Kanchenjunag Circuit Trekking: Introduction
Kanchenjunga Circuit Trekking located in Taplezung District of Nepal which  encapsulates Mt. Kanchenjunga (8586m/28569ft) and Kanchenjunga Conservation Area(2035km²) that accommodates a wide ramge of flora and fauna. Kanchenjunga trekking is a glacier walk rather than a normal walk. Zumu, Talung, Rathong and Yalung glaciers are popular in the region. Mt. Kanchenjunga is the third highest mountain in the world, which is comparatively less visited than Mt. Everest and Annapurna which is why the trail in the Kanchenjunga Trekking is less trodden.Your eyes will be transfixed on the view of the east face of Mt. Everest(8848m) and Mt. Makalu, the fifth highest mountain in the world that can be seen on the crystal clear day. There are Tibetan Refugee Camps on the trails. Trailing through rhododendron jungles, typical farmlands and and alpine high passes, the trail exuberates your heart. Ramtang and Oktang monasteries can be perfect niches for meditation.

What documents should I submit to get permit?
You need to sumbit a photocopy of your passport, ID image and original passport with visa stamp in order to get Kanchenjunga Trekking Permit. The entire process will take about 4 hours. The office remain open from 10:AM to 5:00 PM. On Saturdays and public holidays, you will not be able to take permit so make sure you go to the office in the working days. If you do not have extra days in Kathmandu there are companies who offer immediate permit which can be manageable even without passport and visa. However, it is important that you have good personal connection with the company.

What is the qulilification of guides and porters?
Our guides come from mountainous region (the Himalayas), that's where they are born and spent most of their lives. They are physically conditioned to perfom any kind of manual work at altitude. All of our guides and porters are based in mountainsides of Everest, Annapurna, Dhawalagiri and other areas and have passed trekking license exam to get governmentally certified. The guides we send with you have background knowledge about Kanchenjunga as they have been there more than twice. Apart from that, most of our guides are young, educated and well experienced who are also adventure connoisseurs, who can communicate well in English and other languages. Our guides have a very good rapport with the locals there, any time prepared to help you. What's more, we can provide you any guide of your choice.

What about the salary for a guide or a porter?
It is recommendable that you take a professional guide or a porter for Kanchenjunga Round Trekking. There are a few trekking areas in Nepal where the trekkers can be found without a guide or a porter but Kanchenjunga Round Trekking mandatorily requires a guide and porters. And professional guides or porters certainly cost you. The minimum number required for Kanchenjunga Round Trekking is 2. You can either contact your comapany to pair you up with someone elase or pay the double amount for the same. Normally the cost for a guide comes to about USD 20 to USD 25 a day which covers up the food, accommodation and insurance. The guides have training, licence and field experience and are governmentally certified. Experienced porters are paid USD 20 to USD 25 per day. We can also provide you with a porter guide, a guide who will also work as a porter by carrying your belongings.

What are the required documents? 
In order to get the Kanchenjunga Trekking Permit, it is mandatory to possess a copy of your passport, ID image and original possport with authentic visa stamp. The office remains open from Sunday to Friday and any time of the day between 10 o'clock in the morning to 5 o'clock in the evening, the office will remain open. The process should not take more than four hours. Also take a look at your calendar to check if there a public holiday. In cases, you do not have enough time in your hand, you can get a local company to get that done on your behalf. Feel free to contact us if you are looking for a trekking permit issued much earlier than the trekking starts.

Permit Cost for Kanchenjunga Round Trekking
Kanchenjunga Trekking is one of the most restricted trekking areas of Nepal, which means you are required to have a governmentally licensed trekking guide and physically resilient assistants staffs including porters.The cost for Kanchenjunga Conservation Area Project Permit Cost is about USD 20 and the minimum payment up to three weeks, which is a tentative trekking duration, required for an individual is USD 30 and the total Permit Cost comes to be USD 50. You will have to be in regular contact with the local agencies in Kathmandu so that you could make the arrangements when necessary.

