UPPER DOLPO TREK – THE CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN TREK

Arrive Kathmandu. You will be met on arrival at the Tribhuwan International Airport. Transfer to Hotel. Day Free. Enjoy welcome dinner. Briefing during dinner. (Dinner)

Full day sightseeing in Kathmandu. You will be accompanied by our in-house city guide. In the morning, visit Bodhanath, the Stupa of a million dew drops, to watch monks and devotees circumambulate the largest stupa in Nepal. Then visit Pashupatinath, Nepal’s most sacred Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva, with its two-tiered golden roof and silver door. Drive to Patan for lunch in the garden of the Patan Museum Café. After lunch, visit the well-maintained Patan Museum. Drive back to Kathmandu. (Breakfast and Lunch)

Morning flight to Pokhara. The day is free for you to explore Pokhara. You may choose to take a boat across the lake and hike 30 minutes to the Peace Stupa. You may also visit the International Mountaineering Museum which has displays and information of the world’s mountains and mountain communities. It is also possible to stroll along the lake and check out the bars/restaurants/souvenir shops.

Overnight Sampada Inn or similar. (Breakfast)

Fly to Jomsom and descend to Marpha. From hot, windy Jomsom (8,900 feet) where the landscape has become truly desert-like. Here, we turn away from the Kali Gandaki and begin to seriously gain altitude. We first go in the opposite direction to Muktinath at 12,400 ft., towards the Thorung Pass, to acclimate better. Then we descend to Kagbeni, the gateway to Mustang, the Kingdom of Lho.

Overnight camp. (All meals)

From Kagbeni, we turn away from the Kali Gandaki towards Dolpo. Our first night away from the river will be at the prosperous little village of Dangorjung (10,300 feet) with its small red-walled Buddhist temple and rows of ancient cottonwoods. Overnight camp. (All meals)

The following day, we cross our first pass of note (13,700 feet) – from there we can enjoy unmatched views of the Annapurna area, the Kali Gandaki gorge up to Kagbeni, and to the north-east the entire kingdom of Mustang. Dropping from the pass to a meadow at about 13,100 feet, we make camp and plan to spend two nights (for acclimatization).

Sangda is considered to be the ‘gateway to Dolpo’. Overnight camp. (All meals)

Leaving Sangda the next day, the trail floats over a small pass (13,500 feet) before descending into the Chalung gorge itself to cross the river on a bridge. Camp (at 13,700 feet) lies on a balcony below our first pass, in a beautiful juniper forest. We will stay here two nights to continue our acclimatization process

The following day is a ‘two pass day’, one of which is also notably the highest altitude of our Upper Dolpo trek. On the trail by six in the morning, swirling mists clear as we again see our way to the top of the Khog La. It is slight descent to a long basin beyond the pass, where we stop for an early lunch before continuing over the Touje La (18,250 feet). We should reach its wind-swept top after a few more hours, gaining magnificent views of Dhaulagiri and Tukuche Peak to the south. Overnight camp (All meals)

The next morning, after a rolling pass of about 16,500 feet, we descend into a network of canyons, continuing to work our way north. After two days, the emerald green fields of Charka come into view. We will want to visit the two gompas (temples) here before continuing north. The gompas represent the two religions of Dolpo, Buddhism and B’on.

We descend into the gentle wide valley of the Keheng Khola, and before camp that evening turn west up a small drainage, heading for Tarap. An extra day is planned to explore Dho. Overnight camp. (All meals)

Leaving Tarap the following day, our route continues north over another pass (Jeng La 16,700 feet). Prayer flags strung across the river and innumerable unbelievably massive mani walls (made of stones each carved with an offering prayer) welcome us to Saldang. Overnight Camp (All meals).

Turning southwest, another major pass (Se La at 16,800 feet) needs to be crossed in order to get over to Shey. This will take us about two days, so we can enjoy a high camp en route with an excellent view of Tibet. We set up camp (14,800 feet) and plan to spend two nights to explore the area. Shey is named after the ‘Crystal Mountain of Dolpo’, which rises to the southeast. Highly recommended is the 1,500-foot climb to Tsakang, the “Red Chalk” gompa. Overnight camp. (All meals)

Turning south the next day, we have our last pass (Kang La 16,800 feet) of the Dolpo Trek to negotiate. This is the continental divide, and snow is likely to cover the pass. Camp is near the village of Ringmo. The people here are B’on, and the amiable resident lama will delight in showing his gompa to us. A layover day is planned here to enjoy the surroundings. Coming from the barren north, the green of the pines and junipers, and the blue of the lake seem almost surrealistic.

Overnight Camp. (All meals)

Continuing south, we leave the lake along its effluent, the Suli Gad. You may begin to hear a roar in the distance, then coming around a corner – a massive 900-foot waterfall, the biggest in Nepal. The next day we walk along the south side of the Thulo Bheri for about an hour, then climb up for about three hours to the village of Jufal (8,700 feet). This is the location of the Dunai airfield, a steeply inclined STOL field carved out of the hillside. It is necessary to camp here one night, as our flight out on our charter plane will be in the early morning. This last evening of our Dolpo Trek, we will have a party with all our porters and staff who have been with us for 30 days. Overnight camp (All meals).

The next day, we will depart Jufal by chartered plane (Twin Otter) landing in Pokhara. From Pokhara we will fly to Kathmandu on a regularly scheduled flight, arriving by mid-day. Day free in Kathmandu. Overnight Hotel (Breakfast and Lunch).

Sightseeing in Kathmandu. Visit Swayambhunath, the monkey temple, and Bhaktapur Durbar Square. Overnight Hotel Tibet. (All meals).

Final departure.