Langtang – Gosaikunda – Helambu Trek

Day 1 of 13

Kathmandu to Syabrubesi

Altitude: 1,400 m → 1,460 m

Time: 7–8 hours (drive)

Overnight: Syabrubesi

Drive north through Trishuli and Dhunche on rough mountain roads, entering Langtang National Park at the Dhunche checkpoint. Overnight in the riverside town of Syabrubesi.

Leave Kathmandu by 6–7 am.

Day 2 of 13

Syabrubesi to Lama Hotel

Altitude: 1,460 m → 2,470 m (+1,010 m at forgiving low altitude)

Time: 6–7 hours

Overnight: Lama Hotel

Walk up the Langtang Khola gorge through dense forest — waterfalls, langurs, and red panda country — via Bamboo and Rimche to the lodge cluster at Lama Hotel.

Day 3 of 13

Lama Hotel to Langtang Village

Altitude: 2,470 m → 3,430 m (+960 m)

Time: 6–7 hours

Overnight: Langtang Village

The valley opens past Ghodatabela and Thangshyap into glacial country beneath Langtang Lirung (7,227 m). Pass the 2015 earthquake memorial near the old village site before reaching rebuilt Langtang Village. This is the trek's first altitude pinch, so pace deliberately.

If AMS symptoms build, stopping at Thangshyap (3,140 m) and making it up on tomorrow's short stage is an easy adjustment.

Day 4 of 13

Langtang Village to Kyanjin Gompa

Altitude: 3,430 m → 3,870 m (+440 m)

Time: 3–4 hours

Overnight: Kyanjin Gompa

A short morning past grand mani walls to Kyanjin Gompa, ringed by ice peaks. The afternoon is free for the historic gompa, the Swiss-founded cheese factory, and the bakeries — ideal acclimatization.

Day 5 of 13

Summit Day: Kyanjin Ri or Tserko Ri

Altitude: 3,870 m → 4,773 m (Kyanjin Ri) or 4,984 m (Tserko Ri)

Time: Kyanjin Ri: 4–5 hours round trip; Tserko Ri: 7–8 hours, start ~5 am

Overnight: Kyanjin Gompa

Kyanjin Ri suits most groups — a steep morning to a full panorama of the Lirung amphitheater. Tserko Ri is bigger still, reaching views to Shishapangma in Tibet, for strong, symptom-free parties. This day's acclimatization is what makes the entire Gosaikunda leg later in the trek safe.

Day 6 of 13

Kyanjin Gompa to Lama Hotel

Altitude: 3,870 m → 2,470 m (−1,400 m)

Time: 6–7 hours

Overnight: Lama Hotel

The long valley descent in one push — past Langtang Village and the memorial, back into the forest to Lama Hotel.

Poles for the knees.

Day 7 of 13

Lama Hotel to Thulo Syabru

Altitude: 2,470 m → 2,230 m (rolling; descent then climb)

Time: 5–6 hours

Overnight: Thulo Syabru

Leave the Langtang trail at Rimche and traverse the gorge's southern wall through Sherpagaon country — climbing finally into Thulo Syabru, a terraced Tamang village strung down its ridge, with Ganesh Himal filling the western horizon at sunset.

Day 8 of 13

Thulo Syabru to Sing Gompa

Altitude: 2,230 m → 3,330 m (+1,100 m)

Time: 4–6 hours

Overnight: Sing Gompa (Chandanbari)

A steady, mostly forested climb through Dursagang to the ridge at Sing Gompa (Chandanbari) — a small monastery settlement with another local cheese factory and big views back over the Langtang valley. The gain looks large on paper, but five days of Langtang acclimatization carries over, which is exactly why this route is walked Langtang-first.

This forest is one of the park's best red panda habitats — quiet walkers occasionally get lucky at dawn.

Day 9 of 13

Sing Gompa to Gosaikunda

Altitude: 3,330 m → 4,380 m (+1,050 m)

Time: 5–6 hours

Overnight: Gosaikunda

Climb through rhododendron onto open ridgeline at Lauribina (3,910 m) — with a horizon of Ganesh Himal, Manaslu, and the Annapurnas — then contour into the sacred basin of the Gosaikunda lakes (4,380 m). In Hindu tradition, Shiva struck the mountainside with his trident to create the lake; every August full moon, thousands of pilgrims trek here to bathe in its waters. Lodges sit right on the shore for a cold, magical night.

Watch for mild AMS tonight; if symptoms worsen, descending to Lauribina is quick and effective.

Day 10 of 13

Cross Lauribina Pass to Ghopte

Altitude: 4,380 m → 4,610 m → 3,430 m

Time: 7–8 hours; start early — weather closes in by midday

Overnight: Ghopte

The hardest day of the trek. Climb past the string of upper lakes to Lauribina Pass (4,610 m), the trek's high crossing, marked by cairns and prayer flags. The descent is the day's real work: a steep, rocky, sometimes icy trail dropping into wild country, then a rough, undulating traverse through landslide terrain to the lonely lodges at Ghopte.

Microspikes earn their keep here in early season; carry food and water for the full day.

Day 11 of 13

Ghopte to Kutumsang

Altitude: 3,430 m → Tharepati 3,640 m → Kutumsang 2,470 m

Time: 6–7 hours

Overnight: Kutumsang

The day starts uphill: a stiff climb to the ridge at Tharepati (3,640 m), where the Helambu ridge-walk begins and, on clear mornings, the horizon runs from Annapurna to Everest. From there it is a long forested descent along the ridge through Magin Goth to the Tamang and Sherpa village of Kutumsang.

Tharepati is the junction for the Melamchigaon/Helambu valley route — this itinerary stays on the ridge.

Day 12 of 13

Kutumsang to Chisapani

Altitude: 2,470 m → 2,165 m (net small, but relentless up-and-down)

Time: 7–8 hours

Overnight: Chisapani

Classic Helambu ridge-walking: down and up through Gul Bhanjyang, Chipling, and Pati Bhanjyang — Tamang villages, terraced fields, and constantly shifting views — with a final climb to Chisapani ('cold water'), whose lodges face a dawn panorama stretching across the entire Langtang and Jugal ranges.

If the group is tired, splitting the day with a night at Gul Bhanjyang is a painless adjustment.

Day 13 of 13

Chisapani to Sundarijal, Drive to Kathmandu

Altitude: 2,165 m → Sundarijal 1,460 m

Time: 3–5 hours walking; 45 minutes–1 hour drive

Overnight: Kathmandu

Catch the sunrise, then descend through Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park — oak and rhododendron forest, the Mulkharka Tamang village, and finally the long staircase beside the water pipeline into Sundarijal, on Kathmandu's very doorstep. A short drive delivers you to Thamel in under an hour.