Upper Dolpo Trekking

Today, explore the rich Newar culture and heritage of Kathmandu Valley, including some of its iconic UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Visit Patan Durbar Square, known for its exquisite Newari architecture and ancient palaces; Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple), a historic Buddhist site overlooking the Kathmandu Valley; Boudhanath Stupa, one of Nepal’s most important Buddhist monuments; and Pashupatinath Temple, the sacred Hindu temple complex on the banks of the Bagmati River.

In the late evening, meet and get introduced to your trekking guides and crew and make the final preparations for your Upper Dolpo adventure.

Overnight in Kathmandu.

Today, we take a scenic domestic flight from Kathmandu to Nepalgunj with Buddha Air. Located in the southwestern region of Nepal, Nepalgunj is an important gateway to the remote western Himalayas. The flight takes approximately 55 minutes, offering views of the changing landscapes as we head west.

Upon arrival at Nepalgunj Airport, we transfer to our hotel and spend the rest of the day relaxing and making final preparations for the Upper Dolpo journey. You will also have time to meet and get familiar with your trekking crew.

Overnight in Nepalgunj.

Today we have a morning flight to Juphal. This scenic flight takes about 35 minutes to reach Ranja airport in Juphal. There we have about a 3-hour walk to Dunai which is mostly descending along the Thulo Bheri river passing through local fields and scattered villages. 

Dunai is the district headquarter of Dolpa district which is situated by the river. This place has a police station, telephone service, and school. overnight in Dunai.

After the morning breakfast, the day begins with a trek through the Dunai bazaar and we get to cross the suspension bridge shortly. Then trek continues along the river to Suligad(2070m) where we pass through the Shey Phoksundo national park gate and get checked for our permits. 

After this our trek goes gradually to Kageni(2272m) passing through several tea shops. The rest of the trek still goes gradually for our night stop camp of Chhekpa. Overnight in Chhekpa.

Our trek today starts off with walking along the Phoksundo river which passes through several meadows and dense forests. The trek is mostly undulating to Chunuwar and for that, we have to criss-cross the river several times. Overnight in Chunuwar.

Our trek today begins with walking through the forests and along the river then eventually steep climbs up on the ridge which takes us to a viewpoint. This viewpoint provides mesmerizing 167 meters long waterfall which is fed by Phoksundo lake.

the trek still climbs up for a while and then gradually descends to our night stop at Phoksundo lake. night camp by the Phoksundo lake.

On our exploration day today, we walk around the Ringmo village, visit the ancient monastery as well as go to higher ground which provides a fantastic overlook of the lake and the surrounding. Overnight near Phoksundo lake.

Today on our journey onwards goes through the upper region of Dolpo trek in which our trek starts off with walking along the side of the Phoksundo lake and eventually climbs steep uphill on the cliff to an altitude around 4000 meters from where it provides the great overlook of the Phoksundo lake from a different perspective.

After this our trek continues descending down through the forests. Our trek continues walking along the gorge and meanwhile, we have a great view of snow-capped mountains such as mount Kanjiroba. Our trek ends for today on a meadow where we set our camp. Overnight at Ruktang.

The trek today is more adventurous as it heads towards the base camp of the highest pass of the trek which is Namgung-la pass(5350m). The day is harder as it crosses the streams several times without a bridge and goes through rough paths full of rocks.

Our camp today is near the stream on the more barren land where you can only see some juniper shrubs and thorny bushes for vegetation. Overnight at base camp.

The trek today is harder and it goes mostly uphill climbs on moraine terrain and scree slopes to the top of Namgung-la(5350m). Then the trek descends mostly to one of the highlights of our trek, Shey gompa which is situated opposite crystal mountain.

This monastery dates back to the 11th century and has special significance among the Buddhist followers. Although every year in September the annual ceremony takes place mega ceremony takes place every 12 years in dragon year according to the Tibetan calendar when people from around the world flock together to take part in.

overnight in Shey Gompa.

The trek today starts off with climbing uphill to another pass of the trek which is called Shey la-pass(5120m) for which our trek mostly climbs through the scree slopes full of loose rock and sands which follow the small stream in between.

After the Sela- pass, the trek descends mostly all the way to the small village of Namgung where we spend our night. This place has a few farmlands along with a monastery. Overnight at Namgung.

The trek today is shorter as we get to Saldang by lunchtime. So, for today the trek continues walking through the desolate mountain gorge and ends up in a beautiful valley of Saldang surrounded by barren hills.

Saldang is a beautiful village where there are more fields to grow food for locals. This place also has a primary school and communication facility.

Moreover, this place has a monastery that is supposed to be older than Shey gompa which has been modeled on the Potala monastery in Tibet. Overnight in Saldang.

Today our trek goes through the several villages along the valley which comprises mild uphill and downhill. Today’s trek is also dotted with several shortens along the trail and we have to cross some streams in between without a bridge.

Today we stay overnight at Rhakyo which is a small meadow above the river surrounded by rocky hills.

Our trek today goes near the last pass of the trek jungle-pass(5107m). The trek today is mostly steady climbing onwards to barren hills leaving the valley behind. As we hike up it provides a stunning view of the valley behind.

Our night camp is on the alpine meadow just before the pass. Overnight at high camp.

Camping at high camp today makes it easy to go over the pass. So, it takes only about 1 and half hours to reach the top which goes through the rocky trail.

After reaching the top of Jengla-pass(5107m) our trek goes gradually down passing through the village called Takchhi with beautiful local farmlands along the trail.

After Tachhi, it’s about an hour's walk to the village Do-Tarap which is among the lists of highest human settlements in the Himalayas. It is also the place from where the trail branches off to Jomsom as some trekkers also do that as well. Overnight at Do-Tarap.

After walking for several days, we have a rest day at Do-Tarap or we also can explore the village. In this village, we can visit the monastery and observe the traditional local houses. Overnight at do-Tarap.

The trek today begins shortly after passing through a narrow valley following the river along the trail. The trek today stops at “Lang” a small meadow by the river where we stop for lunch.

the trek again continues along the narrow river valley and the walk is undulating to Nawarpani. Overnight at Nawarpani.

Today’s walk still continues along the river with a mild incline crossing over 3800 meters through the narrow valley with the rigid hill on both sides.

In today’s trek, we back to pine forests and we have lunch at “Laini odor” before reaching our night camp at Laisicap. Laisicap is a big village perched on a hill overlooking the river.

The trek today goes gradually through meadows and through the forests passing through several villages such as Tarakot, Tara bazaar, and Sahar Tara. Hereafter our trek goes along the Thulo Bheri River to reach Dunai passing local farmlands along the trail. Overnight at Dunai.

The trek today climbs up to Juphal airport which at first, we walk along the Bheri river and climb up to Juphal passing through villages and local farmlands along the trail. Overnight at Juphal.

This morning we take a flight to Nepalgunj and another flight to Kathmandu on the same day. In the evening we take you to a place where you can enjoy typical Nepalese dance and food. Overnight at Kathmandu.

On the final day of the program, we drop you off at the airport for your final departure.