Langtang & Gosainkund Lakes

Experience Overview

The stunning Langtang Valley lies to the north of Kathmandu and sees fewer trekkers than the Annapurna or Everest regions. In autumn (fall), it is blessed with superb views of mighty Langtang Lirung (23,773ft/7,246m), while in spring it comes alive with birds and flowers. This trek takes us to the glaciers below Langtang Lirung, perhaps the summits of Kyanjin Ri or Tsergo Ri (optional) for some magnificent panoramas, and the spectacular holy lake at Gosainkund, an important place of pilgrimage. Parts of the Langtang Valley and Langtang village were devastated in the 2015 earthquake and, now the lodges have been repaired or rebuilt, the best way to show support is for trekkers and tourism to return. Our new route makes use of the best lodges and forms more of a circuit that the traditional trail. Why trek with Exodus? One of the highest staff-to-traveller ratios on the trek with one staff member to every four travellers More than 30 years’ experience organising treks in Nepal Carefully planned ascent rates and itineraries with built-in acclimatisation and contingency days Experienced English-speaking local leaders who are qualified in first aid and trained to recognise and deal with altitude sickness All staff (leaders, guides and porters) are fully insured and paid a fair wage Staff carry oxygen, a first-aid kit, and self-assessment acute mountain sickness cards, used to monitor every traveller at altitude Speak to Exodus office staff who have done the trek themselves
Profile
— Accommodation: 3 Classic nights (hotels), 11 Simple nights (teahouses/mountain lodges) — 11 days of point-to-point walking with full porterage — Group normally 4 to 14 plus tour leader and local staff. Minimum age: 16 — Altitude maximum: 15,125ft (4,610m) or optional 16,512ft (5,033m); average: 8,990ft (2,740m) — Travel by private Land Cruisers/4x4s — Between five and eight hours of walking per day, with some longer days — Staff carry oxygen and a first-aid kit on trek — 23 November 2025 led by Valerie Parkinson, Wanderlust World Guide Awards winner 2021
At a Glance
— Accommodation: 3 Classic nights (hotels), 11 Simple nights (teahouses/mountain lodges) — 11 days of point-to-point walking with full porterage — Group normally 4 to 14 plus tour leader and local staff. Minimum age: 16 — Altitude maximum: 15,125ft (4,610m) or optional 16,512ft (5,033m); average: 8,990ft (2,740m) — Travel by private Land Cruisers/4x4s — Between five and eight hours of walking per day, with some longer days — Staff carry oxygen and a first-aid kit on trek — 23 November 2025 led by Valerie Parkinson, Wanderlust World Guide Awards winner 2021
Trip For You
This trip is rated Activity Level 4 (Moderate & Challenging). For more information on our trip gradings please visit the Activity Level Guidelines page. If you have any queries about the difficulty of the trip please do not hesitate to contact us.   This teahouse trek covers a range of altitudes and involves 11 days of point-to-point walking. There are prolonged ascents and descents on some days (more than 3,280ft/1,000m). Because of the ascents and descents and the rocky trails, this trek is at the higher end of Activity Level 4. However, it is graded Activity Level 4 and is therefore a lower level than our Everest Base Camp trek. We highly recommend using trekking poles. For those with previous walking experience, it is a superb trek through the middle hills of Nepal to the top of the Langtang Valley, an area surrounded by huge mountains bordering Tibet. It is suitable for those confident of their physical fitness, ideally with some previous trekking experience. If you do not partake in regular exercise or hillwalking, do some training or physical preparation beforehand. The trail crosses a few modern suspension bridges, all of which have mesh sides and none are especially high; however, anyone with a strong fear of heights or vertigo may find them difficult. The maximum altitude reached is 15,125ft (4,610m) or 16,512ft (5,033m) for those who opt to climb Tsergo Ri, with the average altitude approximately 8,990ft (2,740m). The ascent is gradual, lending itself to good acclimatisation. We ask you to refer to the Altitude Warning within the Trip Notes for further information. To help you better