Deep inside the majestic Langtang Region, we will take you through an unforgettable himalayan adventure in this blog today. Nepal is a trekker’s paradise, offering a wide variety of trails that take you through stunning landscapes, ancient villages, and majestic mountains. Two of the most popular treks in Nepal are the Langtang Trek and the Gosaikunda Trek. Both of these treks lie in the Langtang region and they can be done individually or together at the same time. The Langtang Trek takes you through the Langtang Valley, a region extremely beautiful and mesmerizing, while the Gosaikunda Trek takes you to the sacred lakes of Gosaikunda, a site of great spiritual significance for Hindus and Buddhists alike and a popular trekking destination. In this blog, we will explore these treks separately, and then talk about how you can combine them to create an unforgettable Himalayan adventure for yourself.
The Langtang Trek
In our opinion, the Langtang Valley trek is one of the most beautiful and the most feel-good trek in all of Nepal. This trek is a 5-6 days trek that takes you through the Langtang Valley, one of the most beautiful valleys in Nepal. The trek starts in the village of Syabrubesi, located about 8-9 hours’ drive from Kathmandu. From there, you will trek through forests of rhododendron and oak, past waterfalls and streams, crossing a lot of suspension bridges and through traditional Tamang villages. You will also pass through the Langtang National Park, home to a variety of wildlife, including Himalayan black bears, snow leopards, and red pandas.
The highlight of the Langtang Trek is the stunning views of Langtang Lirung (7,227m), the highest peak in the Langtang range. You will also have the opportunity to climb Kyanjin Ri (4,770m) or Tserko Ri (4,980m), which offers breathtaking panoramic views of the surrounding mountains, including Langtang Lirung, Langshisha Ri (6,427m), and Dorje Lakpa (6,990m).
The Gosaikunda Trek
The Gosaikunda Trek is a 4-5 days trek that takes you to the sacred lakes of Gosaikunda, a site of great spiritual significance for Hindus and Buddhists alike. The trek starts in the village of Dhunche, located about 7-8 hours’ drive from Kathmandu. From there, you will trek through dense forests and through traditional Tamang villages.
The highlight of the Gosaikunda Trek is the sacred lakes of Gosaikunda, a group of glacial lakes located at an altitude of 4,380m. According to Hindu mythology, the lakes were created by Lord Shiva when he pierced a glacier with his trident. The lakes are considered to be holy and are visited by thousands of pilgrims during the Janai Purnima festival in August. Moreover, with the recent boom of national tourism in Nepal, a lot of trekkers go to Gosaikunda Lake only for trekking and recreation purposes.
You have an option to extend the Gosaikunda trek where you’ll not return the same way but do a circuit trek passing through more of the lakes present in the Gosaikunda Region eventually returning to Kathmandu via the Helambu route. You will have to add one more day if you are considering this circuit trek.
Combining the Treks
Now, let’s talk about how you can combine the Langtang Trek and the Gosaikunda Trek to create an unforgettable Himalayan adventure. The most popular way to do this is to start with the Langtang Trek and then turn towards Upper Syabru from Pahiro while returning from Langtang trek to start the Gosaikunda Trek. In our recommendation, if you have an additional two days of leverage to The Langtang Trek, you should do both of these treks together to create an unforgettable experience.
Itinerary for the Combined Treks
- Day 1: Drive from Kathmandu to Syabrubesi, Trek to Bamboo
- Day 2: Trek from Bamboo to Langtang Village
- Day 3: Langtang Village to Kyanjin Gompa, Climb the Kyanjin Ri Peak, Trek back to Langtang Village
- Day 4: Return Trek from Langtang Village to Pahiro
- Day 5: Pahiro to Cholang Pati (Towards Gosaikunda Lake)
- Day 6: Cholang Pati to Gosaikunda Lake, return trek to Dhunche
- Day 7: Drive from Dhunche to Kathmandu
Now let’s do the Langtang Gosaikunda Trek together. We will divide our trekking journey into four parts.
Also read: Khumai Danda Trek: A Brand New Trail amidst the Himalayas
Part 1: Trek to Kyanjin Gompa
We will start our journey from Machhapokhari, Kathmandu, where we will find the Timure Deluxe Bus to Syabrubesi. The bus leaves at 7am in the morning and will reach Syabrubesi at around 3-4pm. You will pass through Dhunche, which is the starting point of Gosaikunda Trek and take the winding road downhill to Syabrubesi.
We will start your trek as soon as we get off the bus at Syabrubesi. Ten minutes into the trek, we will already start to feel the trekking vibes because in this trek, we get to experience a beautiful jungle walk with a river on our side from the very beginning. We will reach Bamboo after a 2-2.5 hour-long trek and spend the first night there.
The next morning, we will have a light breakfast and leave early. After reaching Lama Hotel within the next couple of hours, we will stop for a tea break. Trekking a bit further, we will reach a beautiful location of Riverside. We will rest our bags, order our first Dal-Bhat-Tarkari of the day, get fresh, take some pictures and resume the trek.
