This is adventure trek with pure local culture of Nepal that you can test in Makalu trekking. The superb views of Makalu including mountains Kanchenjungha , Everest and many more peaks make you excited daily. Walking & crossing through the Barun valley and liked snake bend Arun river give you an interesting feelings and high waterfalls cascade into deep gorges, craggy rocks rise from lush green forests, and colourful flowers bloom beneath white snow peaks .We walk through the refreshing beautiful shade of the rhododendron and oaks forest, then leaving the dense forest coming to a summer pastures with traces of temporary made shepherd huts.
This trek to the base camp of the world's fifth highest mountain takes place in the Makalu-Barun National Park and Conservation Area, a place of outstanding natural beauty, recognised internationally for the diversity of its flora and fauna. Makalu is located 22Km to the east of Everest and 80Km west of Kangchenjunga. The region was closed to the outside world until 1952 when the legendary explorer, Eric Shipton, visited and crossed the Shipton La (4,220m) to reach the base of Makalu. A few years later, in 1955, the French managed to climb the mountain via its North West Ridge.
The route of the trek is populated by a wide cross-section of Nepali peoples with a diverse cultural background. Near the terai, these include Rais, Limbus and Newars, whilst higher into the mountains, Bhotias, Tamangs and, of course, the Sherpas constitute the hill tribes. These people live in isolated villages and rely mainly on subsistence farming for their livelihoods. Although culturally rich, they are economically very poor. Farming alone cannot support most families and so there is a seasonal migration in search of additional work, which includes porter age for merchant traders and for the few treks and expeditions visiting the region. The park has some of the richest pockets of plant and animal life in the Kingdom. It is our duty to respect this natural heritage and to do our utmost to limit our impact upon it.
For those interested in flora and fauna, the Makalu-Barun National Park provides opportunities to photograph a wide variety of native plants and even wildlife. In the early part of the trek, the Arun Valley, which we follow for the first three days, has plenty of plant varieties including hibiscus, poinsettia and frangipani. These are in greater abundance on the walk out as spring will have taken hold and outside every house marigolds, sacred to both the Hindu and Buddhist religions, will be in bloom.
As the trek moves into the higher mountains, we traverse distinct vegetation zones; from pristine forests of fir, birch and rhododendron in the sub-alpine zone, to the herbs, grasses and juniper shrubs of the alpine pastures. For those with a keen eye, there is a large variety of orchid, aromatic plants, oak, primrose and not least of all, 19 species of bamboo! The fauna is equally varied. With red panda, musk deer, Himalayan black bear, clouded leopard, wild boar, marmot, langur monkey and over 400 species of birds, However, even at the higher elevations, we cannot expect to be alone; wolf tracks have often been seen at dawn as evidence of nightly foraging around base camps areas.
The trek begins in Tumlingtar at an altitude of just 400m to reach a high point ten days later of 5,500m. From a view point above Makalu Base Camp there are superb views of some of the world's highest mountains, including Everest (8,850m), Lhotse (8,516m), Makalu (8,463m), Chamlang (7,319m) and Baruntse (7,220m).
