Your holiday starts at the hotel in Kathmandu. Transfers from Kathmandu Airport are provided. Depending on your arrival time, you may have the opportunity to explore the immediate vicinity of the hotel and get acclimatised to this bustling city. Alternatively, you may prefer to recover from your journey by relaxing beside the hotel pool. Your guide will take dinner with you and will provide an informal briefing about the days ahead.

A free day to explore this fascinating city while our permits for the Kanchenjunga and Makalu-Barun Conservation areas are processed. In the morning there is an optional complimentary guided sightseeing tour of the city's main attractions. Alternatively, you may prefer to do your own thing, especially if you have visited Kathmandu before. One of the attractions of any visit to Nepal is the chance to walk the streets of Kathmandu, which presents a fascinating mosaic of shops, cafes and restaurants, food markets and street vendors, as well as a bewildering array of colourful temples and shrines. We spend a second night at the group hotel.

We return to the airport and take an internal flight across the country to the south eastern corner of Nepal close to the border with Darjeeling. If you thought Kathmandu was hot, Bhadrapur located in the Nepal Terai, which is part of the Indian Gangetic plain, will feel tropical. We are met at the airport and board our vehicles for a two day journey into the mountains. On this first day, we will drive for an hour to Kanyam which is a good place to stop to eat our packed lunches, because there are good views of Kangchenjunga from here. After lunch, another 4 hours of driving takes us through a fascinating landscape of rural fields and small towns, becoming slightly hillier as we head north. The temperature becomes a little cooler as we start the climb into the foothills and reach our basic hotel accommodation in the town of Phidim. Time for a cold drink.

The scale of the landscape is magnificent as we continue to make our way along the river valleys of the Himalayan foothills where field terracing extends to seemingly impossible heights. At every twist and turn there are new sights and glimpses of snowy white giants, a promise of what lies ahead. Arriving at the end of the road at the small town of Taplejung (1775m) after 3 to 4 hours of driving, we meet our trek crew and take a break while the porters' loads are sorted. We then set off on our trek, mostly downhill at first through small villages with their fields of cardamom to the Hangdewa Khola which we cross on a suspension bridge. We stop for lunch after a couple of hours, then follow this river down to a confluence with the main Tamur River which leads us to our first night's halt and first camp at Mitlung (900m).

The day starts with a pleasant stroll beside the Tamur River for around an hour, undulating a little and with some stands of fragrant forest, to Siwa Bazaar. We then continue to follow a trail on the true left bank of the river to our lunch stop at Tawa Village (1146m). Shortly after this, we cross a suspension bridge over the Tamur and trek for about a kilometre before recrossing to the true left bank. We reach our camp in the small market village of Chiruwa (1245m) after a quite long, and at times hot, day's walk.

We continue alongside the Tamur River, passing small villages and individual farms with terraced fields of rice and gardens of cardamom. After a little more than an hour we reach the larger village of Tapethok (1340m) which has some shops and tea houses and a checkpost for the Kangchenjunga Conservation Area (KCAP) where we have to show our permits. Here, we cross the Tamur again on a suspension bridge and continue pleasantly beside the river to Phembu where we stop for lunch. It's an hour from here, gradually uphill to Lelep, another village with some shops and lodges. We are now diverting away from the trail up to Kangchenjunga Basecamp (at Pang Pema) and following the Tamur River north towards Olangchung Gola. Our trek takes us now through a mix of dense pine forest and fields of cardamom, climbing steadily to Lumthang (1800m) and our camp in a clearing at Goatar.

Still following the Tamur River upstream through dense forest, we pass two impressive (100 metre-high) waterfalls, cross the tributary Phedi Khola and climb up to the small Sherpa village of Ela Danda where we have good views of snow-capped peaks. We then gradually descend to Sukepani and a possible place to stop for an early lunch. We then cross a second suspension bridge, this time over the main river, and continue to trek gradually uphill for most of the time through bamboo forest which is home to the rare and elusive red panda. There are several landslide scars that we need to take care on. Our camp at Selep Lharka (2600m) can be spread out as we seek out the best pitches for the tents.

