Himlung Himal Expedition

Welcome to Kathmandu! We will pick you up from the airport and drop you to your hotel. Meanwhile, you can take your time to stroll around to visit the temples and monuments.

There are plenty of places that you will find fascinating if you wander around.

Today is a free / leisure day. While our climbing guides attend a formal briefing at the Ministry of Tourism, we will have time to recover and familiarize ourselves with the local surroundings. Today we will also be briefed on the expedition’s nature, equipment, and team composition. We can also do some last-minute shopping for personal essentials, as we will be heading for the mountains the next day.

Our climbing leader will check our gear and equipment in the late afternoon the day before we leave for the mountains, as Kathmandu is our last chance to buy anything missing.

Today, we’ll walk on undulating pathways and cross suspension bridges over different streams. As we continue to trek, the forests thin out and offers wider views.

We will arrive in Kyang after a 3 hour’s hike, including a final steep ascent up the valley along a small river. It is a temporary village with remnants, mainly the ruined forts of Khampa communities (where Khampa refugees from Tibet were captured and lived).

Today is the scheduled day for acclimatization. We are advised to rest and acclimatized with the altitudes. We will discover the gorgeous Phu Valley, as well as the culture, natural diversity, and religious practices of the ethnic groups who live there.

We will spend the day on short walks exploring the Tashi Lakhang Monastery, a historic Buddhist monastery which is believed to be Karmapa Rinpoche’s last construction. Phu village is an ancient village with a nearly 800-year history.

After breakfast, we will leave Camp Two and begin our climb towards Camp Three. To avoid injury, we must move ahead cautiously. We will arrive at camp three campsite at noon after a very modest 350-meter climb from camp two.

After lunch at the campsites, we will move around the surrounding to enjoy the stunning view of the Himalayas, take pictures, and rest at our camp.

This day is set apart to allow us to rest and recover thoroughly before attempting the summit, as well as to properly acclimatize our bodiy to altitude. So, we’ll get plenty of rest and stay hydrated all the time. Meanwhile, our guide will prepare that everything is ready for the upcoming summit bid the next day.

Today you can either stay back and enjoy a free day in Kathmandu or leave for your respective countries. It’s time to say goodbye to Nepal. Enjoy your final moments in Kathmandu by having breakfast in a café, taking a city stroll, and/or shopping for souvenirs.

Our staff will meet you at your hotel and transfer you to the airport to catch your return flight home. It’s good to be at the airport at least two and half hours prior to departure.
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A typical day on the hiking trail:

Breakfast is taken at the teahouse where you slept. Departure generally begins at 8 a.m. Usually, you walk for 5 to 6 hours per day in mainly dry places.   If there are any small teashops along the route, you will eat lunch there; otherwise, the teahouse where you slept will have arranged a packed lunch.

On arrival at your next overnight teahouse, you can rest before and throughout dinner in a warm dining area before going to bed early.

A typical day on the climb:

At Himlung Himal Base Camp our staff will set up the tents, kitchen, dining, sleeping and toilet tents etc.

On an average day the cook will be busy preparing your hot meals while the climbing guide will be re-ensuring gears is in good conditions and that you know exactly what to expect on the climb.

While acclimatizing, you can discover the neighbourhood and hike around a bit (do not forget to tell your guide if you are heading off yourself alone). During the climbing you will be paying close attention to the climbing guide’s advices.

What to expect when camping

On this Himlung Himal expedition you will spend the majority of the time camping.

There will be a camp at Base Camp at 4900m / 16,076ft  and you’ll be sleeping in tents at Camp I, Camp II, and Camp III at  5450m /  17,880ft,  6000m /  19,685ft and 6,350m /   20,833ft, respectively.

Camping facilities such as tent, sleeping mat, separate communal toilet tent, dining tent and kitchen tent are included at Base Camp.

While at camp I, II, and III and while making the final push for the summit, packaged ready meals will be provied to you.  Otherwise, our fantastic camping cook will prepare breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner with unlimited tea/ coffee and boiled drinking water are available. Also, we advice you to bring some snacks from home for a bit of comfort food. And hot water for bucket showers is available at Base Camp.

Menu at camp sites  

Breakfast may be pancake, porridge, freshly cooked Nepali roti which dry, or deep oil fried or flatbread with tea / coffee, hot chocolate.

Lunch and dinner can be pasta, noodles, vegetable curry and rice, pizza, fried rice, dal soup + flatbread etc.  

In the afternoon, snacks may consist of fried potatoes and popcorn.

We will pack some canned tuna fish and meat for protein. If you have a particular preference, tell us we will try to accommodate your desire.

Coffee / tea / hot water is unlimited at Base Camp. Also, there will be powdered milk and sugar for the coffee / tea.

We will not carry alcohol on an expedition as it is not recommended to drink at such altitudes. We also don’t carry soft drinks, these drinks are too bulky to transport all the way to the base camp.