Nepal 2025 - Day 7: Samagaon to Samdo - Side trip to Samdo Ri

Samagaon to Samdo

Samdo was just under 3 hours from Samagaon and we decided to head out early in the morning. The initial trail was the same as the previous day but very uneventful. It was a very simple and pleasant hike which followed the river deeper into the valley. You passed through a host of yaks grazing on the banks and looked totally unbothered by our presence. Their cowbells emanating a sweet melody which was almost meditative. 

We passed few Mani walls, a very long one in particular marked the path towards Samdo. The massifs of Pangboche Himal, Samdo and others just decided to hide behind the clouds. The weather wasn't looking good for our plan to hike Samdo Ri later in the morning, however, we enjoyed the grasslands with the yaks and now, a lot of elusive marmots running through the fields into their burrows. We finally saw Samdo up ahead across a wooden bridge and there was quite an elevation gain to get to it. We saw a new bridge under construction to make this approach easier and within the next year, I was sure this would be completed. 

We finally made it to the village of Samdo which with a handful of teahouses. We stayed in the biggest of them all called Zambala. They had a huge facility with multiple rooms across 4 levels and a huge dining hall with excellent mountain views. Niranjan in the meantime also decided to join Sonam and I to Samdo Ri. He wanted to gain some height and acclimatize as he skipped the basecamp push the previous day. We quickly had our refreshments, got our lunch which was 2kg of boiled potatoes with a spicy chutney. 

The trail for Samdo Ri was at the opposite end of the village marked by some prayer flags. There was a Samdo viewpoint with similar flags which confused us initially. To make things even more confusing, there was a Samdo Peak with an altitude of 6335m, however, it was already behind us near Pangpoche peak.

Samdo Ri is at an elevation of  5100m so we knew this would be a tough climb. The trail moved across slopes leaving the Gompa behind and following the river below. It wasn't the most well marked trail, however, it was good enough to explore. The number of marmots scurrying around these slopes increased which kind of kept us entertained. We were greeted by some sun for a few mins before we descended into the valley to cross the river via a wooden bridge. The climb was steep and we took our time as we were in no rush and slow and steady had worked for us through the trek so far. This trail could have been spectacular with the magnificent mountains surrounding this valley, however, cloudy skies only gave us respite from the sun but blocked any chance of viewing the landscapes around us. We still had fun gaining elevation as there was no one else on the trail and the occasional meadows made for a well earned break. We gorged on some boiled potatoes which proved to be a revelation for an energy boost. 

Post our break, the trail continued gaining substantial elevation. At times, we had to make our own route as the trail disappeared within some heavy bushes. There were a couple of instances where we had to walk on a ridge with heavy gusts of wind almost knocking us off. We had to use our trekking poles to really dig into the ground for balance. It was already 1pm and the weather changed for the worse with little rain accompanying the heavy winds. The rain wasn't a problem for us, however, we needed some shelter from the cold winds till they subsided. After climbing for another 20 mins, we came across a shepherd's shelter and decided to rest there for a few mins. There was no water source available so we had to be judicious with our usage. 

The sun came out again and gave us a lift to continue further. We were 350m away from the top of the peak. We had some chocolate for a quick burst of energy and carried further up the trail. The wind was really the biggest factor in draining all the energy. It really held us back and made us make double the effort to get further up the trail. We saw the first hazy sign of prayer flags marking the peak through the clouds. Before that, there was another cairn marking the path leading to the top. This was very helpful as we could see multiple trails to the top, some of them very steep. We made our way through the rain and the wind to the cairn. This took a lot longer than expected. We were at 4980m with another 100m or so to go, however, the clouds really started to get dark and rain seemed imminent. As a group, we decided to head back as we couldn't see a point in continuing and we had gained good elevation for acclimatization. This was the highest we had climbed on the circuit so far. We called this cairn, the mini Samdo Ri and got our pictures. 

The decision to descend was an excellent one as the clouds really closed in and it started to rain. We could still see some sunshine close to Samdo and we decided to rush back ASAP. We reached Samdo around 4pm and relaxed for the day. The food we ordered wasn't the best so we decided to try some desserts from the bakery across the teahouse to satisfy our cravings. This was well earned by the three of us. 

We spoke about the next day's plan at dinner. Although, it was a rest day, there was an opportunity to hike up to the Tibetan Border and get to the top of Layung La (5100m). I informed the group that this would be the most difficult hike of the circuit yet and it's anyway, optional. We had to start early and even Jangbu hadn't been there yet in all his forays on this circuit so he seemed excited. The weather window was pretty much the same as it had been, decent weather till about noon and clouds and rain predicted after. Sonam, Niranjan and I were definitely going and the rest would decide in the morning. I could barely eat my Tingmo as it was undercooked and not edible. Unfortunately, food across the board at this establishment wasn't the best. I decided to venture into the village and probably feed it to some dogs or mules. Eventually, a cow really seemed too enjoy this treat.