Ganesh Himal Camping Trek

Namaste! And welcome to Kathmandu, the colourful capital of Nepal where ornately carved balconies mingle with beautiful shrines and temples. Your adventure begins with a welcome meeting on arrival at the exit gate of Kathmandu airport. Our staff will welcome you and pick you to your accommodated hotel. Please seek our company palmplate to find our staff at the main exit gate of the airport. Rest of the day you can relax at the hotel or short evening walk around local market on your own as per your wish.

A well deserved rest day at cosy of hotel after a long tiring flight. This day, one can move around nearby local market to purchase or hire trekking equipment that is necessary for the trekking like sleeping bags, walking sticks etc, exchange currency as requirement or simply walk around in the local market or Kathmandu Durbar squire nearby with small entrance fee as per your preference on your own. Evening at the hotel lobby there will be pre-trip briefing in which you will be introduced with your trekking guide and explained about your trip in short, instruction for safety etc.

You will be picked up from your hotel in the morning for the drive to Arughat. This is an interesting drive, initially on the main road that leads to Pokhara, before turning off north and crossing the Trisuli river to Dhading Bazaar. What has been a very good road deteriorates at this point and progress slows for the final hour or so.

The small town of Arughat is divided into two, old and new, and you should have time in the afternoon to cross the Budhi Gandaki river on the suspension bridge to explore the old town.

There is a rough track that leads from Arughat to Arkhet. The relatively flat walk is full of interesting sights and is a great opportunity to stretch your legs after all the travelling. There are beautiful wooded hills, paddy fields stretching to the river and numerous locals walking to school and work. It is about two hours to the small settlement of Arkhet where you leave the road and cross the Budhi Gandaki to start climbing up towards Manbu. The path is excellent, as it winds up between terraced fields and small settlements. After stopping for lunch you walk on the small dirt road for an hour or so before reaching the edge of Manbu. You will camp just before the village of Manbu, a large spread out settlement surrounded by terraced fields.

Hopefully you will wake up to stunning views of the Budhi Gandaki valley with the eastern face of Himalchuli, 7,893m, soaring above, and the peak of Serang Himal dominating the head of the valley. To start the day, you contour northwards following high above the river valley before starting the climb to the large village of Dunchet. You will then walk on the dirt road for about an hour before probably stopping for lunch in Dunchet - there will be time to explore the picturesque village with its stone houses. In the afternoon, it is initially a climb on a well-constructed stone staircase to pass by upper Dunchet before emerging on the upper terraces and briefly entering the forest to ascend to the uppermost terraces. These top terraces are used both for growing barley and by cowherds who live here in small shelters. At the edge of the forest is a rock outcrop, and you will camp on the terraces near here.

Today is a complete contrast as you spend much of the day walking in the forest. This is a fabulous experience as you trek on small trails used by herdsmen and woodcutters through the virgin forest. There are exotic ferns and lichens and hanging rattans. It is likely that the only sounds you will hear are cicadas and monkeys. The trail is at times steep and involves a small amount of scrambling. There are clear, rushing streams to cross on stepping stones and small clearings used by cowherds. The path contours and climbs eventually reaching Nauban Kharka, a large clearing with temporary shelters for herders and amazing views of Machhapuchare, Annapurna South and Annapurna 2, Boudha Peak and Himalchuli.

After admiring the early morning mountain views, it is about a one-hour climb to the first pass of the trek, the Myangal Bhanjyang at 2,975m/9,812ft. New views are opened up below the pass, as you contour along the grassy hillsides, dipping in and out of forest. It is a couple of hours walk to the second pass, the Magne Goth pass at 2,936m/9,680ft. (Depending on conditions, you may cross a slightly lower pass at 2,780m/9,174ft). There are fabulous views of the Ganesh peaks and Paldor. From here a newly renovated path descends past a couple of small kharkas, or clearings, to reach the beautiful and vibrant village of Khading. This is a substantial stone settlement, with a school. Depending on time, you will either stay the night here or continue for an hour to camp at Laba school.

