Kanchenjunga Base Camp Trek in April

The lower trail is where April earns its rating. Amjilosa at 2,380m sits just under the 2,500m floor of the rhododendron band, while Gyabla at 2,725m, Tortong at 2,995m and Ghunsa at 3,415m all sit inside it. The colour therefore comes twice, on days 6 and 7 going in and again on day 16 coming out, ten days apart. The tour notes describe the canopy blooming red, pink and white.

Between the trees are the villages. They are Limbu and Rai in character, with millet terraces and bamboo houses, according to the tour notes, and the five and six hour walking days of the first week pass through them. That makes the opening days of an April trek the cultural half of the trip, long before the glacier country starts.

Above the treeline the shape of the day changes. Khambachen and Lhonak are warmer than in winter but still frosty at night, and the clearest hours are the first ones. The Pangpema day on day 11 is best started early for exactly that reason. On day 15 at Oktang, the tour notes put Jannu at 7,711m to the west and the Yalung Glacier below the mountain’s south face, and old snow on the shaded sides of the passes the day before is the most the season usually leaves behind.

April is the busiest of the spring months on a route where busy is a relative word. Other parties are few even now, and most nights you share a teahouse with your own crew.

The simplicity does not change with the season. Facilities above Tseram stay basic, and the long distance from the road still means a slower evacuation if something goes wrong.

Spring roads are workable. Day 3 is the long day and day 4 the short one, and Sekathum at 1,575m gives a warmer night than Taplejung did. Pre-monsoon cloud becomes more common through April, so an early flight to the eastern lowlands is the safer pick. On day 20 the drive from Kanyam to the lowlands is followed by the flight to Kathmandu, so a delayed morning drive can push the flight into the afternoon cloud.