A shorter and easier day, continuing our journey north toward the main chain of the Himalaya and passing through a wide clearing known as Jongim (2641m) where we again have views of the snowy peaks. Here, we enter another rhododendron forest and cross the Tamur River on a suspension bridge and climb for an hour to Ramite (2685m) where we stop for lunch. There is more opportunity to spot red pandas on this next section and we pass another beautiful waterfall. Our halt for tonight is the Sherpa settlement of Olangchung Gola (3200m), a very attractive village of around 45 wooden houses and with a 465 year old gompa which stands above the village. This is an important trading post for goods coming across the passes from Tibet and up from the plains of India. There is also a KCAP office, health post, school and police post here.

Olangchung Gola is a great place to take a rest and acclimatisation day in preparation for the higher territory that lies ahead of us. We can spend the day looking around the village, meeting the local people and also visiting the 3-storey Gompa which is reckoned to be one of the oldest in Nepal. Olangchung Gola is pretty much the last civilisation we will see until we reach the Arun Valley and lies little more than a day's walk from the border with Tibet. It is this proximity to Tibet that caused the area to be off limits until a matter of a few years ago. We spend a second night at the village.

Another short day as we take care to keep our rate of ascent between camps at a reasonable level. We set off, following the trails used by herders and Tibetan traders and walking beside the turbulent Tamur River to its confluence with tributary Dinsamba Khola. Crossing the river slightly beyond the meeting of the rivers, we reach the place known as 'Junction Camp' at lunch time. Here the main trail splits with one trail heading north towards the border with Tibet and the other turning west towards the Lumba Sumba mountains.

We have now turned away from the Tamur River and follow the Dinsamba Khola towards the west and then gradually turning towards the north-west. This route which (forms a part of one version of the Great Himalaya Trail) has been trekked by very few foreigners. We pass through some rhododendron woodland and ahead of us the peaks of the Lumba Sumba Himal are becoming more prominent. Again, we finish our day's trek before lunch and set up our streamside camp at the place called Tangchetar (4200m). During this part of our trek, we will be keeping a watch out for signs of snow leopard which are regular visitors to this high valley.

Another short day as we make our approach to the Lumba Sumba La through a broad valley. Few trekkers come this way and the sense of remoteness is tangible. At the end of the valley our trail climbs up over a black rock band into another smaller valley where we make camp. We are now well above the tree line and looking back down the valley we can see the spectacular peak of Jannu (7710m) one of the outliers of the Kangchenjunga Massif.

We make a slightly early start and trek up for an hour to another possible camping place at 4770 metres. This is Lumba Sumba High Camp. Half an hour beyond this point we get our first good views of the 5 summited ridge of Kangchenjunga, the world's 3rd highest peak, while much closer to us is the rocky Lumba Sumba Peak. We can now see what looks to be the pass ahead of us and we make our way upwards across boulder-covered ground and probably old snow patches. The first pass is at 5150 metres and is hung with colourful prayer flags. Our 2016 group came across lots of recent snow leopard footprints on the snow at this pass. Another half an hour takes us to the highest part of the Lumba Sumba La at 5180 metres. The views from here are sensational, extending eastwards to Kangchenjunga and Jannu and westwards to Makalu and even a glimpse of Everest. This is a very special place and weather permitting, we will want to linger here and perhaps eat our packed lunches. If it is too windy or cold, we can continue to a more sheltered lunch stop in around half an hour. After lunch, we descend for a little over 2 hours on a trail which is steep at first and then reaches a more open valley where we stop at the first suitable camping spot. This camp on a rough yak pasture is known as Selele and is at an elevation of around 4500 metres. This is arguably the most memorable day of the trek.

From our overnight stop we set off down again, heading west through a rocky environment, with excellent views of Makalu, Baruntse, Chamlang and Lhotse ahead. We have to cross a number of streams today and reaching the Chejung Khola we find ourselves on another trade route, this one heading down from the Umbak La (5200m) which links Tibet and Nepal. We cross this stream and continue our descent, more steeply for the last half hour, to the scattered wooden houses of the village of Thudam (3500m). This is a Sherpa (Bhotia) village of around 30 wooden houses which has strong trade and cultural links with villages across the border in Tibet.

