Lower Dolpo Trekking

After your arrival at the airport in Kathmandu you will be greeted by one of our representatives who will later transfer you to a pre-booked hotel in Kathmandu. After hotel check in you can decide whether you would like to have a relaxing rest at the hotel or hang around the streets of Kathmandu (If you have leisure time). O/N you stay at the hotel.

We will organize a guided city tour where you get to discover several historical, cultural and spiritual attractions of Kathmandu. You will be seeing the world heritage sites like historical Durbar Square, the sacred Hindu temple of lord Pashupatinath, Buddhist pilgrimage Swoyambhunath (famous by the name of Monkey temple among tourists), Boudhanath Shrine and many more cultural and natural monuments. The Kathmandu city tour also lets you understand the urban lifestyle of people of Nepal. Later we will have a discussion session where we discuss about our trek plan and preparation. Our trek leader would be obliged to brief you about our expedition and answer your queries. O/N you stay at the Hotel.

We will board a flight to Nepalgunj from the domestic terminal of Kathmandu airport. Nepalgunj lies in lowlands of Terai in western Nepal. The Indian border is very near from Nepalgunj and therefore it is also a business hub for many merchants and local traders. You may choose to hire a Rikshaw for hanging around in the busy town of Nepalgunj. Bageshwori temple is the religious attraction of Nepalgunj and is worth visiting during your stay in Nepalgunj. Overnight, we stay at a hotel in Nepalgunj.

From Nepalgunj we will catch a flight that will fly over the beautiful Himalayas and land us in Juphal airport. Juphal is a beautiful village surrounded by mountains from all directions. We will start our trekking expedition from Juphal today and walk for approximately three hours to reach Dunai. We start walking through the small path towards Thuli Bheri River. We cross the suspension bridge and enter Shey Phoksundo National Park. Shey Phoksundo is the largest national park of Nepal established in 1984 and covers the area of 3555 square kilometers. The national park is a home for numerous species of floras and faunas found in the region. We will take the permit by paying the entrance fee and continue our expedition until we reach Dunai. Overnight, we stay at a tented camp in Dunai.

The trail continues along the south back of the river and passes through the gorges, hanging bridges and isolated villages. We then pass through the exotic gorge where the path is built about seven meters above the river. Trekking further we reach the village of Tarakot. Tarakot is an old fortress built by local people as Dzong. The village is situated on a hillock to the south of the Bheri River. We set our camps and stay overnight at the camp.

We will be trekking for approximately seven hours to reach Laini today. We continue to walk following the Tarap Chu River upstream. We cross the bridge over the River and continue to the junction of Barbung Khola and Tarapchu River. On our way we will visit the Sandual Gompa. The trail then leads through the farm terraces and rural villages. We take few ups and downs and eventually descend down to our camp at Laini. Overnight, we stay at the camp in Laini.

We ascend up to the gorge of Tarap River through the steep slope. Our expedition becomes more exciting as the valley become narrow. We pass through rural village and terraced farms. We then descend to Chyugur Khola and continue to walk until we reach Nawarpani. Overnight, we stay at a tented camp in Nawarpani.

We will have a long day walk today. We begin our expedition after the breakfast. The trail ascends up to the Kamakharka which is at the confluence of Tarap Chu and Lang Khola. The trail then pass through the forest filled with Juniper bush and wild rose. Another few hours of walk will lead us to Dho Tarap. Dho Tarap is a traditional agricultural village surrounded by fields. Overnight, we stay at a tented camp in Dho Tarap.

We have set this day for acclimatization. We will spend the day exploring Dho Tarap and its religious and natural attractions. Dho Tarap is a traditional agricultural village surrounded by fields. People mostly grow barley, buckwheat and potatoes in their fields. People also trade Yak products to earn their living. The people living in Dho are believed to have migrated from Tibet. The houses are made of stone in typical Tibetan style. Ribo Bhumpa Gompa and Shipchaur Gompa are religious attractions of Dho Tarap. Ribo Bhuma Gompa belongs to Nyingmapa Buddhism and it has got a big statue of Guru Rinpoche who is believed to be an important Buddhist saint from the 7th century. Shipchaur Gompa in Shipchok belongs to Bonpo Buddhism and really worth exploring. We will explore most of the attractions of Dho Tarap during the day and spend overnight at a camp.

