What Kind of Food Is Available During the Langtang Trek?

Spending 7 days near the mountains in the Langtang region does sound exciting, doesn’t it?

But, what will you be eating when you are there?

What Kind of Food Is Available During the Langtang Trek?

From spaghetti to local Nepali staple food, i.e., DalBhat, you will find many kinds of healthy and tasty food at different teahouses during the Langtang trek.

On your Langtang trek, you will find many teahouses en route which offers a variety of food and accommodation options. They prepare healthy food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner that serves to vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian preferences of the trekkers. Along with food, you will find a range of options for drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.

In this article, we will discuss the various food options you will get to enjoy in the teahouses along the trail. Other than the meals, you will find different snacks such as chocolates, nuts, energy bars etc while on the trek. But they cost higher than they cost in Kathmandu. So, it is a good idea to get these snacks from Kathmandu or home depending on your personal preferences.

Breakfast on Langtang Trek

Do you also find breakfast the most important meal of the day, like me? A good breakfast fuels you for the day and keeps you walking on the trekking trails.  On the Langtang trek, you will walk for 6-7 hours each day. For such longer walks, you must start with a fulfilling breakfast.

On your trek, the teahouses usually start serving breakfast from 7.00-9.00 in the morning. This makes it perfect because you can start your trek around 8.00 am. And, if you start after breakfast you can reach your destination for the day before dark.

The menu for the breakfast is similar in most of the teahouses. Mainly, bread, eggs, potatoes, pancakes soup etc. are the popular food options for breakfast. Here is the list of food items that you may find on the breakfast menu in the Langtang teahouses.

Bread and Chapati

• Plain Toast
• Plain Toast with Jam or Honey
• French Toast
• Cheese Toast
• Tibetan Bread
• Plain Chapati
• Chapati with Honey, Peanut Butter. Eggs and Baked Beans

Eggs

• Boiled Eggs
• Plain Omelettes
• Scrambled Eggs
• Fried Eggs
• Veg Omelettes
• Cheese Omelettes

Pancakes

• Plain Pancake
• Pancake with Jam or Honey
• Apple Pancake
• Chocolate Pancake

Porridge and Puddings

• Oat Porridge
• Tsampa Porridge
• Apple Porridge
• Honey porridge
• Porridge with cinnamon and raisins
• Muesli with hot milk
• Cornflakes with hot milk
• Rice pudding
• Chocolate pudding

Soup

• Garlic Soup
• Tomato Soup
• Mushroom Soup
• Mixed Soup

In most of the teahouses, you will find organic and locally produced food items and veggies. It will replenish you with energy so that you can start off your trek properly.

Lunch on Langtang Trek

Post breakfast and 2-3 hours of trek, you may eat your lunch in the teahouses that you find on the trail. Usually, the time for lunch is from 11 a.m. to 12 noon. Latest by 1.00 p.m., you will have your lunch.

Langtang region is a remote place without transportation facilities. Either mules or helicopters transport food items to the higher altitudes. So, the locals bring durable and imperishable grains such as rice, lentils, etc which make up most of the lunch menu items.

Rice, lentils and vegetable curry is a popular lunch set for the trekkers in the trail as it is cheaper than other lunch options and is fulfilling at the same time. You will also find a number of options for western food items such as noodles, pasta, spaghetti, etc available on the menu.

Mostly, in the lunch menu, you will find carbohydrate-rich foods so that you get enough calories to keep you going throughout the trek. Here are the food items that you may find in the lunch menu.

Rice

• Dal Bhat (Veg)
• Dal Bhat (Non-veg)
• Rice with chicken curry
• Rice with veg curry
• Cheese fried rice
• Veg fried rice
• Egg fried rice
• Tuna fried rice
• Mixed fried rice

Noodles

• Veg fried noodles
• Egg fried noodles
• Fried noodles with cheese
• Mixed fried noodles

Pasta and Macaroni

• Veg fried pasta
• Cheese fried pasta
• Pasta with cheese and tomato sauce
• Plain macaroni
• Macaroni with vegetables, cheese, and egg
• Mix macaroni

Spaghetti

• Spaghetti with tuna, cheese, and tomato sauce
• Cheese Spaghetti with tomato sauce
• Spaghetti with tomato sauce
• Vegetable Spaghetti with tomato sauce

Momos

• Veg momo
• Buff momo
• Chicken Momo
• Cheese momo
• Potato momo

Pizza

• Chicken pizza
• Mushroom pizza
• Mixed pizza

Generally, these are the food that you find in most of the teahouses. But, you can get other food items depending on the teahouses. Please do note that your food options become limited as you go to the higher altitudes.

Dinner on Langtang Trek

After a day of walking, you will finally have your dinner at the teahouse you may stay in. The teahouses will serve you with hot, freshly cooked delicious dinner that will keep you warm near the mountains. This will help you sleep better and your body can rest well.

Normally, the teahouses serve dinner from 7.30 p.m. to 9.00 p.m. The food options for dinner are similar to the lunch menu. You may choose Nepali DalBhat or any other item you like.

Water on Langtang Trek

Drinking water throughout your trek helps you avoid any serious health problems such as altitude sickness. It also keeps you healthy and hydrated throughout the trek so that you can complete it successfully.

You can get boiled and safe drinking water at the teahouses. You can also buy mineral water bottles for $0.20-$0.25 (in lower regions) or $1.2-$1.4 (in higher regions).

But, you can get tap water for free in the teahouses and in the trekking trails. So, if you carry a water bottle and water purification tablets or purifiers, you can make the local water hygienic and drinkable.

Along the trail, you will also find many natural water sources. While trekking, you can fill your water bottle, purify it and drink it as well.

Drinks on Langtang Trek

Teahouses offer you many drink options, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. But, even though there are many options available in the trek, it is good to avoid alcoholic drinks and caffeine in the high altitudes as it dehydrates your body.  Here is a list of the drinks that you may find in your Langtang trek.

Tea

• Black Tea
• Milk Tea
• Ginger Tea
• Lemon Tea

Coffee

• Black Coffee
• Milk Coffee

Other Than Tea/Coffee

• Ginger Honey Lemon
• Honey Lemon

Alcohol

• Local Wine
• Beer
• Rum
• Vodka

Desert/ Cold Drinks/ Hard Drinks

Food and Cost

During your Langtang trek, as you proceed higher you will have to pay more for food and drink. Generally, in the lower regions like Syabrubesi, a plate of food, for either breakfast, lunch or dinner, may cost between $2-$3. But, in higher altitudes, you may have to pay $6-$7 for the same plate of food.

This is because of the lack of transportation facilities in the higher altitudes. The teahouses in the higher regions can only get goods either by mules or helicopters. So, to get the same goods in higher altitude is a lot more expensive than in the lower regions even for the teahouses. You will, of course, have to pay more for the food services there.

Is Food on the Trail Healthy?

Yes, all the food and drinks offered by the teahouses during the Langtang trek is healthy. The teahouses normally use local organic products to prepare food items. Even if they serve packaged foods, they make sure that they are not served beyond their expiry date.

In most of the teahouses, you will get safe and drinkable water. They boil and filter the water to make it safe for consumption.

But, in higher altitudes such as Kang Jin Gompa and Langtang village, there is the problem in storing the meat products because of lack of electricity. So, the meat products you find there may not always be fresh and safe.  So, it is wise to stick to vegetarian food options on the menu.

Conclusion

As much as eating healthy on the Langtang trek is important, you should also maintain healthy habits such as washing your hands or using sanitizers. The only way you can get the best of trekking adventures is by keeping yourself fit and eating healthy.