Kanchenjunga is the third tallest mountain of the world with an elevation of 8,586 meters/28,169 feet. The mountain lies in the section of the Himalayas called Kanchenjunga Himal with Tamur River in the west, Lhonak Chu and Jongsang La in the north and Teesta River in the east. Kanchenjunga Circuit trek will take you around this amazing and glorious mountain. It is one of the unexplored trekking route located in eastern Nepal. The trek is one exceptional trek that offers the absolutely pleasing view of the majestic snow-capped mountains, quaint villages,and the distinctive lifestyle and culture and the exotic scene of the hills and ridges all along the trek. You encounter the stunning view of several small and big mountains. The view of mountains including Everest, Makalu,and Lhotse are also very popular in this trek.
The trek takes places in the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area which was established in 1997. The protected area comprises cultivated lands, pastures, forest, rivers, glaciers,and high altitude lakes. Wildlife like snow leopard, red panda,and Asian black bear are popular animals of the area. So, Kanchenjunga Circuit trek might be extra beneficial for you where you will get to pass through the exotic wildlife and vegetation.
More about Kanchenjunga Base Camp trek
Fitness and Experience
To accomplish the Kanchenjunga Circuit trek, you don’t need any experience in trekking although the routes are challenging compared to other treks like Annapurna Circuit trek. But trekking with a certain pace and acclimatization will sustain you. Also, you must be in good health and a completely fit state. The level of difficulty of this trek is directly related to the level of your fitness. Also, running, skipping and other exercises before the 2-3 weeks of the trek will be of great help during the trek.
Acclimatization during trek
While trekking in the high altitude, altitude sickness is the most significant risk. One gets vulnerable in the higher regions, so to avoid this, acclimatization is one of the ways. Headache, dizziness, vomiting, nausea are some of the symptoms of altitude sickness. Acclimatization will help you adjust your body in the new environment. Trekkers need to acclimate for days before moving further. One must hike for more than 300 meters after reaching above the height of 3,000 meters because there lies even more risk.
Also, proper fitness, rest and drinking plenty of water will also help you from getting altitude sickness.
Best time
Spring (March-May) and autumn (Sept-Nov) are two popular trekking season of Nepal and they the best season for trekking. During these seasons, weather is fine, the temperature is moderate and days are clear allowing you to trek without any obstruction. You will also get the view of the mountains and hill around you in a clear way. Also, in spring there will be beautiful rhododendron flowers blooming colorfully in the hills.
It is an eco-friendly trek
Dolma Tours is an eco-friendly concern with the focus on camping trek for promoting sustainable tourism in Nepal. Throughout the trek, we try to aid in green tourism by small steps like taking a water bottle and refilling on the way instead of using multiple bottles and organizing camping trek for exploring even more and giving the job to locals. So, with us, the trek will be one of the best experience for you and a contribution to sustainable tourism as well.
Way to Kanchenjunga Base Camp trek
Unlike the most of the trek in Nepal, Kanchenjunga Base Camp trek takes places in the eastern part of Nepal. Most of the trek starts from Pokhara, but for this trek, you will have to get to the east of Nepal. So, it will be a great opportunity to know Nepal and its varied beauty and culture.
To start the trek, you need to first travel to Jhapa district. You can take a domestic flight,or you can take a bus ride as well. As the bus ride is very long, most of the trekkers prefer to take a flight to Bhadrapur of Jhapa. From Bhadrapur, you will take a short ride to Birtamode city where you will stay overnight and prepare yourself for the next day.
From Birtamode you will travel to Illam. Illam has the largest tea plantation in Nepal,and it is one of the most beautiful places in Nepal. It is famous for the stunning landscape view of the tea garden and agricultural products like cardamom and potato.Kanyam of Illam is the popular picnic spot of eastern Nepal. Another main attraction of Illam is the view of the sunrise from Shreeantu. So stay for a night and explore the beauty of Illam.
Waking up tomorrow, you will now travel to Taplejung. Taplejung is a beautiful place with the majority of Limbu ethnicity. It will be a great opportunity for you if you want to learn about the culture and tradition of Nepal. Taplejung is the only place where you can learn more about Limbus as this place is the ancient habitat of Limbu people.
