Naya Kanga Peak Climbing

Welcome to Nepal. You land at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu (1,400 m), where our representative meets you in the arrivals hall and drives you to your hotel in Thamel.

Your climbing guide joins you in the afternoon. The Langtang peaks are close enough to Kathmandu that the logistics are simple, so the briefing concentrates on the climbing itself: what the summit day involves, how the fixed rope is used, and what we expect you to be able to do on it.

The rest of the day is yours to rest after the flight. Overnight in Kathmandu.

A working day in the city. The morning goes on paperwork: the Nepal Mountaineering Association peak permit is finalised, insurance details for the crew are lodged, and your own policy is checked against the altitude you are going to.

The afternoon is the equipment inspection, which matters more than most people expect. Every item of personal climbing kit is laid out and checked — harness, crampons, ice axe, ascender, descender, helmet, carabiners and boots — and anything unsuitable is replaced or hired from the shops in Thamel.

If you have never used an ascender, your guide will run you through it here rather than on the mountain. Overnight in Kathmandu.

A long day on a road that has improved a great deal and is still not good. The route climbs out of the Kathmandu valley at Kakani, drops to the Trishuli, then turns north up the Pasang Lhamu Highway toward the Tibetan border.

The last three hours run high above the Bhote Koshi on a shelf cut into the hillside, with the Ganesh Himal appearing to the west and the border ranges ahead.

Around 7 to 8 hours including stops. Syabrubesi (1,460 m) is a strip of lodges either side of a bridge, entirely rebuilt since the 2015 earthquake. Overnight in a lodge.

The walk into the valley begins. The trail crosses the Bhote Koshi and follows the Langtang Khola east into a steep-sided gorge of oak, maple and rhododendron.

It is a forest day rather than a mountain one: the river is loud below, langur monkeys move in the canopy, and there is almost no view out until the very end.

The climb is steady rather than steep, with several river crossings on suspension bridges and a couple of tea shops on the way.

Around 6 hours to Lama Hotel (2,470 m), which is not a hotel but a handful of lodges in a clearing. Overnight in a lodge.

The valley opens today. The trail climbs steadily through thinning forest to Ghoda Tabela, where the trees give out and Langtang Lirung (7,227 m) appears at the head of the valley.

From there the walking is on open pasture past yak herds, water mills and long mani walls.

You pass the site of the old Langtang village, buried in April 2015 when the earthquake brought down an ice and rock avalanche that killed most of its inhabitants. A memorial stands on the debris field, and the new village has been rebuilt just beyond it by the survivors.

Around 6 hours. Overnight in a lodge at Langtang Village.

A short day, deliberately, because the altitude gain matters more than the distance from here on.

The trail continues up the widening valley floor past chortens, prayer walls and stone-walled yak pastures, with Langtang Lirung filling the northern skyline and the Langtang glacier moraine ahead.

Around 3 to 4 hours brings you to Kyanjin Gompa (3,870 m), a settlement of lodges around an old monastery and the Swiss-founded yak cheese factory, closed in by peaks on three sides.

The afternoon is free to rest, or to walk up the moraine toward the glacier. Overnight in a lodge at Kyanjin Gompa.

An active acclimatisation day, and the one that decides how the summit goes.

The climb to Kyanjin Ri (4,773 m) starts directly behind the lodges and gains 900 m in a steep two to three hours on a good trail. There is a lower summit at around 4,300 m that many groups stop at; going to the top is better preparation.

From the prayer flags the whole valley head is laid out — Langtang Lirung, Kimshung, Langshisa Ri, the Langtang glacier, and the peak you are about to climb.

Back down for a late lunch. The afternoon is for rest, fluids and a gear check with your guide. Overnight at Kyanjin Gompa.

You cross to the other side of the valley today. The trail drops from Kyanjin to the Langtang Khola, crosses on a bridge, and begins the climb up the south flank toward the Ganja La.

It is a steady 500 m of ascent on yak trails through juniper scrub and then open moraine, with the whole north side of the valley — Langtang Lirung, Kimshung and the glacier — opening up behind you as you gain height.

Around 4 to 5 hours brings you to base camp at 4,400 m, a grassy shelf with water nearby where the crew has camp established.

