Makalu Base Camp Trek

Today, we will explore the city as well as prepare for our adventurous trek. We will visit the most historical and spiritual attractions in Kathmandu. They are considered World Heritage Sites including the historic Kathmandu Durbar Square, the sacred Hindu temple of Pashupatinath, the famous ‘Monkey Temple’ (Swyambhunath), and the Buddhist Stupa (Bouddhanath) which is one of the largest stupas in the world. City life is vibrant as the culture and heritage reflect their ethnic identity. Later, there will be a pre-trip discussion where we can meet our trek leader, guide, and other team members. Bold Himalaya will give us brief detail regarding our trek as well as provides us with an opportunity to ask any questions we may have regarding our upcoming adventure. We will prepare the permit on this day as well as make all the preparation necessary for this trip. You can also go for last-minute shopping for your trek. You will find every branded trekking gear at Thamel. Overnight in Kathmandu.

With thrills and adventures in our minds, we will drive to Kathmandu airport for our domestic flight to Tumlingtar. The flight usually takes around 35 to 40 minutes and the views of Mt. Everest, Lhotse, and Makalu along with hills and rivers are magnificent. Then after take-off, a four-hour drive through the beautiful Arun Valley leads to the trek’s starting point at the village of Num. We will drive for about half an hour on a spiralling road uphill to Kandbari, a main town in the district. We will witness a beautiful rural life as we head upwards along with fields of corn, bamboo, and sal trees. We will continue on a winding, dirt road to the highest point at 1,960m before descending to Chichira at 1,900m, a small town with a police checkpoint where we have to present our trekking permit. There are pleasant views of the surrounding, forested hillsides. The road deteriorates a bit from Chichira so it’s a bumpy ride from here to Num. We can get a slight glimpse of the Himalayas from Num.

Today, on our first day of trekking, we will have a big, steep descent to the Arun River, which takes around 2 hours, and a big climb to Seduwa, losing and regaining the height in one day. The walk down to the river is through cardamom crops (the largest cash crop in the area), and the trail is on big stone steps all the way to the river at 770m. It’s very hot, but the scenery is at its best. We will cross the suspension bridge over the Arun River and begin the long, winding climb to Seduwa, passing groves of giant bamboo, and bustling village life. Our guide will need to visit the Makalu-Baron National Park checkpoint to deal with all kinds of legal permits for the trek. We will trek through dense forests of juniper and rhododendron passing few villages to finally reach Seduwa. There is a school in Seduwa, as well as many houses, small shops, and a few tea houses dispersed across the hillside.

It’s a lovely day without any ascents and descents like yesterday. We will begin to climb on a path with many stone steps and pass several Mani walls as we head into the Sherpa country. We will walk through many small farms dotted across the hillside, cardamom plantations and bamboo, and rhododendron forests. It’s certainly a varied, undulating walk today. After approximately two hours we will reach the small settlement of Chyaksa Danda at 1,900m. There’s a school, a tea shop, and several houses. We may hear barbets, cuckoos, drongos, and laughing thrushes calling through the trees. In some places, we will be walking through dense forest and have to cross a few streams on good log bridges. We can see our destination, Tashigaon, on the hillside ahead, although it takes longer than we think to arrive, as we contour on an undulating path. Eventually, we will descend to a log bridge just before our final push on stone steps to reach Tashigaon. The lodges are all perched on the top so we have a bit of climbing through the village to earn our delicious Dal Bhat. The glimpse of the Himalayas is magnificent from Tashigaon.

Be prepared for a lot of ascents today. We will begin by ascending out of Tashigaon and head up on stone steps. After a while, we will cross a log bridge and continue ascending through a stunning rhododendron forest. It’s a hilly ascent but a lovely walk with birds like verditer fly-catchers, treepies, and warblers tweeting through the trees, and sparrowhawks. In April, the rhododendrons and magnolia trees provide a colorful foreground with snow-capped peaks to the east. As we look back we’ll see Tashigaon way beneath us.

