Upper Dolpa Trek

Upon landing at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, you will be greeted by our representative from Tourist Link Treks & Expedition who will then convey you through the vibrant streets in Kathmandu to the hotel where you will receive a brief explanation regarding your trekking package. You will spend a pleasant night in the comfy bed.

Taking light breakfast early in the morning, our guide will then take you for a pleasant day tour inside Kathmandu which encompasses the UNESCO enlisted sites like the holiest shrine of Shiva at Pashupatinath Temple Complex, the Bouddhanath Stupa, and Swayambhunath Temple aka Monkey Temple. The tour will conclude by taking you to Kathmandu Durbar Square which is a historical site. Home of Living Goddess- Kumari, Kasthamandap Temple, and Kal Bhairab are some must-see sites around Kathmandu Durbar Square.

An hour-long flight with a beautiful aerial view of mountains and terraces will lead us to the western central hub of Nepalgunj. Positioned in Western Terai, Nepalgunj is located near the Indian border which makes it an important trade center for Nepal.

About 35minutes of scenic flight from Nepalgunj will take us to Jumla. The gratifying trekking experience gets triggered in Jumla as we make our way to Tila Khola and pass along its confluence to Chaudabise. From Chaudabise, we will follow the raised path through terraces and woods to the plain land at Gothichaur.

We will begin our trek early in the morning. Walking along Tila Khola, we will walk past the fields of corn, buckwheat, barley and potatoes from where the trail stretches through the Maniwals to the pretty small Buddhist Village of Napakhola which will bless us with an opportunity to familiarize ourselves with the culture and ways of living of friendly locals.

Leaving Napakhola early in the morning, we will follow the steep trail which will lead us to the forest of oak and rhododendrons. Later, we will choose the raised path to Mauria Lagna also known as Honey Pass. Enjoying the scenic views of valley from the top, we will take a downward trail through Chaurikot Village to a river from where the trail escalates uphill to the ridge at 3080m. Balasa exists about 30 minutes far from the ridge.

Trekking on the 7th day begins immediately after having a light breakfast. We will make an advance through the trail that escalates uphill. The path progresses through thorn bushes to eventually arrive at Hurikot. It takes about 6 hours duration to complete the journey to Hurikot which is located at 2835m altitude height.

The trail on this day begins getting steeper. Following the trail, we will arrive at the rough terrain of Kagmara Phedi which is considered the basecamp for Kagmara. We will be staying overnight at the foothill of Kagmara La as the next day, we will be having a bit difficult ascent of Kagmara La.

Climbing alongside the Kagmara Glacier, we will ascend through the bit strenuous trail towards the apex of Kagmara La where we will enjoy the scenic views of mountains from the summit before taking a downward trail to Pungmo Khola from where we will follow the trail that offers the gratifying view of Kanjirowa peak to Pungmo Village.

Moving further ahead, we will arrive at an entrance of Shey Phoksundo National Park in Suduwa from where we will make progress to Shey Phoksundo Lake. Indulging ourselves in the beauty of the crystalline water of Shey Phoksundo Lake, we will pass through the cascading waterfall to Pine Forest where we will be staying overnight in a camp.

The trekking on 11th day begins early in the morning. It takes about 6hours of walking through the streams, woods and a valley to arrive at Gand La Base Camp where we will be staying overnight.

Shey Gompa which is also known as ‘Crystal Mountain’ is the Bonpo monastery which locates itself at an altitude of 4500m height in the most isolated part of Dolpo where the locals still practice shamanism. Shey Gompa Monastery was built around 800years back and it belongs to Chaiba community.

Leaving the wonderful Shey Gompa premises, we will move further to Lagmo Che Phedi. Lagmo Che Phedi is a high camp destination that exists below the Jeng La pass on the northern side between Saldang and Dho Tarap. We will stay overnight in a camp at Lagmo Che Phedi.

Kyung La Base Camp exists near Shering Gompa and it demands a special permit to step into the land of Kyung La base camp. We will have a strenuous trek with scenic views that passes through dispersed settlements to arrive at Kyung La Base Camp where we will be staying overnight.

About 7 hours of walking will be enough to shift us from Kyung La Base Camp to the Tokkyu village. The pleasant trekking begins with an ascend to the summit of Jeng La Peak from where we will follow the downward trail towards the pretty small highland village that is known as Tokkyu Village.

Continuing through the trail that lowers down, we will walk past a huge mani wall to make it to the Tarap region. Advancing further through the barley fields, we will eventually arrive at the village of Dho where we will be staying overnight.

Leaving Tarap Valley, we will chase the trail that lowers down through the wide valley to a gorge. A brief trek through juniper bush and wild rose will lead us to the confluence of Tarap Khola and Lang Khola which is popular among locals as Kamakharka. We will pitch our camp at the bank of Tharap Khola.

It is taken as the rest day. We will be preparing ourselves for the trekking to be done in the upcoming days. If you are interested, we can arrange a short hike to a nearby village which will allow us to be acquainted with the rural way of living.

From Lahini, we will make an advance through the wide Valley where the Laskap River meets with Tarap Khola. Progressing further, we will make it to Kamigoan village which is located at 2950m altitude. Kamigaon Village is the winter residence of people from Tarap village. Walking down to the river, we will reach to the Barbung Khola from where we will reach the Tarakot Village.

Continuing our journey through Barbung Khola, we will move through the southern edge of Laban Village to Dabung which further leads us to Dunai which is the district headquarter of Dolpa. We will be staying overnight in Dunai.

We will follow the short and easy trail all the way to Juphal which is located at 2345m altitude height. Since we will be catching the plane from Airport at Juphal only the next day, we will stay in a lodge at Juphal for the night where we will be busy packing things for our departure to Nepalgunj and to Kathmandu.

A brief yet pleasant flight of about 30 minutes duration from the airstrip at Juphal will take us to Nepalgunj. We will then board another plane from Nepalgunj to Kathmandu.

This is taken as a leisure day. You can take a stroll around the freak streets of Thamel where you can select from a wide range of handicraft goods and other gift items to take along with you as a memoir of Nepal. A rickshaw ride especially in the evening will be fun.

The wonderful 24days ‘Upper Dolpa Trek’ comes to an end on this day as you will be transferred back to Tribhuvan International airport by our representative. We are happy to serve you and we will be looking forward to your next visit.