Today we will be having a long day walk to reach Numa La base camp. The trail continues towards upper Tarap valley. We further continue walking by the side of the river and reach Tokyu. Tokyu has a monastery belonging to Chiba sect. We will explore Tokyu village and pay our visit to the Gompa. We then ascend up the rough track for few more hours and reach Numa La base camp. Overnight, we stay at the camp beneath Numa La.

Today is probably the longest and difficult day of the entire expedition. We will be trekking for almost seven hours to reach our campsite in Pelung Tang. We will our expedition early in the morning and start to ascend the Numa La Pass. The trail ascends steeply to the top ridge of Numa La. The top of Numa La offers magnificent views of Himalayas and surrounding landscapes. We will have a panoramic view of barren mountains of Dolpo along with Dhaulagiri (8167m). We will then descend to the camp at Pelung Tang. Overnight, we stay at the camp.

We will start with a steep climb to reach the top of Baga La pass at 5070m. The top of the pass offers great views of surrounding landscapes and snowcapped peaks of Kanjirowa Himal range. We will spend some time capturing the magical views from the ridge and later descend down to Dajok Tang. It will take us approximately six hours to reach Dajok Tang from Pelung. Overnight, we stay at a camp in Dajok Tang.

We will be trekking for approximately four hours to reach Ringmo today. We will start our expedition passing through the pine forest and continue our expedition until we reach Ringmo. We will then take a short walk to our campsite by the shores of Phoksundo Lake. Overnight, we stay at the camp.

We will have a day full of excursion today. We will explore Ringmo village and hike to Phoksundo Lake. The village of Ringmo is beautiful and worth exploring. The people of Ringmo practice the Bonpo culture. The people are dressed in traditional attire that resembles Tibetan Buddhist culture and tradition. The Yak caravans can be seen heading in and out of Ringmo towards the Tibetan border. We will then hike to Phoksundo Lake and explore its majestic beauty. Later, we will get back to the camp for the overnight stay.

We will be gradually wrapping up our expedition in next few days. We will today ascend down to Shyanta. The trail goes downhill to Chepka and pass through traditional villages. We will eventually ascend to Shyanta. It will take is approximately six hours to reach Shyanta. Overnight, we stay at a camp in Shyanta.

Today is the final day of our trek. The trail goes gently upward from Shyanta and then heads towards Juphal via Sulighat. On our way back we will enjoy the majestic natural beauty and spectacular mountain views. We will terminate our trekking adventure upon reaching Juphal. Overnight, we stay in Juphal.

Early morning we will board a flight that will fly us all the way to Nepalgunj. It will take us approximately thirty five minutes to reach Nepalgunj. We can enjoy the alluring views of Mt. Annapurna and Dhaulagiri from the flight. We will have a relaxing rest at a hotel in Nepalgunj before boarding a flight to Kathmandu. Later we will fly back to Kathmandu from Nepalgunj. You may choose to hang around in Kathmandu for last minute shopping to your near and dear ones. We will organize a farewell dinner with the team of Breakfree Adventures at an authentic Nepali restaurant later in the evening. Overnight, we stay in a hotel.

Your trip to the majestic country of Nepal comes to an end today! You will be escorted by one of the representatives of Breakfree adventures to the international terminal of Kathmandu airport approximately three hours before your flight schedule. We exchange our last good-byes and now you will be leaving Nepal with all the good memories you had during the wonderful trekking adventure in the Lower Dolpo region. We hope you had a lovely time with us. Breakfree adventures would be obliged to be your travel partner during your next adventure in Nepal. Have a safe flight back home!