You'll be met at the airport by a representative from Adventure Zone Trekking & Expedition P.LTD. So look out for a sign when you leave the airport. They will bring you back to the Hotel, where your rooms are booked.
Deepak Mainali meets you at the guest house and introduces you to Thamel, the main tourist area of Kathmandu. Thamel is a myriad of banners, signs, music shops, bakeries, internet cafes, restaurants, bars, hotels, shops of all imaginable varieties and eccentrically clad backpackers. Over dinner we check your insurance details (please have a copy of your travel medical insurance policy with you), go over gear and get to know each other over a glass of coffee at Java.
Explore the Kathmandu valley a bit with Deepak Mainali. Options: Climb the many steps to Swayambhunath (the monkey temple), with its commanding views of Kathmandu (at 1420 m), its whitewashed stupas and its unique synthesis of Buddhism and Hinduism. The striking Buddha eyes of Boudhanath Stupa watch over a lively and colorful Tibetan community and attract pilgrims from all over the Himalayan Buddhist realm. In the midst of traditional gompas, and hung with long strings of multi-colored prayer flags, Boudhanath attracts Sherpas, Tibetans and tourists alike for daily circumambulations (koras) of the stupa. Durbar Square, one of the old capitals of the Kathmandu valley, is a synthesis of Hindu and Buddhist temples, stupas and statues, and is often the site of festivals, marriages and other ceremonies. Hindu Pashupatinath and its sacred temple complex on the banks of the holy Bagmati River. Here, monkeys run up and down the steps of the burning ghats, and trident-bearing saddhus draped in burnt-orange and saffron sit serenely meditating - when theyre not posing for photos.
Youll have time for a bit of gear shopping in Thamel for anyone who needs to do this and in the evening will head out for dinner of wood-oven pizza at the Fire & Ice.
An afternoon flight takes us to Nepalgunj, the largest city in western Nepal and a jumping-off point for many flights and buses into western Nepal, set in the steamy Terai near the border of India. We stay the night at an air-conditioned hotel, and head out back in time to explore this town seemingly right out of the 1940 m.
Another flight, this time a morning mountain flight taking us to Dolpo where we start out trek. We spend the night at a hotel in Jumla well- experienced guide from Adventure Zone Trekking and the crew will spend the afternoon supplying for the trek, and you are free to explore the town.
After rounding up our team of local Dolpo horses and handlers from Jumla, we set off towards the 5115 meter Kagmara La and fabled Phoksumdo Lake, a challenging journey of eight days. We follow the ancient trade routes of the Dolpo-pa, camping in local seasonal settlements en route, and eventually reach the medieval village and Bon gompa at Hurikot, near where we enter the Shey Phoksumdo National Park. From here, the going gets a bit tougher, with many steep climbs and descents, the largest the Kagmara La where we get spectacular views of the Kagmara Himal, Daulagiri, the Annapurnas, La Shamma and other snow-peaks, a fitting reward for our climb. This barrier marks the entrance into a purely Tibetan region, and the real boundary of Dolpo. Eight days later, we have finally reached the village of Ringmo on the turquoise Phoksumdo Lake. This is wild country, a region of alpine meadows, flowered pastures, rivers, natural springs, soaring mountain views; Steve Razzetti, who wrote 'Trekking and Climbing in Nepal', says about this region of Lower Dolpo, '.. Your heart will sing. This is trekking country to live for'. Enough said! We camp for the night in Ringmo, at the south end of the lake.
A rest and exploration day, finally, in this picturesque village of flat-roofed stone houses, mud-brick, Mani walls and chortens. Even a bit of expensive shopping at a few local shops! There is an ancient, white-washed Bon gompa in Ringmo to visit, and of course Phoksumdo Lake, the lake seen in 'Himalaya' as Thinley's yak caravan attempted the 'Devil's Trail'. Yak caravans will be heading in and out of Ringmo on their way north towards the border of Tibet, and our most northerly destinations, Saldang and Yanger Gompa. Above Ringmo, a restricted area permit is required,
Now begins our trek to the fabled Shey Gompa and the nearby 'Crystal Mountain the most sacred peak in Dolpo which Dolpo pilgrims circumambulate each summer before the yearly grain harvest. We are now entering the real Dolpo, and to enter into this mystical land we have to cross the Kang La (pass) and trek three, hard days. We take the only trail possible, first trekking along the precipitous and narrow trail to the western side of the lake, otherwise known as the 'Devil's Trail'. Cresting a 4000 meter ridge, we are treated to views of Sonam Kang. We camp the first night at Chabluk Phu, a local grazing area, before attempting the Kang La (5375m). It's a difficult pass, so we'll be up early the next morning; we are entering George Schaller's blue sheep country, so keep the binoculars ready as you pack your backpack the night before.