prepare for your Nepal trip, please also see our Nepal Destination Guide. Walking hours stated within the itinerary are given as approximates only. Timings stated exclude lunch stops and vary depending on the group’s pace. Nepal flight safety Many of our treks in Nepal use domestic flights to reach the trekking areas. The mountainous Nepalese terrain is subject to changeable weather, which makes flying conditions complex and challenging and, unfortunately, there are significantly more incidents here than in other countries, including fatalities. The EU highlighted the poor safety record in Nepal in 2013 by including all Nepalese-registered airlines on the EU banned list, which prevents them from flying in EU airspace. While no Nepalese-registered airlines currently fly within the EU, the EU instigated this ban to highlight the risk of flying in Nepal to EU citizens. These airlines are unlikely to be members of any internationally recognised safety audit systems and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of Nepal does not operate to the same standards as those of Western nations. Flying within Nepal is therefore a known risk and we strongly encourage you to consider this carefully before booking. We suggest you refer to the following sources: The current travel advice for Nepal issued by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeThe Air Safety Network entry for Nepal In response to concerns over this safety record, Exodus arranges for independent air-safety auditors to visit Nepal annually to assess the suitability of the available carriers. We then restrict our use to only those approved as part of this audit. In emergency situations, we will need to use helicopters, so we also have a list of approved helicopter carriers. Should concerns arise regarding the safety of an airline on our approved list, we will remove the carrier from the list immediately, and it would only be reinstated once our air-safety auditors are confident the airline meets acceptable safety standards. We appreciate you may have concerns about flying within Nepal, so we ask that you consider all the information above when deciding to book this trip.
Group Description
The group is generally between four and 14 people. We have representatives in Kathmandu who look after your transfers to and from the airport and are around to answer other questions you may have about your trek. There is an Exodus desk and noticeboard in the Royal Singi Hotel in Kathmandu. The desk is manned morning and evening. The departure starting in Kathmandu on 23 November 2025 will be led by Valerie Parkinson who has been leading treks in the Himalaya for more than 36 years. Valerie was the first British woman to summit Manaslu, the eighth highest mountain in the world. She will share her mountaineering experience, including talking about her Everest and Everest North Col expeditions! Valerie won Best Tour Leader in the prestigious annual Wanderlust World Guide Awards in 2021. All other departures have an English-speaking Nepali tour leader who is assisted by Nepali trekking guides. All Exodus leaders are highly experienced, take Exodus leader training courses, and are trained in wilderness first aid. The trekking guides are licensed by the Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN) and receive additional training through Exodus. The trekking guides will walk with the group, spacing themselves out to ensure the pace is appropriate for careful acclimatisation and to ensure the safety of all trekkers in the group, helping those who may need some encouragement or support. On all our Nepal treks, there is one member of trek staff for every four clients – this ratio may change if a guide has to stay behind with a member of the group. The leaders are assisted by additional guides and as many porters as necessary to carry the kitbags. All your main gear is carried for you and you only carry whatever you require for that day’s trek. Porters are offered porter clothing for treks above 14,765ft (4,500m), which includes waterproofs, boots, socks, gloves, hats and sunglasses. All the trekking staff are insured by our local partner in Nepal. The minimum age of clients on this trip is 16. Anyone aged under 18 must be accompanied by (and share accommodation with) a parent or legal guardian.
