Top Ten Treks in the Nepalese Himalaya

Kanchenjunga Base Camp

By Ethan Gelber

Kanchenjunga (Peregrine Adventures, Himalayan Travel)

Kanchenjunga is the third highest mountain in the world and it soars above the easternmost border with Sikkim. The trek, only possible as an organized trip through an outfitter, is an out-and-back stomp from the terraced fields, rice paddies, and neat villages typical of 3,000 feet above sea level to the mountainous base camp at 16,900 feet. After a flight to Taplejung, you head up the Ghunsa Khola valley, leaving the rhododendron, hemlock and fir forests behind, and let the mountain views dominate; spread out before you are Everest, Makalu, Lhotse and Kanchenjunga—four of the world's five highest mountains. From the northern base camp at Pangpema, cross high passes still far beneath the massive bulk of the mountain to Tseram, at the foot of the Yalung Glacier. Veteran tour organizer Ben Wallace of Himalayan Travel considers this trek to be one of the best in Nepal.

< Previous

Last Updated: 15 Sep 2010
Published: 29 Apr 2002
The details, dates, and prices mentioned in this article were accurate at the time of publication.