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Eastern Nepal · base camp

Pang Pema

पाङपेमा

Pang Pema is the north base camp of Kanchenjunga, at about 5,143 m on the Kanchenjunga Glacier in Taplejung. It faces the mountain's north face across the ice, more than 3,000 m higher. Trekkers reach it from Ghunsa in three to four days via Kambachen and Lhonak, inside the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area.

  • Stay 0–1 nights
  • Best Apr – May · Oct – Nov
  • हिमालHimal
Plan a trip with Pang PemaRead its story
Pang Pema
Photo: Tomabarker · CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

The air at Pang Pema

Altitude5,143 m58.1% of the way to 8,849 m
BeltHimalहिमाल · Ice, moraine and the high passes
Each breath52%of the oxygen at sea level
Water boils82.4 °Cso dal takes longer here
vs Kathmandu-24.3 °Ctypical difference by height

Oxygen, boiling point and temperature are worked out from the standard atmosphere for 5,143 m; real days vary with weather.

Kanchenjunga, at 8,586 m, is the third highest mountain on earth, and from most of Nepal it is a distant shape on the eastern horizon. At Pang Pema you are right under it. The base camp sits on a grassy shelf beside the lateral moraine of the Kanchenjunga Glacier, and across the ice the north face rises in a sweep of rock and hanging glaciers to the summit ridge.

Getting here is the reward of one of Nepal's longest and quietest teahouse treks. From Ghunsa the trail climbs to Kambachen, then to Lhonak on a wide sandy plain among moraines, and finally along the glacier edge to Pang Pema. Few trekkers make it this far compared with Everest or Annapurna base camps, and you may have the place almost to yourselves, with only the crack of the glacier and the wind for company.

Most groups sleep at Lhonak and walk to Pang Pema and back in a long day, though some stay a night near the base camp when lodging is available. Either way, it is a serious high-altitude day, and it needs good acclimatisation and settled weather. We build in rest days at Ghunsa and, where needed, at Kambachen, and keep a spare day so the Pang Pema walk can wait for a clear morning.

Why go

Kanchenjunga's north face

From Pang Pema the north face of the world's third highest mountain fills the view across the glacier, rising more than 3,000 m above the camp. Morning light is best; cloud often builds by early afternoon.

The Kangchenjunga Glacier

The camp sits beside the lateral moraine of the glacier that drains the north-west side of the massif. Walk a short way up the moraine ridge for the full sweep of ice and peaks.

Lhonak's open plain

The night before, Lhonak at about 4,780 m sits on a wide sandy plain ringed by moraines and snow peaks. It feels like a high desert and is one of the most striking campsites in eastern Nepal.

Blue sheep on the slopes

Herds of blue sheep (bharal) graze the grassy slopes between Kambachen and Lhonak, often close to the trail. They are the main prey of the snow leopard, which lives here but is rarely seen.

A base camp without crowds

Pang Pema sees a fraction of the visitors of Everest Base Camp. On many autumn days you share it with a handful of trekkers, and in some weeks with nobody at all.

१The story of Pang Pema

The north side of the five treasures

Kanchenjunga was surveyed and admired from Darjeeling long before anyone saw it closely from Nepal, which stayed closed to most foreigners until the 1950s. In 1899 the British mountaineer Douglas Freshfield and the Italian photographer Vittorio Sella travelled around the massif and studied the great western face rising from the Kangchenjunga Glacier, the same glacier that flows past Pang Pema. Sella's photographs of the expedition are still admired today for their detail and scale.

The first ascent came in 1955, by Joe Brown and George Band of a British expedition climbing from the south-west. They stopped a few metres below the true summit, keeping a promise given to the ruler of Sikkim that the top would be left untouched. In 1979 Doug Scott, Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker made the third ascent and the first without bottled oxygen, by a new route on the North Ridge, the side that rises above Pang Pema.

Today Pang Pema is a seasonal camp for expeditions and a goal for trekkers. In spring, climbing teams set up tents on the shelf, with cook tents, prayer flags and a puja altar for the ceremony that opens every climb; in autumn it is usually trekkers only. Herders from Ghunsa and the lower valleys still bring yaks up to the summer pastures around Lhonak, as they have for generations, and their stone huts and walls are scattered across the plain.

२The legend
As it is told · पाङपेमा

People in Sikkim and among the Lepcha tell of a hidden valley of immortality on Kanchenjunga's slopes, a sacred refuge that will open to the faithful in a time of great danger. For Buddhists of the region the mountain is the dwelling of a protective deity, which is why the first climbers stopped short of the summit. Standing at Pang Pema, the stories feel close.

३The people

Who lives here

No one lives at Pang Pema year round. In the trekking seasons it is visited by guides, porters and lodge-keepers from Ghunsa and the lower Tamor valley, many of them Buddhists of Tibetan descent, along with Limbu, Rai and Sherpa porters and guides from across Taplejung. In summer, yak herders from Ghunsa use the high pastures between Kambachen and Lhonak.

४Words you will hear
Tibetan
མཆོད་རྟེན
chorten

Buddhist stupa or shrine, often found on passes and at village edges

Tibetan
རྩམ་པ
tsampa

Roasted barley flour, mixed with tea or butter

Nepali
लेक
lek

High cold hills above the farming zone

Every word on this site

५What to eat

Tsampa porridge

Roasted barley flour stirred into hot butter tea or milk and eaten as porridge or dough. It is light to carry and quick to cook, which is why herders and porters live on it in the high country. Lodges at Lhonak and Kambachen will make it if you ask.

६Few people know

Things most guides leave out

Kanchenjunga was first climbed on 25 May 1955 by Joe Brown and George Band, who stopped just short of the true summit to keep a promise that the top would remain untouched.

Wikipedia: Kangchenjunga

In 1979 Doug Scott, Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker made the third ascent of Kanchenjunga, the first without supplemental oxygen, by establishing a new route on the North Ridge.

Wikipedia: Kangchenjunga

In 1899 Douglas Freshfield and the Italian photographer Vittorio Sella examined Kanchenjunga's great western face rising from the Kangchenjunga Glacier, one of the earliest close studies of the mountain's Nepal side.

Wikipedia: Kangchenjunga

Untold Nepal, region by region

Experiences

Four ways to spend a day in Pang Pema

Trekking
Pang Pema6–8 hours

Day trek from Lhonak to Pang Pema

The goal of the north-side trek: an early start from Lhonak along the moraine of the Kangchenjunga Glacier to the …
Nature
Pang Pema1–2 hours

Moraine ridge viewpoint above Pang Pema

For strong, well-acclimatised walkers, a short climb up the slopes above Pang Pema for a wider view of Kanchenjunga's north …
Wildlife
Pang PemaOn the trail, 2–3 hours

Blue sheep watching between Kambachen and Lhonak

A slow stretch of trail above Kambachen with time to watch herds of blue sheep grazing the slopes, and a …
Heritage
Pang Pema1 hour

Expedition history around the Lhonak stove

An evening around the stove at Lhonak, with your guide telling the story of Kanchenjunga's climbing history, from Freshfield and …

Getting there

How to reach Pang Pema

On foot

From Ghunsa (3,475 m) the trail goes to Kambachen (about 4,050 m), then Lhonak (about 4,780 m), then along the glacier edge to Pang Pema, usually as a day trip of 6–8 hours from Lhonak and back. Allow 3–4 days from Ghunsa including acclimatisation, and 2–3 days back.

Road

Reach Taplejung via Bhadrapur or Biratnagar and the Mechi Highway north, then jeeps up the Tamor valley as far as the road is open, and walk from there to Ghunsa. Roads here are changing; check current status before you travel.

Where to stay

Most trekkers sleep at Lhonak, where simple teahouses have dormitory or twin rooms, a shared toilet and a dining room with a stove, and walk to Pang Pema and back in a day. A basic lodge has operated at Pang Pema itself in some seasons. Kambachen has a few simple lodges. All are very basic and cold, with limited food; a warm sleeping bag is essential. Expedition and camping groups use tents.

Local tips

  • Do not rush: spend two nights in Ghunsa and consider an extra night at Kambachen before going to Lhonak.
  • Start the Pang Pema day at first light; mornings are clearest and you want to be back at Lhonak before afternoon wind and cloud.
  • Know the signs of altitude sickness and turn back if they worsen; at about 5,143 m Pang Pema is only a little lower than Everest Base Camp.
  • Carry insurance that covers helicopter evacuation above 5,000 m; it is the only fast way out.
  • Bring water purification; there is no bottled water to buy at Lhonak or Pang Pema, and plastic is discouraged in the conservation area.

On the map

Pang Pema and what is near it

Map of Pang Pema, Ghunsa, PathibharaIndiaChinaBhutanNepalKoshiPang Pema1Pang PemaGhunsa2GhunsaPathibhara3Pathibhara50 kmN
  1. 1Pang Pema
  2. 2Ghunsa
  3. 3Pathibhara
Drawn by Book Nepal Trip from Natural Earth outlines (public domain). International borders as depicted by Nepal. Rivers: Karnali, Gandaki and Koshi systems. Not for navigation.

Trips

Trips that stop in Pang Pema

Eastern Nepalmax 5,140 m
24 nightsStrenuoustrek

Kanchenjunga Circuit: North and South Base Camps

Twenty-four nights around the Nepal side of Kanchenjunga: up the Tamor and Ghunsa valleys to Pang Pema at 5,140 m, back to …

fromUSD 3,350See the days
Eastern Nepalmax 5,140 m
20 nightsStrenuoustrek

Kanchenjunga North Base Camp Trek

Twenty nights from Kathmandu to Pang Pema, the north base camp of Kanchenjunga at 5,140 m. A jeep up the Tamor valley, …

fromUSD 2,850See the days

Nearby

Pair Pang Pema with

Ghunsa Eastern Nepal3,475 m
trek stopLekhघुन्सा

Ghunsa

The last real village below Kanchenjunga's north face

Apr – May · Oct – Nov
Pathibhara Eastern Nepal3,794 m
pilgrimage siteLekhपाथीभरा

Pathibhara

The goddess on the hilltop above Taplejung, at 3,794 m

Mar – May · Oct – Nov

Questions

Pang Pema: what travellers ask

What is Pang Pema?

Pang Pema is the north base camp of Kanchenjunga, at about 5,143 m beside the Kangchenjunga Glacier in Taplejung district, eastern Nepal. It is the high point of the Kanchenjunga North Base Camp trek and faces the mountain's north face.

How many days is the trek to Pang Pema?

Allow about 18–22 days from Kathmandu and back for the Kanchenjunga North trek, including travel to Taplejung, the walk to Ghunsa, acclimatisation, the day to Pang Pema and the return. New roads in the lower valleys are shortening it. Check current status before you travel.

Is the Kanchenjunga North trek harder than Everest Base Camp?

It is generally considered harder because it is longer, more remote and has simpler lodges, with fewer chances to rest in comfort or get help. The maximum altitude is similar. It suits trekkers with previous high-altitude experience.

What permits do I need for Pang Pema?

You need the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area permit and a Kanchenjunga restricted area permit, arranged through a registered agency, normally for at least two trekkers with a licensed guide. Since April 2023 foreign trekkers must trek with a licensed guide. Check current status before you travel.

When is the best time to trek to Pang Pema?

October and November give the most settled, clear weather. April and May are good too, with warmer days, more cloud and rhododendrons lower down. December to February brings heavy cold and snow, and June to September monsoon rain, cloud and leeches.

Can I combine Pang Pema with Kanchenjunga South Base Camp?

Yes, on the full Kanchenjunga circuit. From Ghunsa, after visiting Pang Pema, the route crosses high passes to Tseram and the Yalung side for the south base camp. It adds about five or more days and needs good weather.

Are there teahouses on the Kanchenjunga North trek?

Yes. Family-run teahouses operate in the villages and at Kambachen and Lhonak, and a basic lodge has operated at Pang Pema in some seasons. They are simpler than in Everest or Annapurna regions, with shared toilets and limited menus.

How do I reach the start of the Kanchenjunga trek?

Fly from Kathmandu to Bhadrapur or Biratnagar, then drive to Taplejung (Phungling) in a long day, or fly to Suketar when flights run. From Taplejung, jeeps go up the valley as far as the road is open. Check current status before you travel.

What is the altitude risk at Pang Pema?

At about 5,143 m altitude sickness is a real risk. Follow a slow itinerary with rest days at Ghunsa and Kambachen, drink plenty of water, and descend if symptoms worsen. Carry insurance that covers helicopter evacuation above 5,000 m.

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