Helambu Trek

7 Days

Why Book with Us?

  • Nepal Government certified
  • Respect guest time value
  • Voluntary community work
  • Responsible tourism
  • Professional Team building
  • Multi Country Program

  • An easy natural trek close to Kathmandu Valley
  • Views of Langtang and other peaks combined with an immersive experience of Nepali culture
  • Hike through forests and beautiful villages of Helambu with astounding views eight-thousanders
  • Gain experience of tea-house trekking in Nepal, with even a chance of homestay
  • The perfect short-duration trek that is totally apart from high-altitude trekking
This short trek is a journey into dense oak and rhododendron forests complete with wildlife and scenic views of valleys and pastures below. At the north near the Tibetan border, we will see some incredible views of the mountain peaks. Trekking along the lower altitudes of Langtang Mountain Range, this scenic journey lets you see the untouched natural and beauty. The intricate Hyolmo culture is followed by people of this region. Equally suited for first-time trekkers in Nepal, this is a leisurely walk through forests of bamboo, oak, and rhododendron, the national flower of Nepal.

The program takes you first to Sundarijal, the beginning point of our trek. From here, we will ascend to Shivapuri National Park and Water Reserve; and go on to places like Chisapani, Kutumsang, Thadepati, Sermathang, and Melamchi, where we will end our trek. The beautiful and scattered valleys, terraced farmlands, unique mountain views, and time-worn monasteries are some of the things you will see in this trek. This program from High Venture Plus is highly recommended for an introductory trekking experience at lower altitudes in Nepal.
 

Route Map

Helambu Trek Route Map

Itinerary

  • In the morning we begin with drive to Sundarijal. It takes around an hour to reach Sundarijal where Bagmati river flows down through the rocks. Climbing along stone steps at first, we will reach Mulkharka and enjoy the scenic beauty of the place before heading towards the village of Chisapani where we will stay for the night.
  • We will begin the trek through a hilly pass called Pati Bhanjyang near scattered hamlets and farmlands. Enjoying the scenic trail, we will reach another pass called Gul Bhanjyang. From there, continue along a rocky trail to arrive at Kutumsang where we will stay overnight.
  • Our destination for today is Thadepati. After breakfast, we will take an ascending route through rhododendron forests until Magen Goth. Here, we will enjoy the break and then continue the trek with astounding views of peaks of Langtang. At the end of the day we will reach Thadepati where we will stay tonight.
  • Start after breakfast and head along the scenic trail. We will cross a river, trek through some forests and come to a viewpoint. During a brief rest here you can have great close-up views of the peaks nearby. Then we will descend along through forests to arrive at Tarke Ghyang. It is a village mostly inhabited by the Sherpa community, where we will stay overnight.
  • From Tarke Ghyang, the easy trek today is around four hours to Sarmathang. At first we trek through a thick forest until we arrive a monastery. Here, we will take a brief break and head towards the village of Sermathang with great views of Langtang peaks ahead. In Sarmathang, we will enjoy the beauty of this village and the sceneries and stay overnight in this village.
  • On the last day of trekking in this program, we will trek from Sarmathang to Melamchi. It takes less than four hours of easy walk amid beautiful terrains, terraced farmlands and pastures. Before you notice it, you have arrived at Melamchi, a village at the north-east of Kathmandu Valley. Stay overnight at a lodge here.
  • At the end of this program, you can hire a private car or van, or take the bus to Kathmandu. It’s a leisurely drive to the capital through winding roads, hills, and forests. Upon reaching Kathmandu, you will spend the rest of the day at leisure and stay at night in a hotel.

What's Included?

  • For accommodation in Kathmandu, the Hotel will be a 3 star Hotel and the room will be on twin sharing basis which includes breakfast. The package for Kathmandu’s hotel is for 2 nights.
  • Similarly, for accommodation in Pokhara, the Hotel will be a 3 star Hotel where the room will be on twin sharing basis, 2 nights.
  • Trekkers’ Information Management Systems (TIMS) card.
  • Permit to Conservation Area / national park
  • We further make arrangements of the best teahouses or lodge as far as possible in twin sharing basis throughout the trek journey.
  • Regarding the guide, we provide you with a professional very helpful and friendly trekking guide who can speak fluently in English.
  • The other assistant will also be provided if you are going in a group of two or more where the package will include their food, dally payment, transportation, and accommodation, along with covering up their insurance.
  • A down jacket, duffle bag and a sleeping bag will also be provided during the trek.
  • For transportation, we have roadways where we arrange tourist bus for solo travellers and private vehicle for group.
  • A T-shirt, trekking map and a certificate of achievement after completion of the trek will also be provided.
  • We also provide you with first aid kit.
  • The package also includes all the official and governmental charges.

What's not Included?

