Melamchi Pul Bazar: Ganja La and Helambu exit village guide

Melamchi Pul Bazar, at 870 metres in our itinerary, is where our 12-day Langtang Ganja La Pass trek comes off the trail. Day 11 ends here after a 5 to 6 hour walk down from Sermathang, and day 12 is the drive back to Kathmandu, which our plan puts at about five hours. It is also the road end for the Helambu circuit, as our own Helambu guides describe. This page gives our numbers, the permits, what we know about the 2021 flood, and what to expect at the bazaar itself.

Where is Melamchi Pul Bazar, and why does a trek end here?

It is the low, road-connected end of the Melamchi valley in Sindhupalchok District. Helambu is a region of highland villages about 80 kilometres from Kathmandu that begins at the Lauribina La pass and descends to the Melamchi valley, and the Helambu trek finishes at Melemchi, where you can take a bus back to Kathmandu. On our itinerary day 11 ends here, and you reconnect with your transport because the bazaar is linked to the road.

On our route the walk down is the last stage of a crossing that starts in the Langtang valley. Our itinerary puts the Ganja La pass at 5,130 metres on day 7 and Melamchi Pul Bazar at 870 metres. That is 4,260 metres of height lost between the pass and the road, over four days on foot. The subtraction is mine, from our own figures.

On maps the town is marked as Melamchi (Melamchi Municipality, Sindhupalchok), not Melamchi Pul or Melamchi Bazaar, so search for Melamchi.

Which days of our Ganja La trek end around Melamchi Pul Bazar?

These are the last five days of our 12-day Langtang Ganja La Pass trek, copied from our day-by-day plan. Our plan gives walking hours only for day 11, so the other cells say "not given".

Day	Route	Night	Walking or driving
8	Keldang 4,270 m to Dhukpa 4,040 m	Dhukpa, tent camp	not given
9	Dhukpa 4,040 m to Tarkeghyang 2,600 m	Tarkeghyang, lodge	not given
10	Tarkeghyang 2,600 m to Sermathang 2,590 m	Sermathang	not given
11	Sermathang 2,590 m to Melamchi Pul Bazar 870 m	Melamchi Pul Bazar	5 to 6 hours
12	Melamchi Pul Bazar 870 m to Kathmandu	Kathmandu (hotel not included)	about 5 hours by road

The villages before it are covered in our guides to Tarkeghyang and Sermathang. The pass itself is in our Ganja La pass guide, and the start of the trek is in the guides to Syabrubesi and Langtang village.

How high is Melamchi Pul Bazar?

Our itinerary gives 870 metres (2,854 ft). The table sets our figures beside the closest other figures we found. The other figures are approximate heights and can be off by tens of metres and may not be the exact spot where we sleep.

Place	Height in our itinerary	Other figure
Ganja La pass	5,130 m	5,106 m on published lists of passes in the Langtang Helambu region; our Ganja La guide says "over 5,100 metres" and, in one paragraph, 5,122 metres
Keldang (Kheldang)	4,270 m	no other figure
Dhukpa	4,040 m	no other figure
Tarkeghyang	2,600 m	about 2,552 m
Sermathang	2,590 m	about 2,566 m
Melamchi Pul Bazar	870 m	about 844 m

The other figures sit within 50 metres of ours at the three villages, which is as close as we can expect from approximate heights. The one real disagreement is the pass: 5,130 in our plan against 5,106 on published lists. We use ours when we describe our trek, and we mention the other number so you are not surprised if you read it elsewhere. Our Ganja La guide gives yet another figure, 5,122 metres, in one paragraph. All three are above 5,100 metres, and it is the highest point of the trek.

What is the walk from Sermathang down to Melamchi Pul Bazar like?

Our itinerary says 5 to 6 hours, and the height change is 2,590 minus 870, which is 1,720 metres of descent. That comes from our figures, not a measured profile. It works out at roughly 290 to 340 metres lost every hour, so expect it to be hard on the knees even though there is no altitude problem left. Our day-11 text describes rice fields and wide green meadows, villages named Kakani and Thimbu, then a change into subtropical vegetation, and finally a few bridges and small communities with chortens and mani walls before the bazaar.

The trek's exit is at Melemchi, and you can take a bus from there. We have no published figure for the walking distance of this stage, and the 5 to 6 hours is our own estimate. It is a long descent, and I would not plan an evening flight on the day you reach Kathmandu.

How long is the drive from Melamchi Pul Bazar to Kathmandu?

Our day-12 text says about five hours. It describes a dirt road first, then the Arniko Highway, with Dhulikhel after roughly an hour on the highway, then Banepa and Bhaktapur before Kathmandu. Dhulikhel is about 30 kilometres from Kathmandu. Read our guides to Dhulikhel and the Kathmandu travel guide for the end of the day.

Our Helambu guides and our itinerary give different drive times. Two of our Helambu guides, the Helambu region guide and the Hyolmo community guide, say the bus from Melamchi Bazaar to Kathmandu takes two to three hours. The figures differ, so plan on five hours, the time in the package, and be glad if you are early.

The vehicle depends on the tier. Budget uses local transport, Standard a shared tourist-standard vehicle, and Luxury a private vehicle, all as listed in our package.

