Nepal Kangchenjunga Complete Circuit

Far Eastern Nepal · Nepal

Expedition Grade25 daysAsia~£4,000 est.

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Overview

The full Kangchenjunga circuit is Nepal's biggest single trekking commitment: some 25 days linking the north and south base camps of the world's third-highest mountain through far-eastern hills where trekkers are still outnumbered by cardamom farmers and yak trains. From Pangpema at 5,140 m the north face fills the sky — a three-kilometre wall of ice — while the southern viewpoint at Oktang looks into the amphitheatre where Joe Brown and George Band made the first ascent in 1955, stopping a few steps short of the summit out of respect for its sanctity, a courtesy expeditions have repeated since. The two halves link over the Sele La ridge and the Mirgin La at 4,663 m, a crossing that is straightforward in good weather and serious in bad. This is restricted-area trekking: permits, a registered guide and a minimum group of two are required, camping or the most basic teahouses are the accommodation, and resupply is what a porter can carry. March-May and October-November are the windows; around £4,000 for the full supported circuit. The reward is the Himalaya as Nepal's classic routes were fifty years ago.