Summit morning at 6471m, hands still cold thinking about it
Left high camp around 2am for the summit push, minus twenty-something, and my water froze in the bottle within an hour. Mera Peak isn’t technically hard compared to some climbs but the altitude alone at 6471m made every step slow. Worth every bit of it once the sun came up and we could see everest, lhotse, makalu all lined up from the top.
Petr Vaclavik
Ostrava, Czech Republic
Picked this over Langtang for the shorter drive in, worked out fine
Was going back and forth with langtang for a while but the long jeep ride to Syabrubesi put me off a bit, so ended up here instead. Gul Bhanjyang and kutumsang early on were quiet, barely passed another trekker either day. thadepati climb was steeper than the stated hours made it sound, took us longer than planned. Tarke Gyang’s monastery near the end though, that was worth the trip on its own, older and quieter than a lot of the bigger monasteries I’ve seen elsewhere.
Declan Ryan
Galway, Ireland
Glad I picked Helambu this time
Short window in nepal this time so went with helambu over something bigger, and it worked out well. sermathang was the standout for me, women weaving outside their homes as we walked through, felt properly lived in rather than built for tourists. thadepati was the one hard day, cold and windy at the top. don’t remember much of malemchigaon honestly, just a blur of walking, but that’s fine.
Camille Aubert
Nantes, France
Started healmbu trek basically from my own front door
Drove to Sundarijal and just started walking, no long bus day eating into the trip like most other treks here. Thadepati at nearly 3600m surprised me, colder than I expected for something so close to Kathmandu. Good short option.
Tobias Reindl
Stuttgart, Germany
Chitwan Jungle Safari with kids
Brought the kids along for this short one as a break from all the temples and museums in kathmandu. Jungle activity morning was the whole trip for them, honestly, rhino close enough that our guide told us to stay quiet and still for a bit. five hour drive each way is a lot for young kids to sit through, pack entertainment. Short and simple but it delivered the one big wildlife moment we were hoping for.
Grant Sutherland
Johannesburg, South Africa
Didn’t expect a two night trip to feel this full
Booked this as a quick break from Kathmandu’s noise and it did exactly that. the jungle activity on the second morning covered more ground than I expected for just three hours, birds mostly for us, no big mammal sightings but the guide’s knowledge of the different calls made up for it. light activity on the last morning before the drive back was a nice easy close, no rush to it. Short trip but didn’t feel rushed while we were actually there.
Marcus Webb
Bristol, England
Three days was short but the rhino sighting made it count
Squeezed this in as a quick add on before flying home and honestly wasn’t expecting much given how short it is. early morning jungle activity on day 2 delivered though, spotted a rhino grazing near the river bank within the first hour, driver cut the engine and we just watched for a while. drive down from kathmandu is long for such a short stay but worth it. good option if you’re tight on time and still want a taste of the terai.
Bianca Fontana
Bologna, Italy
Weather gave unexpected memory in Chulu East
Twenty-seven days is a big commitment, but this isn’t really a trek; it’s a proper climb with a trek attached. High camp at 5300m was brutal; three of us didn’t sleep more than a couple of hours before the summit push. Roped up for the final section, crevasse crossing that our guide had clearly done a hundred times before. Coming down through Thorong La and into Muktinath a few days later felt almost easy by comparison, which says a lot about what came before it.
Henrik Solberg
Bergen, Norway
My First Peak Climb: Choose a Hard One Apparently
Did a lot of high-altitude trekking before, but this was my first actual climb with rope and crampons involved; Chulu East threw me in the deep end a bit. Julu acclimatization days before the climb helped more than I expected. summit push from high camp was slow and cold, legs shaking near the top from a mix of exhaustion and nerves. Marpha’s apple brandy a week later tasted better than it probably should have. would recommend a guided climb like this before attempting anything bigger; I learned a lot the hard way.
Astrid Lindberg
Umea, Sweden
Summited Chulu East on day 14 still processing it
Twenty seven days is a big commitment but this isn’t really a trek, it’s a proper climb with a trek attached. High camp at 5300m was brutal, three of us didn’t sleep more than a couple hours before the summit push. roped up for the final section, crevasse crossing that our guide had clearly done a hundred times before. Coming down through Thorong La and into muktinath a few days later felt almost easy by comparison, which says a lot about what came before it.
Henrik Solberg
Bergen, Norway