Day 0-1: Kolkata to Khadbari (02/05/25)
We started from Kolkata station at 9:45 PM on the night train to Jogbani, arriving around 10:30 AM the next day. Outside the station, many cars and rickshaws offer rides to cross the border, but trust me—don’t pay for that. Just follow the crowd on foot; it’s a 4-5 minute walk. No need to waste money.
After crossing, take a toto for 20 NPR to Biratnagar bus stand. From there, take a bus to Dharan costing around 125–140 NPR. Avoid taking a bus to Itahari because you’ll have to switch buses again to get to Dharan. From Dharan, take a shared cab to Khadbari for 1000 NPR.
Stay overnight in Khadbari (elevation ~530 m) and arrange a service car or private cab to Chakshey Dara or Tashigaon for about 1500 NPR. Starting from Num is not recommended unless you don’t find a direct cab to Tashigaon; otherwise, Seduwa is an easier place to start.
Day 1: Tashigaon to Khongma
The first day of trekking ended at Khongma after about 6.5 hours of steep and challenging stairs. Elevation gain is approximately 1,650 m to 3,200 m. Be prepared—it’s a long, tough day.
Day 2: Khongma to Dobate
This stretch took almost 6 hours. Crossing three high mountain passes here is tough: Ghungru La (3,900 m), Shipton La (4,050 m), and Keke La (4,200 m). The views are beyond words.
Day 3: Dobate to Tadosa
We passed Fematang on this roughly 6-hour hike. The trail mostly descends alongside the Barun River from about 4,000 m to 3,000 m. At Tadosa, there is only one homestay, run by a lively 17-year-old boy named Tenzin and his uncle, who is almost his age. We met Tenzin (aka Futushi) back at Khongma, and by the end of the trek, we became good friends. Tenzin even accompanied us on the trek beyond Tadosa.
Day 4: Tadosa to Makalu Base Camp
This was the easiest day of the trek, about 5 hours to reach Base Camp. Elevation gain from 3,000 m to 4,870 m. The views of Makalu and surrounding peaks are stunning. If you have extra time, you can continue further to Swiss Camp (~4,950 m) or Advance Camp (High Camp) (~5,100 m), where mountaineers acclimatize. We returned from Base Camp the next day due to time constraints—corporate mazdoors have limits!
Day 5: Base Camp to Fematang
The descent took about 8 hours. We stopped for lunch at Tadosa and then reached Fematang for the night, descending from 4,870 m to around 3,400 m.
Day 6: Fematang to Khongma
We retraced the path back to Khongma, which took around 5 hours, ascending back to 3,200 m.
Day 7: Khongma to Chakshey Dara
It took us about 5 hours to reach Chakshey Dara. Since we didn’t book a private cab in advance (which costs around 15,000–18,000 NPR), we stayed overnight here. The next day, we took a service car to Khadbari for 1500 NPR.
Also someone told us that shared jeeps are available — from Sheduwa, two shared jeeps go back to Khandbari every morning and evening.
Day 8: Khadbari to Itahari
Thanks to our cab driver, we managed to get a private cab at the price of shared cab from Khadbari to Itahari for 1000 NPR. We stayed overnight in Itahari.
Day 9: Return to Kolkata
From Itahari, we took a bus to Kakarbhitta for 300 NPR. After crossing the border, a shared cab took us to Siliguri bus stand for 200 INR. Finally, we boarded a night bus back to Kolkata.
Additional info:
Staying cost us an average of 500–700 NPR per night, and food was mostly dalbhat, which cost around 500–600 NPR. But we ate meat a lot—thanks to Tenzin, we were going everywhere like we were his guests. So I told you about transport, food, and stays. It cost us around 20,000 INR. Yeah, I know we overspent many times, but you can do this trek under a 16,000 INR budget if planned more smartly.
For any help regarding this trek feel free to DM
by mesouravb