Langtang – Gosaikunda – Helambu Traverse
Also known as Langtang Circuit / Langtang Gosainkunda Helambu Trek (Lauribina La).
Langtang – Gosaikunda – Helambu Traverse is a difficult 12-16-day teahouse trek in the Langtang region of Nepal, reaching 4,984 m. It starts at Syabrubesi and ends at Sundarijal.
Key facts
- Region
- Langtang (Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Sindhupalchok, Kathmandu)
- Duration
- 12-16 days, 5-7 hours walking per day
- Distance
- 120 km
- Maximum altitude
- 4,984 m
- Difficulty
- Difficult — Combines three treks into a ~2-week traverse crossing Lauribina La (4610m), with optional Tserko Ri (4984m), long 6-8 hour days, big daily elevation swings and a remote, sparsely lodged stretch between Gosaikunda and Tharepati. Altitude, cumulative fatigue and the weather-exposed pass push it a full grade above the individual sections.
- Trek type
- Teahouse, point-to-point route
- Best season
- Autumn (Oct-mid Nov) and Spring (mid Mar-Apr)
- Guide
- Not mandatory
- Restricted area
- No
- Budget cost
- NPR 50,000–70,000
- Comfortable cost
- NPR 70,000–100,000
- Guided cost
- NPR 91,000–175,000
- Getting there
- Kathmandu (Machhapokhari) → Syabrubesi (bus 7-10h / jeep 5-7h, Pasang Lhamu Highway) → trek traverse → Sundarijal → Kathmandu (taxi 45min-1h or local bus 1-1.5h)
- Altitude sickness
- Moderate-to-high overall, but the route is well profiled: the Langtang Valley section acclimatizes you before sleeping at Gosaikunda (4380m) and crossing Lauribina La (4610m).
Weather
Lauribina La is regularly snowbound Dec-Mar and after autumn storms; the Gosaikunda-Ghopte section is exposed and committing in bad weather. Monsoon means leeches, mud and no views but coincides with the Janai Purnima pilgrimage to Gosaikunda. The Helambu finish is low and mild year-round.
Permits
- Langtang National Park entry — NPR 3,000 for foreigners. Where to get it: Nepal Tourism Board Kathmandu or Dhunche checkpost
- Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park entry — NPR 1,000 for foreigners. Where to get it: Park gate near Chisapani/Sundarijal on exit
- TIMS card — NPR 2,000 for foreigners. Where to get it: Through a registered trekking agency
Itinerary
- Day 1: Kathmandu to Syabrubesi, 0 h, 1,460 m — Trishuli valley drive
- Day 2: Syabrubesi to Lama Hotel, 5-6 h, 2,470 m — Langtang Khola gorge, forest, monkeys
- Day 3: Lama Hotel to Langtang village, 5-6 h, 3,430 m — Ghodatabela, Langtang Lirung views, rebuilt Langtang village and 2015 landslide memorial
- Day 4: Langtang village to Kyanjin Gompa, 3-4 h, 3,870 m — Kyanjin monastery, cheese factory, glacier views
- Day 5: Kyanjin Gompa to Kyanjin Gompa (Tserko Ri hike), 7-9 h, 3,870 m — Tserko Ri 4984m (or Kyanjin Ri 4773m/4586m) — key acclimatization for the pass
- Day 6: Kyanjin Gompa to Lama Hotel, 5-6 h, 2,470 m — Valley descent
- Day 7: Lama Hotel to Thulo Syabru, 4-5 h, 2,230 m — Leave the main valley trail, suspension bridge over Langtang Khola, terraced Tamang village of Thulo Syabru
- Day 8: Thulo Syabru to Sing Gompa (Chandanbari), 4-5 h, 3,250 m — Climb through Dursagang, mossy rhododendron-hemlock forest, yak cheese factory at Sing Gompa
- Day 9: Sing Gompa to Gosaikunda, 5-6 h, 4,380 m — Cholangpati, Lauribina viewpoint (Ganesh Himal/Manaslu/Annapurna panorama), Saraswati and Bhairav lakes, holy Gosaikunda lake
- Day 10: Gosaikunda to Ghopte, 6-7 h, 3,430 m — Cross Lauribina La 4610m (trek's pass high point) past the upper lakes, steep descent to Phedi (3740m), rollercoaster trail to Ghopte
- Day 11: Ghopte to Kutumsang, 6-7 h, 2,470 m — Tharepati ridge (3690m) with Jugal/Langtang panorama, descent into Helambu, Magin Goth
- Day 12: Kutumsang to Chisapani, 5-6 h, 2,215 m — Gul Bhanjyang, Pati Bhanjyang, rolling farmland ridges
- Day 13: Chisapani to Sundarijal / Kathmandu, 3-4 h, 1,350 m — Shivapuri NP forest, Mulkharka, last Himalayan views behind you
- Day 14: Kathmandu to Kathmandu (buffer day), 0 h, 1,400 m — Spare day for weather delays on the pass or a slower Helambu finish