Upper Dolpo Trek: 24 Nights/25 Days

Day 01 : Kathmandu

Arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport; Meet, Greet and Assist at the Airport by Red Rose Representative; Transfer to the Hotel; Hotel Check In; Fresh Up; O/N

Day 02 : Kathmandu Activities

Breakfast at the Hotel; Collection of Passports to prepare Permits; Move for a 1/2-Day Kathmandu City Sightseeing; Arrive at Red Rose Office at Thamel; Payment Conclusion; Handover of Permits and Passport; Short briefing of the Trek; Checking of the Trekking Equipments and Gear by our Trekking Manager; Return to the Hotel; Prepare for the Trek; O/N

Day 03 : Kathmandu-Nepalgunj

Breakfast at the Hotel; Free to make ultimate Preparation for the Trek; Hotel Check Out; Pick up from the hotel and drop to the airport; Fly to Nepalgunj; Arrival at Nepalgunj Airport; Assist by Red Rose Representative at the Airport and Transfer to the Hotel; O/N

Day 04 : Nepalganj-Juphal (2250m)-Dunai

Breakfast at the Hotel; Hotel Check Out; Transfer to the Airport; Fly to Juphal; During the flight, enjoy a superb panorama of the Annapurnas, the Dhaulagiris and the Manaslu; Arrival at Juphal; Get prepared to trek; Walk for 3 Hours and Reach Dunai (2150m); Hotel Check In; O/N

Day 05:  Juphal-Ankhe (2896m): 6 Hours

Breakfast; Walk through the King Mahendra statue to cross the new suspension bridge and turning west, following the trail past the hospital; Climb upto treeless Thulo Bheri valley followed by a ridge marked by cairns at 2,499m; Enjoy the excellent view of the Kagmara Peak; Continue Walking and reach a large side canyon; Descend gently on the long downhill slope through the scattered houses and walnut groves to a stream followed by a place called Dhera- a winter settlement where people from higher villages keep herds of cows and goats; Climb upto Rahagaon, a Thakuri village at 2,900m and visit a Gompa dedicated to the local god, Mastha; Trek passing through the lower part of Rahagaon and descend to the village water supply at the Phoksundo River; Pass another canyon down the hill through deep dark forests to a large stream; Arrive at Shey Phoksundo National Park at Ankhe; O/N

Day 06:  Ankhe-Sulighat (3500m): 5-6 Hours

Breakfast; Start walking small ups and downs along the forested riverbed; Then start ascending steeply to about 2,900m; Continue walking leaving the forests and traverses a grassy slope high above the river. After a while the path once begin to descend steeply into forest until it reaches a cliff, whereby a dizzying drop on a wobbly stone staircase to the river bank has to be undertaken. You can almost look down between your toes to see the fast-flowing river below. After reaching the river at 2,950m, the trail becomes a collection of rocks and sticks that form a dyke along the river bank. It’s hard to imagine how the local people bring their yaks and cows along this trail, but they do. Journey continues upstream to a bridge near Ryajik village for the overnight camp 3,500m/11,480ft, after a good day’s walk. (Breakfast, lunch & dinner are Included)

Day 07:  Sulighat-Phoksundo Lake (3,500m): 4-5 Hours

Breakfast; Trek along the valley floor to the confluence of the Phoksundo and Pungmo Kholas; Cross the western side of the Phoksundo Khola on a wooden bridge; Follow the path that goes along the west bank of the Pungmo Khola which leads all the way to Phoksundo Lake near Ringmo village; Pass through a cedar forest and reach to Palam-a winter settlement used by the people of Ringmo village. From the ridge one can see the distant views of Phoksundo Lake and a spectacular 300m high waterfall; After a brief stop descend through birch forests to the upper reaches of the Phoksundo Khola, and then to the picturesque settlement of Ringmo with its mud plastered chortens and mani walls; From here it is a short walk to the shores of Phoksundo Lake; O/N

Day 08:  Phoksundo Lake-Phoksundo Bhanjyang: 6-7 Hours

Breakfast; Walk the level path through a glacial valley; Arrive at an Old Wooden Bridge at the confluence of the Phoksundo Khola and a mountain stream; Take the rarely walked path to the north-east of the valley-there is no trail as such, so it is necessary to clamber over the rocks and boulders and to ford a stream that rushes down the steep valley. A long climb brings us to a sheep meadow where the trail veers up a steep ravine. A hard climb to the top brings to yet another valley where one can see the Kang-La, the pass which will lead towards Shey Gompa; Pass the “Snowfield Camp”; O/N at Tented Camp

Day 09:  Phoksundo Bhanjyang-Shey Gompa: 5-6 Hours

Breakfast; Walk up to a steep climb littered with slate towards the Ganja-la pass-the climb is quite strenuous, especially on the slate screed; From the top of Kang-la 5,360m, enjoy the excellent views down upon a large valley which is bisected by a gushing river; Descend Steeply to the valley floor and follow a long meandering trail along the banks of the river, crossing and re-crossing it several times-there are mud caves lining the hills overlooking the river and we pass through meadows where hairy yaks, hundreds of sheep and domestic mountain goat (Chengra) can be found grazing as well near the odd nomadic hut of the herders; Arrive at a red chorten heralds called Shey Gompa (4,500m); O/N

Day 10:  Shey Gompa

Breakfast; Day at Leisure; Make thorough visit of Shey Gompa-known as the Crystal Mountain (well described in Peter Matthissen classic novel Snow Leopard). The lama of Shey resides at a red hermitage known as Tsakang gompa which is north of Shey. It is rather a retreat than a monastery. Tsakang had been a meditation centre of many famous lamas from Tibet. Each year people from all over Dolpo region travel great distances to attend the festival at Shey and to complete the circuit of Crystal Mountain; O/N

