After getting my trekking guide license, I guided five female guests from NepTrek to Gosaikunda Lake. The trek started on June 2 and ended on June 5, taking four days to complete.
In this blog, I’m sharing my trek itinerary and breakdown. Also, in the end, I’ll highlight some tips to consider while planning Gosaikunda Lake Trek.
Want to trek with me and my agency NepTrek? Check out my 4 days Gosaikunda Trek Package with NepTrek.
Gosaikunda Lake Itinerary- Day to day breakdown
Day 1: Drive from Machhapokhari to Dhunche. Trek from Dhunche to Deurali.
Being a guide, I had to wake up early and manage the transportation for the entire group. So, I woke up at 4 am and prepared my backpack. I showered, washed my face, brushed my teeth, and rechecked my gears.
I hired Pathao to reach Machhapokhari Chowk in the morning. As I had booked seven tickets a day early, I was there to confirm it and wait for my clients.
The bus started at 6:10 am. The bus drove non-stop for three hours and stopped at Bidur for lunch. From Bidur, the bus drove another four hours to Dhunche.
Before reaching Dhunche, we had our backpacks checked at the Langtang National Park Checkpost at Dhunche. We brought a national park permit for Rs. 100.
After reaching Dhunche, we stopped for an hour. During this time, we had lunch, refilled water bottles, and took some good rest.
We started to hike on Gosaikunda Lake Trek Route at 2:30 pm. It was sunny, hot, and sweaty.
From Dhunche, after hiking for about an hour, we reached Mini Gosaikunda. There’s also a waterfall near this place. So, you can visit to enjoy the view of the waterfall. And also, you can take a bath here as well.
From the waterfall, the route to Deurali is almost steep ascend. Now, you can hike on concrete stairs most of the route.
There are a few tea houses en route to Deurali where you can stop for rest and rehydration. Also, at these places, you can refill your water bottles to drink cold water.
As I was with five clients, I had to maintain the team’s pace and ensure that all of them were energized.
At Deurali, we stopped at Deurali Viewpoint Hotel. This one is new and offers an attached bathroom as well. Plus, the rooms are excellent, with clean blankets.
Day 2: Trek from Deurali to Lauribinayak (3,660 meters, 7 hours)
We started the second day of our Gosaikunda Lake Trek early, around 7:30 am. The breakfast was decent at the tea house.
After leaving Deurali, the route immediately gets steeper. Till Dhimsa, we were gaining altitude as well as hiking on steep route. There were many people telling us to carry sticks as the trek past Deurali is tiring.
After reaching Dhimsa, we stopped for 15 minutes for rehydration break. Also, the girls got amazing moment for photograph.
After hiking from Dhimsa, we stopped at Chandanbari. Chandanbari is the place were most trekker stop on day one from Dhunche. Since it sits 2900 meters, it can be risky to hike upto here on day 1.
We stopped for 30 minutes, sipped black tea, and recharged our mobile phones. Chandanbari is the last spot on Gosaikunda Trek where you’ll find electricity to recharge your mobile devices.
From Chandanbari, the hike to Cholangpati is fairly easy. Apart from few sections, the route is almost flat. Plus, you’ll hike through the beautiful trail on Oak forest.
We stopped for lunch at Cholangpati. As we were hiking just to Lauribinayak, we took some good rest even after lunch at Cholangpati.
For most, the route from Cholangpati to Lauribinakayk seems steep and strenuous. However, with proper rest at Cholangpati, our five guests hiked effortlessly. They needed some rest but everyone reached Lauribinayak without any signs of AMS.
We had booked our hotel from Deurali. So, the rooms for us were pre-booked by the hotel owners. We stayed at Hotel Mount Rest, the first one of Lauribinayak.
The hotel was jam packed with trekkers and almost every rooms were filled with trekkers. So if you’re planning to stay at Lauribinayak, better pre-book the hotel in advance. If you want to know the number of the hotels on the route, kindly follow me in instagram and send a message.
While my groups were having rest at the hotel, I strolled around the place and enjoyed playing with some wild flowers.
Goodnight from Lauribinayak.
Day 3: Trek from Lauribinayak to Gosaikunda Lake (4,380 meters, 3 hours). Return to Deurali (10 hours)
We wake up early at the tea house in Lauribinayak. It was around 4:30 am. We asked the tea house owner to make tea for 7 of us around 5. However, we only got tea around 5:30. We started our hike after tea.
The climb from Lauribinayak to Buddha Mandir is a steep ascend. For most, crossing this section can be the hardest of all the routes. But, with proper pace, it’s easy to cross this section.
You’ll get the best view of Langtang Lirung and Gangchenpo mountains from Buddha Mandir. Also, the entire valley looks beautiful from this place. You can rest here and capture some best photos on your camera and mobile.
From Buddha Mandir, Gosaikunda is half hour’s hike. The route to Gosaikunda Lake from Buddha Mandir is easy, excluding a few ascends. The trails are well marked and fenced on the fight ridge as well.
