Kanchenjunga Circuit Trek — Self-Launched Independent Version

Land at Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM), grab a prepaid taxi to Thamel (~NPR 1,000 / £6), and check into a budget guesthouse. Spend the afternoon sorting logistics for the trek.

🚌Prepaid taxi from KTM airport, ~£6

🛏Budget guesthouse in Thamel (dorm or twin), £8-12

• →Prepaid airport taxi to Thamel
• →Check into budget guesthouse
• →Buy a Nepali SIM/data pack (Ncell or NTC)
• →Pick up cash — ATMs in Thamel are your last reliable ones

Buy your Kanchenjunga Restricted Area Permit and TIMS card at the Nepal Tourism Board office in Bhrikutimandap, then walk the UNESCO sights you'd otherwise see on the guided tour. All are reachable by local bus/taxi or on foot.

🚌Local taxis/buses around the city, ~£4

🛏Budget guesthouse in Thamel, £8-12

• →Buy Kanchenjunga Restricted Area Permit + TIMS card at NTB (bring passport photos)
• →Visit Pashupatinath Temple (entry ~NPR 1,000)
• →Visit Boudhanath Stupa (entry ~NPR 400)
• →Visit Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple) (~NPR 200)
• →Explore Kathmandu Durbar Square (~NPR 1,000)
• →Evening shopping in Thamel for trek gear

Skip the operator's included flight and book it yourself: a morning domestic flight Kathmandu–Bhadrapur (~£90-110 one-way booked online), then a long shared jeep ride up to Suketar. Alternatively take an overnight bus to Bhadrapur for ~£12 and jeep up the next morning.

🚌Flight ~£100; shared jeep ~£10

🛏Basic lodge in Suketar, £5-8

• →Domestic flight KTM–Bhadrapur (self-booked)
• →Shared jeep Bhadrapur to Suketar (~5-6 hrs)
• →Check into a local lodge

The trek starts. Register your permits at the checkpost and climb steadily through terraced farmland and forest to the small settlement of Lali Kharka. First proper trail day — pace yourself.

🚌On foot

🛏Tea house in Lali Kharka, £4-6

• →Trek 4-5 hrs, ~2,300m elevation gain
• →Log permit checkpost at Suketar
• →Tea-house dal bhat dinner

A ridge day with views back to the plains. Walk through rhododendron and bamboo forest, ascending and descending along the crest to the small pass-side settlement of Kande Bhanjyang.

🚌On foot

🛏Tea house in Kande Bhanjyang, £4-6

• →Trek 5-6 hrs through forest and ridge
• →Watch for langur monkeys and hornbills
• →Sunset ridgeline views

Dropping into a river valley then climbing again to Phumphe Danda, a grassy ridge clearing with big views of the Kanchenjunga massif coming into view on clear days.

🚌On foot

🛏Tea house/camping clearing at Phumphe Danda, £4-6

• →Trek 5-6 hrs
• →Cross suspension bridges over the Amji Khola
• →First proper Kanchenjunga viewpoint

Descend steeply to the confluence of the Kabeli Khola and climb into Yamphudin, a mixed Limbu/Sherpa village and one of the last places with a decent resupply and a functioning health post.

🚌On foot

🛏Tea house in Yamphudin, £5-7

• →Trek 5-6 hrs
• →Explore Yamphudin village and monastery
• →Top up snacks and batteries

Follow the Amji Khola upstream through increasingly narrow gorge scenery. The trail becomes rockier and more 'Nepal expedition' as you approach Tortong, the last village before the Yalung Glacier approaches.

🚌On foot

🛏Tea house in Tortong, £5-7

• →Trek 6-7 hrs up the Amji Khola
• →Spot Himalayan tahr on the cliffs
• →Prepare for the dry-camp section ahead

A demanding day crossing moraine and the toe of the Yalung Glacier. Accommodation is basic-to-nonexistent — expect a tea house dorm or a tent camp run by a seasonal kitchen if you're carrying a stove.

🚌On foot

🛏Basic tea house or tent camp, £6-9

• →Trek 6-7 hrs over moraine
• →Cross lower Yalung Glacier area
• →Views of Koktang, Rathong and Kabru peaks

The big day. Climb above 4,700m to Oktang viewpoint for the classic, jaw-dropping front-on view of Mt. Kanchenjunga plus Jannu to the west. Watch for AMS — turn around if symptoms hit.

🚌On foot

🛏Tea house/tent at Oktang or Ramche, £6-9

• →Trek 4-5 hrs at high altitude
• →Oktang viewpoint of Mt. Kanchenjunga
• →Jannu (Kumbhakarna) views

Optional detour to Yalung Base Camp (the real south base camp) before descending to a warmer night at Ramche. Landmarks: Yalung Base Camp, Mt. Kumbakarna, Nyukla Lachung.

🚌On foot

🛏Tea house in Ramche, £5-7

• →Trek to Yalung Base Camp
• →Descend to Ramche village
• →Photograph the Kumbakarna/Nyukla Lachung peaks

Contour along the side of the Yalung Glacier basin, gently losing altitude to Cheram, where a handful of tea houses and a checkpoint cluster together. Short, recovery-friendly day.

