The eastern part of Nepal the popular adventures route is called Rolwaling Trekking is a sub-range of the Himalayas. Rolwaling trekking is located in the north Central part of Nepal and extends into south central Tibet. The highest mountain in the range is Melungtse (7,181 metres), located on the Tibetan side.

The town of Lukla caters well to the visitors with comfortable inns to enjoy a decent meal before we continue on trekking towards our ultimate destination.

Explore the High Mountains while at Rolwaling Trek

Gauri Sankar (7,145 m) is the second highest peak of the range, and is located on the Nepal-Tibet border. About 20 km to the Northeast of the Rowaling Himal is the Khumbu Himal, which includes Mount Everest (8,848M) and Cho Oyu (8,201 m).

The Rolwaling range is bounded on the south by the Rolwaling Valley which contains several small villages and Beding, the largest town in the area. Access to the valley and the mountains of the range is made on foot through an established trail system starting at Charikot (80 km east of Kathmandu).

Accommodation and Other Options at the Rolwaling Trek

A tea houses trek from Charikot to Beding will normally take seven to ten days. A fantastic but strenuous camping-style expedition can be made through the Rolwaling Himal to cross the Teshi Lapcha La (5,755m) and into the Solukhumbu. The trek must be properly equipped for extensive snow and ice travel, with at least one climbing Sherpa in the party. The result will be very rewarding in terms of cultural exposure and visual drama.

Even though you may not intend to climb the mountain, a climbing Permit will be required for Patchamo (beside the Teshi Lapcha) to allow access to the upper part of the valley beyond the Tsho Rolpa. The preferred approach is to walk in from the bus terminus at Dolakha (near Charikot), about 7 hours from Kathmandu for Rolwaling Trekking. The trail is very well-defined and used by porters and shepherds going up to the summer Kharkas, or grazing pastures, at Beding.

The last habitation is at Na (4180m). From here on in, it can and will snow at any time so patience is required which also will help with the essential acclimatization). The Tsho Rolpa is an awesome ice lake held back by terminal moraine. The unmarked route goes along the Trakarding Glacier, then climbs steeply up onto the Drolambau Glacier.

Rolwaling Trekking – Crossing the path with Everest Base Camp Trail

The scenery is tremendous every inch of the way! On the east side of the glacier is a range of mountains  well over 6000m. The Teshi Lapcha La goes through these mountains by the foot slopes of Patchamo. The descent on the other side is steep and very rough through boulder fields.

Sometimes the trail is difficult to find until you reach Thyangbo Kharka, a very lonely dwelling on the route to Thame, and then onto Namche Bazaar which is main route to Everest Base Camp Trek the most wanted route in the world. From Kathmandu, over the Teshi Lapcha and down to Lukla Airstrip, Khumbu Region takes 18 days, before the interminable wait for a flight back to Kathmandu.

Flying back from Lukla to Kathmandu

The back journey will be exciting in itself, as Lukla is regarded as one of the challenging and unpredictable airstrip in the world. We literally fly between high hills and mountains. As we leave Lukla Airstrip beyond the clouds and the mountains, we will slowly descend towards Kathmandu Valley, at the Tribhuwan International Airport’s domestic terminal.

It is possible to reverse the route but the climb up to the pass from the Solu Khumbu is very steep and long. The essential acclimatization days in this wild terrain would be uncomfortable and frustrating and a challenging ascent.