Kyangjin Gompa

  • 7 Days
  • Age 18+
  • Year-round

This moderate trek follows the Langtang Khola river up the Langtang village to Kyangjin Gompa. The route runs right under the Langtang Massif and is spectacular, but because it follows the river, it's less strenuous than many treks.

7 Days Kathmandu to Kathmandu - two driving days and five trekking days

Day 1

Drive out of Kathmandu for a seven-plus hour trip through hills and cultivated valleys. The route heads north from Kathmandu on a good but narrow road. Probable lunch in Nuwakot, then press on over increasingly basic roads to Syabru Besi. Langtang is an area of Nepal known for its hospitable people, beautiful mountains, sweet apples and exquisite girls who once were brought to the capital as consorts to Kings and Prime Ministers.

Day 2

Visit the small monastery in Syabru Besi if it's open, then set off. A steady climb through bamboo and mixed forest to Rimche village. The rest of the afternoon to Chantang, also called Lama Hotel, is level and lovely.

Day 3

Climb steadily but moderately today, up the valley. The morning walk is mostly forested, but the forest ends at Ghora Table, once a Tibetan refugee settlement. From here the valley widens and the mountains feel close. We'll enter Langtang park just before Langtang Village, the main settlement. We're now in the high Himalaya.

Day 4

Ascend gently through small settlements as the valley continues to open up. There are a couple of very small villages and lots of yak pastures. Kyangjin is a small place, a yak cheese factory and a monastery plus a few houses. It's also spectacularly beautiful.

(Take an optional extra day here to trek up to the Langtang Lirung glacier.)

Day 5

THead back down along the Langtang Khola river to Langtang, then back down to Ghora Tabla.

Day 6

Trek back to Rimche and then through the forests to return to Syabru Besi.

Day 7

Drive back to Kathmandu.