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| Rumjatar: Solukhambhu |
There's a runway in the hills of eastern Nepal that hasn't seen a scheduled flight in years. It sits on a plateau ringed with orange trees — the kind of orchard-and-airstrip skyline you don't expect until you're standing in it. This is Rumjatar, sometimes spelled Rumjhatar: a market town in Okhaldhunga District that spent decades as eastern Nepal's air gateway, and now does its work a different way, as the place where the road journey into Solu-Khumbu actually begins.
Where Is Rumjatar, Exactly?
Rumjatar sits on a tableland in Siddhicharan Municipality, Okhaldhunga District, about 12 km southeast of Okhaldhunga Bazaar, the district headquarters — and despite what its reputation suggests, it isn't actually in Solukhumbu.
The confusion is understandable. Rumjatar sits right against Solukhumbu's southern boundary, at roughly 1,370 meters, and for half a century it was the easiest way in or out of the district for anyone who didn't want to walk or drive the long way round. People from Solukhumbu used its airstrip. Trekking itineraries still list it as an entry point to Solu-Khumbu treks. So the place has absorbed a kind of honorary Solukhumbu identity, even though, on the map, it belongs to its neighbor.
The Plateau and Its Airstrip
Rumjatar Airport opened in September 1972, with a single short runway built to bring Kathmandu within an hour's flight of a district that otherwise meant days on foot.
For decades, Nepal Airlines and later Tara Air ran small aircraft in and out — Twin Otters and Dorniers, the workhorses of Nepal's hill airstrips — connecting Okhaldhunga, and the southern reaches of Solukhumbu and Khotang beyond it, to the capital. The runway sits at about 4,500 feet (1,370 m), short enough that only light aircraft ever used it, but for the people who relied on it, it was the difference between a one-hour flight and a multi-day walk.
Then the road caught up with it. Once the Mid-Hill Highway pushed a drivable route from Kathmandu through to Okhaldhunga, and pandemic lockdowns grounded what flights remained, the calculus changed: a bus ticket cost a fraction of the airfare, and didn't depend on mountain weather.
Local reporting describes the airport sitting largely idle since 2020, its usefulness overtaken by the very road network it once made unnecessary. Some trekking operators still quote flight fares to Rumjatar on their websites — whether that reflects an active schedule or simply outdated pricing pages is worth confirming directly before you build a trip around it.
Orchards, Carpets, and a Market Town's Quiet Economy
Away from the runway, Rumjatar runs on two much older things: oranges and wool.
The hillsides around the plateau carry orange orchards that ripen through the winter months, a common sight at this elevation band across Nepal's mid-hills, and a meaningful part of the local economy alongside subsistence farming. The town is also known regionally for handwoven wool rhadi — thick, densely felted blankets and rugs made on simple looms, a craft that's increasingly rare in areas closer to a road. Rumjatar's own bazaar still functions as the kind of small trading hub where produce, wool goods, and household supplies change hands on market days, much as they have for generations.
Rumjatar's Other Job: Gateway to Pikey Peak
Rumjatar is one of three standard entry points — alongside Phaplu and Jiri — for the Pikey Peak trek, a short, lower-altitude route into Solu-Khumbu that trades the long approach of Everest Base Camp for a faster look at the same mountains.
Pikey Peak itself, at 4,065 m, sits well inside Solukhumbu proper, named for a Sherpa clan deity and ringed with rhododendron forest. From its summit, on a clear day, the view runs across Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, and Kanchenjunga, along with closer peaks like Numbur Himal — a panorama that on most other routes requires days of altitude gain to earn. Itineraries that start from Rumjatar typically continue overland through Rumjatar Bazaar and on toward the trailhead at Dhap, rather than relying on the airstrip.
It's a smaller echo of an older pattern. Before Lukla's airport made fly-in trekking the default way to reach Khumbu, overland approaches through this belt of mid-hill Nepal — Jiri, Phaplu, and places like Rumjatar — were simply how you got to Everest. Pikey Peak's continued use of this corridor is less a revival than a reminder that the old route never fully closed, even after most trekkers stopped using it. If you've read about Gokyo Lake or the trekking corridor from Dharan to Taplejung, Rumjatar fits the same pattern: eastern Nepal's quieter, overland routes into territory most visitors only ever reach by air.
Okhaldhunga Bazaar and the Poet's Park
Twelve kilometers from Rumjatar, Okhaldhunga Bazaar is worth the short trip on its own — an old Newari market town that doubles as the district's administrative center.
