Goecha Trek 27th OCT - 7th NOV 2011, Partners welcomed

If you can bargain you can get much cheaper than that....

We paid him 11500 for two all whole excluding park entry fees.....

Please elaborate.

Hi rajatsurey,

I did this trek through Bhagirath, I'm sharing my experience with him.

Baghirath runs an agency called "Desire Trek" along with his brother. He pretends to be a guide (which he might be), but the fact is that he runs his office from Yuksom only. He will arrange you porters, guides, yaks, tents and all other things, but he will not go with you (just like what travel agencies do). That's why his rates are always on higher sides. If someone contacts a guide directly then the cost will come down significantly. I have already given contact no of one such guide in this thread, I'm sharing it again.

Baghbeer Subba - 09775965824

Tamanga - thanks, it is better to clarify that it is a cost issue and otherwise the trek had no problems!! Being a public forum we should not say he is a "Fraud" for quoting a higher rate - just a warning on being high cost should do.

I fully agree with you rajatsurey. That's the reason I posted my experience. I can't remember anything that bothered us during the trek. Sometimes things may not go well for you, but there might be various reasons for that, it's not right to accuse someone in a public forum.

To share my own interaction with him, he initially quoted me 2 times of what we finally settled for but I had to cancel for health reasons and all my telephonic interactions were fine - Maybe, he is not straight on pricing, but if one knows the rate and tells him upfront he is okay after that. Ofcourse, Buddha comes highly recommended and is pretty straight on pricing as well but he was busy then.

hi gopal, this is joydeep from howrah. have you done your goecha la trek?

Deepen (he is a Guide) -09734043115/08348101558

hi Tamagna,
I think,you did Gocheala la trek during last octo.
we 6-8 young guys have planned for the same trek during 28th Sept to 10th Oct.
Our tentative itenary:-
Day-0:SDAH to NJP(28th Sept)
day-1:NJP to Yuksom
day-2:Yuksom to Bakhim
day-3:Bakhim to Phedang
day-4:Phedang to Dzongri
day-5:rest & Acclimatization at Dzongri,go to Dzongri top.
day-Dzongri to Thangsing
day-7:Thangsing to Lamuney
day-8:Lamuney - Goecha la View point1,2,3-Samiti Lake-Kokchurang.
day-9:Kokchurang to Tshoka
day-10:Tshoka to Yuksom
day-11:Yuksom to NJP to catch train
Day-12:reached SDAH.(10th Oct)
kindly clarify my queries:-
1)Will it be the right time to trek in this route..?we expact clear sky durring this time & avoid high rush durring late Octo & puja holidays.(also expact some amazing view of Mt.K at fulmoon night from Dzongri)
2)Where from we can hire trekking gears & tents;kolkata or Yuksom..?
3)from where we will arrange/buy rations,cooking utensils..?(night staying options for guide/porter..?)
4)how many guide/cook/porters/yuks we 6 guys required..?
5)any guide(cum good cook) you know,who will agree to go upto Gocheala view point no 2&3..?
6)are leeches a problem in this route during early Octo..?

tarak

I think you should do Yaksum - Sachen - Tshoka - Phethang - Dzongri. There is a trekkers hut in both sachen and Phethang and if you are lucky, you can get to sleep inside. But it is your choice finally.

This is post monsoon so I do not expect too much rains. Not sure about daytime clear sky though from Dzongri you are sure to get some blue sky. And to catch Kanchenjungha in full moon, you will have to climb upto Dzongri top. From where you will stay in Dzongri, you will not get any views. Normally people go to Dzongri top in early morning to catch sunrise. But having to think of it, your idea rocks !

You should hire gears in Kolkata, it will work out cheaper. Since you have chosen this time, I will assume that you can get a guide easily from Yaksum. I used service of Buddha Singh (guide cum cook) but there are loads of such information in this thread.

You should hire 1 guide cum cook and 2 yaks and save on porter service. In case you dont want to carry your bacgpack - add one more yak to it. The yakman will double up for a helper with the cook at night.

Going to view point 2,3 depends on weather mainly snow fall and how many are daring to go. So, prepare your mind and your guide's mind before hand. Take your decision when you reach view point 1.

And don't worry about leeches. If any of them get to you, how does it matter. After all we are invading their territory and its their party time :-)

Cheers and happy trekking.

Rajat

thanks Rajat for your valuable information.
1)will we postpond our trek till 2nd week of octo for minimum chances of rainfall,actually we guys had bitter experience twice in past during april,2012 inside Barsey rhododendron forest,facing a havoc rainfall & again in last week of octo,2011 at Sandakphu-phalut region,facing unseasonal snowfall.but than we will miss moonlit night & face huge crowd.
2)To get a better view of Mt.K,is it really necessary to trek till Goechala...or going upto Dzongri is sufficient.I think after crossing dzongri,we will enter into Moraine reqion.
3)Is Samiti lake is really beautiful...compare with Pangong..?
can you kindly PM me the phone no of Buddha Singh.
tarak

To be absolutely safe, you should plan to visit end october or early november. You can manage the chilly weather till then and you will get the best weather window. If you ask me, you get much wider and better view of not only kanchenjungha but other peaks too from Dzongri top. Whereas Goecha La brings you closer to kanchenjungha and you get to experience its dominance over others. So it is a personal choice. I have seen many returning from Dzongri and not heading to Goecha La.
You will enter moraine from Lamune. From Dzongri, you will climb up and down, cross prek chu and reach a table land of Thansing. And the road from Thansing to Lamune is easy to deal with. You need to start very early from Lamune to reach view point 1 to catch the sunrise. I started at 3.30 am and I was back to camp at 7.30 am.

Samiti has a serene beauty and to me all lakes are. They only express their calmness all through. It is definitely beautiful and I will not try to compare its beauty with any thing else.

Rajat

I think you will have to change the PM settings. It is not allowing me to send you any message.

Hi raj,
I have changed my PM setting...
already talked with Buddha ji,initially he quoted 450/ for guide,250/ for yak & 300/ for porter cum cooking helper and 100/ perday for utensils & told us we need..1guide,5yak & 1porter for 8-10 man team few days back......but unfortunately he told me yesterday,that he will not able to go with us.....he has to go with some 15 guys from Mumbai for some 15days of trekking(23/10-9/11) on package basis....!!!!!!
today I talked with a guide maned Purba Tsering Lepcha....but he quoted 600/ for guide,250/ for yak & 300/ per day for utensils.....rates are hi...WHAT TO DO...???---pl suggest

If cost is the issue, you could explore the following options :

1. alternate guide or trek operator but I doubt if the rates would be drastically different
2. carry all utensils, food item, tent, sleeping bag from kolkata and then only hire one guide cum cook and a few yaks to carry the load

Rajat