Taplejung is seeing more visitors aiming to climb its high peaks. Recently, two French climbers successfully reached the 6,808-meter White Wave Peak. The expedition was guided by Tenzing Sherpa from Annapurna Foothills Trek & Expedition. The climbers, Benjamin Charles Eli Vedrins and Nicolas Paul Aristide, completed the challenging ascent in mid-October.
Last week, a climber from Chilika reached Pathibhara Peak, located at the base of Kanchenjunga. Three more French climbers have arrived at Kumbhakarna (Foktanglung) Base Camp, aiming for the 7,710-meter peak. Kumbhakarna was first climbed by a French mountaineer in 2019.
In recent years, peaks in the region have seen more international interest. Last year, four South Koreans successfully climbed 6,328-meter Sharfu-5 in November. Earlier, in Chaitra, climbers including Hernan Leel, Lakpa Chiring Sherpa, Nada Sherpa, and photographer Purnima Shrestha reached Sharfu-4 for the first time at 6,433 meters.
According to Tashi Tenzing, tourism assistant at the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area’s Ghunsa checkpoint, 300 foreign tourists have visited the Kanchenjunga region this season. Some spent time resting in Ghunsa. The trekking season runs from mid-September to mid-December.
Last year, between March 1 and April 21, 41 climbers (26 men and 15 women) successfully reached Kanchenjunga’s 8,556-meter summit. The expedition brought in royalties totaling 1,97,460 NPR.