Eating Drinking
Breakfast is included throughout the trip. In teahouses, breakfast comprises a choice of bread (a slice of toast, chapatti or Tibetan bread), a choice of egg (boiled, fried or omelette), and a choice between either muesli or porridge each day. Hot tea/coffee is also served. On specific days, there will not be a choice for breakfast and either a trekkers breakfast (egg, hash brown, baked beans and toast) or a pancake with jam/honey is served – these options are not available in all teahouses and so we have only included them in locations where they can be guaranteed. You may also be able to supplement your included breakfast with additional items on the teahouse menu should you wish, additional items that are not included in the set menu should be ordered and paid for separately. Please note, some more remote teahouses/lodges are unable to provide an extensive menu due to irregular delivery schedules and during periods of bad weather or a high volume of trekkers, there may be a more limited menu choice. Also, the higher altitude the more expenses the menus generally are. Lunch is at a teahouse en route – sometimes one of your guides will go ahead with the group’s order to make it more expedient. Dinner is in the same teahouse you sleep at (this is custom in Nepal as teahouses base their room rate on it). Although most lodges have almost identical menus, they are reasonably extensive and offer a varied selection, ranging from traditional Nepalese dhal bhat to pizza and apple pie. Dhal bhat is the staple diet in Nepal and comes in many different forms but generally comprises some curried lentils and meat or vegetables, some rice, and a pickle/chutney. Another popular snack is momos, a Nepalese dumpling, fried or steamed and filled with meat or vegetables. Although meat is available in the teahouses, we advise against eating it on trek. The meat has often been carried in the heat from lower altitudes for several days before reaching the lodges and can cause stomach upsets or illness. If you have a gluten-free diet, we strongly recommend you bring extra food and snacks with you to supplement the food on trek as there will be little variety available for you, particularly for breakfast. Even many of the soups are powdered and contain gluten. Gluten-free breakfast options will be limited to vegetable fried rice and a choice of egg, and on specific days only, a trekkers breakfast (without the toast/with an extra egg) will be served. Breakfast options for vegans will be limited to a choice of muesli/porridge with water each day, and on specific days only, a trekkers breakfast (without the egg), or vegetable fried rice will be served. If you are lactose intolerant, the same will apply although you will also have a choice of egg each day. If you buy imported food and drink on trek, you will spend more than the suggested amount. Drinking water Staying hydrated is important when undertaking any physical activity but particularly so at altitude where it is generally recommended to drink at least 100floz-135floz (3-4 litres) per day. However, we strongly encourage you not to buy bottled water on trek as this contributes to the growing problem of plastic pollution in Nepal. The lodge at Kyanjin has a UV water filter (donated by Exodus) and you will be provided with safe drinking water free of charge here. The teahouses sell boiled water for approximately 150-300 (US$1.15-US$2.30) per litre (the price increases the higher you trek) which should not require treating. This is also perfect for a bedtime refill as it can double up as a hot-water bottle. Alternatively, all teahouses provide free cold water. Although this should not be drunk untreated, we recommend you bring a reusable bottle/water bladder/Camelpak (ideally two) and use an effective form of water treatment. There are a wide range of products available including Steripens or purification tablets, which are the quickest and easiest options to use on trek – we recommend talking to an outdoor retailer for the latest advice as technologies are improving all the time. Make sure to check the product’s performance in cold/freezing conditions and consider battery life (lithium batteries are best in cold conditions). Exodus has partnered with Water-to-Go, a filtration system that eliminates more than 99.99 percent of all microbiological contaminants from any non-saltwater source – visit Water-to-Go for more information. Exodus customers can claim 15 percent off their first order and, better still, 15 percent of the purchase value will be donated to the Exodus Travels Foundation. These bottles filter the water as you drink through the spout may not be the most efficient while on the go on a trek. Please note, if the water freezes it will clog up the filter. In this event, defrost before use by sitting the filter in lukewarm water for 10-15 minutes.
