Helambu Trek

Trip Highlights

  • Destination:Nepal
  • Total Duration:9 Days
  • Trip Grade:Moderate

Trip Highlights

  • Trek in the Shivapuri National Park
  • Great Views of Ganesh Himal Massif, Langtang Himal, and Rolwaling Range.
  • Villages like Kutumsang, Tharepati, Tarke Gyang, and Sermanthang along the way.
  • Learn the culture of Tibetan Buddhism.
  • UNESCO World Heritage Tour in Kathmandu
  • An easy, yet a rewarding trek

Tour Overview

The Helambu Trek, also known as the Helambu Valley trek is an accessible trek that lies about 70 km northeast of the Kathmandu Valley.

Helambu Trekking by Nepal Hiking Adventures is a relatively low altitude trek. The trek takes you to the green hills around the Kathmandu valley.

These are the hills that separate Kathmandu from the lofty Himalayas. These hills are home to some of the most wonderful forests. The forests harbor old oak and rhododendron trees. You will also trek to various farmlands as well as high ridges along the way.

Walk across the gushing rivers that originate from the snow-capped Himalayas. Following the popular Langtang Trek routes, you will walk into the Tamang and Sherpa settlements. These people are followers of Buddhist cultures. You can get an insight to the unique culture and traditions in these villages.

Helambu Circuit trek gives you some mesmerizing views of the surrounding mountains. You will also see beautiful views of the Langtang Valley and the Langtang range. The views of snowy peaks like Langtang Lirung (7227m), Dorje Lakpa (6966m), and Jugal are amazing.

Helambu trekking by Nepal Hiking Adventures starts from Sundarijal. Sundarijal is 1 and a half hours of drive from Kathmandu. From there, you will trek to the wonderful trails along the Shivapuri National Park.

After trekking in some of the picturesque villages in the Helambu region, you will get to Melamchi Pul Bazar. From there, you will be heading out to Kathmandu in a bus ride. The highest point along this trek is the village of Tharepati (3567m).

Tharepati is a beautiful village. From there, you can see the great views of Dorje Lakpa, Gaurishanker, and Langtang Himal. You can also add Gosaikunda Lake Trek as it falls in same Langtang Region.

Detail Itinerary

Your point of entry to Nepal will be Tribhuvan International, Kathmandu.

You can meet our representatives from Nepal Hiking Adventure outside the airport terminal. They will hold a display sign that reads “ Nepal Hiking Adventure” so that you can locate them better.

Our representatives will also help you transfer to your hotel. You can relax in the hotel or you can go for a stroll around beautiful small towns in Kathmandu like Thamel.

Our representatives will meet you in the morning to discuss the trip. In this briefing, they will give you information on the trek.

They will tell about weather and other difficulties that are possible while trekking. They will brief on what you need to expect during this trip. Meet your guide and the other members of our trip.

After this pre-trip meeting, you will go for a sightseeing tour of Kathmandu valley. Kathmandu has many UNESCO World Heritage Sites that make for an excellent sightseeing tour.

Pashupatinath Temple, which lies on the banks of the river Bagmati, is one of the holiest sites in Kathmandu. The main temple is two-storeyed with other small monuments and pilgrimage surrounding it.

Boudhanath and Swayambhunath are two Buddhist temples you will go to on this trip. These two temples give you a glimpse into the Buddhist culture. The peaceful setting of these two monasteries is sure to delight you in this trip.

Finally, you will also head out to Kathmandu Durbar Square and Patan Durbar Square. These squares are full of various temples like Krishna Mandir, Hanuman Dhoka, museums, and other smaller temples. All them are perfect representations of the architecture of Nepal in the medieval period.

Today will be the start of your trek. After having breakfast in your hotel, you will first drive to Sundarijal. The drive to Sundarijal (1300 meters) is 40 minutes long.

Along the way, you will also pass the renowned Buddhist monastery of Boudhanath. The periphery of the Bouddhanath monastery is also known as Little Tibet. Its gigantic Buddhist Chaitya or Stupa with the encompassing eyes of Lord Buddha are famous all over the world.

The track from Boudhanath to Sundarijal is off-road. Sundarijal is a wonderful spot. It is set amidst a nice patch of forest. It also has wonderful waterfalls which makes it a great spot for a picnic.

As you start your trek from Sundarijal, you will find that the trail takes you along a steep uphill. After trekking for an hour or so, you will get to the entrance of Shivapuri National Park. The trail then takes you along a steep flight of stairs to Mulkharka.

Trekking past rural farm fields, cool forests, and villages, you will get to Chisapani(2194 meters). Chisapani Danda lies at the top of a beautiful hill. It is also one of the most popular short trekking destination in Nepal.


The trek to Chisapani is approximately 4 hours long. Chisapani houses 4-6 teahouses. There is also an army camp right by the side of Chisapani. From Chispani, you can see delightful views of various mountains like the Jugal Himal range, Ganesh Himal, Manaslu, and Annapurna. Beautiful hills circle Chisapani Danda. It also is a good vantage point to see the valleys down below and the sunrise.

