Upper Dolpo to Jomsom Trek

Late September to early November and mid-April to late May are the two usable seasons for the Upper Dolpo to Jomsom Trek, because the Sangda Pass at 5,100 m needs stable, snow-free conditions to cross safely. Autumn is the cleaner of the two: the monsoon ends in September, skies clear, trail conditions firm up and the high camps are cold but dry. Most years the window runs from around 20 September to 10 November before early winter snow makes the upper section unreliable.

Spring (mid-April to late May) works because snowfall from the winter thaws out, but the timing is tighter than in autumn because late-season snowfall can close the Sangda Pass into May, and the monsoon starts moving in from June. Upper Dolpo sits north of the main Himalayan axis and receives much less monsoon rain than southern-facing treks, so some operators run the trek in June and July, but the approach through the Suli Gad and Phoksundo area can be wet and the high camps are cold. Winter is not viable: the Sangda Pass holds deep snow from December to late March.

The Upper Dolpo Restricted Area Permit is the largest fixed cost of this trek, currently set at USD 500 per person for ten days in the restricted zone, then USD 50 per extra day. Upper Dolpo has been a restricted area since Nepal first opened it to foreigners in 1989, and the permit must be arranged through a registered Nepalese trekking agency -- independent trekking in the restricted zone is not permitted. You also need the Shey Phoksundo National Park entry fee, a TIMS card, and the standard Annapurna Conservation Area Permit (ACAP) for the Kagbeni to Jomsom section at the end.

The permit paperwork requires a passport copy and two passport-size photos. Swotah handles the complete permit set once you confirm your booking. The lead time is typically 7 to 10 working days, so do not finalise flights before the agency has confirmed that permits can be issued. The restricted-area designation also means a licensed guide is legally required throughout the Upper Dolpo section; solo trekking is not an option.

The Upper Dolpo to Jomsom Trek is a full camping trek from Rupgad (day 3) through to Jomsom (day 25). There are no teahouses in the Upper Dolpo restricted area, and only one or two basic lodges at Ringmo (Phoksundo Lake) at the start of the restricted section. All nights between Rupgad and Kagbeni are in tents, with food prepared by the camp cook team on kerosene and gas stoves.

A standard camp consists of sleeping tents (one or two per client), a mess tent with folding table and chairs, a cook tent and a toilet tent. Pack animals, typically mules, carry the camp equipment as far as the trail allows; porters carry loads where animals cannot go. Kathmandu and Pokhara nights are in three-star hotels on twin-sharing with breakfast. A four-season sleeping bag rated to at least minus 15 degrees Celsius is essential for the high camps at Norbulung (4,750 m), Yak Kharka (4,780 m) and Sangda Phedi (5,100 m).

Three meals a day are included from the first night in Kathmandu through to the last night in Pokhara. The camp kitchen team prepares breakfast before the day's walk, a packed or cooked lunch on the trail and a hot dinner at camp. The menu at lower elevations runs to rice, dal, pasta, noodles, omelettes, chapati and fresh vegetables. Above 4,000 m the choice narrows to whatever ingredients the pack animals carried in, but the cooks are experienced at keeping energy levels up across a long trek.

Water above 3,000 m must be treated before drinking. Aim for 4 litres per day above 4,000 m because dehydration accelerates AMS. The camp team boils water for drinking at each camp, and Swotah provides water purification tablets for daytime use. Carrying a reusable 1-litre bottle and a purification device (tablets, filter, or UV pen) is the standard setup. There are no shops between Ringmo and Kagbeni, a stretch of roughly 18 days, so all food is carried in.

The route starts with a domestic flight from Kathmandu to Nepalgunj (around 1 hour), an overnight in Nepalgunj, then a 35-minute mountain flight to Juphal airport (Dolpo) the following morning. Juphal flights are operated by small Twin Otter or similar aircraft, are weather-dependent, and can be delayed by days during the monsoon or after snowfall in winter. Swotah builds a buffer day into the schedule at Nepalgunj; clients should not book onward international flights within three days of the Nepalgunj-to-Kathmandu return leg.

The trek finishes in Jomsom, from where a short mountain flight to Pokhara (around 20 minutes) or a longer drive is available. The flight path out of Jomsom is also weather-dependent, particularly in the afternoon when the Kali Gandaki wind picks up: morning slots are more reliable. From Pokhara, the drive back to Kathmandu takes 6 to 7 hours on the Prithvi Highway. All domestic flights are booked by Swotah as part of the package; seat availability on the Juphal sector needs to be confirmed well ahead of the trip.

