Dunai – 2850 m / 9350 ft 

Trek time: 3 hours

Flight time: 45 minutes

Accommodation: Tea House

Altitude: 150 m / 492 ft

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Overnight: Dunai

On arrival at Jhupal airport you will meet your porters and camping crew, grab a cup of tea and a snack, and start off on the hiking part of your adventure!

The trail ascends above the Thulo Bheri Valley  and through cultivated fields to the village of Kalagaunda.  Then you continue past Roop Ghar village with a traditional water mill, and follow the river to Dunai.

Tarakot – 2543 m / 8343 ft

Trek time: 6 hours

Accommodation: Tea House

Altitude: 2,543 m / 8,343 ft

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Overnight: Tarakot

After breakfast head out to follow the banks of the Thulo Bheri river until you reach a point where you cross the river as the trail continues on the other side. There is a gorge to trek through, and a hill to climb over as you continue by crossing the river again at the settlement of Lawan. 

Your overnight campsite is at the village of Tarakot with its cultivated fields and nearby is an old fortress of an ancient kingdom.  Spend some time exploring the village and fort remains before dinner.

Laini – 3160 m / 10367 ft 

Trek time: 6 hours

Accommodation: Tea House

Altitude: 3,160 m / 10,367 ft

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Overnight: Laini

The Beri River still features in today’s trek as you cross to the southern side once again before a gentle climb through cultivated terraces, most likely of buckwheat.  You will be hiking high above the river until you need to descend to cross a long suspension bridge at a place called Laisicap.  Before crossing the bridge you will need to show your permits at a police post.

After the bridge, ascend to the village of Kanigaon, then on through the forest as the valley narrows considerably.

Laini is not so much a village but a meadow with seasonal tents which are there for the mule caravans passing through.  It could well be a small business selling tea and noodles is open.  But don’t worry, we have our own wonderful camp chef who will make tea and snacks for you.

Enjoy the mountains in the Churen Himal range today, with Putha Hiunchuli (7,246m / 23,772.9 ft) being the most prominent.

Nawar Pani – 3545 m / 11630 ft 

Trek time: 5 hours

Accommodation: Tea House

Altitude: 3,545 m / 11,630 ft

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Overnight: Nawar Pani

After an early breakfast, hike over a pass at 3,540 m / 11,614 ft.  You will note, like all passes in this area, the top is marked with Buddhist prayer flags. 

On the other side of the pass there is another river, the Chyugar Khola to cross with the aid of a suspension bridge.   Further on there is another suspension bridge, just after seasonal huts at Tazam, continue on to Nawarpani.

As you are now at an altitude of  3,545 m / 11,630 ft you must start paying attention to your body, looking out for headaches or dizziness. Stay well hydrated.

Dho Tarap – 4090 m / 13418 ft 

Trek time: 7 hours

Accommodation: Tea House

Altitude: 4,090 m / 13,418 ft

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Overnight: Dho Tarap

This is the longest day on the trek so far, so follow your guide’s advice regarding taking lots of short breaks on the way. 

Naturally, your day starts by crossing the river!  Then you climb up on a trail cut into the side of a cliff.  When you come to a chorten (small stupa like shrine) on a ridge you know you have reached an old abandoned border post between Nepal and Tibet, known as Serkam.

Descending into Do Tarap you get great views of the village and landscape. It is interesting to note that Do Tarap is the village which featured in the Eric Valli film ‘Himalaya’.

Dho Tarap – 4090 m / 13418 ft 

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and Dinner

Overnight: Dho Tarap

Aside from the opportunity to relax and perhaps spend an hour longer in bed, and enjoy a leisurely breakfast, today you can discover something about the interesting Bon religion.

Half an hour outside of the village is a Bon gompa which you can visit and see how it compares to the Buddhist gompa within the village itself.

Bon is a Tibetan religion that shares many similarities and influences with Tibetan Buddhism but is a minority religion in Tibet nowadays. Followers of Bon, say the religion originated in Zhangzhung kingdom, near Mt Kailash.

In 2019, it was estimated to be around 400,000 Bon followers on the Tibetan plateau. During the Chinese cultural revolution, the approximate 30 Bon monasteries in Tibet were destroyed, as were many Buddhist ones.  After 1980 they were allowed to rebuild but we do not know the state of them today.  There are very few Bon monasteries in Nepal, almost completely in Dolpo. Currently, the  spiritual head of  Bon is Menri Trizin Rinpoche.

Numa La Base Camp – 4440 m / 14566 ft 

Trek time: 6 hours

Accommodation: Tea House

Altitude: 4,440 m / 14,566 ft

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Overnight: Numa La Base Camp

An interesting day full of culture.  You will have gathered by now that Dolpo has much human culture, dating back thousands of years with trade along the salt route and across the border with Tibet.  Tibetan Buddhism is the main ‘religion’ in the region, with a scattering of Bon gompas. 

