Koshi · Trekking
From tropical valleys to an ice giant
Why NepalPick recommends it
Cross the Shipton La into the upper Barun Valley, one of Nepal’s most dramatic ecological transitions, ending beneath Makalu’s immense pyramid.
The journey offers space to notice how the landscape changes, eat what is seasonal, and let local knowledge shape the day. The point is not to collect sights. It is to understand why this place feels different from Nepal’s familiar routes.
Expect basic lodges, long stages, and rapidly changing mountain weather.
Editor’s perspective
Go for the landscape. Stay for the rhythm of ordinary life.
The moments worth protecting in the itinerary are often not official viewpoints, a first cup of tea after a long walk, a change in light across a ridge, or a host explaining why a trail, forest, or monastery matters locally. Build enough time into the journey for those unplanned moments.
Destination photograph by Ben Tubby, available through Wikimedia Commons under CC BY 2.0. Displayed without intentional modification.
Seen along the way
Complete planning guide
Research-based framework, last reviewed 14 July 2026. Operational details — roads, flights, lodges, permits, fees — change; items marked for verification must be reconfirmed before booking.
From subtropical Arun valley farmland over the Shipton La into the sacred upper Barun — a national park journey through more climate zones than almost any trek in Nepal, ending beneath Makalu's black granite pyramid. Quieter than any 8,000 m base camp route this side of Kanchenjunga.
Flight plus 3–5 hours jeep · overnight: Num
Road · 14–18 hours over two days
No flight, road, bridge, or lodge on this page is promised to operate on a given day — that is Nepal, honestly stated. Build the margins this page recommends.
Morning: Morning flight to the Arun valley's grass airstrip town.
Route and pace: Jeep on a winding ridge road to the trail's edge at Num.
The experience: Warm air, oranges, and the Arun far below — the lowest start of any big base-camp trek.
Overnight and meals: Simple lodge in Num.
Key risk / decision: Flight delay pushes the jeep stage late.
Fallback: Overnight Tumlingtar/Khandbari; absorb with contingency.
Morning: Plunge to the Arun river and cross the long suspension bridge.
Route and pace: A brutal profile for day one: 800 m down, 800 m up, in heat.
The experience: Terraced farms, cardamom, and the park entry checkpost at Seduwa.
Overnight and meals: Lodge at Seduwa.
Water: Refill at villages; treat everything.
Key risk / decision: Heat exhaustion is the day's real hazard — start early.
Fallback: None meaningful; pace and water discipline are the plan.
Morning: Gentler climbing through Sherpa and Rai farmland.
Route and pace: Steady; enjoy the last full village on the route.
The experience: Tashigaon's fields and the sense of a door about to close behind you.
Overnight and meals: Community lodge at Tashigaon.
Key risk / decision: Provision check — beyond here facilities are seasonal kharka lodges.
Fallback: Rest day here fits well if the group needs one.
Morning: The route's biggest single climb, up a relentless forested staircase.
Route and pace: Slow and steady; 1,400 m of ascent deserves respect.
The experience: Cloud forest giving way to rhododendron and the first big-mountain air.
Overnight and meals: Basic seasonal lodge at Khongma.
Key risk / decision: Big altitude gain — watch the group tonight.
Fallback: A mid-slope kharka shelter exists seasonally to split the day.
Morning: Short ridge walk toward the pass with pond and prayer-flag views.
Route and pace: Deliberately light.
The experience: Chamlang appears — the first of the giants.
Overnight and meals: Khongma again.
Key risk / decision: Skipping this day converts the pass into an AMS generator.
Fallback: Full rest if symptoms exist.
Morning: Early start over Ghungru La, Shipton La, and Keke La in sequence.
Route and pace: Sustained high traverse past the sacred Kalo Pokhari lake.
The experience: The gateway crossing into the upper Barun — stark, holy, and often snow-dusted.
Overnight and meals: Basic lodge at Dobate.
Water: Carry the day's supply.
Key risk / decision: Snow on the passes either side of the main season; turn back rather than posthole blind.
Fallback: Retreat to Khongma and wait a day.
Morning: Steep descent through ancient rhododendron into the Barun gorge.