Transportation
For airport transfers, we use private minibuses or cars/taxis. For the journey to Syabrubensi and from Chunauti, we use jeeps as these are better suited to negotiating the roads, which are rough, potholed and unsealed in parts. This point-to-point trek requires you to walk between each overnight stay under your own steam. Other forms of transport may be available along the route (horses, 4x4s etc) but Exodus is not able to take responsibility for the safety or the cost of any transport you choose to take even if provided with the assistance of our leader or staff. Nepal flight safety Many of our treks in Nepal use domestic flights to reach the trekking areas. The mountainous Nepalese terrain is subject to changeable weather, which makes flying conditions complex and challenging, and unfortunately there are significantly more incidents here than in other countries, including fatalities. The EU highlighted the poor safety record in Nepal in 2013 by including all Nepalese-registered airlines on the EU banned list, which prevents them from flying in EU airspace. While no Nepalese-registered airlines currently fly within the EU, the EU instigated this ban to highlight the risk of flying in Nepal to EU citizens. These airlines are unlikely to be members of any internationally recognised safety audit systems and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of Nepal does not operate to the same standards as those of Western nations. Flying within Nepal is therefore a known risk, and we strongly encourage you to consider this carefully before booking. We suggest you refer to the following sources: The current travel advice for Nepal issued by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeThe Air Safety Network entry for Nepal In response to concerns over this safety record, Exodus arranges for independent air-safety auditors to visit Nepal annually to assess the suitability of the available carriers. We then restrict our use to only those approved as part of this audit. In emergency situations, we will need to use helicopters, so we also have a list of approved helicopter carriers. Should concerns arise regarding the safety of an airline on our approved list, we will remove the carrier from the list immediately, and it would only be reinstated once our air-safety auditors are confident the airline meets acceptable safety standards. We appreciate you may have concerns about flying within Nepal, so we ask that you consider all the information above when deciding to book this trip.
Joining Instructions
Key information Start hotel: Royal Singi Hotel, Lal Durbar, Kamaladi, Kathmandu Phone: +977 144 24190 Recommended arrival time: You can arrive at any time today. There will be a welcome briefing in the evening, but if you miss it the leader will update you separately Airport: Kathmandu Airport (KTM) Getting to the start hotel The start hotel is approximately 10 minutes’ drive from the airport. Exodus provides free arrival transfers to the start hotel from the airport for all customers. If you would like further information on joining this trip, please speak to your sales representative. Catching your return flight Exodus provides free departure transfers for all customers to Kathmandu Airport (KTM) from the end hotel. Please note, unless specified otherwise, the transfers will be to the start (or pre-tour) hotel and from the end (or post-tour) hotel and will be on the date on which the tour starts/ends; transfers to other hotels in the same city and/or on different dates may attract an extra charge. Transfers should be booked with your sales representative at least two weeks before the tour starts.
Weather Information
The main trekking season in Nepal is from October to mid-May when daytime temperatures at most altitudes are generally comfortable for walking, the sky is clear much of the time, and rain and snow are occasional occurrences. Daytime temperatures vary from 15C to 35C (59F to 95F) in the Kathmandu Valley to around 10C (50C) at 11,810ft (3,600m) and progressively lower the higher we go. Different seasons offer different advantages for trekking: Post monsoon/autumn: Mid-September to November. This is the main trekking season in Nepal. Day temperatures in Kathmandu are generally above 20C (68F). For the first few days of the trek, at the lower altitudes, the temperatures can be very hot (up to 30C/86F) and it can be very humid. Once we are over 6,560ft (2,000m), temperatures are more pleasant. Skies are usually clear and days on trek are sunny and mild with clear mountain views. Nights will be colder with temperatures dropping to -5C (23F) or lower at the highest altitudes. Winter: December to end February. Despite the cooler conditions, this is an ideal time to trek in Nepal. Skies are usually very clear, especially in December, and the mountain views are at their best. Nights are very cold with temperatures down to -10C (14F) at highest altitudes but days can be pleasant and sunny. The trails are also much less busy at this time of year. In Kathmandu, maximum daytime temperatures are 19C (66F). Pre-monsoon: March to May. Both day and night temperatures are warmer in general but often a haze builds in the afternoons. It is very hot in the lowlands and temperatures rise to 35C (95F) in Kathmandu. The Langtang Valley is famous for its flowers (especially rhododendrons) and birds and this is one of the reasons people chose to trek in spring. Snow can be expected on any departure, usually at the higher altitudes and more often in spring. Please remember that in any mountain area the weather is never wholly predictable and you should be prepared and equipped to deal with any differences in weather beyond the conditions described above.
