Five-day Gosaikunda trek: alpine Himalayas, holy lake (4380 m), panoramic views (Ganesh, Langtang, Annapurna). Ascend through forests, descend to Dhunche, and Kathmandu returns.
Gosaikunda Trek
Gosaikunda Trek Overview
This 5-day short trek to the Holy Glacial Lake of Gosaikunda is designed for those with a short period in Nepal for its classic mountain treks and who want to feel the alpine zone and experience the Himalayas. Gosaikunda Lake (4380 m) has great religious significance and is well-known as a pilgrimage site for Hindus who flock to the site in August during Janai Purnima. The first few days are spent ascending through the forests before you reach the treeline at Cholang Pati, from where you get your first glimpse of the towering Ganesh Himal, Langtang Himal, and Annapurna in the far distance. Rest for the night at the tea houses of Lauribinayek and then get up early the following morning to hike up to the lakes. Return the following days to Dhunche and Kathmandu.
This short Gosaikunda trek offers great tea house accommodation, so you don’t need to bring a lot of gear. The number of days listed here is shorter than our standard itineraries, so if you are pressed for time, drop us an inquiry and let us help you with your unique customized trip.
How hard is the Gosaikunda trek?
The Gosaikunda trek is leveled as medium hard in terms of difficulty, even though the level of difficulty depends on other things such as age factor, your trekking habit, physical fitness, the itinerary you choose, or the weather of the season you are trekking in. These reasons decide whether the trek is going to be easy or hard. You need to keep in mind that you will be reaching the elevation of 4380 meters in two days from Dunche (2100 m). And 2200 meters of descent from Gosaikunda to Dunche in one day if you select a 5-day itinerary. If you are a beginner, not used to trekkers but love trekking in nature and are willing to go, we recommend you choose a 7-day extended version. Sample itineraries are as per below.
Itineraries
5 Days Short standard itinerary (Cost USD 335/Person)
Day 1: Drive from Kathmandu to Dunche (2030 m), 6 to 7 hours.
Day 2: Trek to Chandan Bari (3330 m)., 5 to 6-hour walk.
Day 3: Trek to Gosaikunda (4380 m) about 7 hour’s walk.
Day 4: Trek down to Dhunche (2100 m),
Day 5: Drive to Kathmandu.
The 7-day itinerary makes partly a bit of a loop. (Cost: USD 435/person based on double occupancy basis)
Day 1: Drive from Kathmandu to Syabrubesi (1470 m). 6-7 hours drive.
Day 2: Trek to Foprang Danda (3030 m). 5 to 6-hour trek.
Day 3: Trek to Lauribina (3800 m), 4 hours walk.
Day 4: Trek to Gosaikunda (4380 m) 4 hours walk.
Day 5: Hike to Surya Peak and trek to Cholangpati (3580 m), 6 to 7-hour walk.
Day 6: Trek down to Dhunche (2060 m).
Day 7: Drive to Kathmandu.
The extended version, starting from Sundarijal in Kathmandu, traverses Lauribina La; this route can be challenging for beginners. (Cost: USD 499/Person based on double occupancy basis) with a porter service shared between two trekkers
Day 1: Drive from Kathmandu to Sundarijal and trek to Chisapani (2215 m).
Day 2: Chisopani to Kutumsang (2470 m). (approximately 5 to 6 hours trek)
Day 3: Trek to Ghopte (3530m). (approximately 6-7 hrs trek)
Day 4: Ghopte to Gosaikunda (4300m) via Lauribina Pass (4600m). (approximately 7 to 8-hour trek)
Day 5: Hike to Surya Peak and trek to Cholangpati. (approximate 6-7 hrs hike)
Day 6: Trek to Dhunche. Overnight at Dhunche (approximate 4-hour trek)
Day 7: Drive to Kathmandu. (approximately 6-7 hrs. drive by local bus/jeep)
Day 8: Reserved day if required.
Our standard price of USD 335 per person is for a 5-day itinerary and a minimum of 2 group members. There will be a single supplementary charge of USD 50 for a solo private trek.
Note: This 5-day Gosaikunda Trek offers a quick ascent to 4,380 meters at Gosaikunda Lake. Due to this rapid altitude gain, beginners and novice trekkers should be aware of the potential for altitude sickness. We advise contacting your expert trip planner prior to booking this small adventure tour.
- An experienced and registered local trekking guide.
- Gosaikunda trekking permit and documentation fee.
- Meals: 4 breakfasts, 5 lunches, and 4 dinners.
