Himalaya Trekking as a Backpacker - Langtang Valley, Nepal

The Himalayas. The holy grail of hiking and mountain climbing. I was itching to trek in these mountains, and came full of expectations. However, the Himalayas were no match for the views, the weather, and the glorious scenery I encountered in the Peruvian Andes, and in the Italian Dolomites, where I hiked last year. Still, the Nepali Himalayas are rich in Tibetan culture, which is the best part of trekking in this region of the world.

*I travelled at the end of April, which turns out to be a terrible time because of visibility. There are so many fires in the country due to burning of the agriculture fields, and the smoke is everywhere. Also, I think you can find better treks. The trek was pretty only at the top.

I chose to do the Langtang Valley Trek, mainly because I was short on time and read that you can complete it in 5-7 days, not including the time it takes to get there and back from Kathmandu (5 hour drive each way). We hiked for 5 days, with 1 extra day of rest because I got food poisoning. But short doesn't mean easy. We climbed a whole lot in the first 2.5 days - from 1500 m to 4300 m. And the next day to 4770 m, to the top of Kanjin Ri, before climbing the whole way back down, which is no joke either. The climbs are steep, and there are many steps a long the way.

What to expect - the Views (end of April/begining of May):

The Himalayan peaks don't reveal themselves till the end of day 2. But when they do, you will be in awe of their towering height, jutting out on the sides of the valley at above 7000 m. Till then you'll be climbing through the jungle, alongside the Langtang river - which is really impressive in its cleanliness and might. But the jungle itself is not very inspiring. It doesn't vary much, and there are a grueling number of stairs to climb. The worst part was the air quality (end of April) - there were so many fires during this time of year - from the burning of fields to clear space for new crops, to jungle fires that probably broke out in the heat. We almost wanted to turn back on day one - it did not feel heathy to breath the smoke, and really disrupted our ability to take in the views or enjoy the mountain air.

Once you reach the path to Langtang Village, the views open up, and you walk by Yak pastures and rugged mountainsides - which is way more fun. At the end you reach Kanjin Gumpa, which looks like a Himalayan ski resort town, surrounded by snowy peaks.

The best part was climbing Kanjin Ri - a steep steep climp to 4770 m. We climbed it twice - first to the lower peak at 4300 m on the first day we arrived in Kanjin Gumpa. And then to the higher peak at 4770 m the next morning. The skies were clear and the view of the glacier and the surrounding peaks was great. There is another mountain you can climb without special equipment - Tserko Ri (4900 m), but the views are similar to Kanjin Ri, so we didn't think it necessary to climb both. What was nice about the trek was that it wasn't very crowded with people. There are other hikers to be sure, especially from Europe & Asia, but for most of the route we were alone on the trail. Sometimes we were in the hut alone with 2-3 other hikers, and sometimes our hut was full.

What to expect - the Huts:

The huts were one of the hardest parts for me about the trek - specifically the hygiene surrounding the toilets and the lack of hot water. The toilets are holes in the ground, and you can smell them from some of the rooms. We found that only one hut we stayed at had a good supply of hot water, and we stayed there twice - once on the way up, and once down (Travellers in Langtang Village). Be sure to bring a sleeping bag liner - I am not sure they ever change sheets, and definitely not the blankets. I also brought my own pillow. The huts at the bottom of the trek are more rugged and basic, don't have wi-fi, and barely have any electricity - except some solar power, which was enough for a lamp in the room. I did enjoy not having connectivity for a few days, reading my book instead of hanging out on Instagram. At the top the huts are better, and there is good wi-fi signal and electricity to charge your phone, especially in Langtang Village. Make sure to carry along with you a pre-charged portable charger.

We didn't have any hut reservations in advance - rather we popped into huts in each village we reached, and checked out a few to see what we liked. Some important things to check: Is it clean, is the mattress comfortable enough (some are thick, some thin), is there electricity and wifi and do they work, is there hot water, do the toilets work. We also took a look in the dining room to see if it was nice. Some were very cosy, and it was fun if the hut had other travellers. In general, the food was tasty everywhere, but very repetitive. Momos, fried rice, Sherpa Stew (Thenthuk - my favorite Nepali vegetable flat noodle soup), Dal Bhat (my least favorite), Tibetian bread, and garlic soup (which I actually quite liked). I don't think I got sick on the trail - I think my food poisoning was from Kathmandu.

