After spending two days running around Kathmandu getting permits and gear, we bought ourselves a ticket on an 8am bus that left on the 3rd of March. The bus was notorious and was a prime reason why the region we were heading to wasnt touristy and recieved only a fraction of the trekkers that Annapurna and Everest do. To put it in perspective, it took us 9 hours to travel 115km. It was long, slow, dusty, bumpy, and cramped. Meg and I debated often as to which of us had the more uncomfortable seat. Occasionally the bus would stop and locals would pile on with giant canvas sacks which would fill the aisle and serve as additional seats.

 The picture below is of the last few kilometers of road, a narrow winding gravel road that was carved into the mountain.

Nevertheless we made it to the trail head, Syabrubesi, which was also literally the end of the road. We stayed the night in a decent guesthouse, and the next morning started out just after dawn.

The trail began on the other side of the river, leading out of a Tibetan refugee encampment. It was a fascinating way to begin the trek as we passed by intricately carved wooden houses that would become a common sight along the way.

Meg and I had decided against doing the trek through a company, nor did we hire a guide or porters. We bought a guide book and a map and carried our own packs. On the bus we began to doubt our decsion as most of the other people had a guide with them, but once on the trail we were very happy with our decision. The trail was very easy to follow, and being on our own meant that we had the freedom to change our schedule as we wanted. It also gave a sense of satisfaction in our own self reliance. Many of the treks in Nepal, like this one, are called "teahouse treks." This means you dont carry any food or tents, rather you eat and stay at teahouses and lodges clustered in little villages all along the trail. Sometimes you would see a teahouse every couple hours, other times the only place to stay was a days walk away.

The trail for the Langtang portion of our trek followed a river up a glacial valley, all the way to its source. After leaving the Tibetan village at the start, the trail climbed through beautiul forests of pine, rhododendron, bamboo, and oak trees.

On the first day we walked for about 8 or 9 hours (including our stops for tea and lunch).  

We ascended about 1000m that first day, and it exhausted us. At around 3pm we arrived at Lama Hotel, a collection of lodges located along the river. We were happy to discover that solar hot water showers were regularly available (but only at lower elevations as we would soon discover).

 We enjoyed a nice meal with our hosts and found ourselves going to bed at the late hour of 8PM. As the days progressed we found ourselves adjusting to the pattern of waking at dawn and going to bed just after sun down.
The next day we awoke early, and began walking again. We had decided that we would walk all the way to the top of the langtang valley in one day rather two. This would involve a 9 hour day and an ascent to 3900 meters. We knew we had to be careful with the altitude since our ascent would exceed the normal safe elevation change  but, given that we had been at 3650 meters the previous week on our trek in India, we wagered that our bodies would be able to adjust to the extra 250 meters. A few hours into our walk we caught our first glimpse of Langtang Himal, a snow capped peak that towered over the upper valley.

At a few points on the way up, we passed buddhist prayer water wheels. These were prayer wheels that spun constantly as a streams water flowed though them.

As we ascended the valley widened and the terrain transitioned from forest to alpine scrub land. 

We stopped for lunch in the Tibetan village of Langtang. As we sat, we watched the locals preparing their fields, hauling fertalizer (yak manure) in wicker baskets.

After  lunch, a bit of a rest and since both Meg and I felt comfortable with the altitude, we decided to continue on to the high camp of Kanjin Gompa. The trail left Langtang, and passed an extensive buddhist prayer wall. The wall consisted of countless stones carved with buddhist prayers. 

Yaks were common company as we walked.

As we got higher the surrounds became more and more amazing.

After 9 hours and ascending 1500 meters, our destination came into view. Set among Himalayan peaks and tumbling glaciers was Kanjin Gompa.  

We picked a guesthouse that would serve as our base camp for the next couple days as we took day hikes to explore the surrounding area.