Upper Dolpa Trek

After enjoying our leisure time spent in Kathmandu , we fly to Nepalganj during daylight and in the evening we explore the beautiful city of Nepalganj . Early the next day we depart from our hotel and we fly to Juphal. The 45 minutes flight gives us the panoramic view of the giant Annapurna , the magnificent Dhaulagiri and the beautiful Kanjiroba peak. As we land at the airstrip at Juphal. We are greeted by our trek crew and from this point we commence our trek. While wandering through the terraced fields to the Bheri River we are led to Dunai, a large village and the administrative headquarter of the Dolpo region.

We follow the trails of the Suli Gad River listening to its roar and reach Hanke, the gateway to Phoksundo National Park . Leaving Hanke and crossing the trails of the Rinje we continue to follow the river track to reach the National Park office at Sumdo. On the way from Sumdo we ascend to a ridge from where we experience the most staggering view of the waterfall and we have our first glimpses to the Phoksundo Lake , looking beautiful in turquoise blue.

Camping on our way up & enjoying the wilderness of the region is what the trek to this area is made for. At Rigmo, a small village at the lakeside we can see the lifestyle of the people and their culture. Following the trail along the lake provides many picturesque scenes and the pleasure of viewing the lake so close. Moving our way through the trails of the Phoksundo Khola and passing through the Bhanjyang, we come to Shey Gompa (monastery known as Crystal Mountain ). Shey Gompa belongs to the Padmashambhava and Kagyu sects. The monastery was built in the 11 th century. We continue onward making our way where finally we reach the welcome sight of the pastures where grazing yak, sheep and nomadic tents made of yak fur. There we find the monastery called Namgung, which is of Karma-pa sect.

After leaving Namgung & climbing the scratchy slope and the dusty barren mountains we experience the picturesque village of Saldang , the largest village of the inner Dolpa area. Saldang belongs to the arid zone of the Trans Himalayan Tibetan plateau. The village is prosperous not only from agriculture but also for its strategic location on the trade route to Tibet . As we farewell Saldang and move onwards, we pass through terraced fields, stupas, chorten, heaps of Mani stones and the Chiba monastery. We also pass through the next village of Namdo and approach a small settlement of Sibu. Then we follow a pleasant meadow strewn with rocks, yak and other animals and cross the Jeng La.

We approach a rough track and descend to the Tarap Chu. Tarap is a dream valley with vast plains in high mountains extending 20 km along the river Tarap Chu with patches of grass on both sides of the river, completely unique and in contrast to other parts of inner Dolpa. Here we will see the blue sheep, marmots, yaks, sheep and goats and meet the shepherds taking their flock of sheep and goats to lower pastures.

We continue our walk down the Tarap Chu and then reach to the Khani Gaon. Here the quality of the foot trails varies from the broad, smooth and firm to very narrow and rocky.Leading us to the Tarakot, an old fortress known by the local people as Dzhong. Then we take our final pass to Dunai where we’ll have concluded the circuit and a celebration is sure to be had. Next we’ll move forward to Juphal from where we’ll fly back to Nepalganj and then from Nepalganj to Kathmandu.