The afternoon is the first instruction session. Overnight in tents.

A full day of climbing school on the snow slopes above camp, and the reason this itinerary is sixteen days rather than twelve.

The morning covers crampon technique on hard and soft snow, ice axe use and self-arrest, and moving as a rope team with correct spacing.

The afternoon is spent on the fixed line: ascending with a jumar, changing over at an anchor, and abseiling down — which on this peak matters more than the climbing, because most accidents on trekking peaks happen on the descent.

Your guide watches everyone and will say plainly if someone is not ready for the summit. Overnight in tents at base camp.

A short, steep carry onto the mountain. The route climbs rough moraine and old snow for three to four hours to a shelf at around 5,100 m, directly below the glacier.

It is not far in distance but the ground is loose and the altitude is beginning to tell, so the pace is deliberately slow.

You arrive by early afternoon. The crew fixes the tents while your guide walks the first section of the route with the group so the start is familiar in the dark, and confirms the summit plan and turnaround times.

An early dinner and an early night. Wake-up is around midnight. Overnight in tents at high camp.

Summit day, starting around 1 a.m. Two hours of moraine and lower glacier by headlamp, roped up, brings you to the foot of the face.

The slope steepens from 30 to around 45 degrees over the next four to five hours, on snow and ice, with the climbing crew fixing rope on the headwall where the angle is at its worst. A short exposed ridge leads to the summit of Naya Kanga (5,844 m).

The view is the reward: Langtang Lirung (7,227 m) directly across the valley, Shishapangma over the Tibetan border, Dorje Lakpa and the Jugal Himal east, and the Ganja La far below.

The descent is long and demands concentration. Ten to fourteen hours in total, ending at base camp. Overnight in tents.

The contingency day, held for a second summit attempt if the first was turned back by weather.

If the peak has already been climbed, it is a rest day at base camp and a welcome one — the summit day is long enough that most people spend it eating, sleeping and sitting in the sun.

Groups with energy can walk up toward the Ganja La (5,122 m) itself for the view south into Helambu, which is a couple of hours and worth doing.

The crew begins breaking down the higher camp. Overnight in tents at base camp.

A long descending day that gets you off the mountain and back into the trees.

The morning drops from base camp to the river and climbs briefly to Kyanjin Gompa, where the group stops for an early lunch and the porters reorganise loads now that the camping gear is coming down.

From there the trail runs back down the open valley past Langtang village and the avalanche memorial, then into the forest below Ghoda Tabela.

Around 8 hours in total, and hard on the knees rather than the lungs. The oxygen at 2,470 m after four nights above 4,400 m is its own reward. Overnight in a lodge at Lama Hotel.

The last walking day, down through the gorge on the trail you came up.

The forest is at its best in the morning light, and the river crossings come in quick succession as the valley narrows.

Around 5 hours to Syabrubesi (1,460 m), where there is a hot shower, a cold beer and a bed with a proper mattress.

This is traditionally the evening the crew is paid and thanked, and the climbing Sherpas who fixed the rope on your summit day get their bonus. Overnight in a lodge at Syabrubesi.

The drive back down the Pasang Lhamu Highway and over the valley rim, around 7 to 8 hours with a lunch stop.

The road runs high above the Bhote Koshi for the first stretch, then descends to the Trishuli and climbs again to Kakani, where the whole Ganesh Himal and Langtang range stands on the northern horizon — a good last look at the peak you climbed.

Transfer to your hotel in Thamel. The afternoon is free for a shower, a change of clothes and souvenir shopping, and most groups meet for a farewell dinner in the evening.

Overnight in Kathmandu.

A slow morning in Kathmandu. If your flight is late in the day there is time for last shopping in Thamel, a walk around Boudhanath or Durbar Square, or simply a long breakfast.

Our representative collects you from the hotel and drives you to Tribhuvan International Airport around three hours before departure.

If you are staying on in Nepal we are happy to arrange onward travel, a Chitwan extension, a Pokhara flight or extra hotel nights — just tell us while you are still on the mountain so we can book it.

Thank you for climbing with us, and we hope to see you back on a bigger peak.