Today, you will head out to Kutumsang(2446 meters), which lies in the Helambu district. This 6-7 hours trek is the toughest in this Helambu Trekking.

You will descend to rivers as well as trek some steep uphills to top of ridges. The first village bazaar you will encounter is that of Pati Bhanjyang. As you walk past farm villages with good landscape views and trek past gradual winding tracks, you will get to the Sherpa village of Thankune Bhanjyang.

Trekking further, you will get to terraced fields along with tracks into the forests of this region. Then, you will get to another Sherpa village of Chipling before reaching the Tamang village of Thotong. From Thotong, you will trek uphill for one and a half hours to reach a ridge at 2580m/8500 ft. The ridge gives you good views of the surrounding landscape. A downhill trek of 45 minutes from this ridge and you will reach your overnight stop at Kutumsang.

Today, you will gain an altitude of 1200m as you head out to Tharepati (3597 meters). The trek today is 5 hours long. Tharepati is also the highest point in your trek. The initial part of the trek takes you to the ridgeline of the Yurin Danda. Along the way, you will walk past isolated farms. Patches of fir and rhododendron circle around these farms.

You will also get the first views of the Langtang range, Gosaikunda peak and Jugal Himal to the as you trek along. You will further trek uphill to Mera Danda through some eroded tracks. Then you will descend to the small village of Mangin Goth. Eventually, you will get to Tharepati after trekking past Thare Danda ridge. Tharepati is set amidst some of the most beautiful panoramic views of the Langtang Ranges.

As you trek just above the village, you will get to a ridge. This ridge is a fantastic place to catch mesmerizing views of the rising sun. The rays of the sun hit the mountains like Dorje Lakpa, Langshisha Ri, the Tserko group, the Langtang Lirung (7 227m/23 712ft), Shisha Pangma (8 046m/26 400ft) quite beautifully.

After that, you will head towards the east before trekking down a steep downhill through an old pine forest. This will take you to a ravine. Walking further, you will get to the spine of a ridge. The trail then heads downwards towards Melamchi Gaon, which is a large Sherpa village. Melamchi village is an agriculturally prosperous area. It is also home to a nice gompa.

From Melamchi Gaon, you will trek to Melamchi Khola. You will cross it on a bridge. You will then ascend 600m as you trek to the eastern side of the valley. After trekking past various Buddhist villages like Nakote, Dozum, and Chiri, you will eventually get to Tarke Gyang. This village gets its name from a monastery of the same name. This is also the oldest monastery in the Helambu region. The trek to Tarke Gyang(2560 meters) is 5-6 hours long. There are many houses in these villages that lie quite close to each other. They give you a feel of villages in western Nepal.

Today, you will trek southwest. You will walk along forested trails that are gently sloped. You will trek past small streams, pastures, and quaint little settlements as you get to Setighyang. The trail then heads north to Ganja La pass. The walk to Ganja La pass is a bit strenuous. As you trek beyond the pass, you will join the Langtang trail.

Hiking further, you will get to Ghangyul. Finally, after trekking for 4-5 hours, you will reach the attractive settlement of Sermathang. Sermanthang (2620 meters) is home to three large gompas. You can also catch mesmerizing views of the Jugal Himal, Dorje Lakpa and Gaurishankar to the east of Sermanthang.

Today’s trek is one of the most gentle as you mostly trek downhill losing around 1500 meters in altitude. As you leave the village of Sermanthang, you will pass quaint villages and settlements like Kakani and Thimbu. The vegetation also changes as you trek to a subtropical region. Melamchi Pul (840 meters) is approximately 5-6 hours of a trek away from Sermanthang.

Melamchi, which is one busy bazaar, sees a lot of villagers nearby stroll to this market area for grabbing necessary items.

From Melamchi, you will drive to Kathmandu on a 5-hour journey. The initial part of the drive takes place along dirt road after which you will get along the Tibet-Nepal Arniko Highway. After one hour of drive in the highway brings you to Dhulikhel, which is Newar town that lies to the eastern rim of Kathmandu Valley. You will cross other towns like Banepa and Bhaktapur on your way to Kathmandu from Dhulikhel.

This will be your final day in this awesome country of the Himalayas- Nepal. We will drop you at the airport a couple of hours before your scheduled flight.

Before leaving for the airport, you need to confirm that you have secured tour air ticket as well as other travel related documents. We wish you have a wonderful departure back home. We can also arrange for another trip to Nepal in case you want to.

Cost and Dates

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Additional Info

Helambu Trek Difficulty

Helambu is a moderate level trek that is easily accessible from Kathmandu.

The trekking trails are easy and well-defined. The number of trekking days are few and the altitude gains are also less. All these factors make the Helambu Trek an easy one.

You will trek for merely 6 days. On these days, you will trek for an average of 5 hours a day. As the altitude gains are also quite low, you won’t encounter steep uphills and downhills.

The highest point of this trek is 3597 meters. This altitude makes you less likely to get altitude sickness. But good preparation is always the best way to avoid getting into any problems during the trek.