  • Visa arrangements and charges to Nepal (Obtain airport 15 days $25 – 30 days $ 40 -90 days $ 100 )
  • Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and seasonal fruit will be provided during the trekking. ( About 250- 300 $ entire trekking )
  • All kinds of soft and hard drinks.
  • National and International plane fares.
  • Luggage charges (especially if they go excessive)
  • Travel insurance ( 30 $)
  • For extra accommodation in Kathmandu (if it exceeds more days than mentioned in the itinerary) whatever the cause might be early arrival, late departure or early return from the trek
  • Along with accommodation, the same condition applies for food as well. You need to pay on your own for Breakfast, lunch and dinner for extra days even if it will be after returning back from the trek earlier than the mentioned date.
  • Personal expenses like phone recharge, laundry, hot shower, bottled water, extra porters, extra snacks, etc.Tips for guides and porters are also excluded as it is not a compulsion but it is expected that you tip them.

Trek Info

Here are some of the Trekking accessories that you require for the easy and convenient journey-

In general, you will need four sleeping bags (we could provide you one for the trek), a duffel or a trekking bag of 70-80 liters (we can provide one), down jacket (this too we can provide one if needed for the trek) and a normal travel bag of 25-30 liters.

For clothing, you will require the following-

Upper body- For the this-shirts, waterproof jacket, fleece jacket or pullover, waterproof jacket are needed. A windproof jacket is optional but preferred. For T-shirts, baggy cotton T-shirts are the best especially for warm days at lower altitudes. Moreover, we recommend synthetic T-shirts as they quickly absorb the moisture. Then, for the waterproof jacket, we recommend you to have light nylon.

Lower body- For this, you need hiking shorts, trekking pants, softshell, and hardshell pants, cotton pants or jeans. For hiking shorts, buy the fabric which dries quickly. For trekking pants, go for the ones which have a zipper in the middle of the knees so that you can take off the bottom part when necessary. For softshell pants, buy a synthetic fiber. Then, for a hard shell, buy a waterproof one. Full zipper from top to bottom is preferred for both soft and hard shell pants. For extra wearable, have a pair of jeans or cotton pants.

Inner wears- Regarding inner wears, you need lightweight underwear which is preferably made up of synthetic. For women, own synthetic sports bras. You could also have a swimsuit if you would like to.

Footwear- For this, you need a trekking boot, gaiters and sandals. For Trekking boots, get a hard sole lug-cleated boot for good performance for every kind of landscape. We then recommend you to have a pair as it helps keep your feet dry quickly and keeping dust, rocks, and snow out of your shoes. We also suggest you have a pair of sandals as it helps while you are in the lodge. Then, for socks, you require 4 pairs of synthetic and 3 pairs of woolen socks.

Hand wears- The hand essentials are gloves, mittens and hand warmers. For warm weather, buy synthetic or thin woolen gloves. For cold weather, buy a woolen or fleece gloves. While for mittens, Gore-Tex mittens are the best. Regarding hand warmers, it’s completely your choice whether you want to have or not.

Face protection- For protecting the face against the snowfalls, heavy wind, direct sun, etc. we recommend you to have a cap or a hat, a synthetic woolen hat, a light weighted balaclava, glacier glasses having 100% UV protected lens with side shields and hard-sided storage, headlamp, ear muffs, neck warmer, etc. Earmuffs and neck warmers are not necessary but are up to your choice.

First Aid Kit- Though the trekking guides will be carrying a first aid kit box, we suggest you have one as well. So, for this, you will need to have basic emergency equipment. You can discuss with us what all to take along with you.

Personal care- The personal care products that you will require while trekking is a toothbrush, toothpaste (biodegradable is preferred), towel, soap, hand wash, sanitizers, wet wipes, deodorants, crèmes, etc. along with your other needs.

Miscellaneous but important- These include valid passport, passport size photos, airline ticket (and its copy), luggage locks, thick garbage bags, water bottle, small bag for travel documents, passport, wallet/purse, etc., pocket knife, sunscreen lotion (SPF 40 recommended) and lip balm of at least SPF 20.

Extras- The extras include trekking poles, snacks, books, games, chargers, binoculars, batteries, camera, guide book, extra glasses (if you wear), notebook/pen, sleeping bag liner, hydration bladder with drinking tube, pee bottle for men and pee funnel for women, thermos, etc.

Note- Tight-fitting clothes specially made out of fabrics like lycra, especially to women can be offensive to the local villagers. So, make sure that you pack something to wear on top of them if you want to pack them.

