Kyanjin Gompa

Kyanjin Gompa tickets and tours: which one to book

Kyanjin Gompa is a small working monastery at the head of the Langtang valley, and there is no ticket: visitors enter freely and leave a donation. The real cost is getting there, as it lies at about 3,870 m inside Langtang National Park, north of Kathmandu, and every foreign visitor needs the national park entry permit, bought in Kathmandu or at the park checkpoint. The products sold online fall into two very different kinds. The classic one is a guided trek of about a week, starting with a long drive from Kathmandu to Syabrubesi and following the Langtang river up through forest, Tamang villages and yak pastures to Kyanjin;

these packages usually include ground transport, a licensed guide, porters, permits and lodge accommodation with meals, while tips, drinks and hot showers are extra. The other is a helicopter sightseeing flight from Kathmandu that lands at Kyanjin for a short stop among the peaks before flying back, a costly but very quick way to see the valley. Trekking is the sensible choice for anyone fit with a week to spare: the walk is the experience and the gradual climb helps acclimatisation. The helicopter suits travellers short of time or unable to trek, but be aware that landing at nearly 4,000 m straight from Kathmandu can bring on headaches and breathlessness, so the stop on the ground is kept short.

Visiting Kyanjin Gompa: what to see and how to behave

The gompa stands on a low rise above the lodges of Kyanjin, the last settlement in the upper Langtang valley, with the glaciers of Langtang Lirung, at over 7,200 m, filling the view to the north. It is a modest building in the Tibetan style, with whitewashed walls, a painted entrance, prayer wheels and strings of prayer flags snapping in the wind. Inside, the small prayer hall holds gilded statues of Buddhist deities, painted wall panels and rows of cushions for the monks, and butter lamps burn before the altar. The valley is inhabited by Tamang and Tibetan-descended communities who follow Tibetan Buddhism, and the gompa is their religious centre. The 2015 earthquake caused a huge avalanche that buried the village of Langtang lower down the valley and damaged buildings across the area;

much has since been rebuilt, and the memorial to the victims is passed on the way up. Kyanjin itself is a base for day hikes: Kyanjin Ri, a hill of about 4,700 m above the village, gives a sweeping panorama of the peaks, and the climb to Tserko Ri is a longer, harder alternative. The village also has a small yak cheese factory, established decades ago with Swiss help. Visit respectfully: walk clockwise around the gompa, spin the prayer wheels with your right hand, remove shoes and hats before entering the hall, ask before photographing monks, and leave a small donation. Above all, take the altitude seriously, ascend slowly and drink plenty of water.

Kyanjin Gompa: opening hours, ceremonies and the best time to go

The gompa has no fixed visiting hours; the door is usually open during the day when a monk or caretaker is around, and morning prayers are the best moment to hear chanting. Most trekkers visit on their rest day at Kyanjin, after the early morning hike up Kyanjin Ri for sunrise over the peaks. The best seasons are October and November, with clear skies and stable weather after the monsoon, and March to May, when the rhododendron forests lower down are in bloom.

Winter is cold and some lodges close, while the monsoon from June to September brings rain, leeches and landslides on the road from Kathmandu. Helicopter flights depend entirely on visibility, so fly early in the day and keep a buffer day. Lhosar, the Tibetan New Year in February or March, is celebrated in the valley's villages. Allow about an hour at the gompa itself and at least two nights at Kyanjin to acclimatise and hike. The full trek from Syabrubesi and back takes about seven to ten days, and can be extended over the Gosainkunda lakes or into the Helambu region.