What do I know about the 2021 Melamchi flood?

Because this is a road-end on the Melamchi river, you will see the flood come up in any search. A flash flood hit in June 2021, after a landslide dam on the upper Melamchi River burst, and it struck the bazaar at night. It also damaged roads, bridges and electricity lines. On 15 June 2021 the Melamchi Water Supply Project's headworks were blocked by monsoon flood and temporary structures and bridges were swept away. The Melamchi Water Supply Development Board has a photo gallery called "Melamchi Headworks after flood" from June 2021.

The road and bridge position changes within days, so we don't state it here. This trek also starts with the drive to Syabrubesi, so that side matters more. As of 15 October the road is open as far as Dhunche and Syabrubesi. There are no hotels in Syabrubesi, so we walk on to the first open lodge. Read Is the Langtang Trek Affected by the Rasuwa Flood? and Which Treks in Nepal Are Open After the Rasuwa Flood?, and message me with your dates before you pay anything.

What is in the bazaar, and where do we sleep?

Our day-11 itinerary lists tea houses or local lodges, and day 12 is the drive, so the night of day 11 is spent here. Don't count on hot water, charging, an ATM or a bank here. If you need cash for the last days, change it in Kathmandu before the trek, and read our guide to ATM limits and fees for ATM limits and fees on foreign cards.

Do I need a permit, and which ones?

Our package lists the Langtang National Park entry fee, the TIMS card and a Shivapuri National Park permit as included, along with all government taxes. The Nepal Tourism Board's published park fees are NPR 3,000 for foreigners and NPR 1,500 for SAARC citizens at Langtang, and NPR 1,000 and NPR 600 at Shivapuri-Nagarjun, each per person per entry. The TIMS card is NPR 2,000 for foreigners and NPR 1,000 for SAARC citizens. The package lists the permit as included and we arrange it.

A licensed guide and agency-issued TIMS card are required on most trekking routes under the Nepal Tourism Board rule from 31 March 2023; the rule covers the Everest (Khumbu) region too, and we always trek with a licensed guide. The Tourism Board's list names the Ganja La pass trek, and a licensed guide is included on all our trips. Permits need at least 48 hours in government working days, so we ask for passport details early.

When is the best time to do this trek?

Our package page says the trek can be done year-round. Our Ganja La guide says spring and autumn give the most stable conditions and that heavy winter snow frequently blocks the pass. The two do not quite agree, so treat the season advice as a guide. The pass is the deciding point, and the guide makes the call on the day. If your dates are in the middle of winter, ask me first, and read Langtang in November and December for the valley side.

What does insurance need to cover?

Buy it at home. Our package says it must cover medical costs and emergency helicopter rescue up to 5,500 metres. That is the highest point of the trek, Ganja La at 5,130 metres, rounded up to the next 500 metres. I do not recommend insurance bought in Nepal. Our 6,000 metre cover guide explains the wording, though it was written for Everest.

How much does it cost?

Our current prices for the 12-day trek, per person, are USD 1,200 Budget, USD 1,900 Standard and USD 2,715 Luxury for two to four travellers (a solo traveller pays USD 2,185, USD 2,715 and USD 4,290), with groups of up to twenty. Budget has no meals and no porter, in shared rooms, and tents where there is no lodge. Standard has all meals, twin rooms and one porter for every two trekkers, so a solo traveller has the guide carry up to 10 kg instead. Luxury has all meals with extras and a dedicated porter each. Kathmandu hotels are not included in any trek tier. An extra porter is USD 25 a day, with 13 per cent VAT and a 3.5 per cent bank charge on top.

The deposit is 10 per cent, and the balance is paid on arrival in Kathmandu, in US dollars or euros, cash or by card, which carries a 3.5 per cent charge. Plans change? You can reschedule free of charge with at least 72 hours' notice to any date within a year. The deposit itself is not refunded if you cancel. If we cannot run the trip, we refund what you paid less taxes, bank and card charges and any money already spent on permits or flights.

Who should skip this trek?

Our package grades it Very Strenuous. Our Ganja La guide calls it strenuous, so our own pages differ by a grade, and I would take the harder word. The pass is above 5,000 metres, there are no lodges for the camping days between Kyanjin Gompa and Tarkeghyang according to our package notes, and the pass day can mean snow and a long walk. If you have never trekked above 4,000 metres, or you have had altitude trouble before, tell me before you book, and read our altitude sickness guide and how difficult the Langtang valley trek is first. If you only want Helambu and its villages without a pass, our Sundarijal guide and the Kutumsang and Ghopte guides are the gentler way in.

The short version

Melamchi Pul Bazar is the 870 metre road end where our 12-day Langtang Ganja La trek finishes on day 11, with a 5 to 6 hour descent from Sermathang, followed by a drive to Kathmandu of about five hours on day 12. Permits are included and we arrange them, and a licensed guide is required and provided. Don't count on facilities at the bazaar. To talk through this route for your dates, message me on WhatsApp on +977 9810351300.

Written by Shreejan Simkhada, CEO of The Everest Holiday, from a family of three generations of family guides. TAAN Member #1586.