Phoksundo Lake at 3,641 m is Nepal's deepest lake at 145 m, and its colour, a flat hard turquoise caused by high mineral content and low sediment, is unlike any other lake in the Himalaya. The lake sits inside Shey Phoksundo National Park, the largest national park in Nepal by area at 3,555 sq km, which also holds the largest population of snow leopards in the country. The trail arrives at the lake through the Dolpopa village of Ringmo and a viewpoint on the ridge above offers the full picture of the lake, the waterfall at its outlet and the cliffs behind.

The free day at Phoksundo (day 7) is also an acclimatisation day before the route climbs above 4,000 m. The Ringmo village gompa is Bon, and the cultural blend at this altitude of Bon shamanism, Tibetan Buddhism and subsistence farming is unlike anything encountered on the more popular circuits to the east. Photography from the ridge is excellent at any time of day, and the monks at the gompa will usually allow a short visit.

Shey Gompa at 4,370 m is one of the most important pilgrimage monasteries in the Tibetan world, attracting Tibetan and Dolpopa pilgrims every 12 years for the Crystal Mountain circumambulation. The monastery sits in the open, stone-grey valley of Inner Dolpo with Crystal Mountain (Shey Ri, approximately 6,000 m) directly above it. The approach from Lar Tsa crosses Kang La (approximately 5,350 m) on day 10, the highest point before the Sangda Pass, and drops into the valley to the monastery.

The acclimatisation day at Shey Gompa (day 11) gives time to walk the kora around Crystal Mountain, visit Tsa Kang monastery on the cliff face above the valley floor, and spend time with the caretaker monks. The monastery's annual festival draws hundreds of pilgrims from surrounding villages. Peter Matthiessen's 1978 account of a journey to Shey Gompa, The Snow Leopard, remains the best-known piece of writing about Inner Dolpo; the same terrain is largely unchanged.

A licensed guide is legally required throughout the Upper Dolpo restricted area and Swotah's guides hold Nepal Tourism Board licences, have mountain first-aid certification and have guided the Sangda Pass crossing multiple times. The guide manages the permit checks at checkpoints, translates with local communities, monitors altitude symptoms daily above 4,000 m and makes route decisions if weather closes the pass approach.

The full camp team for Upper Dolpo typically includes one guide, one assistant guide, a head cook, one or two kitchen assistants, and porters or muleteer-managed pack animals. The porter-to-client ratio follows the industry standard of one porter per two trekkers for personal kit, with additional porters for the communal camp equipment. Swotah provides porter insurance, limits individual loads to 25 kg, and issues duffel bags for client kit. The kitchen team sources fresh food in Nepalgunj and Juphal before the trek starts, as there are no resupply points between Ringmo and Kagbeni.

Mobile coverage in Upper Dolpo is essentially absent from Rupgad (day 3) through to Kagbeni (day 24), a stretch of roughly three weeks. Nepal Telecom (NTC) gives the occasional signal in Juphal, Ringmo and Saldang, but the inner valleys have no towers, and satellite communicators (InReach, SPOT) are the only reliable option for non-emergency communication. Swotah guides carry a satellite phone or messenger for emergency contact.

Electrical charging is not available between Ringmo and Kagbeni. A power bank of at least 20,000 mAh is sufficient for most clients over three weeks of moderate phone use, but a small solar panel is worth carrying on a trek this long. Camera batteries and GPS units drain faster in cold at altitude; keeping them inside a sleeping bag at night extends their charge. Treat the 18 days between Ringmo and Kagbeni as fully off-grid: download offline maps, load reading material and set family expectations before leaving Juphal.

Upper Dolpo is one of the most culturally and ecologically sensitive trekking regions in Nepal, and responsible practice matters here in ways that go beyond the standard checklist. The restricted-area permit system exists partly to control visitor numbers; following your guide's instructions at checkpoints and monasteries keeps the permit regime in good standing. At Shey Gompa and the Bon sites near Phoksundo, ask before photographing, walk clockwise around chortens and mani walls, and remove footwear before entering gompas.

Carry all non-organic waste out of the restricted area: there is no waste management system between Rupgad and Kagbeni. Avoid single-use plastic and use the camp's boiled water rather than buying bottled. Tipping is standard and expected at the end of the trek: the common guideline is USD 10 to 15 per staff member per day, which is shared between the guide, assistant guide, cook, kitchen staff and porters according to their role. For a 29-day trip with a full camp team this amounts to a meaningful sum, and the staff know it and plan around it.