As for the price - it costs about 1000 npr for a room ($7) and then food and drinks, which comes up to about $20 a day. You should definitely bring a budget of $30 a day in Nepali Rupees just in case, because there is no where to get money out on the trail. It was helpful that we had water filter bottles so that we didn't have to buy water (it can get pricy as you climb). We also brought our own black coffee, and only had to buy hot water, which was nice.

Where to Stay:

Syabrubesi (night 1): I think it was called Vajra guesthouse

Lama Hotel: Friendly guesthouse (night 2).

Or the guesthouse that is at the top of the village as you climb up (the last one in the group of guesthouses - the mattresses on the second floor are comfortable and the rooms big and breezy) (night 3, because I had food poisoning)

Langtang Village - Travellers - this is the best hut in the trek. It's towards the end of the village as you pass through it going up. (night 4)

Kanjin Gumpa: Holyland (night 5)

Lantang Village: Travellers (night 6)

Bamboo: The guesthouse at the top (night 7)

BTW I think that you don't really have to sleep the first night in Syabrubesi. You can probably climb up all the way to Bamboo on the first day if you arrive early from Kathmandu.

How to organize the Trip:

We went with Shalom Tours. I booked by email in advance, but I walked into their office in Kathmandu to close the trip and pay. We took one Porter-Guide between us two people, and took a private jeep there and back, organized by the agency. All was good. One porter guide was more than enough. I really wish we could have done the trek alone though. In anycase, whether or not you have a porter, try to pack as light as possible. It really isn't worth it to lug around stuff. My porter bag was not very heavy, but I saw other porters carrying huge loads that people bring with, and it seems so unnecessary.

Packing List (if you are trekking in April/May):

• Water filter - Lifestraw or Grayl. There are many places to fill up river water a long the trail. Buying water bottles along the way will blow through your budget, so we were so glad to have these. The Lifestraw is great for filling up easily and drinking along the trail. The Grayl is great for filtering water to fill up your water pouch, and for all other needs like brushing your teeth. Between the two of us, we had one of each.

• Water pouch - 3 L (fill using the Grayl)

• Sleeping bag liner

• Headlamp + extra batteries

• Portable phone charger + phone charger

• Trekking Poles

• Hiking shoes

• 3 pairs of good hiking socks

• Pair of warm socks for the hut

• Flipflops for huts - preferably open toe (you can get these everywhere in Nepal)

• Eye mask and earplugs for sleeping

• Sunscreen, moisturizing cream, lip-balm

• First aid kit, including medicine - for altitude, antibiotics (especially for food poisoning), pain killers / fever reducers, allergy meds, stomach ease

• Satellite phone for emergencies

• Tissues and toilet paper (you will have to buy on the trail)

• One granola/protein bar per day, maybe some light snacks (like nuts), and your own coffee/tea if you want to just buy hot water

• Hand sanitizer and soap

Clothing:

(Try to minimize, it is easy to rinse dryfit clothes and hang them to dry in the huts).

• Gloves

• Neck warmer (a must to cover your face from dust and sun while climbing the peaks in Kanjin Gumpa)

• Warm hat

• Sun hat

• Sunglasses

• 1 thermal shirt and 1 thermal pant - as undergarments when climbing the peaks

• 1 trekking pant

• 1 pair dry-fit tights (women) (I prefer these to trekking pants, but not really needed)

• 1 dryfit longsleeve shirt

• 1 dryfit shortsleeve shirt

• Pajamas: for lower part - dry-fit shorts + T shirt. For higher elevation - tights + I wore the thermal shirt above.

• Underwear and a dryfit sports bra

• Soft-shell or puffy jacket

• Toilet paper + tissues (you will have to buy along the trail..) Brought but didn't use:

• Hot water bottle for sleeping

• Rain coat

• Insect repellant

Don't need in this season:

• Sleeping bag