Yala Peak 5520M

The Langtang Valley is located only 19 miles north of Kathmandu, close to the border of Tibet, below the main crest of the Himalaya. The valley dominated by LangtangLirung (7,246m), the highest peak in the area. This trek with its optional climbs of Yala Peak and Naya Kanga offers a wonderful introduction to mountaineering in the Himalaya among some of the most beautiful scenery in the whole of Nepal.

Our trek begins with a 6 hour drive to Dhunche. Initially, we trek through sub-tropical jungle, then dense forest of oak, birch, pine before the valley opens out into alpine meadows, and yak pastures. In the spring, these high meadows carpeted with a rich variety of alpine flowers – gentians, violets, edelweiss and primula to name just a few and the forests are also in full bloom with rare tree orchids and the colorful rhododendron. The Langtang National Park is also well known for their wildlife and we can animals like such as red pandas, Himalayan black bear, wild bear and languor monkeys’over there.

We trek up the valley to Kyangjin where we camp in a superb setting, dominated by the fluted North West face of Kangchenpo, whilst KyangjinRi provides a splendid viewpoint. From Kyangjin, we move further up the valley to Yala, a small yersa (summer hamlet). Basing ourselves here allows time to walk to the top of TsergoRi (5,066m), the highest point on a broad flat plateau. The views from here are as spectacular as anywhere in the Himalaya, a 360 degree panorama of snowcapped mountains including LangtangLirung, PemthangRi, LangshishaRi, DorjeLakpa, and Kangchenpo.

Our base at Yala also provides us with the opportunity to climb Yala Peak (5,520m). This is not technically difficult and provides good acclimatization and training for our climb of Yala Peak. The climb is straight forward being little more than a walk up steep snow slopes of around 30 degrees. The view from the summit is breathtaking magnificent snowcapped peaks all around and views across to the mountains of Tibet, including Shisha Pangma.

For anyone not wishing to climb Yala Peak, there is every opportunity to explore the spectacular Upper Langtang valley. Our camps are in superb locations, the trekking is not difficult and there are many good options for day walks from our base camps. The trek to and from the Upper Langtang valley is a ‘classic’ in its own right.