Lower Dolpo Exploration Trek 2022

Upon arrival in Kathmandu a representative will meet you at the airport and transfer to your Hotel by car.

Rest day in Kathmandu to make final preparations for your trek. If you feel that you are adequately prepared and would like to have an escorted sightseeing tour of Kathmandu city, we will be glad to arrange it for you.

Fly to Nepalgunj, a major city in western Nepal. A flight of 1.5 hours. Transfer to hotel.

Transfer to the Nepalgunj Airport for an early morning flight to Jumla. From Jumla trek heading in a south-westerly direction, the trail passes through terraced fields of wheat, potato and barley and some small villages. It is a pleasant day’s walk to the village of Gothichour encounters with Dolpo-pa traders with their caravans of pack animals, laden with salt from Tibet, headed for the middle hills is likely. These traders supplement their income by selling their meager agricultural produce first in Tibet, in exchange for salt and then carrying the salt from there to the Nepalese middle hills. They sell the salt, buy more agricultural produce and repeat the cycle. It is amazing that most of this trade is carried on through a system of barter, almost as ancient as the hills themselves.

From here, the trail continues south-west to Manisangu, where there is a small police check post where you will need to show your trekking permit. After this has been examined you will continue to Sherpa Gaon. This is one of the few Sherpa enclaves in the Dolpo region and you will have the opportunity to witness Sherpa culture, as it used to be, unchanged by the onslaught of modernity. From Sherpa Gaon the trail follows a series of ups and downs to the village of Churta.

After a long day of constant climbing through hamlets, and the occasional forest, cross the first of the high passes on this trip – the Mauri La (4326m). From the pass you descend to the village of Chaurikot and on to camp. It is very likely that as you pass through villages in this region people will flock out of their houses to see you. Do not be alarmed. Some of these people have never seen westerners before are curious to find out more about them. You should ask for permission before taking photographs. People who have not seen cameras, ever, do not like strange objects which make funny sounds pointed at them!

From Chaurikot you follow a series of ups and downs to the village of Rimi, high above the north bank of the Bheri River and then head northwest along the Garpung Khola (Khola means small river), which is a major tributary of the Bheri to Hurikot. Continuing from Hurikot you cross the Garpung Khola to its southern bank and reach Kagmara La (5115m). As you pass through villages people may come out to you ask for medicines for headaches and various other aliments. Please DO NOT pass out medications unless you can determine the nature of the aliment and provide follow up medical care.

This is a day for you to spend acclimatizing to the high altitude and to get some real rest after the strenuous trekking of the last couple of days. You will need to go to bed early today to be able to wake up and make a very early start tomorrow.

Waking up early you start out, upwards, for the Kagmara La before the day gets hot and the sun melts teh snow (when there is some), making ascent difficult. This is going to be a long day. On the ascent to the pass the forest at first is quite dense and sighting are possible of the Red Panda and various kinds of birds. On the rare occasion you may be lucky and see markings of the black bear, snow leopard or the Himalayan wolf.. On still rare occasions you may see the animals themselves. After crossing the Kagmara La, the trail descends to Chouri Kharka from where magnificent views of the Kajiroba Himal are available. After descending for some time you arrive at a birch forest where water is available. Your camp will be set up at a grassy spot near the forest. It is possible to sight blue sheep on the opposite slopes but, you need a good pair of binoculars as these animals blend very well with the surrounding landscapes.”

Further decend to Dorjan Khola. Continue through the village of Pungmo to Suli Khola and then turning north you continue to the village of Ringmo. Ringmo is one of the enclaves where Bon Po is still practiced and is situated very close to Phoksundo Lake.

The icy waters give off a blue to turquoise color and a sunny day by the lake gives you some much needed rest. If the weather is good you can see the peaks of the Kanjiroba Himal and the other peaks surrounding Kagmara La. It is also possible to visit the Ringmo Monastery at the edge of the lake.

Set off from Ringmo, heading south back over the previous trail as far as the point where the trail meets the one from Kagmara La and then proceed further south to the village of Sumdowa. The headquarters of the National Park is located at Sumdowa. Trek further south along the Suli Gad River to the village of Aankhe on the east bank of the Suli Gad River.

Continue trekking south through the village of Roha Gaon to the settlement at Suli gad along the river and then continue to the large settlement of Dunai. Cross the river and head west towards the airfield at Juphal from where you will catch your flight to Nepalgunj and then to Kathmandu.

This is a spare day in Juphal, incase you are delayed getting there for a number of reasons, including sickness or injury to any of your group members. You will be booked onto the flight to Nepalgunj and then to Kathmandu the next day.

The flight to Nepalgunj is in mid-morning therefore there is no early morning rush to get to the airport. There will be a transit period of some hours in Nepalgunj before your flight to Kathmandu is called. Arrive in Kathmandu in the evening and transfer to your hotel.

These are cushion days in Kathmandu in case your return is delayed due to bad weather or other circumstances. Otherwise these days may be used for sightseeing around Kathmandu Valley or for overnight excursions. Our office in Kathmandu will be glad to assist you in planning any sight seeing tours or excursions.

Drop at Airport and take a life long memory of the wonderful trekking experience in Nepal.

Chang La Pass to Do Tarap.

Do Tarap to Ponga.

Ponga to Molung Sumna.

Molung Sumna to Bherol.

Bherol to Sangdak.

Sangdak to Shibsumba.

Shibsumba to Eklebhatti.

Eklebhatti to Jomsom.

Rest at Jomsom.

Fly Jomsom to Pokhara.

Drive Pokhara to Kathmandu and transfer to your hotel.

Transfer to airport and fly out of Nepal.