Route and pace: Careful on the eroded gorge section, then valley-floor cruising.
The experience: The Barun's herder meadows, waterfalls, and granite walls.
Overnight and meals: Seasonal lodge at Yangle Kharka.
Key risk / decision: The gorge descent is the day's focus point — no rushing.
Fallback: None needed in normal conditions.
Morning: Up-valley through yak pasture and glacial rubble.
Route and pace: Altitude-slow; hydrate hard.
The experience: Peak 6 and Peak 7 walls closing in; the valley turning lunar.
Overnight and meals: Basic lodge at Langmale.
Key risk / decision: Second serious sleeping-altitude jump — assess honestly.
Fallback: Sleep lower at Merek if needed and add a stage.
Morning: Moraine walking with Makalu's south face rising ahead.
Route and pace: Slow, steady, wind-ready.
The experience: Arrival at the base camp meadow beside the Barun glacier — Everest and Lhotse visible from the ridge above.
Overnight and meals: Seasonal lodge/camp at base camp; very cold nights.
Water: Glacial streams — treat and expect silt.
Key risk / decision: Wind and cold; keep the arrival day short on purpose.
Fallback: Sleep at Langmale and day-trip BC if lodges are shut.
Morning: Climb the viewpoint ridge toward Peak 3 panoramas: Makalu, Everest, Lhotse, Baruntse.
Route and pace: As the body allows; this is the summit day of a trekking route.
The experience: One of the least-seen great views in Nepal.
Overnight and meals: Base camp or descend to Langmale.
Key risk / decision: Do not wander onto glacier ice; the viewpoint ridge suffices.
Fallback: A weather morning here is what the contingency days protect.
Morning: Long descent regaining oxygen with every hour.
Route and pace: Quick but controlled.
The experience: The Barun in reverse, twice as green as you remember.
Overnight and meals: Yangle Kharka.
Key risk / decision: Descent-day ankle fatigue.
Fallback: Split at Langmale.
Morning: Back up the gorge staircase.
Route and pace: The climb you owed the mountain from day 7.
The experience: Forest light in the rhododendron cathedral.
Overnight and meals: Dobate.
Key risk / decision: Wet-rock care in the gorge.
Fallback: None needed.
Morning: Recross the triple pass early, before wind.
Route and pace: You know it now; it is longer than you remember.
The experience: Kalo Pokhari with homeward light.
Overnight and meals: Khongma.
Key risk / decision: Afternoon weather on the passes — start early.
Fallback: Wait at Dobate a day if the crossing looks wrong.
Morning: Down the great staircase.
Route and pace: Knees first; poles out.
The experience: Warm air rising to meet you.
Overnight and meals: Tashigaon; the first proper village meal in ten days.
Key risk / decision: Descent injuries happen on this stage more than any other.
Fallback: None needed.
Morning: Farm-trail cruising.
Route and pace: Easy.
The experience: Children, schools, cardamom — the inhabited world again.
Overnight and meals: Seduwa.
Key risk / decision: None unusual.
Fallback: Combine with day 16 only if jeep timing demands it.
Morning: Down to the Arun bridge and up the far wall one last time.
Route and pace: The day-two profile in reverse; heat management again.
The experience: Closing the loop at Num's ridge.
Overnight and meals: Num lodge.
Key risk / decision: Heat low in the valley.
Fallback: Early start beats everything.
Morning: Jeep out along the ridge road.
Route and pace: Rest.
The experience: Airstrip-town ease and a proper shower if lucky.
Overnight and meals: Tumlingtar.
Key risk / decision: Road delays after rain.
Fallback: Buffer sits tomorrow.
Morning: Morning flight out of the Arun.
Route and pace: —
The experience: Makalu from the right-side windows, farewell-sized.
Overnight and meals: Kathmandu.
Key risk / decision: Flight backlog after weather.
Fallback: Two contingency days protect this.
Morning: Unassigned.
Route and pace: —
The experience: Absorbed by passes, base camp weather, or flights.
Overnight and meals: Wherever needed.
Key risk / decision: —
Fallback: Kathmandu rest day if unused.
Morning: Unassigned.
Route and pace: —
The experience: Second buffer.