We have views of the peaks Shey Shikkar and Kang Chunne, both just over 6000 meters, before descending steeply down to the valley floor and along the river. A red chorten marks the entrance to Shey, where we camp for the next two nights.
A free day, and there is plenty to explore in this spiritual heart of Dolpo. Shey Gompa is said to be about 800 years old, with newer murals inside and an ancient scroll describing the mythology behind the Crystal Mountain, locally called Riu Dhukta.
Our quest for 'the' best trek in Dolpo takes us to remote Yanger Gompa, on the old trade route to Tibet. These few days cover some of the most culturally interesting regions of the trek, and of course the scenery is equally spectacular. After crossing the Ge La (Se La) Pass west of Shey, where you are treated to magnificent views of Mustang to the East, Tibet to the North and Kanjiroba, Kagmara and Riu Dhukta, or the Crystal Mountain, to the West. We spend our first night at Namgung, again at a local nomadic herding settlement. We will follow the Namga Khola past more summer herding spots, to the large village of Saldang. Thinley and his son are from Saldang, so we'll get a chance to visit some local houses, drink some salt butter tea or chang (Tibetan barley beer) and sample the local fare. The next day heading north along the Nagon Khola, we finally reach Yanger Gompa, where we set up camp for the night.
We back-track back to Saldang, where we set up camp in the same spot.
Another couple of great, exploratory trekking days, heading south along the Nagon Khola past many small settlements, and Dechen Lapran Gompa, and then along the Dachun Khola. We spend one night en route at the herding settlement of Jangla; these will be long days, so if we need to, we'll break them up and arrive at Dho Tarap a day later, camping at Tokyu or Chamba Gompa for a night. After Tokyu, there is a string of gompas; Ripuche Gompa, Chamba Gompa, Kakar and the gompa at Dho Tarap called Ribo Bhumpa, rebuilt in 1955. Interestingly, there is a Bon chorten next to the Buddhist gompa, which is said to contain the relics of a demon killed by Guru Rimpoche. Above this gompa is another older Buddhist gompa, Mekyem Gompa. Dho actually is the name of the village at the south of the region of Tarap, but it is usually referred to now as Dho Tarap.
We've scheduled a free day in this interesting, very 'Tibetan' region of Dho Tarap, a maze of mud-brick Tibetan houses which was also featured in 'Himalaya', the village where Karma and his band of young Dolpo-pa, and Thinley and his older group of Dolpo-pa, set off with their salt to trade for barley over the high passes. The movie gives a wonderful picture of daily life in the village; the house, the particular dress and jewelry of the Dho inhabitants, the yaks and animals, weaving, dying cloth, making bread and chang, working in the fields, archery, astrology, Buddhist customs, relationships and the vigor of life in a high, remote and arid Himalayan village.
We're heading east along the Thakchui Khola through some wild country, past Crystal Mountain School (a private school funded by a NGO in Dunai), Modo Gompa, Thaksi and Khanger to Numa La Base Camp, where we spend our first night. This is wild, remote country, and the trekking is quite strenuous. We will rise early to start over the Numa La (5320m), where Daulagiri amongst other giants is visible. We descend along a rocky trail towards Danigar, through blue sheep and snow leopard country, with the Baga La looming in front of us. The next morning we head back up to the chorten-topped Baga La (5200m), and then down into a valley and lovely meadows with a glacial moraine, following a beautiful route topped by snow-peaks. We stop for the night at Rilke, to the south of Phoksumdo Lake. The next two days, we continue south along the Phoksumdo Khola, passing the trail junction to the Jumla trail to the east, and then the nine-house village of Renje, stopping at Chhepka. The next day we trek along the steep and narrow valley of Suli Khola, passing several small settlements, goths and horse pastures before reaching the large town of Dunai, and finally the airport at Juphal the next day.
Sadly, our trek through the spectacular and mystical Dolpo is finished, and we board our flight for Nepalgunj, and then on Kathmandu. Back at the Kathmandu the same Hotel again; a warm shower will never have seemed so wonderful, or necessary. Later, we'll head out to dinner to celebrate our adventures in Dolpo. Not many other trekkers in Kathmandu will be talking about.
We send you off to the airport for your flight home. Unless you have flexible flights we strongly suggest you add at least one, and perhaps two days in Kathmandu at the end of the trek that allow for possible flight delays in getting out of Juphal. If you wish to stay longer, we can offer plenty of suggestions: mountain biking in the Kathmandu valley, an Everest sightseeing flight, a trip out to Bhaktapur or Patan, Kathmandu's other two capitals, a night at the Fort Hotel in Nagarkot for a bit of luxury and some expansive sunset and sunrise mountain panoramas or many other excursions. Deepak can help to arrange any of these excursions for you.