This is a really superb day's trek, with a relatively easy morning as you contour high above the river valley with great views of the valley far below, and terraced hillsides stretching into the distance. The path is newly renovated and excellent. You pass through several tiny settlements perched on the hillside, growing wheat, millet and lentils. You may well see people weaving bamboo into baskets, mats and even house walls and muzzles for goats! A couple of bluffs are crossed before you make a short descent to the village of Lapchet where you may have lunch at the school. From here you can see the large school on the hillside opposite that is your objective for the day. You descend to the river before climbing to Rachyat. There are several beautiful old chortens along this part of the trail, and the villages, a mixture of Gurung and Tamang are well kept. Water permitting you will camp at the secondary school, set high above the valley floor in a small area of forest.

It's a lovely gentle walk this morning, mainly walking on the dirt road, passing through several small villages en route and stopping for lunch after about 3 hours. After lunch you cross a bridge and start a gentle climb through beautiful tree dotted grassland to reach the village of Chalise. You will get good views of Ganesh Himal and other smaller peaks from here. You then continue climbing gently on stone steps through fields to reach the pretty village of Shertung. There is a lovely spot for camping in the heart of the village.

This morning you have a welcome rest day in Shertung. The name Shertung means “place of gold” and the story is that two brothers in search of gold were led here by a dream and were inspired to found the settlement. The village is largely inhabited by Tamangs who follow a religion which mixes elements of Hinduism and Buddhism along with shamanistic beliefs. In the morning you will have time to explore round the village, including having a look at the school and hospital. You may also have time to visit Phyangchet Monastery, situated about an hour’s ascent above the village below a beautiful forest and at the start of one of the major trekking routes to the Sing La pass. If the caretaker is around you should be able to go inside the monastery, but in any case there are fabulous views from here, so it is well worth the climb up. You then begin walking gradually uphill on the trail which avoids the road. The path zig zags through jungle, rhododendron, oak and bamboo, and passes through several clearings called kharkas, where local animal herders graze their sheep, cows and goats. Along the way you have magnificent views of the Ganesh Himal and Himal Chuli. You will camp at Machhyang Kharka.

Today you continue on the trail, ascending to reach Machhangbo. Here there are magnificent views of the snowy peaks to the north and east. You descend from here to meet the main route to the Sing La. Sing La is really less a pass than the side of a peak, the top of which is only another 20 meters up a very gentle slope. From the pass the world seems to fall away in three directions. To the west is the Manaslu massif, with Manaslu, 8,163m/26,780ft) poking up from behind the Ganesh Himal and the peaks of the Annapurna Himal beyond. To the northwest is the Ganesh Himal where Ganesh, 7,406m, 24,296ft, and its satellites create a stunning panorama of peaks, glaciers, rock, snow and ice. ute to the Sing La pass. From the pass you will descend all the way to the large grazing meadows at Rupchet to camp for the night.

Today you descend to Gongoo Danda for your overnight camp.

After breakfast, you begin with a shortish uphill walk and then make a long gradual, downhill descent, mainly on a small road - in the far distance you will see the small town of Dunche with Gosainkunda Danda beyond. You walk through rhododendron and pine forest to the open grazing area near the Gompa at Kaule and then though a picturesque landscape of mixed forest, farm land and scattered villages. You will have lunch in camp and will be able to relax for the afternoon before celebrating your last night on trek with your trekking crew.

You walk for about half an hour to reach Kaule village where you will meet your transport for the drive back to Kathmandu, passing through the village of Betrawati and the town of Trisuli Bazaar.

This is the final day in Nepal. A chance to do some shopping, explore at leisure or merely relax by the hotel. We enjoy a final night together, reliving the trek and our extraordinary achievements.

We say 'Namaste' for memories that will last a lifetime. There are no activities planned for today and you are able to depart the hotel at any time. Check out time from the hotel is at 12 noon. If you are departing later, you can arrange luggage storage at the hotel. For your final departure, our staff will pick you up from the hotel and transfer to Kathmandu airport approximately 3 hours prior to your international flight time.