Now, from Taplejung starts your actual trek. Till now you have been driving but now on you will walk. Starting from Taplejung, you will hike up to the village called Mitlung. You will pass through beautiful hills and traditional villages with houses built out of mud and stone. You will also come across the farm fields and moving further you will follow the Tamarriver and then finally rich Mitlung.
From Mitlung, you will trek to Chiruwa. While trekking to Chiruwa, you will walk past the traditional Limbu and Tamang village of Sinwa, Tawa,andPorke. You will also get pass old landslide debris. Further descending to Thiwa River and crossing a wooden bridge, you will arrive at Chiruwa. After staying a night in Chiruwa, you will trek to Sukathum. Today you will come across the village of Taplethok, Tamewa, Hellok,andLelep. You will also walk alongside Tamorriver and Simbu river. Then finally comes Sukathum. From Sukatham, you will trek to the Tibetan village called Amjilosa.
After Amjilosa, you will trek through the rhododendron and bamboo forest. You will also come across a stunning waterfall and then comes Gyabla. Staying overnight at Gyabala, you will move on to Ghunsa. As Ghunsa is at an elevation of 3,595 meters, you will stay for a day at Ghunsa for acclimatization. During the stay, you can visit the monasteries and know more about the village and the people.
After acclimatizing at Ghunsa, you will trek to Khangpachen. You will walk the forested path and pass the paths with several mani walls and chortens. After trekking through slopes and some glacial moraines, you will reach Khangpachen, a Tibetan village. From there, you can see the stunning view of Jannu (7,710 meters). Moving on you will trek to Lhonak, from where you will see the panoramic view of mountains like Wedge Peak (6,802 meters), Mera Peak (6,364 meters), Nepal Peak (7,177 meters), Twins (7,350 meters) and several others. After Lhonak, you will trek to the Kanchenjunga Base Camp which is at an elevation of 5,143 meters. The camp is also known as Pang Pema. On the way to the camp, you will follow the trail along the glaciers on the northern ridges. Reaching the camp, you will see the most amazing view of Mount Kanchenjunga along with the skyline filled with snow-capped mountains. You will stay at the camp for overnight.
Then after base camp, you will descend back to Ghunsa and trek to High Camp which is at an elevation of 4,100 meters. You will stay for a night in Ghunsa, then trek to high camp. While trekking to high camp, you will walk along the forest of rhododendron, birch,and pine and witness the stunning view of Jannu (7,710 meters), Laching (6,670 meters), Temachunggi (6,044 meters) and others. After spending a night in high camp, you will trek to Tseram. On your way to Tseram, you walk past Sele La pass (4,480 meters) and Sinion La pass (4,660 meters). When you reach the top of the pass, you will be rewarded with the stunning view of glaciers and mountains. Then descending, you will arrive at Tseram.
From Tseram, you will trek to Ramche. While moving towards to Ramche, you will pass the moraines of Yalung glacier, lakes and a meadow where you can see blue sheep grazing so beautifully. After Ramche you will trek to Yalungbase camp from where you can see the stunning view of mountains and return to Ramche the same day. Now, from Ramche, you will trek to AndaPhedi witnessing the view of mountains and blue sheep grazing in the green hills. Then descending further comes AndaPhedi.
After AndaPhedi, you will descend to Tortong. You will walk through the rhododendron forest, ponds, monasteries, waterfall and many exciting things on your way to Tortong. Yamphudim is the next after Tortong. Yamphudim is a quaint village filled with mix ethnic groups of Sherpa, Rai, Gurung,andLimbu. It will be a great place to learn about the ancient culture and tradition of Nepal. From Yamphudim comes you move towards Khebang walking through forest, waterfalls,and valley. After Khebangcomes,Khanidingbe and Khanidingbe is the end of your trek.
You will take a jeep ride to Birtamode while enjoying the view of the mountains, hills, tea garden,and the locals. From Birtamode, taking a short ride to Bhadrapur, you will take a domestic flight and arrive at Kathmandu.