Langtang Valley, Yala Peak and Ganja La by Eric Luyten
Day 0 : Fly into Kathmandu via London and Doha (October 15th)
Day 1 : KTM sightseeing
Day 2 : bus transfer to Dhunche (scary !!!!!!!!!!!)
Day 3 : walk to Syabru
Day 4 : walk to Lama Hotel
Day 5 : walk to Langtang Village
Day 6 : morning walk to Kyanjin, afternoon excursion to Langtang Lirung glacier
Day 7 : scramble up and down Menchamsa (hill overlooking Kyanjin)
Day 8 : walk to Yala Kharka with minimum of supplies, porters and equipment
Day 9 : Yala Peak summit bid and return to Kyanjin
Day 10 : walk to Ganja La "base camp" (near lodge ruins)
Day 11 : walk to Ganja La "high camp" (in stony basin, at approx. 4950 m)
Day 12 : crossing of the pass and descent to Keldang
Day 13 : descent to Tarkegyang (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Day 14 : rest (washing, shaving, watch the monkeys, ...)
Day 15 : descent to Talamarang (long, very hot day)
Day 16 : over the ridge to Chisopani
Day 17 : descent to lodge overlooking Sundarijal, easy half day
Day 18 : short descent to Sundarijal, transfer to KTM and rest of day off
Day 19 : Swayambunath visit
Day 20 : Dakshinkali visit
Day 21 : fly home via Doha and Heathrow
Comments on days 2 and 13 :
On day 2 our bus was stopped by a guerrilla ambush two hours north of KTM, just out of the Valley. A couple of windows were smashed, khukris and clubs were swung and a man walked past the bus with a petrol jerrican and a lighter. The leader of the gang (about fifteen youths, most masked and all wearing red caps) walked through the aisle with a hand grenade in his fist. They were looking for someone, and that someone was not in our bus. He (a Nepali) was spotted in the third bus, all occupants were dragged out, severely beaten and the bus set on fire. Then the roadblock was cleared and we were able to proceed.
On day 13 there was dense fog and we missed the Dhukpu camping spot annex watering hole. By 3.30 pm it was clear we would march as quickly as possible and stop at the earliest convenient camp site. No such luck. It was pitch dark by 6 and we got to Tarkegyang between 8 and 9 in the evening, to be welcomed by a huge plate of dal bhat. The Tarkegyang people were actively looking for lost trekkers, since two other groups were also "lost" (one of them was a Japanese group with twenty tourists and close to eighty Nepali staff)
General comments:
Three out of five made it to the summit of Yala Peak. It had snowed lightly the night before and the terrain was rather difficult, which made me turn back at 5100 m. No attempt was made to summit Naya Kanga and on our planned summit day the mountain was ingulfed in clouds anyway. The weather wasn't too fine but we did not experience a single drop of rain. A KE (Karakoram Experience) group that crossed into the Langtang from Helambu told us they had had five days of mist and rain. The Ganja La pass itself was very easy. Most of the recent (very light : ~2 in) snowfall was gone by then.
Eric Luyten, March 2001: ( e-mail - Eric.Luyten@vub.ac.be )
Langtang Trekking Map ( UK , USA )
