Chulu West Climbing 21 Days

Day 01: Arrival in Kathmandu  |  Altitude: 1,350m/4,429ft 

On arrival at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu and formal completion of your custom and immigration processes, one of our representatives from Himalayan Glacier will be there to greet you at the arrival exit and escort you to your pre-determined hotel. You may relax in your hotel room for the rest of the time or you may stroll around the streets of Thamel. In the evening, there will be a welcome dinner hosted at an excellent Nepali restaurant where you can enjoy authentic Nepalese cuisine along with a cultural program. Overnight in Kathmandu.
Meal: Breakfast

Day 02: Trip Preparation Day

After breakfast in our hotel, we may wander around nearby areas and do some shopping for our adventurous trip the following day. In the afternoon, we will visit the HGT office for a pre-trip discussion and meet our trekking guide as well as other participants. You will also be briefed on the nature of the expedition, equipment, and team composition. Later, we will go back to our hotel and have a peaceful sleep. Overnight in Kathmandu.
Meal: Breakfast

Day 03: Drive Kathmandu to Syange/Jagat  | Altitude: 1,410m/4,626ft  | Driving: 8-10 hrs

We have to begin very early today as we need to go a long drive to reach our trek starting point. After breakfast, we leave Kathmandu at around 7 am, and nearly after 8-10 hours’ drive we reach Syange or Jagat (as per situation) via Besishahar. En route, we see more of the countryside of Nepal that offers greeneries, rivers, villages, farms, and beautiful mountain sceneries. However, the condition of the road is not equally fine in all portions of our drive today. The road up to Besishahar is a coal-tarred road, whereas after Besishahar the road is dusty and coarse though we can easily overlook it as we watch the outstanding sceneries through the windowpane. Overnight stay at Syange or Jagat Guesthouse.
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 04: Trek Syange/Jagat to Dharapani  | Altitude: 1,960m/6,431ft  | Hiking- 7-8 hrs  

Upon our breakfast, we start our journey today in a relaxed way. We enter Manang district after crossing a large bridge near Tal. The trail continues through barley, rice, potato fields, and pine forests. After passing the village of Kodo we will be at Dharapani, one of the big villages in the Manang valley. Overnight at Dharapani.
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 05: Dharapani-Chame  | Altitude: 2,710m/8,892ft  | Hiking 6-7 hrs

Today, we negotiate a few steep forested ridges along with several landslides on route on the west. On the way to Chame, we encounter the most sensational views of Lamjung Himal, Annapurna II, and Annapurna IV (7,525m/24,688ft). Small hot springs add relief to our long day hard trek. Chame is the administrative center of the Manang District.
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 06: Chame- Pisang  | Altitude: 3,300m/10,827ft  | Hiking: 5-6 hrs

A steep and narrow path through a very dense forest will bring us to the dramatic curved rock face, rising 1500m from the river. As the trail opens up we get surrounded by majestic Himalayan Peaks. We find ourselves in the U-shaped valley of Manang hanging between two giant snow peaks. After walking through these wonderful sites we reach Pisang. Overnight at Lower Pisang.
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 07: Upper Pisang-Manang  | Altitude: 3,519m/11,546ft  | Hiking:6-7 hrs

There are two routes that we can follow today. If taken the upper route (Himalayan Glacier recommends), i.e., the route through Upper Pisang via Geru, the sceneries will be outstanding. We feel like we are horizontally in front of the majestic peaks. The panoramic views of the mountain peaks, such as Annapurna, Pisang peak, and several others will definitely allure us. We notice a contrast with the landscape and vegetation from today onwards. The cold and dry climate creates a much harsher environment. We pay our memorable visit to Barge monastery, the largest in the entire district of Manang. Overnight in Manang.
 Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 08: Manang: Rest  | Altitude: 3,519m/11,546ft 

Today is the scheduled acclimatization day. It is not recommended to stay idle but a short walk to a higher altitude will be better to get acclimatized with the altitude. Manang is a good place to do that as the next two days will be a very challenging and tiring trek for us with rapid gain in altitude. We should never be confident with the altitude and always be cautious. Bhojo Gompa or Gangapurna Lake is worth visiting sites from an acclimatization point of view. We make an easy excursion a little distance away to a village called Varga, a small old village with a monastery. At this juncture, we also make our short visit to the Himalayan Rescue Association where we can get some ideas about Mountain Sickness. Overnight at Manang.
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 09: Manang to Leder  | Altitude: 4,200m/13,780ft  | Hiking: 4-5 hrs

From Manang, we continue through alpine landscapes with high-altitude vegetation and forests. A gradual ascent takes us to Yak Kharka and then to our today’s camp. Our today’s camp area is mostly used as the alpine pasture by the local people.
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 10: Leder to Chulu West Base Camp  | Altitude: 4,900m/16,077ft   | Hiking: 4-5 hrs

Today, we continue our trekking from Leder to Chulu West Base Camp. From the Base Camp, we can enjoy the views of the Annapurna Himalayas. We may also like to discover the surrounding areas. At this point, we will set up our camp for an overnight stay.
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 11: Chulu West base camp to camp I  | Altitude: 5,100m/16,733ft  | Hiking: 4-5 hrs