Trekking a bit further, we will reach the majestic land of Ghode-Tabela. This is the point where the views and the vibes of the trekking changes. We will start to see big hills, the length of the Langtang valley, yaks and horses grazing around and snow-capped mountains peeking behind the majestic hills. We will stay there for a quick stop and head towards Langtang Village. On-route, we will pass through another tea house spot on top of a hill and that is where the trail takes a straight walk through the heights of the valley. Going a bit further, we will see the huge debris area from the 2015 earthquake. This landslide area looks really scary but as you navigate through the area slowly and steadily, you’ll make it past it before you know it. Taking the trek a little further, we will be greeted by the beautiful Langtang Village. This is where we will spend our second night.
The next morning, we will be waking up a bit early, carrying our bags and leaving towards Kyanjin Gompa. We will arrive there by 9-10am in the morning passing through Mundu. After having our first meal, we will leave our bags at the tea house, pack light with snacks, water and some extra warm clothing accessories and leave for Kyanjin Ri (4770m) or Tserko Ri (4980m). The climb for both of these is very steep and they both provide an amazing vantage point for looking at the panoramic view of the Himalayas all around you. After spending some time there and clicking a ton of photos, we will return to Kyanjin Gompa and have our lunch.
Depending upon how tired we are, we will either stay the night at Kyanjin Gompa or push for a return trek to Langtang Village on the third day.
Part 2: Return Trek to Pahiro
Let’s try to keep this section of the blog short. We will be able to do this return trek in one single day. Returning from the Langtang Village will feel pretty easy because we will be trekking through the same way that we went but mostly through a downhill trail. We will reach Pahilo by evening and have some extra-good food to celebrate successfully completing the Langtang side of our Trek. This wraps up the fourth-day of our trek.
Part 3: Trek to Cholang Pati
After resting well at Pahiro and rejuvenating our trekking spirit, we will leave for the Gosaikunda Trek. A little further from Pahiro, we will see a sign board which is a checkpoint from where the trekking trails separates for Thulo Syabru and Syabrubesi. We will take our left and start climbing through the very steep trail to Thulo Syabru. This trail feels a lot more empty and comparatively less maintained as compared to the Langtang trail and the Gosaikunda trail. We have to keep in mind that this trail is a connecting trail to the main Gosaikunda trekking trail. We will have our morning meal at Thulo Syabru, take some rest and start our journey towards Foprang Danda.
The Foprang Danda is a small but really beautiful tea house spot that’ll feel like a hidden paradise. At this point we will start to feel really lucky realizing that the people who do the Langtang Trek separately and the Gosaikunda Trek separately will never get to see or experience the beauty of Foprang along with the entirety of the connecting trail. It is not an exaggeration to say that this connecting trail is extremely beautiful in its own way. We will have a small lunch break at Foprang and move ahead to follow the trail that continues to wind upward through the deep forest. The blooming flowers make the trails more colorful and beautiful. Walking through the forests, we make a slight ascend in the courses and reach the connecting point with the main Gosaikunda Trail.
After the trail is connected, in less than an hour, we will reach Cholang Pati. This place will feel like a safe haven after trekking the whole day through a bit more secluded and less developed trekking trail. There are two tea-houses where we can spend this fifth night of our trek.
Part 4: Trek to Gosaikunda and Back to Dhunche
The next morning, we will leave early from Cholenpati by leaving our bags there and trek through an uphill trail to Lauribina. Lauribina provides an amazing view of the entire Langtang mountain range. This is where we will have breakfast and take photos before making a final ascent. Moving ahead, we will realize that we will be trekking around a huge mountain-like hill to be greeted with a huge waterfall on our right that originates from one of the Kundas in the Gosaikunda Region. This will be the first sighting of the Kundas and it’ll feel amazing. The final part of this trek is actually a pretty straight trail which is not that difficult. Shortly, we will start seeing the beautiful holy-lake, Gosaikunda.
Depending upon the season of our trek, there can be different things to do at Gosaikunda. The best season, in our opinion, would be the time where there is snow around the lake but the lake itself is not frozen. This gives an opportunity to go to the opposite side of the lake, play with snow, click amazing pictures around the lake and maybe even take a holy dive in the lake. After having our Dal-Bhat-Tarkari at Gosaikunda Lake, we will begin our descent.
Similar to how it was while returning from Langtang Village, the return trek will feel easier in comparison to the ascent. We will have a small lunch after reaching Cholang Pati, carry our bags and start walking towards Sing Gompa. We will do some cheese and ‘Churpi’ shopping at Sing Gompa and trek downhill towards Deurali. After resting for sometime in Deurali, we will trek to the bottom of the trail, cross a river and make a short uphill ascent to the bazaar of Dhunche. We will find a good hotel at Dhunche, have some dinner and enjoy our last night of the trek.
The next morning, we can take any of the buses that leave from Dhunche in the morning to Kathmandu.