Spending Money
We recommend taking your personal spending money in cash (US dollars, British pounds or euros can all be changed easily). Please note that any marked, torn or damaged notes may not be accepted. Please remember, £50 notes, Scottish or Irish currency cannot be changed in Nepal. Cash can be changed easily at the airport on arrival in Kathmandu or at money changers in the Thamel area of Kathmandu. Hotels in Nepal can also change up to US$300 per person. Please note, travellers cheques can NOT be exchanged in Nepal. Our staff will advise you about how much money to take with you on the trek. You need to withdraw/exchange enough money in Kathmandu to last the duration of your trek – to cover meals, drinks, tipping and other incidentals. It is a good idea to carry spare cash on the trek in case of an emergency. Carrying a large amount of cash is unavoidable so we suggest splitting it up into a few different places – but remember to keep track of how much you have stashed where. Prices of food and amenities in teahouses generally become more expensive the higher altitude/more remote you are and access to ATMs/money changes are extremely limited. Please allow 4,000 - 5,400 rupees (US$30-US40) per day for lunch, dinner, snacks, drinks, showers, toilet roll and charging on trek, and for meals not included in Kathmandu. This amount is given as a rough guideline only. Your expenditure will be towards the top end if you buy boiled water rather than treating cold water, and depending on how many hot showers you take, if you pay to charge electrical devices, drink alcohol, use wifi on the trek and so on. If you'd like to purchase a trekking map for 500 rupees (US$4), please speak to your Leader at the welcome briefing and he will provide the relevant map for you. Optional excursions Several optional tours and activities are available from Kathmandu. Prices for a half-day sightseeing tour start from approximately 4,650 rupees (US$35) per person, based on a group of six or more. For all trips, return transport and a qualified sightseeing guide are included. The price does not include lunch or entry fees. Please enquire with your leader in Kathmandu, who can provide further information. An optional Everest sightseeing flight is available on your free day (weather permitting) from around 27,810 rupees (US$210) per person (price subject to change). If you intend to book, please refer to the Transport section for information about the safety of flying in Nepal.
Tipping
Tipping is part of the culture in Nepal and usually expected. Tipping can often be an awkward affair, especially when in an unfamiliar country where you are not sure when or how much to tip. As such, your tour leader will usually offer to arrange and look after a group tipping kitty, which will be used to tip porters in hotels, local guides, assistant guides, porters and the drivers. Your leader will suggest how much to contribute, depending on group size, but a rough guideline is provided below. Tipping of the leader is at your discretion and separate to the amount they suggest for the other staff. We suggest you send an envelope around the group at the end of the trip and you can put in what you like and give to the leader on the last evening. The following are guideline amounts received by each staff member from the group as a whole… Tour leader: 30,000-40,000 rupees (usually tipped on the last night in Kathmandu) Your trekking crew (tips are usually given on the last evening of the trek in Kutumsang) Trekking guides: 20,000-25,000 rupees for each guideTrek porters: 12,000-14,000 rupees for each porter General tipping guidelines: Drivers: Kathmandu to Syabrubensi: 550 rupees for each jeep driver. Chunauti to Kathmandu: 550 rupees for each jeep driverHotel porters: 100 rupees each time for each roomTeahouses and lunch stops on the trek: It’s customary to round your bill up to the nearest 50 rupees or 100 rupeesRestaurants: 10% of the bill if good service To help budget for the tips, generally there is one member of trek staff (guide/assistant) for every four clients. You also have one porter for every two clients to carry your luggage. If you are unsure on how much to budget, check with your leader when you arrive in Kathmandu. Please try to give all tips in local currency.

Highlights