Langtang Trek Day 3 Lama Hotel through Langtang to Mundo

 

Click here to read about day 2.

This part of our journey was amazing.  Hiking up from Lama Hotel we passed a very beautiful rhododendron grove on the river.  The flowers were shades of red and pink. In addition, we had our first real views of the mountains while trekking from Langtang to Mundo.  Also, we went on a side trek in Mundo to see the oldest village in Langtang.  It was very cool.   If you enjoyed reading about day 3, please feel free to share this post or let me know in the comments.

Soupy porridge in Lama Hotel and Trekking

My guide and I woke up and packed our gear at 6:00.  We went to the kitchen and ate breakfast.  I had a bowl of watery porridge, which I was happy to eat.  We started hiking after breakfast.  Lama Hotel is a small village surrounded by forest.

Most of the vegetation outside of Lama Hotel was bamboo.  Oaks and rhododendrons were beta co-dominant.  I remember being disappointed by the forest.  It was aesthetically appealing, but something was out of place.

The forest was immature.  I didn’t realize what was going on until I was in a mature area of the forest.  People were harvesting forest products for timber and fire fuel, which is why it looked out of place.  In the mature area of the forest, there were more trees, ferns, and moss, and less bamboo.

These forests are extremely beautiful and wholesome when not disturbed.  I was a little sad after understanding the affects of tourism on the forest community and my part in its destruction.

We saw a family of monkeys playing in the healthy part of the forest.  There were also more birds singing and rustling around in the trees, and under the ferns.  The trail led us into a pure stand of rhododendrons on the river.  We saw some campers here with survival tents.  They were displaced by the earthquake.

Trekking, rhododendrons, and Langtang

Pink and white and red flowers colored the tree canopies and the river’s edges.  It reminded me of Poon Hill.  The Langtang Trek has traits similar to the Everest Base Camp Trek and the Annapurna Circuit Trek.  The trail has rhododendron trees and is easy to walk on like the Annapurna circuit trail, but dynamic like the Everest Base Camp Trail.  It was nice to find this balance on the Langtang Trek.

Just outside the rhododendron grove we crossed the Langtang river again and trekked through some beautiful sections of the forest.

Note: the trail straight ahead from the rhododendron grove is a cattle trail.  It is a lot faster, but you run the risk of being caught in the middle of a cattle train.

The trail looped wide and we had a fantastic view of the mountains in the clouds.  We hiked through more forests and came to a ridge over the Langtang River.

There are some amazing waterfalls in this area.  You can see waterfalls on the Langtang, and Kangjala Mountain Ranges. We passed 4 on the hike up to Langtang.

My guide and I crossed the Langtang river again.  The bridge we crossed on was donated by a man who lost his son trying to cross the river.  As we were walking, we heard a thunderous crash.  We turned sharply to see an avalanche.  It was a forceful event that left me a little breathless.

Two Himalayan monals came running out of the brush, looked around then ran back into the brush.  They were beautiful to see.  After we passed the commotion, we descended on to a glacier moraine that looked exactly like the one in Gorak Shep near Everest Base Camp.  Langtang was on the other side of the moraine.

Langtang Village to Mundo

I was surprised to see most of Langtang Village in ruins.  I thought that the relief effort would have given them a boost and fostered growth.  Most of the relief money was siphoned into the pockets of undeserving individuals.  You can read this article on what to expect before coming to Nepal to find out more.

As we passed through, we found quite a few people rebuilding their houses and hotels.  At the end of Langtang we were stopped by at a police checkpoint.  They were mainly concerned with the entrance permit, but they did check my TIMS card too.

Since we still had a lot of time left in the day, we continued to Mundo.  Mundo was 30 minutes further from Langtang Village.  We stayed in the Tip Top Hotel, which is the first hotel on the left.  They charged 5$ per night but the food was cheaper than the other guest houses and it was delicious.

The rooms in Tip Top were very nice.  Each room is about 81 square feet with two single beds, charging outlet, and an attached bathroom.  The toilets are western style flush toilets, but you have to pour water in the bowl to flush them.  Warm showers are available upon request.  The water is warmed by a solar heater, so it must be a warm sunny day to have a hot shower.

The hotel has a horse named buttercups.  They let me name her!  She is the sweetest thing. Sometimes she stands outside the hotel and looks in at you through the window.  She will let you pet her and feed her apples, which is a lot of fun.

The only authentic village in Langtang

My guide and I were talking to the hotel owner.  He told us about an old village 5 minutes behind the hotel and near the cliff.  He said it was the only original village in Langtang.  All the other villages like Bamboo, and Lama Hotel were started by people from Kathmandu or outside the area.

There are about 7 to 10 houses in the old village, but most of them are unoccupied.  The houses were made from wood, which looked very dark, but the color could have been from paint or stain.  It takes 10 minutes to walk through the village.  If you have 20 minutes to spare, I recommend visiting the area.

To continue this journey with me, click here to read about day 4.

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