- Accommodation in tea houses (lodges) during the trek on a twin-sharing basis.
- All local land transportation to and from trekking.
- Necessary insurance for trekking staffs.
- Guide and porters fee with all their other expenses
- All taxes and documentation fees.
- Accommodation, meals, and transportation in Kathmandu.
- Bar and beverage drinks during the trek.
- Personal trekking gear, travel insurance
- Nature of personal expenses like toiletries, laundry, and phone calls.
- Rescue evacuation in case of emergency.
- Porter to carry your pack.
- Tips to guide and porters.
At Wilderness Excursion, 13 years of excellent operation by decades-long expertise in leading treks in Nepal. To further enhance your Gosaikunda Trek, we’re pleased to introduce exclusive add-ons for an even more exceptional adventure.
- Porter Service at USD 100: Travel lighter, explore further. Let our porters take care of your gear (up to 20 kg, shared between two), so you can conquer Gosaikunda’s trails with ease.
- Private Jeep Service, US$ 245: Upgrade your land transportation to a private Jeep for comfortable travel. Cost shared by group or participants
Check our dates published to see if it matches your time. We are happy to customize your tour perfectly to match your interests and needs, creating a unique travel experience just for you
About the difficulty of the Gosaikunda Trek, this is a moderate trek, but it can be hard for novice trekkers and beginners. This trek involves up-and-downhill walking. You are reaching 4300 meters from sea level in 3 days. This trek doesn’t require mountaineering skills. Regular hikers/trekkers can easily complete this trek in 5 days. This itinerary offers a standard walking time for gradual gain of the altitude to greatly reduce the risk of altitude sickness. You better allow one extra day if you are not sure of it.
When you travel to the new place for your holiday, food is most concern part of travel. While, traveling with Wilderness Excursion, you can experience the delightful cuisine of typical Nepali food, continental food, Italian food, Chinese food and different international cuisine. You will be suggested by your guide for good food during your trip. During the trek do not order many dishes and waste food, they have to cater more trekkers before they run off stuck. It is very hard and takes week or more for caravan and porter to brings the food in these places. You will take lunch in route side, breakfast and dinner will arrange in the same lodge/Tea house.
What about drinking water in Gosaikunda Trek? During the trek you can get the bottled water but it is hard to dispose plastic and it will be the big problem for environment. We will provide purified mineral water during trek. In tea house you can get bottle water and mineral water in additional cost. It will better to drink mineral water rather than bottled water.
We provide you trekking lodges accommodation in twin sharing basis and the accommodation in Kathmandu are not included in the package. During the trek tea house is main accommodation for trekkers. A tea house is combination of lodge and restaurant. In the tea house lodge are fairly basic, some tea house you can get separate room but in the high altitude rooms are spare with two beds with blanket and little additional furniture. There will be large dining room where you can get the warm by Bukhara stove. In the tea house there will be the solar electricity but these days most of the tea houses have electricity for charge Camera, Mobile phones and other small appliances.
Gosaikunda trek is one of moderate and some of strenuous, passionate trekkers should have ability to walk for 4-7 hours a day. Trekking to the high altitude is more challenging than the low altitude. To complete the trip we have to have good health, average physical fitness, passion, confidence, determination and positive attitude. If you have past hiking experience or exercising habits it will be the better for your trek. If you have pre-existing health problem such as lung, heart and other diseases it is better to consult with your doctor or inform Wilderness Excursion before booking the trip.
For the best time to trek to Gosaikunda Lake, we should consider about the weather condition. Autumn (Sept-Nov) and spring (March-May) is the best season for trekking in Himalayas and same to Gosaikunda. Monsoon rain may affect the trek in summer (June-Aug). You can also trek in winter but temperature could be most harsh for most trekkers. Trekking in monsoon can be good for botanical keens as we can see the colorful flowers of alpine flower in higher places. And trekking in summer are quiet and there are less trekkers.
The trekking have been dherai ramro cha! And our guide Rabi makes you feel sure and capable to do it! He was always taking care of everything. Have been and amazing trekking! Dhanyabad!!!
I booked my trek to Gosainkunda at wilderness excursion with a personal Porter-guide. The route choice was perfect and everything was very well planned. It was also realy easy to change plans, take another route, stay in another location etc.
One of the best short treks ever, my guide Rahul and porter Kisman were always kind and the view at the end was amazing! I advise Wilderness Excursion also Chitwan national park tour any one looking a short demanding trek...