Eastern Nepal EASTERN NEPAL EASTERN HIGHLIGHTS

• Reliving the glory days of trekking on the peaceful exit route from Lukla to Tumlingtar ( p236 ) • Visiting the mountain villages of Sherpas, Rais, Limbus and Walungs – ancient peoples who can trace their history to medieval Tibet • Camping your way up to ‘the throne of the gods’ – mighty Makalu, the fifth-highest peak on earth ( p243 ) • Getting up close and personal with Kanchenjunga, the world’s third-highest peak, on the treks to Kanchenjunga North ( p257 )

Forget what people say about going west. The eastern part of Nepal is an untamed frontier, rising to a sheer mountain wall that includes two of the tallest peaks on earth. In the far east of Nepal, Kanchenjunga clocks in as the world’s third-highest peak at 8586m. Further west, mighty Makalu (8463m) comes in at number five. The foothills of these Himalayan giants offer some of the most exciting trekking in Nepal, passing through remote country that provides a flashback to what the whole country must have been like when explorers such as Edmund Hillary made the first ascents in the 1950s. Trekking trails in eastern Nepal follow a series of meltwater rivers and streams, passing through a fascinating variety of landscapes – terraced rice fields, dense rhododendron forests, rolling alpine meadows and the desolate lunar landscape of the high Himalaya. The villages along the trails are home to a diverse range of tribal people, but infrastructure is limited and many areas are only open to trekkers on organised camping treks. Because of the poor state of the roads, most people fly into the tiny airstrips at Tumlingtar and Suketar. There are rustic lodges in many villages, but you’ll need a tent if you hope to reach the base camps for Makalu or Kanchenjunga. The only trek that could reasonably be described as a ‘teahouse trek’ is the descent from Lukla to Tumlingtar, which provides a handy exit route from the more-developed trekking trails in Solu Khumbu.

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CLIMATE landslides and bridges are washed away Because of the direction of the monsoon every year by the floodwaters, so you may winds, eastern Nepal experiences higher have to wade or go the long way round. EASTERN NEPAL rainfall than many other parts of the country. In spring and autumn, you can expect Maps clouds and rain in the Arun Valley, even The trail from Lukla to Tumlingtar is cov- when the weather is fine in the rest of the ered in limited detail on Shangri-La Maps’ country. 1:225,000 Kangchenjunga Makalu. The first and last stages of the route are bet- INFORMATION ter covered by Nepa Maps’ 1:100,000 Jiri to When to Trek Everest and 1:80,000 Makalu Base Camp, Most trekking routes are open from Feb- which also covers the trails to Makalu. Nepa ruary to April and October to November, Maps’ 1:100,000 Kangchenjunga Trekking but the upper stages of the Makalu Base Routes and 1:100,000 Kangchenjunga cover Camp and Kanchenjunga treks are closed the north and south trails to Kanchenjunga by snows from December to February. from Taplejung. The second map also in- The monsoon wreaks havoc in eastern cludes the new Pathibhara and Limbu Nepal. Trails and roads are destroyed by cultural trails. The trails to Kanchenjunga

EASTERN NEPAL

EASTERN NEPAL – MAPS 1 Lukla to Tumlingtar pp234-5 & Makalu Base Camp 2 Kanchenjunga pp250-1 T I B E T Cho Oyu (C H I N A) 0 30 km (8201m) 0 20 miles 1:1,500,000 Lunak Gorak Nuptse Mt Everest (7879m) K 1 Gokyo Shep (8850m) u m b Ohnmikangri 2 Chhule Lhotse h S a g a r m a t h a a (7028m) Bhote (8501m) k Kosi N a t i o n a l a r n P a r k Baruntse a Um b (7220m) Makalu H i m h a k Nupchu Makalu a l H i (6690m) Base Camp (8463m) m a Drohmo Namche l (6850m) Bazaar Barun Kimathangka Chhamlang a K a n c h e n j u n g a b Pang (7319m) C o n s e r v a t i o n Chepuwa m A r e a Pema u Mera Peak s Jannu Ghat Khola a Khambachen (6476m) b (7710m) M a k a l u – B a r u n Shipton La Kosi m Lukla u Walunchung Kanchenjunga N a t i o n a l P a r k (4216m) L Ghunsa Puiyan Gola (8586m) Hatia l Ramche Bupsa a Topke Sedua To Jiri Khola m Rathong Arun Gola Jubing Surke La i Yalung (6678m) Salung (3085m) Num H Sakathum Tseram M a k a l u – B a r u n e Phaphlu Bung l Mewa C o n s e r v a t i o n a Salleri Hongu A r e a l j J a Khola Chirwa Yamphudin Sanam Gothe Lokhim Bazaar Phedi Khandbari Dobhan To Okhaldunga Dingla Suketar Khola Taplejung Tumlingtar Hewa Kabeli KholaTharpu Taluwa Chainpur Lamidanda Khare I N D I A Dudh Dilpa Memeng (SIKKIM) Kosi Diktel Sun Bhojpur Leguwa Kosi Phidim Terathum Kosi Basantpur Kosi

Arun Thalichaur TamurYasok Dangkha Hile Madibung Dhankuta Lalikharka Bhorleni Ilam Chyabari Namante Dhaplang To Ghat Darjeeling Bawala Kankai Mai Chatara Jaubari Dharan Eastern Nepal

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