Kanchenjunga

The World's third highest mountain at 8598 m, Kanchanjunga is the  least known and least visited trekking zone in Nepal. This area is opened to trekkers only form 1988, although people had trekked in the area in connection with mountaineering expedition since the turn of the century. Kanchenjunga is a long way from Kathmandu, and the nearest roads and airports are a long way from mountain. You can trek either to the north or south Kanchenjunga base camp, but it takes luck, determination and lot of time to visit both side of the peak. The northern side is remote; it takes almost two weeks of walking to get to the base camp at Pang Pema.

Kanchenjunga is on the border of Nepal and the Indian state of Sikkim, so circuit of the mountain is politically impossible. The next best alternative is to visit both the north and south sides of the mountain from Nepal side; you need to be equipped for a high-class crossing and have a minimum of four weeks to spare. If for any reason you cannot cross the pass, it’s a long way around.

 It’s difficult to cross either Lapsang La or Margin La. Bad weather and snows are often to blame, but more often it is simply a lack of time. Unless you have at least four weeks to spare, and preferably five weeks, you should plan to visit either the north or south base camp, not both. If you can get to Taplejung by either road or air, the trek can be shortened by several days, making it a bit more reasonable.

The lowland portion of this reason is culturally intriguing, but there are few good mountain views. In this part you visit Sherpa, Rai and Limbu Villages, beautiful monasteries, splendid alpine pastures etc. The trek starts at Suketar airstrip in Eastern nepal and ends at Basantapur near the town of Dharan.