Ghale Gaun Trek takes us through an 08-day trekking tour to explore the country’s first “smart village”. Not only will you enjoy natural attractions like Annapurna peaks and Marshyangdi rivers, but you will also experience the local Gurung culture and tradition and explore the local temples, tea gardens, and the view tower, among other attractions.
The Ghale Gaun Trek starts with a long drive to the headquarters of Lamjung, Besisahar. The drive via Prithvi Highway will take us around 5-6 hours. From Besisahar, we’ll drive for another hour to arrive at Khudi overnight. If you’re a bird lover, you’ll enjoy every bit of time in Khudi, as this village is a vantage point for bird lovers.
The next day, we’ll hike up a narrow trail to arrive at the Gurung settlement of Ghale Gaun. The village offers extraordinary views of Annapurna, Machhapuchhre, Lamjung, Himal Chuli, and Buddha peaks. Not only that, but the town also provides entry into the newly established SAARC Village Tourism Museum. Explore the local culture, tradition, and lifestyle. Also, indulge yourself in local cuisine and handicrafts. During our extra day at Ghale Gaun, we’ll visit temples (Jal Devi Tije Uttarkanya and Koibo Dhee), the natural wells (Sat Kuwa), and the view tower in Gorkha Army Park.
This trail is one of the easiest treks, which offers remarkable insights into the Gurung culture and tradition. Ghale Gaun Trek is designed for those who want to learn about the local culture, lifestyle, and cuisine while also getting excellent views of high peaks.
Ghale Gaun Trekking is among the newest and quite underrated trekking journeys around the Annapurna region. The usual trek lasts from one week to 8 days, but on average, the trek can be completed in eight days. The Ghale Gaun Trek can also be expanded to the Poon Hill trek, and you can also add the Pokhara Trek to the same trek, which will extend the trekking days by a few numbers. Now let’s get into a few more history of Ghale Gaun and also know a bit about the location which might be your next possible destination,
Ghale Gaun is a popular hill station located in the Lamjung district. It lies at an altitude of 2100m and is one of the newest destinations for tourists and trekkers in the region or from foreign countries. It lies in the Kwholasothar rural Municipality of Nepal and is considered Asia’s model tourism village, so it is getting the coverage and reputation it needs.
The village is located in the middle of Kathmandu and Pokhara, averaging 11 km from both places. It is surrounded by the Annapurna Circuit, which means the people going on the Annapurna Circuit trek can extend their trek to visit the beautiful Ghale Gaun. Let’s look at some factors that make Ghale Gaun unique as a tourist village.
Ghale Gaun is regarded as a modern tourist village, and there are several reasons for this. Along with friendly people with different cultures and traditions to the vantage point from where you can see different types of a mountain like Annapurna, Macchapuchhre, Dhaulagiri, Hiunch, Uli, etc. You can explore many unique places during the Ghale Gaun Village Trek.
The village has many beautiful and essential attractions that many trekkers and tourists might enjoy, so let’s get into it.
On February 7, 2017, President Bidhya Devi Bhandari inaugurated the SAARC Village Tourism Museum as the new attraction for tourists and trekkers worldwide interested in the Annapurna Region. The museum has particularly attracted tourists, mainly from the SAARC countries, and has promoted tourism in Nepal. The Museum also encourages different cultures and traditions in the Ghale village. Also, it provides information on the history and tradition of the Ghale Gaun and Nepal. After establishing the SAARC tourism museum, the village’s reputation increased and is also the main reason it is called Asia’s model tourism village.
Another popular tourist attraction during the Ghale Gaun Trek is Ghanapokhara. It is another small tourist village located in the Lamjung district, and just like Ghale Gaun, it has also gained a good reputation among foreign tourists and trekkers. It is just over 1.6 kilometres north of Ghale Gaun. The trek from Ghale Gaun to Ghanapokhara takes only a few hours, but it is equally worth it.
There are also several other attractions on the Ghale Gaun trek, like temples, stupas, monasteries, Gurung culture, dances, rituals, and more.
Regarding accommodation services during the trek, you have to stay one to two days in the city area and a few other days in the rural area of the Annapurna region. During your Kathmandu stay, you will stay at a three-star hotel with all the facilities you require; however, the accommodation in the remote Annapurna region is the local teahouses or small lodges. Generally, you will trek from tea house to tea house during this trek, where you can eat your meal and stay overnight.
The accommodation is a basic standard in the tea houses, with one room with two to three beds you have to share with other trekkers, but if you are alone travelling female and have informed us beforehand, we can arrange for you to have a private room. The weather is quite cold in the evening and night, so you will be given hot blankets, bed sheets, mattresses, and fluffy pillows to enjoy sleeping warmly and cosily.
The bathrooms are generally Western style and attached to your room, apart from rare occasions you have to share. Continuous cold water is running, but if you pay extra, you can get a hot shower in the teahouse. Since the teahouse is close to the city area, internet and WIFI with decent range and speed are fine.
Fooda services are similar to that of accommodation. During the few days in Kathmandu, you will have all the menus available, including local Nepali to Newari cuisine and Western delicacies. However, as you start to trek towards the Ghale Gaun and reach remote areas, the option on the menu decreases.
The typical foods on the Ghale Gaun Trekking include eggs, meats, fried rice, macaroni, toasted bread, momo, veggies, macaroni, noodles soup, chowmein, and pizzas. For dinner, you will have the option of delicious local Dal Bhat, which means rice and curry, meat, eggs, fish, and different vegetable options.
You can also have a Western-style dinner; however, it is recommended for health and power; you might want to consume Dal Bhat, Vegetables, Fruits, and Fish. Meats and alcohol are also advised to skip because of health reasons. The local meats can be stale and must be adequately refrigerated, so experts and guides advise you to stick with vegetables, beans, rice, and lentils.
Ghale Gaun Trekking is more challenging and demanding than other trekking destinations in the Langtang region. Furthermore, it is also not at a high altitude, making it a lot easier to trek in the area; however, you must still be prepared and must take all the necessary equipment that is essential during the trek.
Some of the trekking equipment that you can take during the trek are:
Head/Hand Equipment
In the case of Head/Hand equipment, you can take things like
Additional layers, gloves, windbreaker, and poncho
First Aid Kits