First comes Saraswati Kunda and then beautiful Bhairav Kunda. However, you’ll only see Gosaikunda after reaching the tea houses near the lake.
It was around 9 am when we reached the lake. A few of my clients bathed on the lake, and others enjoyed the view. We had plans to hike Surya Kunda, but some clients got altitude sickness symptoms. After one hour at the lake, we ate lunch and returned to Lauribinayak.
The return hike was easy as the entire section was a downhill hike. We reached the hotel, packed our backpacks, and prepared for the return hike to Deurali.
We stopped at Cholangpati for rest. Another good rest was at Chandanbari before descending to Deurali.
We reached Deurali around 7 pm, had lunch, and went straight to bed.
Day 4: Trek from Deurali to Dhunche (2 hours). Drive to Kathmandu (6 hours)
We woke up early since we had to take an early bus from Dhunche to Kathmandu. We had plans to leave Deurali around 5:30 am. However, a few of our guests had tired legs. It became difficult to descend, especially on the concrete-plastered stairs.
So, leaving them behind, I hiked down to Dhunche with my wife and her friend. It took us two hours to reach Dhunche. And in between, we also visited the waterfall and took some excellent photographs.
We had reserved our bus at Dhunche. So we had accessible getting seats. Also, we got some discounts as well.
I can give you the phone number of the bus counter. You can ask me on my Instagram profile as well.
Tips for Gosaikunda Trek
How to hike each day?
As a trekking guide, I don’t recommend you complete this trek quickly. Trekking is all about getting experience and enjoying every bit of it.
Most people on Gosaikunda Trek run, bathe, and return as quickly as possible. But don’t rush. To enjoy this trek, you should hike slowly. Take two days to reach the lake instead of one.
Choose best tea house
There are some best tea houses en route to Gosaikunda Lake. For example, we stayed at Hotel Viewpoint at Deurali. Similarly, we stopped for lunch at Langtang Lirung Hotel on day 2. We stayed at Hotel Mountain Rest at Lauribinayak. And at Gosaikunda, we stopped for lunch at Hotel Lakeside.
These are among the best tea houses on this trek route. Since we didn’t stay in Chandanbari, we can only share a little info about tea houses in this place. But, among all the tea houses en route, the tea houses at Chandanbari seem much lovely aesthetically. Also, the setting of the area around Chndanbari was quite good.
Eat wisely
Since Gosaikunda Lake sits at 4,380 meters, reaching here can cause altitude sickness to many. However, with proper diet and rehydration, one can quickly reduce the chance of getting caught by mountain sickness.
Garlic Soup or, if found, order Timur Garlic Soup at the hotels. We stayed at Hotel Mountain Rest at Lauribinayak, which offered garlic soup, noodles soup, and even thukpa. These meals help you rehydrate and keep you away from mountain sickness.
Also, it’s essential to consume adequate meals. As Dal Bhat is the main meal on this trail, it’ll be your ultimate meal. Consume as much as possible because you’ll need to reenergize overnight to resume the next day’s hike.
Sign of mountain sickness: If you lose appetite for eating anything, it’s a confirmation that you got it.
Rehydrate frequently
Keeping yourself rehydrated is another crucial thing to do while trekking to Gosaikunda Lake. Drinking 100 ml of water at every 20 minutes interval is a must. By doing so, you’ll maintain body fluids levels that prevent you from mountain sickness.
There are few water-filling running water taps en route to Gosaikunda Lake. To refill the water, you must hike to the camps like Chandanbari, Cholangpati, Deurali, etc.
What to do? Carry two one-litre bottles in the two side pockets of your backpack. Carry one thermos for lukewarm water. With two water-filled bottles, you’ll always have drinking water on the route.
Tips: While drinking put one oral rehydration salt on your water. It helps keep your body salt at a level you lose while peeing and sweating.
If you’re in group, hire a trekking guide
If you’re planning for Gosaikunda Lake Trek with a few friends and family, it’s always better to trek with a guide. A licensed trekking guide on a group becomes highly beneficial.
Your trek guide does everything from pre-booking your hotels to arranging transportation. Moreover, the trek guide carries a first aid box, medicines, and other emergency essentials.
With a guide, you’ll get a planned itinerary. Plus, the trek guide sets the pace of the group. In this way, everyone can hike comfortably and elevate the trek experience.
I am a Nepal government-licensed guide who takes private clients to different places in Nepal. Recently, I hiked Gosaikunda Lake. On guiding my group to the lake, we were the only group with a trekking guide. My clients enjoyed the trek, and everyone was performing okay. No one was affected by the mountain sickness.
Tips: A group must pay NPR 3000 per day as a guide fee while hiring a trekking guide. A guide guides a group of 4–5 pax. So, the guide’s cost per person per day comes down to only Rs. 500–600.