Overnight and meals: Wherever needed.
Key risk / decision: —
Fallback: Kathmandu day if unused.
| Season | Typical character | Trails, roads, lodges, flights | Think twice if |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar–May | Spring: warm low valleys, rhododendron mid-route, lingering pass snow early, building afternoon cloud late. | Lodges reopen; passes normally workable from April — verify snow state. | Heat-sensitive walkers on the low stages by May. |
| Jun–Aug | Heavy monsoon on the southern approach; the Barun runs big and the leeches run bigger. | Flights unreliable; landslide exposure; several kharka lodges shut. Not recommended. | Everyone. |
| Sep–Nov | Prime window: stable, clear, cold high camps from late October. | Best lodge coverage and flight reliability of the year. | Nobody; book flights early. |
| Dec–Feb | Deep cold and snow above Khongma; passes frequently closed to normal parties. | High lodges shut; full route out of season. | All but winter specialists. |
Seasonal patterns, not forecasts. Temperatures vary dramatically with altitude on the same day — pack by elevation range.
Village lodges to Tashigaon, then seasonal kharka lodges — plywood rooms, shared dining stoves, occasional dormitories. Base camp accommodation is seasonal; a supported camping fallback remains the honest plan for early/late season.
Standard lodge menus shrinking with altitude; carry lunch supplements for pass days. Treat all water including glacial streams.
Signal at Num/Seduwa/Tashigaon (intermittent), effectively none beyond Khongma. Paid charging where hydro exists; power bank essential; guide should carry satellite communication.
Cash only beyond Tumlingtar for the full trek. No ATMs after Khandbari.
| Requirement | Amount | Authority | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Makalu Barun National Park entry | Verify current NPR fee | DNPWC / park office (entry registered at Seduwa) | Standard national park entry; arranged by your agency or at the gate. |
| Rural municipality fee | Verify locally | Local government | Small local fees are sometimes collected at Num or Seduwa. |
| Restricted-area status | Not applicable on the standard base camp trail | Department of Immigration | Sankhuwasabha's restricted wards (USD 20/week baseline) lie on border routes, not this trail — verify your exact route with Immigration if varying it. |
| TIMS | Verify current fee | Nepal Tourism Board | Confirm applicability alongside the park permit. |
Guide requirement: Not restricted, but current national rules have moved toward mandatory licensed guides for foreign trekkers — verify before planning otherwise. Practically, the seasonal-lodge network and double pass make an experienced guide and porter support the sensible standard here.
| Band | USD (per person) | NPR (approx.) | What it buys |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recommended guided | USD 1,900–2,800 | NPR 291,000–NPR 429,000 | Agency service with guide, porters, flights, park fees, lodges. |
| Supported camping / early-late season | USD 2,800–3,400 | NPR 429,000–NPR 521,000 | Full camping backup where kharka lodges are unreliable. |
Contingency: Budget 15–25%: flight-dependent access and a double pass crossing both directions.
Planning ranges per adult, twin-share, for the recommended duration from the stated gateway — not quotes. NPR conversion uses the Nepal Rastra Bank selling rate of USD 1 = NPR 153.3 reviewed 14 July 2026, rounded to the nearest NPR 1,000; bank, card, and cash rates differ. Excludes international airfare, visa, insurance, tips, and personal spending unless stated.
If things change: Two contingency days built in. Likeliest uses: Tumlingtar flight backlog, pass weather, or a second base-camp morning. The honest abbreviation if the upper valley closes: turn at Khongma with the Chamlang viewpoint as consolation.
Not accessible for mobility-limited travellers; sustained steep terrain, no vehicle access beyond Num, and a committing double pass.
Research draws on the following, alongside NepalPick’s editorial method. Last reviewed 14 July 2026; recheck official sources on the day you book.
Travel well
Leave the route better understood, not more heavily used.
Refill water instead of buying disposable bottles. Carry batteries and nonorganic waste back to a proper disposal point. Ask before photographing people, homes, rituals, or livestock.
Use local guides, community lodges, and locally produced food where possible. Respect seasonal closures, wildlife distance, sacred landscapes, and the right of communities to say no.