🚌On foot

🛏Tea house in Cheram, £5-7

• →Trek 4-5 hrs
• →Glacier-side trail with Yalung Glacier views
• →Permit check at Cheram

The crossing day. Climb to the Sinelapche Bhanjyang / Mirgin La high passes above 4,600m with huge views to Makalu and even Everest on a clear day, then drop to the Sherpa village of Ghunsa.

🚌On foot

🛏Tea house in Ghunsa, £6-8

• →Cross Mirgin La / Sinelapche pass (~4,600m)
• →Views to Mt. Makalu and Mount Everest
• →Arrive Ghunsa — warm lodge, bakery and monastery

Take a proper acclimatisation day in Ghunsa before pushing higher up the other arm of the circuit — this is exactly where guided groups slow down too. Visit the monastery, wash clothes, and eat well.

🚌Rest day

🛏Tea house in Ghunsa, £6-8

• →Rest day at 3,475m
• →Visit Ghunsa monastery
• →Resupply at local shops

Climb steadily through larch and juniper then open alpine terrain to Kambachen (4,050m). Short days at this altitude are intentional — sleep low, walk high.

🚌On foot

🛏Basic tea house in Kambachen, £6-8

• →Trek 4-5 hrs to Kambachen (~4,050m)
• →Watch blue sheep on the hillsides

A big-views day high above the Kanchenjunga Glacier: cross the Ramtang area and take in the Kanchenjunga Glacier from above before reaching the wind-blasted settlement of Lhonak (4,780m).

🚌On foot

🛏Spartan tea house/tent at Lhonak, £6-9

• →Trek 5-6 hrs to Lhonak
• →View the Kanchenjunga Glacier and Ramtang village ruins
• →Prepare for a cold, exposed night

The north-side summit view day. Snort up to Pang Pema (Kanchenjunga North Base Camp, ~5,150m) for a face-to-face look at the north face, Tent Peak and Wedge Peak. It will be the coldest night of the trek.

🚌On foot

🛏Tent camp/tea house at Pang Pema, £6-9

• →Trek 3-4 hrs to Pang Pema (~5,150m)
• →Kanchenjunga north face viewpoint
• →Sunset over Tent Peak and Wedge Peak

Optional early ridge scramble near Pang Pema for an even better vantage, then the long descent back to thicker air at Kambachen. Everything gets easier from here.

🚌On foot

🛏Tea house in Kambachen, £6-8

• →Sunrise ridge walk near Pang Pema
• →Views of Wedge Peak and Tent Peak
• →Descend to Kambachen

Retrace to the relative comfort of Ghunsa. Hot shower, real food, and a chance to sleep properly below 3,500m for the first time in a week.

🚌On foot

🛏Tea house in Ghunsa, £6-8

• →Descend 4-5 hrs to Ghunsa
• →Hot shower and bakery stop
• →Restock for the exit route

Start the exit valley. Pass through Phale village and continue along the Ghunsa Khola to Amjilosa — greener, warmer and with more tea houses as you descend.

🚌On foot

🛏Tea house in Amjilosa, £5-7

• →Trek 5-6 hrs via Phale village
• →Continue to Amjilosa
• →Terraced farmland scenery returns

A long, undulating valley day on a trail that hugs the river with several suspension bridge crossings. Sakathum sits at a river confluence with a couple of solid lodges.

🚌On foot

🛏Tea house in Sakathum, £5-7

• →Trek 6 hrs with suspension bridges
• →Cross the confluence at Sakathum

Another low-valley day down to Chirwa, a Sherpa village with a small hydro plant, shops and a far more relaxed feel than the high camps. Last chance to enjoy the trail before road-building country.

🚌On foot

🛏Tea house in Chirwa, £5-7

• →Trek 5-6 hrs to Chirwa village
• →Explore Chirwa and the Tamor valley

Final trekking day, leaving the Tamor valley for the district capital, Taplejung. Arrive, eat a proper meal and, if you can, take a lodge with a hot shower and a real bed.

🚌On foot

🛏Guesthouse in Taplejung, £6-9

• →Final trek day to Taplejung
• →Celebrate with a proper meal
• →Buy your onward jeep/flight ticket

Shared jeep or bus down the hill roads to the Terai and on to Bhadrapur, gateway to the eastern plains. Long, bumpy and dusty — but cheap and characterful.

🚌Shared jeep/bus, ~£10

🛏Guesthouse in Bhadrapur, £6-9

• →Shared jeep/bus Taplejung to Bhadrapur (~7-8 hrs)
• →Overnight in Bhadrapur

Fly Bhadrapur–Kathmandu yourself (similar on the way in, ~£100) or take the overnight bus. Land back in Kathmandu and settle into Thamel for a proper clean-up, a shower and a big dinner.

🚌Flight ~£100 or bus ~£12

🛏Budget guesthouse in Thamel, £8-12

• →Domestic flight or bus back to Kathmandu
• →Return to Thamel guesthouse
• →Steak/dal bhat blowout and gear shopping

Pack up, buy last-minute souvenirs, and take a prepaid taxi back to Tribhuvan International Airport for your onward flight.

🚌Prepaid taxi to airport, ~£6

🛏None (departure day)

• →Last souvenir shopping in Thamel
• →Prepaid taxi to KTM airport
• →Departure