Lower Dolpo Trek 18 Days

• Immediately after breakfast you will go on a sightseeing tour of Kathmandu Valley. With several World Heritage Sites in the valley, Kathmandu is indeed an enchanting place. You will visit the Durbar Squares, Swayambhunath and Bauddhanath. Later in the evening your guide you provide you a brief about the upcoming trek.

• After breakfast, we will head to the airport for a flight to Nepalgunj. The one-hour flight will take you to western Nepal, the starting point of the trek. While the Tarai-town of Nepalgunj can get hot, you can enjoy indoors relaxing, or if you choose, go see the town. Stay overnight at a hotel in Nepalgunj.

• Early in the morning, we take a flight from Nepalgunj to the town of Jhupal in Dolpo. It’s a 45-minute flight to Jhupal, which has pleasant weather as compared to Nepalgunj. At 2,320 meters, you can have wonderful views of mountains in the north on a clear day. You’ll also have a quick meet up with your trekking team at Jhupal, where our actual trekking begins - taking you through vegetation and farms, and the Bheri gorge before arriving at Dunai for the overnight stay.

• Start early and trek along the Bheri river. The trail is easy for most part - and is lined with several geographical formations such as gorges, ridges, and terraces. You will see that the settlement is sparse and the trail is lined with thick pine forests. Walking for about six hours today from Dunai, we will arrive at Tarakot, a beautiful village, where we will stay for the night.

• Today you will be heading towards Laini, a rural village in the Dolpo region. The walking duration is six to seven hours, and takes you to an elevation of 3,160 meters above the sea level. Along the way you will visit Sandul Gompa at the junction of Barbung and Tarap Chu rivers. In Laini, we camp for the night.

• Starting after a leisurely morning, we first do a steep climb on the trail and then walk some more via a narrow gorge. The walk is not so easy, but it’s a pleasant one with scenic wonders and a complete immersion in Nature. Today you will be walking for around five hours before arriving at Nawarpani for the night.

• After breakfast, we ascend to a place called Kamattarka where Tarap Chu river forms a junction with Lang river. The gorge is narrow and crossing it is an adventure in itself. Further, we trek through forests and bushes for a couple of hours before coming to Do Tarap, a typical village in the Dolpo region. The walking distance is around eight hours today, and you will have a good night’s sleep relaxing your muscles.

• Get up at leisure and walk around the village. After breakfast, you can take short hikes around the monasteries and other places nearby. While it might look Tibetan, the culture is close fusion with Nepali and Magar cultures as well. The people here practice Bon Po religion and Nyingmapa tradition. You will see little intervention of modernism in the lifestyle. Stay overnight in Do Tarap.

• From Do Tarap, we trek to Upper Tarap in the morning. The trail is lined by green grasslands and a river flowing quietly. The expansive landscape of Dolpo will overwhelm you with its beauty, with views of mountains in the backdrop at several places. Hard to believe but in this region, at close quarters, you can find the village of Tokyu with a monastery belonging to the Chiba sect! Climbing up from the monastery, you will arrive at Numa-La Base Camp at 4,440 meters where you’ll stay for the night.

• Start early as you will be doing a difficult trek of around six to seven hours via different landscapes. Crossing the Numa-La Pass, we will follow the steep trail climbing up to the ridge. Although the trek is difficult, the views are great! After a stopover at the ridge click and shooting Mt. Dhaulagiri, we descent to Pelung Tang where we’ll camp for the night.

• After breakfast, start along the steep trail to arrive at Baga-La Pass. This pass is where you will have magnificent views of the mountains including Kanjirowa - a beautiful mountain of the Himalayas. The landscape is dry and windy but we descend to Dajok Tang for the night.

• The trek today is an easier one and a shorter one too. Walking just three to four hours today, you will arrive at Ringmo, a traditional village in the Dolpo region. First the trail goes beside alpine forests and shrubs. With plenty of stopovers and photographs, the trek today is enjoyable throughout. At night, stay at Ringmo at 3,600 meters.

• After a leisurely morning and a leisurely breakfast, we hike to Lake Foksundo. The lake is iconic with its deep blue waters and the panoramic views are simply stunning! We will camp at the shores of the the lake and enjoy the environment. If you’ve watched Eric Valley’s Caravan, you will immediately identify the landscape and the lake itself!

After spending a relaxing night near this iconic lake, you will trek down to Check, further on to a rocky terrain and then pass through several villages before arriving at Shyanta for the night. The trek today takes around five to six hours with brief breaks.

• Pack your bags, and start gradually from Shyanta. Since it’s not a long trek today, we will have plenty of time for breaks and photography. Crossing Sulighat, we enjoy splendid views of the mountains over-shadowing the village of Jhupal. Upon reaching Jhupal, spend the rest of the day relaxing or see around the market.

• Start early for the airport, and catch a flight to Nepalgunj, at Nepalgunj, we will take a connecting flight to Kathmandu. What seems like an instant, you will have traveled from the remote western part of Nepal into the busy capital of Kathmandu in a matter of hours. Spend the rest of the day in your hotel or spend it as you see fit around town.

• As the program comes to a close, we will take you to the airport according to your scheduled time of flight.