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INSIDE HIMALAYAS | NEPAL | TIBET | BHUTAN
Accommodation and
food are basic – but at
least the local people
have time to talk to you.
Kangbachen village
sits just downstream of
the end-moraine of a
glacier, over which loom
Mount Kangbachen and
Mount Jannu, the latter
considered sacred by the
Limbu people.
According to the Tibetan Buddhist
tradition, the Kanchenjunga landscape
is part of Beyul Demoshong, a hidden
land of immortality. That a crazy Terton
from Tibet, Tulshuk Lingpa, actually tried
to ‘open the way’ to this mythical land
with his band of followers in the early
1960s, as described in the book ‘A Step
Away From Paradise: A Tibetan Lama’s
Extraordinary Journey to a Land of
Immortality,’ says a lot about this special
place. The Nepal side of Kanchenjunga
is considered the western gate to Beyul
Demoshong. But you don’t have to be a
Terton to find something special in and
around Kanchenjunga. You may not find
immortality, but you will collect enough
amazing impressions to last you a life
time – good for several strolls down
memory lane in old age!
If you have about three weeks to spare
but don’t know where to go trekking in
Nepal, Kanchenjunga might be just the
place for you. I recommend the fairly
standard trek that takes you to Pang
Pema, north of Kanchenjunga, and
Oktang, south-west of Kanchenjunga,
with four high passes in-between:
Selele la, Sinion La, Mirgin la, and
Sinelapche la. The close-ups of the
Kanchenjunga massif from Pang Pema
and Oktang are out of this world, to say
the least.
I trekked through this wild pristine
Kanchenjunga landscape in the October
of 2014. Starting out from the sweltering
Birtamod in the plains of eastern Nepal,
I took a bus to Fungling Bazaar – the
district headquarters of Taplejung, the
northeastern-most district of Nepal.
INSIDE HIMALAYAS | NEPAL | TIBET | BHUTAN
Lhonak. Photo: Ujol Sherchan.
lodges in Lhonak, which is a flat land
where yaks can be found grazing. Up
on the rocky slopes around Lhonak,
blue sheep are a common sight:
sometime they come down for a drink
of water amidst the grazing yaks. Where
there are blue sheep, there are bound
to be snow leopards, although they are
very elusive. It is best to set off early in
the morning for Pang Pema (5,140m)
alongside the Kanchenjunga glacier,
to maximize your chances of catching
a cloud-free view of the north face of
Kangchenjunga. You walk alongside
Jaho Peak (6,415m) and Wedge Peak
(6,802m), with the Tent Peak (7,365m)
in the far end of the glacier up ahead.
There is a small wood-stone hut in
Pang Pema where the keeper will
happily prepare noodles or tea for you
on short notice. Most trekkers spend
half an hour to one hour at most in Pang
Pema before returning to Lhonak or
even Kangbachen the same day.
It would be auspicious to begin your
trek by first visiting the famous Pathivara
temple and descending to Taplethok
the following day. Then you follow the
standard trail from Taplethok to Ghunsa,
passing through fields of cardamom
along the river banks on the approach
to Lelep, the small landslide section of
Amjilosa high up on the hill overlooking
the Ghunsa river; the bamboo forest of
Gyabla where, if you’re lucky, you might
sight a red panda or two; Phale, a home
to Tibetan refugees; and then finally
Ghunsa, a sizeable village nestled in a
beautiful vale surrounded on all sides
by rocky mountains, where farmers
grow mostly potatoes.