What kind of food is available on Kanchenjunga Trekking trail?
There are tea houses that offer continental food that you can choose from the menu. The local farmers grow vegetables here which are purchased in the hotels. The vegetables are organic and good to consume in terms of health. If you wish to et meat, not every lodge sells meat. The altitude also impacts the rearing of the animals for meat here. Yak meat can be available at some places, apart from which, chickedn , mutton or pork are not available.Most travelers bring energy bar or chocolate. Nepalese rice is also cconsumed on this trekking on a daily basis. If you want to have meat for your meals on the trekking, you will have to manage it from Kathmandu.

Cost of food in Kanchenjunga Trekking
Kanchenjunga Treeking is one of the farthest trekking destinations in nepal. Becuase of its remoteness, Kanchenjunga Trekking may be costly in terms food. Even the menu choices are limited. It is easily understandable that as the remoteness increases, the price of the food also increases because of the extra cost for the transportation. This is the same with Everest and other remote areas of Nepal. This is also because there are no roads and transportation facilites. Everything has to be carried on the shoulder of a coolie. It is hard even to grow vegetables because the land in this area is not fertile. People in this region manage food and water working oversease. The least percentage of people here rely on hotel and tourism business. Roughly the cost of the meal fluctuates between USD 25 and USD30 on a daily basis. Those who have been to Everst Region may find the costs approximately the same.

Transportation to Taplejung from Kathmandu?
Flight to Bhadrapur from Kathmandu which takes you about forty to forty five minutes is the most popular way. Bhadraur is also reachable in twelve hours from Kathmandu. From Bhadrapur, you will have to catch another jeep or a bus to Taplejung, the starting point of Kanchenjunga Trekking which takes you about seven hours. Optionally, from Kathmandu night buses to Jhapa and Birtamod are available, from where you can catch a vehicle to Taplejung. From the commercial point of view, taking vehicles from Kathmandu seem much less expensive but not without complexties.

To design the itinerary for Kanchenjunga Trekking, we need to heavily rely on the nature of transportation. The fluctuating weather becomes dominant determiner when it comes to taking flight to Bhadrapur, which means flight delays and cancellations are common incidents. The earliest flight to Bhadrapur, after 10 AM involves substantial amount of waiting and you will touch down Bhadrapur Airport about the midday. Kathmandu to Taplejung can never be covered in one day which asserts the fact that two days' time is required to reach Taplejung from Kathmandu. For your comfort, you can fly to Bhadrapur and drive to Ilam, which takes you about five hours' jeep drive. Ilam is a panoramic spot with only the biggest tea garden in Nepal. Then the next day you can reach out to Taplezung easily.

What is the transportation cost to Kanchenjunga Circuit Trekking?
The following is the transportation cost for Kanchenjunga Circuit Trekking.

Flight (Kathmandu-Bhadrapur-Kathmandu) - USD141x2 = USD282 per person

Jeep or Bus (Bhadrapur - Taplejung - Bhadrapur) USD15x2=30 per person

Birtamod is 440km from Kathmandu , which can be covered in 11 to 12 hours. Thereafter, the distance between Birtamod and Taplezung is about 114 km which can be covered in 6 to 7 hours.
There are some private jeep whose reservation for a day costs USD250 to USD300.

Accommodation in Kanchenjunga Trek
In the former days, Kanchenjunga was one of the most off the beaten regions which was almost unknown. Gone were the days when people used to eat locally available basic foods like yak cheese, rice pudding and other food iteams eaten by local people. With the passing of time, the places have seen many changes. There are lodges and hotels springing up with an incessant incoming of the tourists in this region. Nowadays, accommodation should not be a problem. There are tea houses dotted at different spots on the trail. For a small group accommodation has never been a problem. The cost for one twin sharing room is about six to ten dollars a night. If you are taking up one room, then you can sleep in either of the beds.

What kind of facilities can you expect in Kanchenjunga Trekking?
Kanchenjunga Trekking is a distant trekking so you may not find every facility you expect. You might end up sleeping in tents during high seasons due to influx of the tourists in the region. It is advisable that you bring a sleeping bag or sleeping pad with you. You might find the temperature there much colder even under the blankets provided in the hotel rooms. Not all the hotels are equipped with a heater or AC. In some hotels they provide bornfire during the mealtimes. Apart from that, the toilets here are rudimentary, located at a walking distance from your lodge. They keep water and soap in the toilets but it is always wise to carry your own toilet paper with you. Toilet papers are available in the local shops. Barnaining on fixed price maybe taken as rude and charging of your batteries and hot water may cost you extra. It is always a good idea to carry a power bank or solar battery along with you so that you can dodge those extra expenses.