Day 11:  Shey Gompa-Namduna Gaon: 6-7 Hours

Breakfast; Start following a pleasant trail amidst juniper which descends into a grey, stony canyon. Then the path begins to zig zag over bare rocks and coarse eroded soil until it eventually brings us to the top of Saldang-la 5,200m; Trek upto Namduna Gaon 4,800m; Visit Namgung monastery-the monastery, a red stone structure, is built against the backdrop of a cliff on the north wall of a gorge. The red and white colors of the gimpy and its stupas are the only color in this stark landscape. The village itself consists of only six stone houses and has terraced fields on both sides of the tributary, which flow down to the Nam Khong valley. In Dolpo only one crop a year can be grown and this is mainly barley. O/N

Day 12:  Namduna Gaon-Saldang: 3-4 Hours

Breakfast; Finish a 3-4 hours of hard climb and reach to Saldang (3,620m)-ft appears below on a plateau high above the Nam Khongmala. It has a picturesque appearance. Saldang is the largest village of the inner Dolpo area. The village stretches for nearly two kilometers on an open slope; O/N

Day 13:  Saldang-Yangze Gompa: 4-5 Hours

Breakfast; Walk along the trail that follows the Nang Chu river most of the way; Pass through the small settlement of Tiling and Lurigaon; Trek further and reach to Yangze Gompa; Visit the Bon-Po Monastery; O/N

Day 14:  Yangze Gompa-Sibu: 6-7 Hours

Breakfast; From Yangze there are two trails that connect Sibu (4,560m), the long way trail heads due west passing through the very remote villages of Nishalgaon and further past Shimengaon. But To save time and energy today’s trek retraces the path back towards Saldang village; Arrive at Saldang and walk along the trail that follows the river bed; Pass through terraced fields, stupas, chortens, heaps of mani stones and a Chaiba monastery and arrive at Nam Khong Khola; Visit the Namdo monastery located near the river bed; Walk further down the river for another two hours and arrive at Sibu. O/N

Day 15:  Sibu-Jeng-la Phedi: 5-6 Hours

Breakfast; Walk along the trail following the Nam Khong Khola for a while; After days of following the same river, finally part turning east till arriving at the confluence of two small tributaries;Measure the steep climb to the bottom of Jeng la (4,900m); O/N

Day 16:  Jeng-la Phedi-Tokyu Gaon: 5-6 Hours

Breakfast; Climb two hours towards the top of the Jeng La (5,090m); Enjoy an excellent views of the north face of the Dhaualgiri massif shines in the morning light; Descend on the rough path towards Tarap valley; Arrival at Tarap Chu, a fascinating valley with vast plains in high mountains; Reach at Tokyu Monastery (4200m); O/N

Day 17:  Tokyu Gaon-Dho Tarap

Breakfast; Walk eastward along the downhill course of Tarap Chu in a plain valley with patches of lush verdant grass on both sides of the river; After a short trek on this beautiful valley and arrive come to Dho Tarap (4,040m); O/N

Day 18:  Dho Tarap

 Breakfast; Day to explore Dho Tarap; Meet Local People and interact with the; The villagers are both Bon Po and Buddhist of Nyingmapa sect. The Buddhist gompa is the nearest one to the campsite, the Bon Gompa is further 40 minutes walk. O/N

Day 19:  Dho-Tarap River: 6-7 Hours

Breakfast; Descend towards a wide valley which eventually narrows into a gorge; Reach at the confluence of the Tarap Chu and the Lang Khola, a stream that joins with Tarap River from further east, by the afternoon;  O/N

Day 20:  Tarap Khola-Khanigaon: 4-5 Hours

Breakfaset; Continue down the gorge of the Tarap River-one of the exciting days of this trip walk, as the valley becomes so narrow in a deep gorge that in some places we can jump from one side to another. Sometimes there is no trace of any path and we have to walk across stone slabs fitted on logs in between the walls which act as a bridge. The gorge also provides unexpected adventure and thrills. At some places, the bridges are either damaged or washed away and we may be forced to cross the icy torrent on foot; Finally, reach to Khanigaon; O/N

Day 21:  Khanigaon-Tarakot: 4-5 Hours

Breakfast; Walk following an indistinct trail to the village of Lalberi; Passing through an area of impressive forest, before descending into another gorge our walk continue following the river again downstream to reach Tarakot where colourful terraced fields greet us. Tarakot (2,537m) is an old fortress town known by the local people as Dzong, meaning ‘fort’. Before the Gorkha dynasty Tarakot was the capital and had a dzong. O/N

Day 22:  Tarakot-Dunai: 5-6 Hours

Breakfast: Continue walking beside the Bheri River in a tremendous gorge with pine trees and an ingenious path built about seven meters above the river; Reach Dunai and Celebrate the circuit particularly with bottled beers; O/N

Day 23:  Dunai-Juphal: 2-3 Hours

Breakfast; Retrace the journey back to Jhuphal-a short distance walk along the Bheri River to the small airstrip; O/N

Day 24: Juphal-Nepalgunj-Kathmandu 

Breakfast; Early morning: Fly from Jhuphal to Nepalgunj followed by Nepalgunj to Kathmandu Flight; Arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport; Meet and Assist to the Hotel; O/N

Day 25:  Kathmandu-Onward

Breakfast at the Hotel; Transfer to the Airpport; Board on a Plane; Farewell!!