- Details
This was our third group to attempt The Great Himalaya Trail (“GHT”) from Makalu Base Camp to Kanchenjunga Base Camp. For 2024, our international leader was Robert Mads Anderson and the Nepalese Sirdar was Bhim Sunuwar. Our other guides were Sanja, Resh Kumar, and Pasang Sherpa. Galden Sherpa brought our food resupply from Kathmandu to Hongon village. He also led two of our trekkers booked onto the shorter Kanchenjunga BC to Tumlingtar GHT trek out to the airstrip at Tumlingtar.
Robert sums up his thoughts after leading this trip as follows "It was around Kanchenjunga Base Camp, having already touched 5,000 metres and trekked over 100 kilometers, when the immensity of the journey set in. We had a month to go, the map showed a trail but we already knew it wasn’t much of a trail at all, and we’d be up and down 1,000 metres a day at times. But we were rewarded, so well rewarded, with Blue Sheep trotting across our trail, views back to Kanchenjunga and forward to the pyramid of Makalu, and not another person in sight. Our group was very diverse, yet all with a simple goal, let’s do this. And so we did, traipsing across just over 500 kilometers and up and down 23,000 vertical metres by the time we finished. All the way from the base of the 3rd highest mountain to the base of the 5th. The weather was sunny, the views beyond memorable, the Himalaya truly great in all their grandeur."
This year our Kanchenjunga GHT group arrived in Kathmandu on September 30th, 2024. This was one week later than our Kanchenjunga GHT group in 2023. A few days before they arrived it rained very heavily which caused flash flooding and landslides. This was a monsoonal rainfall event and not a cyclonic system like in October 2022, 2014, and 2013. For more information about the impact of the rains read our October 2024 e-newsletter. I arrived in Kathmandu on September 24th just before the rains started. It was fortunate that I was already in Nepal to assess the situation. After some consideration, we decided to go ahead with the trek.
As planned on October 1st, they flew from Kathmandu to Bhadrapur Airport. In the afternoon they drove up into the hills and stayed in a hotel in Ilam. The next day they drove from Ilam to Suketar. Along the way, they drove through several recently bulldozed landslides. In one place they also had to change vehicles where the bridge had been damaged. After getting to Suketar, we decided to delay starting the trek by a day to let the weather dry out.
On October 4th, they started the trek and walked from Suketar to Mitlung. The next few days' walk to Sekathum went well although being at a low altitude it is hot and humid at this time of year. We heard there several landslides on the trekking trail between Sekathum and Amjilossa. Fortunately, the locals had already put in a new trail on the other side of the valley, and this worked fine although it took a bit longer. Over the next few days, the weather started to clear as the monsoon retreated. According to the Indian Meteorological Department, the monsoon had completely left Nepal on October 13th and this is only a few days later than usual.
On October 14th, the group had a sunny day for their walk up to the North Base Camp of Kanchenjunga. On October 17th, they started on the GHT section of the trek away from the Kanchenjunga Circuit. Earlier on one of our guides, Sanja, and a porter did a recce on the section of the GHT trail from Ghunsa to Olangchungola. After what happened with last year's trek it was important to check the bridge was intact over the Yangma Khola. This year's group walked to Olangchungola over the Nango La (4,820m) with no issues. Two days later they crossed the Lumba Sumba pass (5,100m).
On October 25th, the group arrived at Chyamtang village after having walked on the narrow trail from Thudam village. This is where the group split and the trekkers booked onto Kanchenjunga BC to Tumlingtar GHT headed south along the Arun River to Tumlingtar. Their guide was Galden Sherpa who brought in the food resupply from Kathmandu. Galden also had the job of doing the reconnaissance of the section of the GHT trail from Hongon to Herder’s Camp. Specifically, we wanted to check the condition of the bridges. We were concerned they could have been washed away by the heavy rains. Fortunately, the bridge was intact and Galden took photos to show Robert and Bhim when they met at Chyamtang. We brought along ropes to use as handrails and this was very helpful for crossing safely over one of the log bridges below Herder’s Camp.