Cost of beverages in Kanchenjunga Trekking
The cost of the drinks in Kanchenjunga may differ depending on places. The cost for tea tea and cofee may be the same in the other mountains regions while slightly cheaper in the Everest Base Camp. You will be charged USD1 to USD1.5 for a cup of tea and USD2 to USD4 for a cup of coffee. You will be charged USD 2 to USD 5 for a bottle of beer and  USD 0.5 to USD 4 for a bottle of soda. With the increase of altitude, the price of the things also increases. That is because the purchase charge on the food and drinks have to be carried on a shoulder of local porters from markets in the metropolis.

Drinking water in Kanchenjunga region
In each camp, there is a bottled water in a jar that costs around USD 20 in the lower altitude while there is significant price inrease in the higher levels which comes to about USD 400.  Most of the trekkers water purifying medicines or filter the water locally available in the streams instead of buying it that saves the money. Carry your water bottle on the way so that you can refill it at different places on the trail every time you run out of it. At maximum, you need to carry no more than two litres of water during the day. Let your guide know in advance that you need to refill your water container on the way. The water available in the mountainous region is not as polluted as that of in Terai but still it is advisable that you carry water purification tablet or filter with you. Keep in mind that your body perspires a lot and you need water to hydrate your body.

How difficult is Kanchenjunga Trekking?
In terms of difficulty, Kanchenjunga Treking is one of the most isolated Himalayan Trekking package. Since it is approached with geographical difficulty and challenge altitude sickenss is very common. Because of the distance the trekkers have to cover before reaching the base camp, Kanchenjunga Base Camp Trekking have the longer hiking sections than that of the Evereset Base Camp Trekking.  The daily elevation gain is 400m to 500m and the walking hours depends lingering between 5 hours to six hours on a daily basis. Around 95% of the trekking done here has been with altitude sickness. Provided that you have prior trekking experiences elsewhere in Nepal, you will feel the trekkiing much easier.

Personal stuffs needed to be carried for Kanchenjung Trekking.
You need hiking boot (high ankle boots), a warm sleeping bag, thick and warm sleeping mattress, cold resistant down jacket, pair of thermal sweater, dry hiking pants, hiking bag (duffel bag, minimum 50I + 10). Please keep in mind that you don't need climbing ropes, ice axe or goretex for that matter. You don't even need goretex or expedition jacket. The path rough and uneven with pebbles strewn. Contact your company in advance so that you could know exactly what are the things you need to be bring along with you and what else you could manage in Kathmandu itself.

What is the means of communication in Kanchenjunga Region?
There the telephone signal in Kanchenjunga is not strong enough to make calls. Satellite phones may be available in some camps for the emergency contact purpose. In some local lodges, they have a wifi connection with certain amount of charge. In that case you can carry 4G sim card with which you can obtain data for internet connection. In less than USD 12 you can draw internet package in Kathmandu which you have to manage before embarking on a journey. Your guide will carry his cell phone that can operate until you arrive at Amjilosa, a mileage of five days from Taplezung. It may not be as easy as you think it is to make international calls from this region. In the adverse cases like if someone falls sick , you can make a call to Kathmandu from Lhok, a point just below North Base Camp. Communication keeps developing in the course of time. You can always expect the better and more improved means of communication in this region.

General information about Kanchenjunga Trekking
It is normal that the travelers do their research about the trekking route, destination and other issues before they actually go for it. If you are visiting Kanchenjunag Region through an international company, you will have to pay a little higher due to their branding, international credibility and reliance which does not mean the local companies are less reliant or dependable. There are instances that even local companies have successfully operated Kanchenjunga Trekking with in relatively way more reasonable price. The quality of the service for the money paid and your security are the two most important components that we cannot compromise with. Himalayan Wild Treks has been operating trekkings in Kanchenjunga Region for over decades. The staffs in the company are born in the mountains and well trained with certificates and license. For any information, Himalayan Wild Treks remains  24/7 open to take the privilege of responding to your queries of any sort.