Makalu Barun National Park

Makalu Barun protects the country between the Arun and Everest, rising from around four hundred metres in the valley to Makalu at 8,485 metres, the fifth-highest mountain on earth, which gives it an altitude range unmatched by any protected area in Nepal and a correspondingly enormous species list, with red panda, snow leopard, over four hundred birds and a flora including many orchids and rhododendrons. The Barun valley below Makalu is a hanging valley of exceptional wildness with no permanent settlement. The trek to Makalu base camp takes around three weeks from Tumlingtar and sees a tiny fraction of the Everest traffic, with basic lodges low down and camping higher. There are no roads into the core.

History

In the early and mid-1980s the Mountain Institute, under its president Daniel C. Taylor, surveyed the Barun valley, partly to look into the enigma of the yeti, and the park was established in 1992 as the eastern extension of Sagarmatha National Park; it covers 1,500 square kilometres (Wikipedia, Makalu Barun National Park).

What you'll find

• Makalu base camp - the approach to the fifth-highest mountain.
• The Barun valley - a hanging valley with no permanent settlement.
• Full altitude range - subtropical forest to glacier in one park.
• Rhododendron forest - the spring flowering on the lower ridges.

When to go

October to November and April to May. Winter closes the high valley and monsoon brings leeches, landslides and no views. The trek needs three weeks and settled weather.

Good to know

This is a long, committing trek with basic or no lodges above the villages, meaning camping and a supported party for the upper valley. Weather is worse here than in Khumbu and flights to Tumlingtar cancel. Wildlife sightings are very unlikely despite the species list.

Nearby

Khandbari and Tumlingtar lie south; Khumbu is west.

Key facts