Kangchenjunga is the third-highest mountain on earth at 8,586 m, and for a long time it was thought to be the highest. From the Nepal side it takes three weeks to reach its base. From Sikkim, the small Indian state wedged between Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan, the walk to the viewpoint at Goecha La takes eight to ten days and brings you to within a few kilometres of its south-east face. It is the classic trek of the eastern Himalaya: dense forest, rhododendron in flower, a monastery village at the start, high yak pastures, a glacial lake and a dawn at 4,600 m with the whole massif turning orange in front of you. We have done it twice, once in spring and once in autumn, and the two seasons are almost different treks.
Yuksom and the first days in the forest
The trail starts at Yuksom, at about 1,780 m in West Sikkim, a village that was the first capital of the kingdom and the place where its first ruler was crowned in 1642. The coronation throne, a set of stone seats under a tree, is still there, and above the village stands Dubdi, the oldest monastery in Sikkim. From here the path drops to the Rathong Chu and follows it upstream through some of the richest forest in the Himalaya, crossing the river on suspension bridges and climbing through oak, magnolia and tree ferns to Sachen and then Bakhim. The first big climb ends at Tshoka, about 3,000 m, a former Tibetan settlement with a small monastery and a pond, and the last place with houses. The day from Tshoka to Dzongri is the hardest of the approach, a steep rise through rhododendron forest to the pastures at about 4,020 m. In late April and May this section is in full flower, red and pink and white on both sides of the path, and it is the reason many people choose spring despite the cloudier weather.
Dzongri and the first sight of the mountain
Dzongri is a broad shelf of grass and dwarf rhododendron where yaks are grazed in summer and trekkers spend a rest day to acclimatise. Above it, a short climb before dawn leads to a viewpoint at about 4,170 m marked with prayer flags, and from there the whole southern rampart of the Kangchenjunga range appears: Kabru, Rathong, Frey Peak, the sharp summit of Pandim at 6,691 m and, behind them, the main peak itself. It is one of the finest mountain panoramas in India and it is only halfway through the trek. The rest day is well spent walking the ridges above camp and letting the body catch up; Dzongri is 2,200 m above Yuksom and only three days from it.
Thangsing, Lamuney and the lake
From Dzongri the route drops steeply into the valley of the Prek Chu at Kokchurang, about 3,700 m, crosses the river and climbs gently to Thangsing at roughly 3,900 m, a flat meadow with Pandim rising straight out of it. The next stage follows the valley floor to Lamuney at about 4,150 m, the last camp, a few hours walk in a widening glacial trough with the peaks closing in on both sides. Beyond Lamuney the path reaches Samiti Lake at about 4,200 m, a sacred lake for the local Lepcha and Bhutia communities, green and perfectly still on a windless morning, where Pandim is reflected in the water. Camping at the lake is not permitted, which is why Lamuney exists.
Goecha La at dawn
The pass day begins around two or three in the morning. From Lamuney the trail passes the lake and climbs moraine by headtorch to the first viewpoint at about 4,600 m, which is where most parties turn around and where the sunrise is watched. The pass itself lies further on at nearly 4,950 m, above the Onglakthang Glacier, but access beyond the first viewpoint is restricted in some seasons and the view from the lower point is in any case the one people come for. As the sky lightens, Kangchenjunga fills the head of the valley, with the south-east face and its hanging glaciers less than 10 km away. The colour arrives on the summit first and works its way down the face over twenty minutes, while the trekkers stand in the wind with their hands in their armpits. Then it is a long descent, all the way back to Thangsing or Kokchurang in the same day, and two more days through the forest to Yuksom. The full round trip is about 90 km.
Seasons, weather and altitude
Sikkim is wetter than the western Himalaya, and clear views are never guaranteed. Spring, from mid-April to the end of May, has the rhododendrons and milder nights but more afternoon cloud and the occasional snowfall on the pass. Autumn, from early October to mid-November, is the season for mountain views, with crisp air and reliable dawns, but nights at Lamuney can drop to minus 10 degrees. The monsoon, June to September, closes the trek in practice, with leeches in the forest and the peaks invisible for weeks. The altitude profile is fast for a Himalayan trek: 4,000 m by the third night and 4,600 m by the sixth. The rest day at Dzongri matters, and so does walking slowly on the Tshoka to Dzongri climb. Headaches are common at Dzongri and Lamuney; anyone with worsening symptoms should go down to Kokchurang or Tshoka, which are in easy reach.
Permits, guides and how the trek is organised
The route lies inside Khangchendzonga National Park, a World Heritage Site since 2016, and Sikkim controls access to its mountain areas carefully. Foreign visitors need a permit to enter the state and a further permit for the trekking zone, issued for groups of a minimum size and only through a registered operator; Indian citizens need the trekking permit but not the state permit. A guide is compulsory and porters or yaks carry the camp. Trekker huts exist at Tshoka, Dzongri and Thangsing but are basic, and tents are the norm. Fires are banned in the park, all rubbish must be carried out and checkpoints along the trail record names. None of this is onerous once the paperwork is done, and it keeps the trail in better condition than many. Yuksom is a long day by road from the airport at Bagdogra or the railhead at New Jalpaiguri, with the state capital Gangtok as a common stop on the way, so allow two days each side of the walk. For a first Himalayan trek with a real eight-thousander at the end of it, we know few better.