Himalaya Kanchenjunga South Trek

Taplejung, Nepal · Nepal

Extreme14 daysAsia~£2,800 est.

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Overview

Kangchenjunga's south side is what Nepal trekking felt like decades ago: a restricted-area permit, a mandatory guide, and days of cardamom fields, leech-happy forest and Limbu villages before the mountains even show themselves. From Taplejung the trail works east through Yamphudin, then up the Simbua Khola past Tortong to Ramche, where an easy morning brings you to the Oktang viewpoint (about 4,780 m) — and the entire south face of the world's third-highest mountain stands up in front of you, an 8,586 m wall filling half the sky. Accommodation is basic teahouses with the odd camping night; food turns simple and dal-repetitive high up, and evacuation from this corner of Nepal is slow — treat it as a serious, self-reliant undertaking rather than an Everest-style teahouse highway. Strong parties cross the Sele La to the north base camp for the full three-week circuit. April-May sets the rhododendrons burning on every hillside; October-November gives the sharpest skies. Around £2,800 for 14 days with permits, guide and porters, via the flight to Bhadrapur.