After a rest day in Hongon, we continued on the last remote section of the Great Himalaya Trail. After six days the group arrived at the lodges of Yangle Kharka on the Makalu Base Camp trekking trail. Fortunately, Cyclone Dana which had just made landfall in Kolkatta did not bring in much precipitation although it caused some cloudy days. On November 3rd, everyone made it to Makalu Base Camp and fortunately, they had great views of Mount Makalu.
From here we walk out on the Makalu Base Camp trail crossing over the Shipton La. They walked through the Sherpa villages of Tashigaon and Seduwa. After crossing the bridge over the Arun River they finished the trek. They drove along the new jeep track down to the airstrip at Tumlingtar. On the next day, they flew back to Kathmandu. I enjoyed meeting the group and their leader, Robert, for a debrief at Hotel Ambassador. Their feedback was very positive and they had a great time exploring this remote region of Nepal.
Now that I have had time to debrief with the group, Robert, Bhim, and our office in Kathmandu we plan to make the following changes for 2025:
- We will delay the start of the trek by a week to October 5th, 2025. This will give more time for the weather to dry out as the monsoon winds down.
- We have made tweaks to the itinerary. We will now drive to Sekathum whereas previously we walked there from Suketar in two and a half days. We also eliminated two of the shorter walking days. However, we have now included an extra rest day at Yangle Kharka on Day 32. We have also added a buffer day in Kathmandu on Day 40 in case of any delays flying back from Tumlingtar.
- We will continue to focus on increasing the amount of protein in our trek meals. We have been working on improving the nutrition on our camping treks in Nepal for several years. It is important for longer treks not to have the typical carbohydrate-heavy meals served on treks in Nepal. We include more vegetarian protein plus bring freezed dried chicken from the UK. We will increase these provisions for 2025 and do more cook training out of season.
- For the section from Hongon to Yangle Kharka we plan to travel in a lighter-weight style. The porters are getting tired at this point so to save weight we will leave our mess tent at Hongon. Trekkers will have the choice to eat meals in the kitchen tent or in their personal tents for these six days. Once on the Makalu Base Camp trail we will eat our meals in the dining room of the lodge but sleep in tents outside.
I am very pleased that we finally had a group that successfully traversed from Kanchenjunga to Makalu. Undoubtedly, this is a challenging trek to organise the logistics for, and we learned a lot from our previous treks. Key to this success was having a strong group of experienced trekkers who worked well as a team. Well done and congratulations! Our international leader, Robert, and the Nepalese trek crew worked very hard throughout the trek. Thanks so much for doing such a great job!
I have copied below an AITO Traveller Review received from one trekker from the shorter Kanchenjunga BC to Makalu BC GHT group: "An amazing trek like no other experience. I undertook the Kangchenjunga BC to Makalu BC GHT, a 42 day explorative trek through eastern Nepal. TMC were truly excellent, the amount of knowledge they have about Nepal seemed more up to date than other companies and was immense and useful. Honest and prompt communication was really valued in the planning stages, and all questions answered well. The trek itself was organised in a comprehensive and exceptional way, and they have also listened to post trek feedback and adapted the itinerary according to on the ground conditions. I would not hesitate to use them again- a real quality outfit." by RichD on 28/11/2024
I have copied below an AITO Traveller Review received from one trekker from the shorter Kanchenjunga BC to Tumlingtar GHT group: "An unforgettable trek that completely delivered (and in some cases surpassed) our expectations. We felt very safe and cared for when on-trip, in-country and we look forward to returning to Nepal and would choose The Mountain Company again. A very professional, well-organised operator run with enthusiasm, care and passion for clients and a respect for the country. We would definitely use The Mountain Company again." by jgp on 22/11/2024
We have already received strong interest in Kanchenjunga Base Camp to Makalu Base Camp GHT for Autumn 2025. If you are considering joining this trek please get in touch with soon as it is likely this group will fill up quite soon.
Trek on!
Roland Hunter
The Mountain Company