Virtual Crossing – The Tammur River Kanchenjunga Nepal

A trek to Kanchenjunga Base Camp in Nepal is filled with varied scenery, cultural experiences through villages, and of course the great Himalayan range of eastern Nepal. It’s a challenging trek. You will see many long days of traversing the valleys on your way to Pangpema, the north and highest base camp of Kanchenjunga ,the third highest mountain in the world.

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The valley walls are steep and must be descended in order to cross the Tammur river. This is where you come across many suspension bridges mostly made of steel. There are still a few wooden ones to give you the full-on Indiana Jones experience.

The day we were to arrive in Ghunsa we met a trekking group from the U.K. “You’ll like Ghunsa! It’s very civilized. You can get a beer and a hot shower there.” It was like I just heard a beautiful symphony. I didn’t even care if it was a bucket shower. You know the kind where they give you a bucket of warm water and a cup for pouring. I just didn’t care. I wanted to be clean again and I thought I was worthy of a beer as a reward for the tough ascents and descents of the valleys.

Many people start their trek in Taplejung moving through Suketar, Khunjari and beyond with a stop at the south trekking base camp or observation/pilgrimage area of Oktang. We started from Taplejung and made our way through the villages of Chirwa, Sekathum through to Ghunsa then finally on to Pangpema, the north base camp.

Ghunsa was a nice stop and a great area to take a rest day. The guesthouses are some of the best in the whole region. I stayed at The Ghunsa Guesthouse and found the food, accommodations, and hospitality far superior then anything else on the trek.

With the help of my Gopro come with me now as I cross the last bridge before arriving in the village of Ghunsa. It was a sweet victory walk into the village full of promise of hot water, beer, and warm tomba, the local millet brew.