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The Upper Dolpo Trek is so much more than “off the beaten track”. This is a whole other world. Dolpo is an extremely remote and spectacular corner of the Himalaya, isolated from the rest of Nepal by high passes in the south. This trek itself is one major highlight.
Dolpa is a unique region, isolated from the rest of Nepal by high passes in the south. This camping trek in untouched Dolpa, is truly a unique experience. Upper Dolpo is the highest area of the region.
The Upper Dolpo Trek itself, is actually one major highlight. But, to name 2 places along this route in particular we name: Dho and Phoksundo Lake.
Dho is a village in the beautiful valley of Dho Tarap, a remote valley of pure Tibetan influence. It consists of several clusters of closely packed stone houses. Scattered across the valley, you find numerous Buddhist monasteries and chortens. For instance, above the village you find the beautiful Ribo Bhumpa Gompa.
The lake of Phoksundo is north to Ringmo, a village that’s located on a 30,000 to 40,000 year-old landslide dam. This dam formed the lake on one side and a 167 meter tall waterfall on the other side. The lake is surrounded by glaciers and known by its magnificent turquoise color.
Welcome in Nepal! We will pick you up at the international airport in Kathmandu, and bring you to your hotel in the backpackers area of Thamel.
airport transfer – hotel
After a good night of sleep and hopefully beating the jetlag, we will meet again for a pre-trip meeting. We will introduce you to your mountain guide and we will discuss the itinerary. If you have any questions or requests, please let us know.
Note: please, make sure you bring your passport to the meeting, along with your travel insurance policy. Carry both the original policy and a copy for us. We wil also request you to clear the due balance, if any.
What’s next? You can use this day to adjust to the different timezone, altitude and climate. Also, you can prepare yourself for your trek and do some last shoppings at one of the many outdoor gear shops around your hotel.
breakfast – hotel
Today, we take the bus to Nepalganj. This will take about 9 hours. Nepalganj is a city southwest from Kathmandu, near the border with India.
breakfast – bus – hotel
Option: To save time, you can opt for a 55-minute flight to Nepalganj, instead of taking the bus. This would give you the opportunity to visit bazaars and surrounding villages that are populated by different ethnic people. We can also visit the holy temple of Bageshori. Contact us for more details.
Early morning, we go to the airport and catch our flight to the village of Juphal (2,320 m). During the 30 minutes flight, we see a rapid change of the landscape below us. It changes from the flat Terai to hills covered by paddy rice fields to the first high mountains of Dolpa.
From Juphal we walk to our campsite in Dunai (2,850 m) where we’ll spend the night.
breakfast – airport transfer – domestic flight – lunch & dinner – tented camp
Today we trek to Lingdo (2,391 m). From Dunai the trail goes a little bit upward and downward, along the Thuli Bheri river and we pass a Buddhist village. A part of the trail is made out of rocks and is narrow at times.
breakfast, lunch & dinner – tented camp
Our trek up to Laina Odar (3,370 m) follows a trail that moves upward slowly. Again on this day the trail ascends upward over the Thuli Bheri river towards the suspension bridge. Today our trek has strenuous ascends.
breakfast, lunch & dinner – tented camp
As a start, the trail moves in the small pass taking for about 45 minutes. From the pass it appears as an easy walk enticing some ascends. A major part of this day we trek through a lovely smelling pine forest. In about 4 hours we will arrive in Nawarpani (3,575 m) we spend the night.
breakfast, lunch & dinner – tented camp
From Nawarpani we trek to Sisaul today. Also today the trail is trouble free. However, in some parts the trekking trail is attractively carved out of rocks. The day ends with an ascend for about half an hour till Chorten and then Sisaul (3,750 m).
breakfast, lunch & dinner – tented camp
Today the trail takes us upward to a tiny pass where we step into the valley of Dho Tarap (4,080 m). In Dho Tarap we pass several small chortens and mani walls and get a view over houses that are built in a Tibetan style.
breakfast, lunch & dinner – tented camp
It’s mainly a day to rest and let our body get more comfortable with the altitude and climate. Nevertheless, we can explore the area a little bit with a short hike or explore the village of Dho Tarap.
breakfast, lunch & dinner – tented camp
Today is an important day as we are trekking to Numa La Base Camp (4,440 m). At the end of the village we can visit the gompa which is merit to visit as well. This gompa also consists an attractive statue of Maitreya.
breakfast, lunch & dinner – tented camp
Today is an exciting day as we climb over 800 meters to cross Numa La pass (5,318 m). We start our day early morning for a strenuous climb for about 3 hours. Once at the pass, if the weather is clear, we will be rewarded with views over an amazing range of snowcapped mountains such as Manaslu, Annapurna, the Shey Shikar and many more. On the other side of the pass we descend about 600 meters again to Danigar (4,631 m) where we spend the night.
breakfast, lunch & dinner – tented camp
This is another beautiful trekking day which we begin early morning. Today we have an excellent outlook on the Norbung Kang and the Baga La range. the smooth and easy but regular walk takes us up to Yak Kharka (3,982 m), which is another perfect spot to set up our camp.
breakfast, lunch & dinner – tented camp
Now we trek to Ringmo (3,660 m) and Phoksundo Lake (3,612 m). As we leave Yak Kharka we level up and downhill by fleeting many levels to the tiny pass. Those motivating passes show us the way to the woodland of pines and accompanied by the loving varied sounds of birds. As soon as we get ahead of the thick forests we arrive at Ringmo and Phoksundo Lake.
breakfast, lunch & dinner – tented camp
Today we explore and enjoy the beautiful area of Ringmo and of course the turquoise Phoksundo Lake.
breakfast, lunch & dinner – tented camp
It’s time to trek down again. We trek via Rechi (2,940 m) to Chhepka (2,520 m). Today we trek through the stunning pine forest, birches, bushes and spare broad tress. We also get to view the river very well today.
breakfast, lunch & dinner – tented camp
Today the trek takes us back to Juphal (2,475 m) in about four hours. We follow a trail along a mountain ridge with the river next to us and pass the tiny settlement of Kalagauda (2,070 m). Depending on the season the area is a pasture of wheat, barley but also walnut and apricot.
breakfast, lunch & dinner – tented camp
Early morning, we catch the flight back to Nepalganj and go back to the hotel. Here, you can finally take a good shower, and relax.
breakfast – domestic flight – airport transfer – hotel
Option: To save time, you can opt for a 55-minute flight to Kathmandu, instead of taking the bus. This would give you the opportunity to spend an extra day exploring Kathmandu. Contact us for more details.
Today, we catch the bus back to Kathmandu. This will take about 9 hours.
In the evening, we would like to offer you and your guide a farewell dinner together in a traditional Nepalese restaurant.
breakfast – bus – hotel
If it’s the final day of your holiday in Nepal, we will bring you back to the international airport. Goodbye friends! We hope that we will meet each other again in the future.
breakfast – airport transfer
Tailored according to your own preferences and budget
With Govinda & Lilly in English or Dutch.
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