From the Chulu Base Camp, we continue hiking towards Camp I. The route is not that technical. But it would be better to remember that we are climbing on high altitudes. At this juncture, we relish the magnificent views of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri mountains including Manaslu, Gangapurna, and Lamjung Himal.
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 12: Rest & Acclimatization at Camp I  | Altitude: 5,100m/16,733ft  

Today will be the rest and acclimatization day at Camp I. While we rest at camp I, the climbing leaders and other staffs make way to Camp II and supply the equipment for the camp. Later, they return back to Camp I. We may rest and if interested walk around Camp I.
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 13: Camp I to Camp II  |Altitude: 5,530m/18,144ft  | Climbing: 4-5 hrs

Today, we leave camp I and continue climbing the rock band to Camp II. The route is not that technical but we may have to use ropes, crampons, and ice-axes. We set up Camp II at 5,530m /18,143ft. Some visitors also attempt the summit directly from Camp I. However, since the climb is relatively straightforward from Camp II until the summit, we make an overnight stay at Camp II for proper rest and acclimatization.
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 14: Summit Chulu West and back to Camp I  | Altitude: 6,419m/21,061ft  | Climbing: 9-10 hrs

It is our summit day, and it is going to be a long day. Therefore, we would wake up much earlier today. Each moment we have to work hard through the icy high-altitude trail but the outstanding high Himalayan scenes are such tempting that our eyes love to watch more over the horizon than on our trail. After summiting, we return back to Camp I.
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 15: Camp I to Leder  | Altitude: 4,200m/13,780ft  | Hiking: 5-6 hrs

From Camp I, our return path descends all the way to Leder. While descending, we enjoy the panoramic views of the Annapurnas and other peaks. We make our overnight stay at Leder and celebrate the summiting of Chulu West Peak.
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 16: Contingency Day  | Altitude: 4,200m/13,780ft 

There is no such guarantee that we can get quite favorable weather on our planned day for the summit. So this day is used as a contingency in case if we are unable to summit the Chulu West Peak on the scheduled date due to bad weather conditions or some other reasons. Sometimes somebody in the group may get some problems in acclimatizing well enough to make the ascent. Since. the day can be used in that condition too. If the trip goes smoothly, we do not need this spare day.
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 17: Leder to Thorong Phedi  | Altitude: 4,600m/15,093ft  | Hiking: 3-4 hrs

Today, we clean up the base camp and head for Thorong Phedi. It is going to be mostly an easy way to walk downhill. However, we do not forget that we are still in a high-altitude area.
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 18: Thorong Phedi - Thorong Pass - Muktinath -Jomsom  | Altitude: 5,416m/17,770ft  | Hiking: 7-8 hrs     Driving: 2 hrs

In the beginning, we cross the famous high pass of Thorong La today. An early start is important to complete the mission. We reach Muktinath, an important pilgrimage site for both Hindus and Buddhists after crossing the pass. Muktinath hosts a Vishnu temple and a monastery nearby demonstrating the religious harmony in Nepal. For the Hindus, the region is a “Muktikhsetra” or the region of liberation or salvation. There are water spouts channeled for the stream running above the temple. We enjoy the tremendous stunning views of Dhaulagiri peak from Muktinath. From Muktinath, we continue back to Jomsom on a local bus.
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 19: Jomsom to Pokhara by flight  | Altitude: 827m/2,713ft  | Flight: 30 mins

Upon the completion of morning breakfast, we check in the airport to fly back to Pokhara, a 30-min dramatic flight to Pokhara between the gorge of the two huge mountains, Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. Upon arrival at Pokhara airport, our guide will escort us to the lakeside hotel. We utilize the rest afternoon for discovering the beautiful Pokhara valley leisurely. While walking along the bank of Fewa Lake one of the biggest lakes in Nepal, we cannot stop admiring the state of Fish Tail Mountain reflected in the lake. We can also take a boat around Fewa Lake or just can take an hours’ walk to the World Peace Pagoda. In the evening, we engage in exploring around the lakeside.
Meal: Breakfast

Day 20: Drive back to Kathmandu  | Altitude: 1,350m/4,429ft  | Driving: 6-7 hrs

Today upon our breakfast, we make a 200 kilometers drive back to Kathmandu from Pokhara. It will be better to hold on to the left pane of the vehicle to enjoy the scenery through the route. Upon arrival in Kathmandu, we will be escorted to our hotel. There is nothing to do but trade emails with travel companions and organize the photos. We can spend the evening either leisurely or perhaps catch up on some last-minute shopping. Finally, we celebrate dinner together with Himalayan Glacier’s trekking staff.
Meal: Breakfast and Dinner

Day 21: Final Departure

Our journey in Nepal comes to an end today! Himalayan Glacier escorts us to the airport for our flight time. Approximately 3 hours before our scheduled flight, a representative from Himalayan Glacier will escort us to the airport and bid farewell greetings. On our way home, we will have plenty of time to plan our next adventure in a wonderful country like Nepal.
Meal: Breakfast