Start the day by climbing to the old Mekyem Gompa with its large Maitreya Buddha statue.   Later you will come to Dorje Phurba Gompa that houses a collection of ancient weapons.  On the way, pass the Crystal Mountain School, the largest school in the area.

Cross a wooden bridge over the Tarap Chu river to the settlement of Mondo, and on through another couple of settlements until you have a final ascent to Numa La Base Camp.

Pelung Tang – 4465 m / 14648 ft 

Trek time: 6 hours

Accommodation: Tea House

Altitude: 4,465 m / 14,648 ft

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and Dinner

Overnight: Pelung Tang

A breathtaking day awaits you. Conquer the high mountain pass to get fabulous mountain views! 

The climb up to the pass is rugged and moraine based, so care should be taken on the rough ground.   The Num La Pass is 5,290 m / 17,355.6 ft high and the way is a bit challenging. But the views from the top are definitely worth it.   Dhaulagiri (8,167 m / 26,794.6 ft), Shey Shikhar (6,139 m / 20,141 ft) and Kanjeralwa (6,612 m / 21,693 ft) are the best on display.

You descend from the pass to a U-shaped valley with scree slopes to cross, carefully.  Continue on to the pastures at Pelung Tang.

Dajok Tang – 4080 m / 13385 ft 

Trek time: 6 hours

Accommodation: Tea House

Altitude: 4,080 m / 13,385 ft

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and Dinner

Overnight: Dajok Tang

Follow a switchback trail to High Camp and ascend even further to a ridge.  There are more scree slopes to cross until you reach Baga La Pass at 5,175 m / 16,978.3 ft.  On the top of the pass there are some sacred chortens and wonderful views of the Phoksundo Lake and Norbung Kang peak  (6,085 m /19,963.9 ft ).

On the descent you come down into a large valley as you switchback into Dajok Tang. Claiming to be one of the most beautiful valleys in the western part of Nepal, the valley hosts several waterfalls and is the ideal place to camp overnight.

Ringmo – 3600 m / 11811 ft 

Trek time: 4 hours

Accommodation: Tea House

Altitude: 3,600 m / 11,811 ft

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Overnight: Phoksundo lake

You will pass more seasonal herders huts and enter a large valley of pine and juniper as the trail takes you down towards Ringmo village and Phoksundo Lake.  As you follow the trail around the hill and to a ridge you get a look at a huge waterfall.  Then you descend through blue pine forests to the barley fields cultivated by the inhabitants of Ringmo village. 

You will get your permits checked here as you make your way towards the beautiful turquoise waters of Phoksundo Lake.

After lunch you might want to head back into Ringmo village to take a look at the architecture and lifestyle of the locals. 

Phoksundo Lake – 3612 m / 11850 ft 

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Overnight: Phoksundo Lake

Enjoy a leisurely breakfast in this perfect setting of a camp site. Then enjoy the environment: its perfect for yoga or meditation.  Or simply relax.

Like the village of Dho Tarap, Phoksundo Lake also features in Eric Valli’s 1999 film ‘Himalaya’.

This fictional film, yet very realistic of the local lifestyle in many ways, tells the story of villagers who take a caravan of yaks across the mountains carrying salt to trade for grain. The film unfolds and eventually, Tinle dies in the mountains as a result of a snowstorm. Whereas the main actors are professionals and not from Nepal, Thinle Lhondup, as Tinle, was a native of Dolpo with no previous acting experience.  Sadly, the now elderly Thinle died in 2016 in Dolpo as we believe he would have wanted.   Mention should go to the many locals who played in this film, and to Nepal’s own Jampa Kalsang who went on to star in many other film productions

Shyanta – 2520 m / 8267 ft 

Trek time: 4 hours

Accommodation: Tea House

Altitude: 2,520 m / 8,267 ft

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Overnight: Shyanta

Leaving Phuksundo Lake behind is always a sad day.  After breakfast take one last breath of lake air and head off along a steep trail to the top of a hill. Get one more fantastic high view of the lake before descending down and through the villages of Chunuwar and Rechi.  Following the river bank downwards until Chhepka and your overnight stop at Shyanta. 

Jhupal – 2320 m / 7611 ft 

Trek time: 5 hours

Accommodation: Tea House

Altitude: 2,320 m / 7,611 ft

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Overnight: Jhupal

This is your last day of hiking as you retrace your steps to Jhupal where you will fly from tomorrow.  Jhupal is the gateway to Dolpo district and the starting and ending point of many treks.  With its few small shops and teahouses you can celebrate your wonderful trek with a few soft drinks (or a beer?). 

You will spend tonight in a teahouse so it is likely you will be saying goodbye to your camping crew today.

Kathmandu – 1300 m / 4265 ft 

Trek time: 2 hours

Accommodation: Tea House

Altitude: 1,300 m / 4,265

Meals: Breakfast

Overnight: Kathmandu

Today it’s a short flight back to Nepalgunj then a change of flight to Kathmandu. Look out for your last glimpse of the western Himalayas from the plane window.