FAQs

The ideal time to trek in Nepal whether it is either in Autumn- from September to November or in Spring- from March to May. These two seasons are considered to be the best time due to good weather and moderate temperate suitable for trekking.
In regard to the difficulty of trekking in Nepal, it depends upon the mountain range. Not all the trekking routes are that difficult to climb but there are places where you can find trekking most challenging as well.
In order to be fit for trekking, you need to start walking more and possibly go for hiking or even short distance trekking before you trek for long distance like this. You can go for hiking in your own place nearby before coming to Nepal as well.
The documents that you will require for trekking in Nepal will be your passport which should be valid at least till next 6 months, a copy of your insurance, 2 or more passport sized photographs, flight tickets of course along with emergency contact number in case of any emergency.
Yes, travel insurance is necessary and while getting the insurance, make sure that the company covers the altitude that you are trekking at. And the other thing, it is even better if you get the insurance from your own country.
For altitude sickness, as it is quite common problems in higher altitude, we provide you with some of the guideline regarding what you can do at your own level if it is not much. But if the sickness continues to get worse then you should immediately get down to lower region. In case of emergency, our guides will take care of it as they are well trained with using first aid and have basic knowledge of physical injuries or some other problems. But if the injury, altitude sickness or any other problem arises then the rescue team will be contacted. For this reason, you insurance helps a lot.
Yes, you need to have a trekking guide if you are a new trekker as you may not know about so many things like mountaineering or altitude sickness or even about the topography, weather, etc. And most importantly you will be able to know about the place that you are travelling; the exact location and can also have a company. But if you have travelled and especially trekked a lot of places in Nepal trekked earlier as well for many times and think you don’t need a guide then you may proceed. But for this also, make sure that you have the permission from the local and government authorities as trekking guide is mostly compulsory in many parts of the Himalayan region.
This however is not a compulsion in many of the trekking routes but it is better if you take a porter along with you as you can enjoy your travelling experience without having to carry a lot of loads- your backpack. And the other reason the local people will get a work to earn for their daily requirements and as the people in High Himalayas don’t have riches and live a simple normal life, it will perhaps be a great help.
The permits that you need for the trek will be done by our company and need not worry about it. But however, for your information, you will need to have a TIMS (Trekkers’ Information Management System) card- this is a basic permit for trekking in Nepal along with the necessary permits of where exactly you are trekking if needed. You can also have FIT (Free Individual Trekker) if you are a solo trekker. But this is not valid for the restricted areas where you cannot go forward for solo trekking. The other necessities will be Valid passport with at least six month remaining before it expire, a valid Nepal visa, e-copy of passport sized photo. The other necessities will be done by the company itself.
Yes, you can solo trek or travel in Nepal. However, for trekking in higher altitudes where the regions are known as Restricted Areas, there you are not allowed to go alone as you will have to buy at least two permits. But the interesting thing is that in most of the areas you also need to carry a guide along with you. So, if you can manage to trek with your guide paying for his permit and being with him throughout the trek, then you possibly might be able to trek in that way. Otherwise, you can get along with someone who also wants to trek solo and go together instead.
The foods are usually served in the teahouses which will be plain but good and hygienic as they cook the vegetables nicely. They even soak iodine in water before cooking the vegetables so that you can get good and healthy food. Whereas if you are camping then you can get local foods that you can cook it. Since in higher altitudes, you won’t find refrigerators and frequent power cut; you will have to be vegetarian during the trek even if you are not. Then, regarding water facilities, bottled water is available up to the most of the Base Camp itself which will cost around US$1-4. But however, you should not drink water from the tap or streams.
For souvenirs, you can get good hand knitted woolen goods, hats, cashmere shawls, pashminas, Buddhist memorabilia, carved masks, puppets, wood carvings, jewelry, etc. as these are the things which are frequently bought by the tourists. You can get the souvenirs mostly at Thamel area when you are in Kathmandu. So, for all of the extra expenses including souvenirs, food and drinks other than what the Hotel/ Teahouse provides you, or perhaps some clothing or equipment for yourself then we recommend you to have around US$200-350 along with you. Besides that, you can withdraw money from ATMs while in Kathmandu as well.
Yes, you can buy trekking equipment in Kathmandu and it may even cost a little less amount but the quality of the product can’t be guaranteed. So, for this reason, we recommend you to bring the very necessary equipment like the trekking shoes along with you. But for other additional needs, you can buy it in Kathmandu itself.
You need to carry warm as well as cool clothing as there might be hotter in some of the places along the way or even in Kathmandu during summer season. Then, you have to have a sleeping bag as you might need it at times if the teahouses are unavailable or so in some places. The other things we recommend are small portion of snacks like chocolate bars, water proof wearable, cap, lotion, sunglasses, hand sanitizers, water bottle, first aid kit, etc. along with your daily necessities.
We don’t think you will need Ice axe or Crampons during trekking even in the Himalayas as the trails are marked nicely until and unless you go to trekking in the winter. Then, you will need them as there will be much more snowfall and will also be easy for you while trekking. In other season, instead of Crampons, we recommend you to have Micro spikes as they are not heavy and you can carry it easily. Plus, Micro spikes are comparatively less expensive as well. And regarding the Ice axe, we will provide you with one if it is really necessary though it’s not that necessary, as we will know more about the size and shape along with light weighted one.

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