pass other high-altitude Passes namely Sinion La (4440m), then Mirgin La (4480m), and Sinelapche Bhanjyang (4830m). all these Passes are quite conditional, and represent a traverse of a ridge with small differences in elevation. We will then descend steeply passing by Jor Pokhari Lake and juniper forest to Tseram Valley where we will stay overnight.
When doing this route, we will be walking along a ridge most of the time, which means stunning 360-degree views of Jannu, Makalu, Everest, Chamlang, Baruntse, and Kanchenjunga.
Leaving Tseram, we will climb gradually along Simbua Khola following the Yalung glacier to Ramche. Along the route, we can see the stunning vistas of Rathong (6682m) and Kabru (7412m). having lunch at Ramche, we now hike to Oktang Viewpoint of Yalung Base Camp or Kanchenjunga South Base Camp.
From the camp, we can have spectacular views of three of the four peaks of Kanchenjunga all above 8000 m: 8420m, 8586m, and 8474m. Having admired the grandiose views, we begin our journey home, where many more interesting things await us. We descend to the village of Ramche for our overnight stay.
Now our motto is Down and only DOWN! Every day we will be getting closer to civilization and, the comfort of the city. We will first leave the gorge and arrive at a Y junction trail that leads directly to Selele La Pass on the right. We will take a left turn and walk towards Torongding passing a lush rhododendron forest along the Simbuwa River. Crossing Anda Phedi, we will walk for a few hours to arrive at Torongding where we will stop for the night.
After breakfast, we will walk to Yamphudin village which is an easy descent. We will pass through the lush wooded trail with many rhododendron bushes on both sides and pass Lasiya Danda before reaching Yamphudin.
After breakfast, we will hike through the quaint villages, subtropical forests, fields, and terraces of agricultural plantations to reach the Sinchewa village. Today can be called an ethnographic day – we will immerse ourselves in the life of the local Lepcha and Rai people.
The final walking day of our Kanchenjunga circuit trek will be a continuation of yesterday’s ethnographic journey through the villages of eastern Nepal ultimately reaching Taplejung for our rest at night.
Today we will have a scenic drive to Ilam by jeep. It is a pleasant destination and much more comfortable in terms of accommodation and amenities. In the late afternoon, you can explore Ilam and its lavish green tea plantations.
After breakfast, we drive back to Bhadrapur taking us about 3 hours. From the Bhadrapur airport, we will then fly back to Kathmandu in a short 45-minute spectacular flight. We will then transfer you to your hotel where you can enjoy the hot shower and relax in the evening.
Free time in the capital today for buying souvenirs for family and friends. You can also visit Durbar Square, Patan, and its museum, and go shopping in the lively tourist district of Thamel if you wish!
You can cutomize this trip as per your requirements if met the proper guidelines.
It depends on the season you are trekking, but in general, the occurrence of avalanches in Kanchenjunga is less likely than the Annapurna trail. There are some sections and exposed areas which are prone to landslides. In such an area, please pay extra attention and listen to your guide.
The cost for this trek is USD 2775 per person.
No, you don’t need to carry tents. We will provide the required tents, kitchen equipment, and staff for the camping trek at base camps.
Yes, you can trek to either the north base camp or the south base camp of Kanchenjunga. The north base camp is relatively harder and longer than the south base camp. Please contact us for further details about these trips.
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