Helambu Ama Yangri Teahouse Trek

Today we probably have our first but not last encounter with the high Himalayan mountains that guards our north side as we drive east towards Namobuddha, one of the main Buddhist holy sites in Nepal. We make a stop on the way at HRDC hospital which is giving free treatments, prostheses, surgeries and rehabilitation to children from poor backgrounds from all over Nepal. A real place of sunshine! We continue driving east and stop again in the town of Dhulikhel for lunch. Dhulikhel is famous for having one of the three best mountain views in Kathmandu valley. From here we continue to Namobuddha where we live at a clean and nice guesthouse in the main monastic area. Here we eat breakfasts and dinners with the monks and enjoy their beautiful ceremonies. Total driving time is around around 3 hours.

We start off from Namobuddha after our breakfast that we eat with the monks in a traditional way driving towards Timbu. We make several stops on the way and have a special lunch break in the village of Gyaltum where our tourleader and local guide was stuck during the earthquake 2015, it is a very warm and heartfelt stop! We continue driving north to Timbu where we spend the night and rest for starting the trek tomorrow. Driving time is around 4 hours.

Todays trail is an uphill path crossing a small hydropower project, settlements, terraces and forests. If we are lucky we can still see some of the rhododendron trees blossoming. Tarkeghyang is a Sherpa village and many of the people here belong to the Hyolmo tribe, after who Helambu got its name.

Today we split the group in two; the ones who want to climb the Ama Yangri peak (3771 m.) and the ones who instead prefer to make a less exhausting walk in the area around Tarkeghyang. In the evening everyone meet up again at the teahouse (same teahouse both day 4 and 5) to talk about our separate experiences during the day. From Ama Yangrima peak we get a breathtaking 360 degrees view and we have several 8000 m peaks in sight, among them Mt Everest! More detail on easy hike will come later.

Today the trail is easier and on what can be explained as ”nepali flat”, a bit down and a bit up. We cross beautiful forests and some streams. We have lunch in the mesmerizing village of Ghangyul (2770 m.) before we continue to the Sherpa village of Shermathang. In Shermathang we have the headmaster of the local Yangrima Boarding School as our host. He is happy to show us the village and is a tourism pioneer in the area. From Shermathang we can see Jugal Himal range and enjoy meeting and talking to the welcoming local people.

After watching the morning chores in the village and having breakfast we visit the Yangrima School and join the students in their daily morning assembly. After that we start driving towards Kathmandu, lunch on the way. In Kathmandu we stay at a beautiful heritage hotel in the center of the town where we can clean up after the trek and have a swim in the swimming pool.

From the hotel we are close to Thamel, the main tourist area of Kathmandu. We make a city walk in Kathmandu, crossing the main market area down to the old palace area, Durbar square. The hotel is in the embassy area where the streets are lined with fair trade shops and nice restaurants. Rest of the day you are free to rest in the garden, shop or walk down to the famous Garden of Dreams, an old palace with a green garden, to have a stroll and a drink.

Transfer to airport and a warm “See you next time Nepal”!