After almost three hours, we will reach Dhara at 2,867m which has a tea shop, and we are likely to have our lunch here as it’s our last opportunity to have a refreshment stop until we reach Kauma. Leaving Dhara, it’s a stiff climb of around one hour to Unshisa at 3,200m, where we will pass a giant rock. There’s a tea hut (closed in April 2019) and prayer flags marking this pass. From Unshisa, it’s fiercer climbing on stone steps through a rhododendron forest. Finally, after a couple of hours striving upwards from Unshisha, we will reach a stone rest stop with prayer flags, and after another 15 minutes to a half-hour, we will reach Kauma at 3,470m. There are three lodges at Kauma, and there may be quite a bit of snow here as well.

 We will begin the day with outstanding views of snowy peaks and surrounding landscapes. After leaving Kauma, we will climb on steep switchbacks for a while. We will then ascend less steeply through rhododendron forests to the top of the range, with a large Mani wall decorated with prayer flags. From here, we will get superb views of Chamlang (7,319m), Mt. Baruntse (7,162m), and Mera Peak (6,476m). Following the ridge for a while, we will ascend a stone staircase with a few up and down that passes through the Thulo Pokhari (big pond) and Sano Pokhari (small pond). We will then climb gently up a shallow rocky gully to the Kike La (4,127 m). From the pass, we will go down to another lake, then climb steeply through large boulders to the Tutu La. We will continue descending about 150 meters into sparse rhododendron forests to a level area. The ultimate descent is through a forest of firs and rhododendrons to Mumbuk (3,570 m). Mumbuk is a forest camp, on a lush slope about 100 meters above a small stream, with sights of snow peaks through the trees.

The day begins with a sharp descent into a narrow valley, and then we will cross the Barun Khola just beyond Tamatan Kharka. We will then move left through fir forests, along the flank of the Barun Valley. Moving along the ill-defined trail, we will cross a 200-meter-long slide area, and then follow the river to a Kharka. Moving through forests of birch and scrub rhododendron, we will reach Yangle Kharka. It’s a wild, remote, and windy spot. There is a monastery, which is closed, just down from the lodge, providing glamorous limelight for photos with the snowy mountains behind. Then, we will climb from Yangle Kharka, finally crossing to the north side of the Barun Khola to reach Nhe Kharka. There is a small Gompa at the south side of the valley that present marvelous mountain views.

Beyond the Nhe Kharka, we will chase the north bank of the Barun Khola for a while. We will then cross a small wooden bridge before the river turns northward. The Barun Valley makes a giant S-shaped curve and the walls rise almost vertically 1500 to 2000 meters above the river, but the trail ascends smoothly as we access Ripok Kharka. Still, on the north side of the Barun, the trail turns westward and leaves the rhododendron forests for alpine tundra. Above Ripok Kharka, the trail crosses a rocky ridge with a few goths and then climbs alongside a hill assembled by the Barun Glacier. There are excellent views of Pyramid Peak (7,168m), Peak 4 (6,720m), Chamlang (7,290m), Peak 3 and Peak 5, but Makalu is not visible yet. As we cross a ridge, the glacier spins lightly north. We will then enter an alluvial valley and Makalu pops into view just before Sherson (4615m). Sherson is partially sheltered but still is a very cold place. This is the lower base camp of Mt. Makalu, providing outstanding views of the surrounding peaks and ranges.

From Sherson, we stay to the right in a trench on the east side of the valley. It is continuous descent to a trivial pass about 100 meters above Makalu Base Camp. We will then descend to a stream, cross on boulders to the base camp on the west bank of the river. From here, we will get outstanding views of the south face of Makalu. The giant column of the south face rises across from base camp. An ascent of this column returns the views of Peak 6, 7 and Baruntse (7220 m), Everest and Lhotse complete the panorama. As we would expect, the world’s fifth highest mountain, Makalu (8,481m), completely dominates the view. Many Tibetan snowcocks, black redstarts, hill pigeons, and mountain finches may be seen around the base camp. 

