Nepal’s Royal Trek

Nepal’s Royal Trek Itinerary:

• Day 1

  Your trip begins today in Kathmandu, Nepal. There are a number of convenient carriers to Nepal and the REI Adventures Air Department can handle your flight needs. A hotel en route may be needed (not included). After clearing immigration and customs in Kathmandu, you are met by one of your Nepali guides and transferred to your city hotel. The afternoon is left open to rest and explore on your own. This evening we gather to enjoy a banquet of traditional Nepali foods and a general trip orientation. Dinner included.

• Day 2

  Early this morning there is an optional close-up sightseeing flight to Mt. Everest ($125 fee, amazing views!). After lunch we enjoy a half-day guided tour of the ancient city of Kathmandu. Visit Buddhanath Stupa and Pashupatinath, a sacred Hindu pilgrim site. Breakfast included.

• Days 3-6

  We begin our four day, fully-supported camping trek in the remote middle Himalaya.  Our trail is the ancient and historic footpath Nepal royalty used hundreds of years ago to travel south to India for the winter. (This is not to be confused with the route in the Annapurna Range that Prince Charles once used that is commonly referred to as the Royal Trek).  Today these trails are used by local villagers and farmers to cross the miles from their homes to the nearest town.  Ours is a route you won’t find in any guide book…we don’t anticipate meeting any other trekkers on our journey.  Each day provides the unique opportunity to meet and interact with the local people whose rich Hindu culture has been little touched by the modern world.  As we meander through rhododendron forests and over terraced hillsides we visit a major Hindu temple dedicated to the goddess Kali, stop at a Tibetan gompa that’s perched high on a hillside and offers magnificent views of the Bagmati River valley, meet Newari farmers plowing their fields, sip tea with a Tamang family and perhaps share an evening of traditional stories around a small home hearth.  In addition, we have the opportunity to visit children and teachers at a local school.  As stunning as the landscape is here, the culture is as just as colorful.  Each morning, our guides and porters wake us with sweet hot tea at our tents before breakfast.  In the evening, we pitch our camp on hillsides offering large vistas, immense quietness and endless starry skies.  This is a slice of traditional Nepal at its very best!  Trekking: 3-5 hours daily; Terrain: rolling hills with some steep sections; 1000-2000’ elevation gain / loss; All meals included.

• Day 7

  A final morning of trekking down and out of the hills to the small town of Kulikhani where we are met by our private vehicle; transfer to Royal Chitwan National Park (3 hour drive).  We check into our comfortable jungle lodge, shower and relax before our first elephant foray into the jungle. Trekking: 1-2 hours; All meals included.

• Day 8

  Enjoy a full day of wildlife viewing via elephant back, dugout canoe and nature walks with the park’s naturalists.  This area is famous for its wildlife (it is elusive!) but a large part of the enjoyment here is being on an elephant and lumbering through the jungle.  Keep your eyes open for the one-horned rhino, wild boar, langur monkeys, three types of deer, sloth bear, myriad birds and, of course, the very elusive Bengal tiger.  (Note: Fall departures have the best opportunities for wildlife sightings.)  All meals included.

• Day 9

  We are up early for a final outing into the jungle before flying back to Kathmandu. The late afternoon and evening are free to explore on your own in Kathmandu. This is a good time to shop for gifts in the colorful Thamel markets. Breakfast, lunch included.

• Day 10

  Another early start today; at the Kathmandu airport we board our charter helicopter for a breathtaking flight north to the village of Ghora Tabela (9,450’), just below the high Langtang Valley. Our helicopter flight is always a visual highlight – the flight itself is quiet and almost like floating above the river valleys and ridgelines. Have your camera ready!  Once landed, we settle into a local tea house and have the afternoon to hike a bit higher to aid with altitude acclimatization. This is a beautiful area of rhododendron and berberis dotted with the small stone homes of the local people. All meals included.

• Day 11

  This is a vigorous day of hiking up to the Langtang Valley and the village of Langtang (11,480’). Our trail zig-zags higher and higher while offering tantalizing views of the Langtang peaks that await us. As we climb into the broad valley, we pass old mani-walls and goths, temporary shelters for herders. Langtang village itself is a community of stone houses, walled fields of buckwheat and potatoes, and an old gompa with its resident lama.  The people who make Langtang their home are the Tamangs and the Sherpas who, for several hundred years, have crossed from Tibet to live in the high reaches of the Himalayas. We overnight in a local tea house. Trekking: 3-4 ½ hours; Terrain: continuous, gradual uphill with some level sections; All meals included.

• Day 12

  Today is all about high mountain splendor - ranks upon rank of snowcapped Himalayan giants surround the upper Langtang Valley. A delightful morning’s trek from Langtang to Kyangjin (12,300’) winds up and through ruggedly wild and exceedingly beautiful country offering fine mountain scenery. Ice-fluted Gangchempo (21,000’) dominates the eastern landscape. Wandering past icy streams and glacial pools, aside long mani walls and stone chortens draped in colorful prayer flags, our hike is entirely through the open valley until we top out at a rise above Kyangjin Gompa. From here the mountain views become even more spectacular with Langtang Lirung (23,700’) being the most dramatic.  Porters carry our gear. Tonight we overnight at a tea house. Trekking: 4-5 hours; Terrain: gradual and steady uphill; All meals included.

