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Highlights of Dolpo – Tarap to Phoksumdo Lake across High Passes

Available Departures: Sep, Oct

18 days from

US$4,210

without flights
Walk & Trek
Guided Group
CHALLENGING CHALLENGING

A classic trekking holiday in the ‘wild west’ Nepal region of Dolpo

Trip Code: DNB
Holiday Grades
          

Our Holiday Grades Explained

To show the relative difficulty of our holidays, each trip is graded on a scale of 1 to 12, with 12 being the most challenging. Although we have tried to make our grading system as clear as possible, it cannot take into account your personal interests, abilities or experience. If you have any questions about the nature of a particular trip or its suitability for you, please read the 'Is this holiday for you?' section or contact us.

 1 - 3 LEISURELY
1 - 3 LEISURELY

Suitable for most people in good health, holidays at this grade include only limited amounts of activity.

View leisurely holidays
4 - 6 MODERATE
4 - 6 MODERATE

Suitable for reasonably fit individuals, such as weekend walkers and cyclists. There can be the occasional more difficult day.

View moderate holidays
7 - 9 CHALLENGING
7 - 9 CHALLENGING

Physically challenging holidays, where you need to be prepared before you go.

View challenging holidays
10 - 12 TOUGH
10 - 12 TOUGH

Our toughest holidays, involving many long days, often in isolated areas. A high level of fitness and previous wilderness and mountain experience is essential.

View Tough holidays

Highlights of Dolpo – Tarap to Phoksumdo Lake across High Passes

Highlights
  • Follow in the footsteps of Peter Matthiessen, author of The Snow Leopard

  • Trek through the Tarap Gorge to the picturesque village of Dho Tarap

  • Cross the 5000-metre Num La and Baga La on yak-herders' trails

  • A day to explore at the stunning, cobalt-blue, Phoksumdo Lake

  • FREE Sleeping bag and down jacket hire is available for this holiday


At a Glance
  • Group Size 5 to 13
  • 13 days trekking
  • Max altitude - 5200 metres
  • Join In Kathmandu

Accommodation & Meals
  • All meals included
  • 13 nights Camping
  • 3 nights Hotel with swimming pool
  • 1 nights Guesthouse
Overview

In the west of Nepal, north of the main chain of the Himalayas and overlooked by the isolated massif of Kanjiboba, the region of Dolpo is a world apart. High and dry, its scattered settlements are home to hardy Tibetan-speaking people who have traditionally made their living through subsistence farming and as traders, exchanging salt from Tibet for rice grown far to the south in Nepal’s Terrai region. Beautifully portrayed in Eric Valli's excellent film - 'Himalaya', Dolpo is one of the least accessible and most alluring corners of Nepal.

A network of rugged trails links the region’s isolated villages across 5000-metre passes and provides the setting for some of the world’s great adventure treks, such as this one which we have set up to showcase the best of Lower Dolpo. Flying to the airstrip at Juphal, our adventure begins with a 5-day trek through the impressive Tarap Gorge to Dho Tarap. We spend a day here and have the chance to visit nearby villages and monasteries, before striking out across two high passes, the Num La (5200m) and Baga La (5165m) to reach Phoksumdo Lake. Startlingly blue, this lake really is the ‘jewel in crown’ of this part of Nepal and we have scheduled a day here to make the most of the idyllic location. The lakeside village of Ringmo and its associated monastery, dedicated to the Bon religion, are not to be missed. A 2-day trek beside the waterfalls of the lake’s outflow then takes us back to Juphal. For the connoisseur of Himalayan trekking and for anyone who wishes to visit an unspoilt region of near mythical status, this trek is an absolute must.

Is this holiday for you?

This trekking circuit through Lower Dolpo offers a variety of trekking conditions from maintained trails well-trodden by local people to less regularly used routes over shale and scree. With a combination of a number of longish trekking days, two high pass crossings, and the negotiation of the steep-sided Tarap and Phoksumdo ‘gorges’, this holiday presents a reasonably tough challenge in a …

This trekking circuit through Lower Dolpo offers a variety of trekking conditions from maintained trails well-trodden by local people to less regularly used routes over shale and scree. With a combination of a number of longish trekking days, two high pass crossings, and the negotiation of the steep-sided Tarap and Phoksumdo ‘gorges’, this holiday presents a reasonably tough challenge in a little over 2 weeks. A good level of fitness is needed for this trip and a head for heights is also required as there is a degree of exposure on some of the paths. Ideally, this should not be your first experience of trekking above 4000 metres. Since there are no lodges of a good standard in this region, this is a camping trek with a full Nepalese crew. Please note that this is camping in some style, where we provide spacious 2 person tents and thick foam mattresses to ensure you get a really good night's sleep. Also part of the camp set up is a dining tent (complete with table and chairs) where you will eat your meals and relax. The cook and his team have the use of a kitchen tent and there will also be one (or more usually two) toilet tents. Your local crew will set up the camp each evening and take it down again in the morning.

Why KE?

We have been running treks into Nepal's wild west for 30 years and Dolpo remains one of our favourite places. For a classic Nepalese trekking adventure, into an amazing part of the country that sees very few trekkers, this one is hard to beat.

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