Lower Dolpo Trek

Welcome to Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. You will be greeted by a representative of Mission Nepal Holiday’s at the airport and transferred to your hotel for overnight as per itinerary. In the evening, you can enjoy the cultural dinner at your hotel.

On this day, we have a sightseeing tour of Kathmandu. We visit Boudhanath stupa, a Buddhist pilgrimage spot; Swayambhunath, Pashupatinath, a holy temple and Kathmandu Durbar Square. The tour gives you a taste of our vivid Nepali culture and history.

We take you to Kathmandu domestic airport to make you fly to Nepalgunj. It is about 1 hour flight. Nepalgunj is situated near the Nepal- India border. The town itself is an interesting Terai town of Nepal which offer taste of both Hindu and Muslim cultures. Major sightseeing places in Nepalgunj include Mini Zoo and Muslim Bazaar. We spend our night at Nepalgunj.

After having breakfast, we fly to Juphal from Nepalgunj which takes about 35minute where. Annapurna and Dhaulagiri Range come to our eyesight. When we arrive at Juphal our trek starts. Our first day trail descends through local villages below the airstrip. We pass through the terraced fields and along the bank of Bheri River. We need to walk 2-3 hour to reach Dunai which is the headquarter of Dolpa. We explore tradition, culture and lifestyle of people. There is a Bonpo community- Dolpo Bon School and a beautiful Bonpo Stupa which was established with an assemble of Bonpo Lamas and prominent people from different Bonpo villages of Dolpa. We spend our night at Dunai.

After breakfast in Dunai, we start our trek to Tarakot. Today, we walk along the bank of Bheri River and Bharbung Khola gorge. The trail passes through pine woods and open terraced fields with beautiful landscapes in the background to reach Tarakot. Tarakot is an old fortress town built by the local people as Dzong located on a hillock to the south of Bheri River. It was the capital of ancient independent kingdom Tichorung. The famed Sandul Gompa lies farther east from Tarakot and the junction of Barbung Khola and Tarup Chu Khola. Most of the innate of this village belong to Magar community and most of them practice Tibetan Buddhism as their religion. We stay overnight at Tarakot.

After breakfast we leave for Laini. It takes 6 to 7 hours. We follow the trail on the southern bank of Bheri River. When we cross the suspension bridges of Bheri River, we follow the Bharbung Khola, Tarap Khola and head north to Khanigaon which is the winter residents of the Dho – Tarap people. It offers the wonderful view of Sandul Gompa across the valley and view of Putha Hiunchuli and Churen Himal Range. The route passes through terraced farming inside some beautiful villages. Then we walk downwards for some time to reach Laini. We spend our night at Laini.

After breakfast at Laini we start our trek to Nawarpani. On the way we follow Tarap Chu River, deep gorges with scary cliffs above them. We continue our trek on easy trail paved with wooden planks and flat stones that bring us to Chhyugar. After cross of a small stream and couple of hours walk, we reach Toltol, a settlement of winter refuge for the people of Upper Dolpo. Walking little furthermore, we reach Nawarpani. We stay overnight at Nawarpani.

Most of the time of this day, we walk along the bank of Tarap Khola. We pass through Kamattarka, Ghyamghar, Sisaul and Langa Khola. On the way of Dho Tarap, there is an ancient Bon monastery called ‘Merbu Samten Ling’. At last of this day trek, we walk downhill to Dho Tarap. The village is wide valley surrounded by stone walls and famous trading point to the traders of Tibet and Mustang in the olden days. This valley is occupied by Bonpo, Chaiba groups, Tibetans and Magars. They have lived for many generations. We spend night at Do Tarap.

Today, we take off from trekking and spend a day exploring Dho Tarap. We also prepare for upcoming day. We visit monasteries and enjoy the breathtaking views around village. Today we have opportunity to learn and understand the local culture, their tradition and lifestyle. Most of the people follow Bonpo and Nyigmapa Buddhist sect. Dolpo people wear home spun clothing that is sometimes maroon and they favor Tibetan style Docha for foot wear. Both men and women often wear religious amulets and strings of coral, amber and turquoise. The Bon Gompa is near to the village we reach it about half an hour walk. We spend our night in Do Tharap.

After breakfast at Do Tarap, we trek to Numa La Base Camp. It is about 6 to 7 hours walk. We walk along the bank of Tarap Chu River and uphill towards Tokyu village. It is a traditional village with graceful Khani gait and monastery of Chiba Group. We cross bridge to Khanger and walk over rough path for about three hours to reach Numa La Base Camp. We spend our night at Numa La Base Camp.

After breakfast, we cross Numa La Pass which is hardest, technical and extensive trek. The trail goes to a steep climb all the way to the top ridge of Numa La with amazing views of the surrounding landscapes, valleys and mountains. We can see Dhaulagiri massif along with other snow - capped peaks. When we cross Numa La, we move downwards about 3 hours to Pelung and set the camp. We stay overnight at tented camp.

Today, we climb up to the Baga La which is tough to climb but provides astonishing views of the dry landscape and the snow - capped peaks of Kanjirowa Mountain Range. We spend some time at the top of the pass for enjoying the views and capturing the sceneries. After collecting the memory from Baga La Pass, we hike downward for three hours to reach Dajok Tang. We stay overnight at Dajok.

The destination of our day is Ringmo village. After having breakfast we start our trek. We walk through an attractive pine forest and alpine vegetation for about 3 – 4 hours to reach Ringmo village. It is the traditional village with Tibetan ethnicity and they follow the Bonpo religion. People are engaged in trade, yak herding and tourism. Ringmo is the major attraction of every trek in Dolpo which have several monasteries (Gompas) and Bonpo religious sites. We stay overnight at Ringmo.

After breakfast, we start our trek from Ringmo to Phoksundo Lake. We explore the wonderful natural sites and enjoy our natural tour. Phoksundo Lake is the major highlights of this trek. It is an alpine freshwater oligotrophic lake which lies on the Shy Phoksundo National Park. It is spread over the area of 1.91square kilometer. It is the deepest (145meter) lake of Nepal with spectacular scenery. We explore the area around the lake. Buddhists and followers of Bonpo religion believe that the lake contains an underwater palace and a tantric mandala of spirits. When we explore around the lake, we find many beautiful glaciers.

After having breakfast, we start our trek to reach Chhepka which takes 5 to 6 hours. Chhepka village’s top point offers us last view of the beautiful Phoksundo Lake. We walk along the bank of river and pass through several villages, forest areas of pines and birches with gradual uphill and downhill climb. We spend our night at lodge of Chhepka.

Today our destination is Juphal. It takes 5 to 6 hours. We pass through Shyanta and Kageni village. The trail is downhill and uphill. After little walk, we trek through a woody path that leads us to the check post of Shy Phoksundo National Park. On the way, we cross the bridge over Dhim Khola. We trek along the narrow path and beautiful fields of barley and wheat. After several hours of walk, we finally reach Juphal which is the end point of our trek. We stay overnight at Juphal.

Today, we fly from Juphal to Nepalgunj by early morning flight and return Kathmandu on the next available flight. After reaching Kathmandu, we transfer to our hotel. To celebrate the successful completion of our journey, we have a farewell dinner in the evening. This is our last night in Nepal.

Today is our last day in Kathmandu. After having breakfast, our company representatives assist you to get to the airport as per your flight departure time. Mission Nepal holiday pray for your safe journey and hope to see you again.