Lodge trekking to the Kanchenjunga Base Camp
We’ve run our first lodge trek in the Kanchenjunga region (to both the North and South Base Camps) this year. Four trekkers from Washington State completed a 24-day trek using lodges enroute. Tents were provided so they had the option of sleeping outside in tents if the rooms at the lodges weren’t adequate or were full – there are limited number of lodges on the Kanchenjunga trail. And we also provided Exped mats as the lodges on this route have very thin bedding. Furthermore, to supplement the food available at the lodges, we sent additional food (see below). On a normal lodge trek, one porter will carry two duffel bags. On this trek for four trekkers, we provided 1 Guide, 1 Assistant Guide and Four Porters. None of the lodges on this trek have en suite facility.
Do check out our Kanchenjunga Base Camp Lodge trek. We also run the Makalu Base Camp Trek in a similar format.
FOOD:
On the lodge format, the additional food we send includes tuna, sardines, cheese, cookies, salami, fruits, luncheon meat, muesli/granola. For trekkers who are allergic, have gluten intolerance or dislike any of these food, we can arrange to omit some food from the list and instead add others. Good Nepali ground coffee is also provided. Food available in the lodges will include chappati roti, pancakes, oatmeal, Daal Bhat (rice and lentils), noodles, fried rice, Spaghetti, dumplings, macaroni, tea/coffee etc.
We also provide local vegetables on the trek. Vegetables such as carrots, Nepali Spinach (different from the Spinach used in salads), potatoes, cabbage etc will be available. We try our best to make your meals as nutritious as possible. We also carry vegetables from lower elevations for the lodges to cook for your meals such as cauli-flower, peas, gourds etc and some fruits such as apple, bananas etc depending on what is available in that particular season.
Note, quite a few lunches on this trek will NOT be proper sit-down-and-eat-in-a-lodge lunch. Instead, we will provide packed lunches which will include hard boiled eggs, local bread, cheese, chocolate bars, tuna, cookies etc.
WHAT TO BRING WITH YOU:
All trekkers are advised to bring some energy bars and nuts from their home country as we don’t get good ones in Nepal. You may also bring some freeze-dried food. This would be a contingency for the places you don’t think you will like the food. Our staff will help you prepare the freeze-dried food you bring. You do not need to bring too much freeze-dried food though – just a couple would suffice and only if you are really worried about the food. For those with gluten-intolerance, we will provide buckwheat and rice flour. The local bread on the trek will be made from wheat and barley so we can make bread with buckwheat and rice flour. Sometimes buckwheat bread and pancakes are also available.
WEATHER:
The best months to trek in the Kanchenjunga region are October and November in the Autumn season and April, May and early June in the Spring/Summer season. Hardy trekkers may trek as late as December just before the snow season if they can handle the frigid temperatures. Note, because of the altitude, it feels much colder than it actually is. And unlike lodges in the Everest and Annapurna treks, very few lodges on the Kanchenjunga route have back burner stoves in the dining room. So it will be cold in the mornings and evenings when you are not hiking and/or once the sun goes down.
Average monthly breakdown of Minimum/Maximum temperatures in Nepal are listed below:
(Elevation in meters and temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit)
| Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | |
| Kathmandu | 61/86 | 61/83 | 58/79 | 45/72 | 34/68 | 34/65 | 40/70 | 46/85 | 54/90 |
| 2,000 m | 56/72 | 50/70 | 40/63 | 34/58 | 32/56 | 34/57 | 39/65 | 45/72 | 54/74 |
| 3,000 m | 52/66 | 43/65 | 34/60 | 28/55 | 27/54 | 30/55 | 36/61 | 41/66 | 47/68 |
| 4,000 m | 34/56 | 25/54 | 18/46 | 14/43 | 11/39 | 14/41 | 20/48 | 27/54 | 29/56 |
| 5,000 m | 27/50 | 16/47 | 9/43 | 5/40 | -4/38 | 5/40 | 14/45 | 20/52 | 27/61 |
(Elevation in meters and temperatures in degrees Centigrade)
| Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | |
| Kathmandu | 16/30 | 18/29 | 15/28 | 8/23 | 2/20 | 3/18 | 5/20 | 8/30 | 13/33 |
| 2,000 m | 13/23 | 10/25 | 5/18 | 3/15 | 0/13 | 2/16 | 4/18 | 7/22 | 13/24 |
| 3,000 m | 12/19 | 6/20 | -1/16 | -2/13 | -1/12 | -1/13 | 3/17 | 5/18 | 9/20 |
| 4,000 m | 3/13 | -3/12 | -6/9 | -10/6 | -9/4 | -10/5 | -7/8 | -3/12 | -1/14 |
| 5,000 m | -3/10 | -8/10 | -12/8 | -8/4 | -20/3 | -7/4 | -10/7 | -2/11 | -2/16 |
Some photos of the rooms at the lodges enroute:
