Nepal trek weather in early September?
July 7, 2016 6:03 PM Subscribe
How likely/frequently/heavy is rain on a Langtang trek the second week of September? And are the views likely to be obscured by clouds/overcast?
I understand September is the end of monsoon season; just trying to determine if the rain at that time will still be prohibitive for this trek. Or would you recommend avoiding it and going instead to one of the "rain shadow" areas?
I understand September is the end of monsoon season; just trying to determine if the rain at that time will still be prohibitive for this trek. Or would you recommend avoiding it and going instead to one of the "rain shadow" areas?
Response by poster: Thanks, GnomePrime. Can you elaborate on how much and how heavy the rain was mid September? Also, what resource did you use for local monsoon/weather forecasts?
posted by night kitchen at 8:57 PM on July 7, 2016
posted by night kitchen at 8:57 PM on July 7, 2016
Best answer: I trekked in late July, and on the Annapurna Circuit, so I can't directly answer your question. But IME, the biggest monsoon trekking problems were not rain but trails being washed out (which can occasionally mean having to go a few hours out of your way on an alternate path, OR having to pick your way across a mudslide) and as you say the mountains being obscured by clouds, which is a bit of a bummer.
I will say the rain itself was never a huge issue - in my 7 days, it was rarely more than a drizzle, and the few times it rained heavily never lasted more than an hour. But given the washouts and the mountains being obscured, my favorite part of the trek was the higher elevation where I could see the peaks.
If you want to get the full spectrum of ecosystems and climates but minimize, one thing you could do is fly to Jomsom (which is in the rain shadow), trek around there (Kagbeni, which is so lovely, Muktinath) and then trek back down to the lowlands on the short route. This way you only have less time in the rainy areas. I actually hiked up the long way and down the short way (long story) and the short way was just as nice as the long way - you walk through a lovely river valley, and it was so green.
posted by lunasol at 10:27 PM on July 7, 2016
I will say the rain itself was never a huge issue - in my 7 days, it was rarely more than a drizzle, and the few times it rained heavily never lasted more than an hour. But given the washouts and the mountains being obscured, my favorite part of the trek was the higher elevation where I could see the peaks.
If you want to get the full spectrum of ecosystems and climates but minimize, one thing you could do is fly to Jomsom (which is in the rain shadow), trek around there (Kagbeni, which is so lovely, Muktinath) and then trek back down to the lowlands on the short route. This way you only have less time in the rainy areas. I actually hiked up the long way and down the short way (long story) and the short way was just as nice as the long way - you walk through a lovely river valley, and it was so green.
posted by lunasol at 10:27 PM on July 7, 2016
Best answer: Reasonably light rain (maybe 10-20mm?) for a two days.
Here is Nepal's meteorological site:
http://www.mfd.gov.np/
The various newspapers also occasionally have forecasts, but they won't really know until much much closer to the date in question.
Here is the report form last years
https://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/monsoon-withdraws-from-western-central-nepal/
posted by GnomePrime at 9:06 AM on July 8, 2016
Here is Nepal's meteorological site:
http://www.mfd.gov.np/
The various newspapers also occasionally have forecasts, but they won't really know until much much closer to the date in question.
Here is the report form last years
https://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/monsoon-withdraws-from-western-central-nepal/
posted by GnomePrime at 9:06 AM on July 8, 2016
Response by poster: Thank you to both GnomePrime and lunasol.
posted by night kitchen at 1:10 PM on July 9, 2016
posted by night kitchen at 1:10 PM on July 9, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by GnomePrime at 8:08 PM on July 7, 2016