Ultimately you have to return to
Ghunsa! Enjoy your following morning
in Ghunsa and set off for Sele La pass
in the mid-afternoon. Getting to Sele
La takes about four hours of walk up
a rhododendron forest until you come
out in the open onto Tamo La (3,900m)
above the tree-line, overlooking Phale;
you continue up the trail over Sele La
pass until you reach the camp. The
following day is mostly up and down
along a wind-swept rock-strewn or
scree-sloped landscape with patches
of grass here and there, keeping mostly
above 4,000-plus meters Along this
stretch, as you cross three notable
passes – Sinion La (4,660m), Mirgin La
(4,630m) and Sinelapche La (4,724m)
- on your way to Tseram (3,870 m),
you can enjoy a panorama of Mount
Everest all the way to Kanchenjunga
at various points. Looking northwest
from Mirgin La or Sinelapche La, you
can make out Everest and Makalu on a
clear day, although the former appears
lower because it is farther. Right after
you cross Sinelapche La, you begin
your long descent to Tseram, passing a
lake or two. Count yourself lucky, if you
see Rathong (6,679m) and Kabru South
(7,318m) reflected in the lakes.
Tseram (3,868m), situated on a clearing
at the tail end of Yalung glacier, boasts
about three four wood-stone lodges.
The Tibetan Terton mentioned in A Step
Away from Paradise and his closest
disciples are believed to have stayed
in Tseram for several months on their
way to the Western Gate of Beyul
Demoshong. Do not be surprised if you
find a portal to another world akin to
what Alice found when she fell down
a rabbit hole! The trek from Tseram
to Oktang (4,740m) and back can be
done in one day, so best to set off at
dawn hoping to reach Oktang before
noon. Walking first through forests and
emerging above the treeline alongside
the Yalung glacier, you are blessed with
a spectacular view of Kokthang (6,147m)
on your right and Rathong (6,679m)
up ahead till Ramche (4,610m), where
there is one inn. Your chances of seeing
a herd of blue sheep are pretty good in
Ramche. You have to continue further
up around Rathong alongside the
Yalung glacier. Tridents and prayer flags
on the lateral moraines of the Yalung
glacier mark Oktang, from where you
get a close up of the southwest face of
Kanchenjunga (8,586m), Yalung Kang
(8,506m) and also Kabrus.
As you retrace your steps back to
Tseram, you can’t help but get a feeling
of an anti-climax – that it will soon be
over. True, it is mostly downhill from
here till the end of your trek in Suketar.
On your way down from Tseram,
be sure to visit a shrine a little past
Andaphedi to look at the formations
on the rock wall that resemble a pair
of snakes. These snakes are revered by
the locals. The mere sight of a landslide
section (the largest of your entire trek)
on your approach to Lasiya Bhanjyang
can set your heart a-pounding. The
long walk down from Lasiya Bhanjyang
to Yamphudin seems to go on forever
and forever. The walk along a section
of the Limbu Cultural Trail - Kande
Bhanjiyang, Phumphe, Mamankhe, and
Lalikharka – gives you a feel for the
Limbu heartland. The Limbu Heritage
Museum in Mamankhe is worth a visit.
From Lalikharka, you reach Deurali,
which is the base of the trail to the
Pathivara Temple. An hour walk from
Deurali brings you to Suketar from
where you can take a jeep to Fungling
Bazaar.
So, you come one full circle to Fungling
Bazaar – the district headquarters of
Taplejung - from where you effectively
began your trek three weeks earlier.
As T.S. Eliot wrote:
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started.
From Ghunsa (3,475m), you head
eastward through forests, several
crossings of the Ghunsa river, and
a landslide section or two to reach
Kangbachen – a seasonal village,
comprising of mostly wood-stone
lodges for occasional tourists. I say
“occasional”, because unlike the
Langtang, Everest and Annapurna
regions, Kanchenjunga doesn’t even
receive a quarter as many tourists as
each of the other even in the peak
tourist season (September through
November). Accommodation and food
are basic – but at least the local people
have time to talk to you. Kangbachen
village sits just downstream of the endmoraine of a glacier, over which loom
Mount Kangbachen and Mount Jannu,
the latter considered sacred by the
Limbu people.
Lhonak, a half day east of Kangbachen,
is a good place to spend one e xtra
day acclimatizing. There are only two
Tseram. Photo: Ujol Sherchan.
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www.insidehimalayas.com | By Royal Mountain Travel | 2016
www.insidehimalayas.com | By Royal Mountain Travel | 2016
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