Today, we explore the Makalu Base Camp relishing the beauty of the surrounding glaciers and glacial lakes. We can also walk a little up to Barun Glacier and make a side trip to the calm Barun Pokhari. One option for today which assures the most brilliant panoramic views is to climb to the hill around 5,300m above the base camp. We will cross the river on the Log Bridge and climb on an unclear, slightly indefinite path for around 3 hours. From this viewpoint, we can see Mt. Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse as well as close-up, breathtaking views of Makalu, Peak 7, Peak 6 and Peak 4. We will retrace our steps to the base camp when we’ve had our full of mountain drama. The round trip should take around 4-5 hours. It’s a strenuous undertaking as it’s steep and the altitude will surely rise above 5,000m.

There are other few options, which include succeeding a path to view the lakes beyond base camp. There is a shorter hill climb just above base camp, and also a small hill at the head of base camp marked with prayer flags which are around an hour’s walkout and back. Our guide may also have other suggestions.

akalu Base Camp is our the eventual destination for this trek so, we will be following a return trip from this day. We will leave Makalu Base Camp early in the morning retracing our step down the Barun Valley towards Nhe kharka. We will pass through beautiful landscapes, rhododendron forests, rivers, glaciers along with the magnificent views of Peak 6, 7, Baruntse (7220 m), Everest, Lhotse, Pyramid Peak (7,168m), Peak 4 (6,720m), Chamlang (7,290m), Peak 3 and Peak 5. We will pass via Sherson.

From Nhe Kharka, we will continue descending through the forests to Mumbuk. From here we will observe beautiful sunset views of Makalu and Chamlang. We will pass through beautiful rhododendron forests, also we can see a large Mani wall adorned with prayer flags. We will witness superb views of Chamlang (7,290m), Peak 6 (6,739m), and Peak 7 (6,105m). Overnight at Mumbuk.

Leaving Mumbuk, we will trek across the Shipton La and go down to Kauma. We will witness beautiful forests and magnificent mountain views on our way back to Kauma.

Today, we will make a long steep descent back to Tashi Gaon. At Tashi Gaon, we will spend the rest of the day relaxing in order to recover from the high altitude. We will pass through many small farms dotted across the hillside, cardamom plantations, and bamboo, and rhododendron forests. Overnight at Tashi Gaon.

 We will walk through farming settlements to the spread-out Rai village. The trail descends to the Apsawa Khola and crossing it on a suspension bridge we will climb steeply to Chhayang, a pleasant Rai village with an extensive bamboo-pipe water supply at 800 m. The trail then crosses a stream at 590m and makes some ups and downs to reach Parangbu, a delightful camping spot among rice fields on the banks of the Arun River. We will continue through forests and pass several streams to reach Pukuwa.

 The route now follows a trail through forests and some amazing high and disclosed narrow tracks as it climbs over rocky ridges. The route finally enters a region of extreme valley bottom cultivation, and crosses a large landslide and some more jungle before descending to Tome (520 m). Below Tome, the Arun Valley becomes broader and more U shaped. Then, the path ascends over another hill on a steep, narrow stairway of rock steps. From the top of the hill at 530m, the path descends to an enchanting camp on the banks of the Sankhuwa Khola (370m), across from the Chhetri village of Bumling.

The route pass over the fields of lower Bumling then ascends over a hill and goes down to the Inkhuwa Khola, crossing it on a shaky wooden plank bridge. The trail chases the river downstream to its union with the Arun. It then follows the Arun downstream, crossing a large suspension bridge. Then, succeeding the east bank of the Arun, the trail passes through Chyawabesi before making a short climb back to the Tumlingtar plateau. It is a few km of completely calm walking to the field.

30-minute amazing scenic flight back to Kathmandu. On arrival at Kathmandu, you will be transferred to the hotel and you can take a good rest. Also, you can feel free to explore and enjoy. We will celebrate the successful completion of our trekking with a pleasant farewell dinner.

It’s time to say farewell to Nepal. After wishing you goodbye, our representative from Bold Himalaya will assist you to Tribhuwan International Airport for your next destination. If you have any intention of extending your stay in Nepal for an adventurous experience like Safari, Rafting, Biking Tours, Peak climbing, and trekking in other regions, then we would be more than happy to be of help. Thank you for choosing Upper Mustang Trekking in Nepal with Bold Himalaya. Take care and goodbye from Bold Himalaya.