Nepal: October 6-9, 2023 Gosaikunda/Suryakunda trek, Langtang region - with langur monkey sighting

Описание: Sujan and Mark trekked from Dhunche village (2030m) northwest of Kathmandu to the beautiful Gosaikunda lake (4380m) and Suryakunda lake (4668m viewpoint) from October 7-9, 2023.

The trek was organized by the great team led by Ramesh at Red Reach Himalaya.
https://redreachhimalaya.com/

The journey to Dhunche from Kathmandu on October 6 and returning on October 9 was on a long, winding, and sometimes bumpy mountain road. The trek featured sightings of a group of langurs and a pet baby monkey - as well as the usual encounters with dogs, chickens, donkeys, cows, horses, and yaks. The Nepali villagers and lodges displayed their usual fantastic hospitality, with a brief visit to a local yak cheese factory in Chandanbari being a real highlight. There was fantastic forest scenery, amazing streams and waterfalls, some great mountain views of the Langtang range, and strolls past several high altitude lakes. Sujan took a refreshing dip in the near-freezing water of Gosaikunda lake.

The lakes shown in the trek include Saraswati Kunda, Bhairav Kunda, Gosaikunda, Barda Kunda, Nikantha Kunda (which I called the lake with no name), and Surya Kunda.

Because we planned to do the trek over a three-day weekend, we ascended over 1,900 meters on October 7. We do not recommend that you follow this example, as such quick ascents can lead to altitude sickness. Probably five or six days is a better length of time for this trek. We have done several treks with significant daily altitude gain below 4,000 meters, but altitude affects everyone differently. Altitude sickness can strike anyone at any time, including people who are very fit and also those who have not experienced sickness on previous treks.

Our itinerary was as follows:

October 6
Drive from Kathmandu (1330m) to Dhunche (2030m) for 5 hours 15 minutes, including a 30 minute break. Overnight in Dhunche (Habre Hotel).

October 7
Trek from Dhunche (2030m) to Deurali (2657m) to Dhimsa (2950m - this is where the trail from Syabrubesi in Langtang meets the trail from Dhunche) to Chandanbari (3250m) to Cholangpati (3580m) to Lauribina (3950m). This segment included a sighting of a family of langurs near Cholangpati. Trekking time 7 hours 20 minutes, plus rest breaks. The trek was almost completely uphill, with a fairly steep grade from Ghattekola (1 hour outside Dhunche) to Deurali.

October 8
Trek from Lauribina (3950m) to Gosaikunda Lake (4380m) to Suryakunda Lake (4668m viewpoint), then back to Cholangpati. Trekking time around 7 hours, plus rest breaks. The trek up to Suryakunda Lake was also almost all uphill except a short downhill stretch near Gosaikunda.

October 9
Trek from Cholangpati to Dhunche for around 4 hours 50 minutes, plus breaks. This included a quick stop at the Chandanbari yak cheese factory. Finally, a drive home from Dhunche to Kathmandu in just 3 hours 50 minutes including a short break.

October 9
Trek from