We cross some rough territory today with potentially exposed trails and we will carry packed lunches because there is likely to be nowhere for the cook crew to set up for a cooked lunch. Below Thudam we enter the forests again. There is much evidence of felling here and wood from these forests is used for fuel in Thudam and is also traded with Tibet, carried across the Umbak La by yak caravan. We head west through a steep sided valley, having to negotiate several landslip areas before climbing steadily to a pass (3370m). The views of Makalu and its satellites are simply stunning. Weather permitting, this is a good place to stop and eat our packed lunch prior to descending back into the forest. Much of this forest is bamboo and there is the chance of spotting red pandas in this area. We continue descending to a small clearing which goes by the name of Yak Kharka (yak grazing area). We set up camp here after a long day at an elevation of 2700 metres.

We start the day with a short climb through forest to a crest, followed by a 2-hour (1000 metre) descent through dense forest including rhododendron trees. At Chaurikharka we get our first glimpse of the Arun River in the valley below and this is a good place to stop for lunch, before continue our descent to a suspension bridge. Crossing the bridge, we climb steadily uphill for around an hour and a half, passing through fields of millet as we approach our overnight camp in the Bhotia village of Chyamthang (2250m).

We are very much back in warmer climes today and the forest is alive with bird song as we traverse around above the north bank of the Arun River. We pass through several small villages of the Chepuwa district and these have a mix of Rai and Bhotia inhabitants. We also cross several tributary rivers on suspension bridges and in one or two places we get views of Makalu away to the north-west. At our lunch stop in the village of Gimber we have more spectacular views of the Makalu range. The afternoon's walk is relatively short and easy along a good trail to the Bhotia village of Honggong (2100m).

Continuing our trek southwards above the river and descending steadily, after 3 hours we reach Hatiya (1570m) the entry point to the Makalu-Barun National Park. There is a mix of Bhotia and Gurung people here, as well as a hospital. We have time for a quick look around this interesting village before setting off again and following the river down to its confluence with the Barun River which carries the meltwater from the glaciers of Makalu. A road is being constructed into this valley but we can largely avoid this by trekking on the original trail. We overnight at Barun Bazaar (1100m). A religious festival is held here in the early part of the year.

For the first hour and a half today we will follow the newly constructed dirt road, through Gola to Thado Khola. Here, we leave the road and follow a trail that climbs above the Arun River, through farmland to a lunch stop at the small Gurung village of Pathibhara (1550m) which boasts a number of tea houses, shops and lodges. Beyond Pathibhara, the trail continues, descending again through a rich agricultural landscape to Gadhi (1170m), which means 'fort' in Nepali. This is the spot where the Nepalese Army confronted an invading force from Tibet, eventually driving them back over the passes. Today Gadhi is a thriving market town with shops and hotels as well as a health post, school, and police station.

Our final morning of trekking takes us across to Num (1560m) on the far side of the river and just 3 or 4 kilometres away as the crow flies. However, we have to take a zig-zag route to get there, dropping down to the river for around 30 minutes on a section of dirt road which serves the new Arun Hydropower Project. Then, having crossed the river via a suspension bridge at Chauribas, we begin a long climb on a good trail which winds its way up the steep hillside above the river to the ridge-top settlement of Num. After taking some refreshment at one of the tea houses here, we board our waiting vehicles for the 4-hour drive along the ridge to Tumlingtar (450m). We spend our final night on trek in Tumlingtar.

We fly from Tumlingtar, to Kathmandu. This is normally in the morning to take advantage of the clear weather, but there is no fixed schedule for these flights and it is not possible to say exactly when we might fly. Once in Kathmandu we check in to our hotel and the rest of the day is free. On this first night after our trek we will certainly have a celebration dinner at one of Kathmandu's excellent restaurants.

Since the flight from Tumlingtar is weather dependent it is important to have this contingency day. If we have flown the previous day this will be a free day in Kathmandu with plenty of opportunity for independent sightseeing. In the evening the group will come together again for the evening meal at another of Kathmandu's restaurants.

Your holiday ends after breakfast. Transfers to Kathmandu Airport are provided. To extend your holiday in Nepal, why not pre-book a day's sightseeing tour in the Kathmandu Valley, or a multi-day excursion to the wildlife reserve at Chitwan. Contact our office for details.