The municipality that contains both towns, Siddhicharan, takes its name from the Nepali poet Siddhicharan Shrestha, and Okhaldhunga Bazaar holds a park dedicated to him — a quiet counterpoint to the trekking traffic passing through. Closer to Rumjatar itself, Sanitar Park sits just off the road to Rumjatar Bazaar, and Khani Danda is listed among the district's natural viewpoints, for travelers with an extra hour or two to spend before continuing on.
Getting to Rumjatar
By road, Rumjatar is about 215 km from Kathmandu, a 6-to-7-hour drive that runs through Dhulikhel and the BP Highway via Sindhuli and Khurkot, before turning north through Ghurmi to Okhaldhunga and on to Rumjatar itself.
Public buses and shared jeeps cover the route, and it's the same road many Pikey Peak itineraries use en route to the trailhead at Dhap. Expect the drive to run longer in the monsoon, when landslides periodically affect this stretch of hill road, and budget a rest stop in Okhaldhunga Bazaar — most itineraries build one in anyway. As for flying: don't plan around it without confirming current schedules first, given the airport's uncertain status in recent years.
Best Time to Visit
Spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November) bring the clearest mountain views and the most reliable trekking conditions on the Pikey Peak route, which is when most visitors pass through. Winter is quieter and colder, but it's also when the orange harvest is in full swing, if local agriculture is more your interest than alpine views.
Monsoon months (June to August) bring heavy rain, wetter trails, and a higher chance of road delays — worth avoiding unless you have flexible time built in.
Rumjatar at a Glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| District | Okhaldhunga (borders Solukhumbu) |
| Province | Koshi Province |
| Elevation | ~1,370 m (4,500 ft) |
| Distance from Okhaldhunga Bazaar | ~12 km |
| Distance from Kathmandu (road) | ~215 km / 6–7 hours |
| Known for | Orange orchards, rhadi carpets, former airstrip |
| Trekking role | Entry point for Pikey Peak trek (with Phaplu, Jiri) |
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Rumjatar located?
Rumjatar (also spelled Rumjhatar) sits on a plateau in Siddhicharan Municipality, Okhaldhunga District, Koshi Province, about 12 km southeast of Okhaldhunga Bazaar, the district headquarters, and right on the southern edge of Solukhumbu District.
Is Rumjatar in Solukhumbu district?
No — administratively, Rumjatar is in Okhaldhunga District. It's commonly associated with Solukhumbu because it borders the district and has long served as a road and former air gateway into the Solu-Khumbu region, but the place itself isn't inside Solukhumbu's boundary.
Can you still fly to Rumjatar Airport?
Flight status has been inconsistent. Local reporting indicates the airport stopped operating after the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, once a road connected Okhaldhunga to Kathmandu, though some trekking operators still list flight fares. Confirm current schedules directly with Nepal Airlines, Tara Air, or a local trekking agency before planning around a flight.
What is Rumjatar known for?
Rumjatar is known locally for its orange orchards and handwoven wool rhadi carpets, for its now-quiet airstrip built in 1972, and regionally as a road and trekking gateway into Solu-Khumbu, including the Pikey Peak trek.
Is Rumjatar a stop on the Pikey Peak Trek?
Yes. Rumjatar is one of three commonly used entry points for the Pikey Peak trek, alongside Phaplu and Jiri, and some itineraries route through Rumjatar Bazaar on the way to the trailhead at Dhap.
How do you get to Rumjatar from Kathmandu?
The standard route is by road: roughly 215 km, taking 6 to 7 hours via Dhulikhel, the BP Highway through Sindhuli and Khurkot, then north through Ghurmi to Okhaldhunga and on to Rumjatar. Travel time can run longer in the monsoon.
A Place That Works Better as a Passage Than a Postcard
Rumjatar was never really built to be a destination, and it doesn't try to be one now. It's a plateau that happened to be flat enough for a runway, and a runway that happened to outlive its own usefulness once a road came through. What's left is something more interesting than either: a working market town, an orchard economy, and a road junction that still quietly does the job it always did — getting people into Solu-Khumbu, just by a different method than fifty years ago. If you're heading toward Pikey Peak, or just curious about the towns that hold eastern Nepal's trekking routes together, Rumjatar is worth the stop it asks for.
Sources & Further Reading
- Rumjatar, Wikipedia
- Rumjatar Airport, Wikipedia
- Rumjatar Airport (VNRT), SKYbrary Aviation Safety
- Rumjatar Airport — Brief Description, Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal
- Rumjatar Airport Closed After Road Connection, Nepalese Voice
- Pikey Peak Trek, Nepal Everest Base Camp (entry-point reference)
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