• Day 13

  Several hiking options are available to us. Minor peaks (such as Kyangjin Ri) offer enormous views; the Lirung Cirque of hanging glaciers and the Langtang Lirung basecamp are beautiful treks; or the up-valley walk toward Nubamtang (13,123’) with its justifiable reputation for mountain grandeur. Above Kyangjin, we follow the Langtang Khola (river) on an easy path that passes a couple of yak herder’s settlements and pastures, cuts across rocky moraines and glacial streams. Here, one mountain after another draws our attention and pulls us onward. The walks in the upper valley are, quite simply put, magnificent! We overnight again in Kyangjin; this is the final evening with our Langtang trekking porters and support staff. All meals included. 

• Day 14

  Today we bid farewell to this magnificent high mountain country and board our helicopter for a morning flight from Kyangjin to Kathmandu. After we transfer to the hotel, the remainder of today is free for rest, relaxation, or exploration. Breakfast included.

• Day 15

  The morning is spent enjoying a guided tour of the medieval city of Bhaktapur.  A farewell banquet with your guides of traditional foods is the perfect end to this spectacular Himalayan journey.  Breakfast and dinner included.

• Days 16

  This morning our journey in Nepal ends with a transfer to the Kathmandu international airport for your flight home. Breakfast included.

Although we do our best to adhere to the schedule listed above, this itinerary is subject to change for numerous reasons beyond our control.

National Park fees; 6 nights city hotel / lodge; 2 nights jungle lodge; 3 nights camping; **4 nights Langtang area tea-houses; meals as noted in the daily itinerary; flight from Chitwan National Park to Kathmandu; guided city tours; private transportation throughout; Nepali guides/porters/cooks; tents, sleeping pads, cooking and eating utensils while camping; baggage portage and airport transfers.  **Note: The 4 nights in the Langtang area may either be in tea houses or self-contained camping depending upon group size, weather and other factors effecting lodging choices.

Air transportation to/from Nepal; Bangkok hotel costs (if routing through Bangkok); helicopter flight within Nepal ($395 mandatory add-on); 3 lunches, 3 dinners; optional Everest flight; visas; any necessary emergency evacuation expenses; optional tips to local guides or staff; airport departure taxes; cost of obtaining a passport or medical immunizations; insurance; items of a personal nature such as liquor or laundry fees.

If you are traveling alone and specifically request single accommodations, you will be asked to pay the full single supplement noted on the trip itinerary.  If you wish to share accommodations, we will assign you a roommate if one is available. If a roommate cannot be found, you will be asked to pay a reduced single fee which is half of the full single supplement. Please be advised that there are a limited number of single rooms available on most departures and may not be available in all lodges and tea houses.

This trip is rated as Moderate Plus [3-4] with 5 days tending towards a Vigorous [4].  Trekking in Nepal is for active people in good health who enjoy vigorous hiking. Nepal has an “up and down” topography, there is very little level walking. We expect participants to be strong, experienced hikers in good physical condition.  Gear and supplies will be carried by porters, leaving members free to carry only a daypack.  No technical climbing or other special abilities are required.  However, each person should be equipped with a "spirit of adventure" and have prior experience with backcountry camping, sleeping in a tent and hiking 4 – 6 hours on mountain trails.  Part of this itinerary spends time at altitudes between 10,000' and 12,500' (with optional hikes to higher elevations).  The trails themselves are only moderately difficult, but at these altitudes hiking will feel more strenuous.  A good physical conditioning program should be undertaken several months in advance.

From March until the first part of May temperatures are relatively warm, 10 to 15 degrees warmer than in the fall.  Mornings are bright and clear with the air slowly becoming hazier as the day progresses.  The rhododendron forests in springtime are spectacular and the mountain views in the Langtang area are typically clear.  Springtime visits to the Chitwan jungle are less likely to offer notable wildlife viewing than the fall visits – however, exploring the jungle by elephant back is always enjoyable.  The fall season, October to mid-December, is an ideal time for the best mountain views.  Clear, crisp air greets the trekker each morning and evening.  Evenings in both seasons while on the Langtang portion of the trip (at high altitudes) will be cold, not cool but cold – so a warm jacket, hat and gloves are necessary.

This trip is subject to the booking information set forth in the current REI Adventures Reservation Information. Please read this information carefully and call us if you have any questions. A full gear list and pre-departure information is sent upon sign-up. We highly recommend the purchase of travel insurance through REI Adventures. If coverage is purchased within 21 days of your initial trip deposit, the 'Pre-existing Conditions Exclusion' is waived (certain exclusions apply).

We look forward to having you join us for the trip of a lifetime! Why wait? Space is limited, reserve your adventure today.

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