© Alex Treadway **
Away from the major trekking routes of the well-known Everest and Annapurna regions Nepal has a wealth of beautiful trails to explore.
With this short fastpacking trip, easily accessible from Kathmandu, we can reach a 4065m peak with breathtaking views reaching to the Everest range and enjoy some beautiful, uncrowded trails. After passing through the traditional Sherpa settlement of Junbesi and reaching the Taksindu La, a major pass on the early Jiri to Everest trekking route, we follow a beautiful ridge north towards Dudh Kunda, the holy lake of the Numbur Himal. We experience the generous hospitality of local people in their seasonal settlement at Saharsbeni before heading west across the Numbur Himal and crossing three further high passes (4340m & 4876m & 4601m). Lying to the south of Rolwaling this is beautiful, true high mountain country, yet a region where we’ve been totally alone on trails over vast swathes of high alpine mountainside. It’s waiting to be explored!
The tour is led by Lizzy Hawker, and is based on a minimum group size of four participants, maximum eight. We’ll also invite some young Nepali girl runners from the Exchange and Empower programme to join us, gaining some experience for their training to be trek leaders.
Please email Lizzy for further details and cost. Or indicate your interest by making a booking!
Please ask us – your individual cost will depend on your pre- & post tour accommodation requirements in Kathmandu etc, early / late joining options etc.
What do we mean by this? You’ll be carrying all your things for seven days on the trail including a sleeping bag. The terrain is nearly always up or down, and in places could be fairly rough. You’ll be hiking the ups & jogging or fast walking everywhere else. The objective is to move fast and light & to cover far more ground than is possible for traditional trekking groups. It’s the way Lizzy completed the 1700km or so of a mostly high route Great Himalaya Trail in 35 days. It’s a lot of fun, come and try it!
After a couple of preliminary easy days the tour gets harder. You need previous experience on alpine trails, an aptitude for long days on foot in high mountains (although never very fast), and a smile for when things don’t quite work out as you expected. We will go to over 4000m on 5 occasions, and you will sleep one night at 4140m, wild camping. Pre-acclimatisation or experience of altitude is recommended. If you are finding things difficult we have various options for an early exit & we’ll look after you until you reach back to Kathmandu.
Most nights you will sleep in comfortable lodges. At Saharsbeni and Lhachhewar you will sleep in very simple homestays with Nepali style food, a good fire and happy company. For one night at Tare Kharka we be alone and sleep out in the open. November is cold & dry – we should only need a good sleeping bag & a foil emergency sack. We will cook a simple meal over a camp fire. A full equipment list & gear recommendations will be sent on booking, but anything required can be bought or rented in Kathmandu.
Additional accommodation in Kathmandu before and after the tour can also be arranged. We can suggest some great places to visit in Kathmandu!
This is a beautiful area to explore.
** header photo credit: Alex Treadway – you can see more of his work in his book Trekking Beyond!
