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Trekking Routes: Gosainkund
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Each summer during the August full moon, Hindu pilgrims from all over Nepal and India make the trek up to Gosainkund's sacred high-altitude lakes. Legends say that these lakes were formed when the god Shiva pierced a glacier with his trident. Local legends also claim that the water from Gosainkund, the main lake, flows underground to emerge from a spring at the Kumbeshwar Temple in Patan. There is a large white stone in the middle of the Gosainkund Lake that is believed to be the remains of a Shiva temple, and on the lake's shore, there is a shrine containing a large stone Shiva lingam.
This trek connects the Helambu and Langtang treks by way of the trail over the Surjakund pass, and it can be done in either direction. It is a good idea to have a guide for the section over the pass. During the warmer months of the main trekking seasons, there are lodges all along the route over Surjakund Pass. However, after late November, when snow begins to accumulate at the higher elevations, the lodges shut down. If you're planning to do this trek in the colder months, be sure to find out about trail conditions and whether lodges are open. For a truly fascinating experience, make this trek during the annual pilgrimage in August, which is in the middle of the monsoon season-expect to stay wet for most of the trek.
I describe the trek starting on the Langtang side and proceeding to Tharepati on the Helambu trek. Keep in mind that this trek does a lot of climbing very quickly, so it is both a strenuous trek and one on which you should be alert for symptoms of altitude sickness.
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