Makalu Base Camp Trek - 19 Days

After your first night in Kathmandu, after having breakfast at hotel, we take you for a sightseeing tour in Kathmandu Valley; this includes Kathmandu Durbar Square, Monkey Temple, Pashupatinath Temple and Baudhanath Stupa and all of these monuments are UNESCO declared world heritage sites, return to hotel and you will have some time to shop trekking gear if you need.

After having early breakfast at hotel in Kathmandu, we drive to Kathmandu airport and take an early morning flight to Tumlingtar which is about 50 minutes.

We drive to Num village which takes about 5 hours, we drive on a rough road through rice, wheat, barley and potatoes fields, after few hours of drive, we stop for lunch in Khadbari where small lodge and teahouses available then we start our drive again to the small ridge-top village of Chichila and continue drive to Num.

After having breakfast at lodge, we start our trek and our day begins with nice views of our campsite at Seduwa, on the opposite side of the valley, this can only mean one thing; a steep descent down through the forest and terraced plots of land all the way to the Arun Khola (river).

We then hike up a winding ascent up the other side; we generally experience more heat at these low altitudes, so the forest on the valley sides offers a bit of shade on this somewhat challenging day. This is the boundary of the Makalu National Park, so we must register our permits with the local rangers, descending steeply from the western end of the Num ridge the trail reaches Lumbang, from where the path becomes exceptionally steep as it reaches the suspension bridge over the Arun Koshi at 620m, from where we make a rough climb to Sedua.

After having breakfast at lodge, we start our trek and from Sedua to reach Tashigaon, we pass through Manigaon, where the trail turns west and makes a gradual climb above the Kasuwa Khola and reaches Chyaksadanda from there to Hindrungma Village and on to Ropesa.

Finally, we climb 500m to reach the busier village of Tashigaon (2,065m). In the course of our hike, we pass a local school that was built by funding from the British Services Makalu expedition in 2008 and the route crossing the meadows and several streams finally gets us to Tashigaon.

After having breakfast at lodge, we start our trek and it’s an interesting walk today as we say bye to the lovely green forests that we don’t see for some time, these are replaced with the more remote scrub and rhododendrons that cover the lower reaches of the mountains.

We first climb over the ridge & ascend through forests to a stream, then onto a ridge. We climb through two small streams, and then get connected to Kharka and further up to Unshisha, from where the trail joins the ridge that separates two drainages, a short distance from there will lead us to Khongma.

Today, we climb on steep switchbacks for a while to the top of the ridge, at 3840m, from where astounding views of Chhamlang, Peak 6 and Peak 7 of 6739m and 6105m respectively can be seen. Following the ridge through rhododendron bushes we ascend a staircase and reach Ghungru La, one of the first passes among the three passes we cross to reach the Barun Khola.

From here descending a small lake we climb up to Shipton La and then to Keke La at (4150m). The route then enters to a valley filled with rhododendrons to Dobato.

After having breakfast at lodge, we start our trek and today and continue our trail westward through fir forests at the bottom of the Barun Valley. We cross several streams, and then cross the Barun on a wooden bridge to Yangle Kharka, Yangle Kharka is a pert little village situated in a meadow at the base of the valley, It's a relaxing place to haul up for the night.

After having breakfast at lodge, we start our trek and today, the trail ascends through grasslands and forest, we will take pleasure in the majestic peaks such as Mt. Tutse (Peak 6) 6739m, Peak 7 (6185m), Isuwa La (5340m) and many other unnamed mountains and peaks that lay spread out before us. Yak Kharka is a grazing field.

After having breakfast at lodge, we start our trek and today, the trek passes through a flat trail and will descend to a Perennial River, as we reach Makalu Base Camp, we are literally mesmerized by the views of Mt. Makalu at (8463m), Baruntse at (7152m), Kali Himal at (6985m), Chamlang at (7390m) along with Makalu II at (7640 m).

We spend a day exploring around base camp, with the aim of climbing up towards the Advance Base Camp at the start of the Makalu's South East Ridge, from where on the edge of the icy slopes we get a great views from up the Barun Valley of Everest, Lhotse and Baruntse, we will enjoy most of the whole day in the base camp. From here we will get some real spectacular views of different mountains and peaks. We can also hike to the Baruntse Base Camp to enjoy the scenery and view what this well known camp has to offer.

After having breakfast at lodge, we start our trek and after ascending for a few hours, the trail moves along a flat level path and at the end it descends to reach our previous rest point of Yangle Kharka.

After having breakfast at lodge, we start our trek and today, the trail ascends for almost three hours through the same landscape and with the possibility of landslides, you then have to trek uphill passing through jungles with dense foliage all the way to Dobato.

After having breakfast at lodge, we start our trek and today, the trail descends steeply to Khongma la via Kali Pokhari through a dense forest.

After having breakfast at lodge, we start our trek and today, the trail steeply descends in the beginning of our hike which changes to a steep ascent before reaching our last meeting point of Seduwa.

After having breakfast at lodge, we start our trek to Num and take drive to Tumlingtar.

After breakfast, we board our flight to Katmandu, on touching down at Katmandu, we to our hotel & chill out after a grueling journey that have had some kind of impact on our lives with all the experience we achieved & the things that we learnt on the wild trails of Makalu.

It's also spare day in case of bad weather in Tumlingtar if we could not fly on scheduled date and time, or we can organize you a day tour in or around Kathmandu, shopping tour etc if you want: or we can remove this extra day from the tour itinerary if you do not want so, contact us and consult about options available for the day.

We would like you to know we’ve been through a lot of hard work to meticulously plan your trek to detail, ensuring that you have no hassles on the way. As this is the case, we are sure you will have enjoyed your sojourns to this wonderful region of Makalu. We would like to respect the relationship developed over the weeks with you & hope that it will last on in the years ahead.