TREKKING IN THE HIMALAYAS

An unguided trek to Gosaikunda Lake at 4400m altitude

The route

Gosaikunda Lake lies above the clouds at 4400m in the Langtang region of the Himalayas. We rented a Royal Enfield Himalayan and drove for 5 hours to the outskirts of the park. Following the Trisuli River north out of Kathmandu, we traveled through Trisuli Bazaar and Dhunche to Syabrubensi, a Sherpa village located at the very edge of the Langtang National Park. We then swung east into the Langtang valley, passing through oak and rhododendron forests, crossing the river several times as we traveled up along a gorge-like, lower section of the valley. A little further up the valley is Kyangin Gompa, where we stopped overnight sampling the local yak cheese. We climbed for 2 days up to a high plateau, where the sacred lake Gosainkund is located. We pushed ourselves and climbed for 8 hours each day and climbed over a kilometer of vertical each day. As a result we got hit with altitude sickness which made our ambition of summiting the 5200m peak impossible but we made it up to the gateway into Tibet, the Llaurebena Pass (4610m).