Dolpo, also known as Hidden Valley, resides beyond the Himalayas. Area conjures up visions of mysterious monasteries, snow leopards and blue sheep. The region is reputed for the isolated high Himalayan Valleys across northern Nepal, also it is home to one of the last remnants of traditional Tibetan culture. Dolpo is the place where the Oscar-nominated movie Caravan was filmed. It is a perfect blend of rustic villages, the culture that backs to 1000 years ago, and drastic landscapes. Besides the alluring beauty and fascinating culture, Dolpo is a restricted area and invites only a few visitors, but it leaves a permanent impression on those people.
Upper Dolpo trekking route passes gigantic mountain ranges - Annapurna, Dhaulagiri, and Kanjiroba. You also pass through Mystic lands of Lower Dolpo, which once was a small kingdom in its own. Upper Dolpo Trek serves some of the most IMPRESSIVE highlights of Dolpo like Phoksundo Lake, ancient monasteries like Yangtze Gompa and Shey Gompa, etc are exciting trek highlights. You’ll also pass 5,000m above passes like Kang La and Shey La which is sure to give you the thrill of a lifetime.
Trip Code
UDT32
Starts
Jhupal
Finishes
Jhupal
Duration
26 Days
Difficulty
Hard
Group-Size
2 - 7
Age
Minimum 16
Seasons
Mar-Jul,Sep-Oct
Elevation
4702 m/ 15426.5ft
Trip View
2493
Activities
Trekking
Travel Style
Comfortable
Trip popularity
TRIP FACTS
Inhabited by the Buddhist and Bon cults, whose culture and tradition resembles with Tibetans.
Upper Dolpo was made famous by Peter Matthiessen's book "The Snow Leopard".
Thrilling High passes such as Kang La Pass, Saldang La Pass, Jeng Ja Pass, and other passes.
Views of Dhaulagiri and the Tibetan peaks.
Upper Dolpo Region celebrates festivals like Buddha Jayanti, Sonam Lhosar, Shey Festival, Yungney, Deity Festival, Chye Chu, Chaigu, Chaite, Keja, Yacha, Shrawan Purney, Bhadaure Purney and many other.
Why this Trip
Upper Dolpo is an exotic place where you will encounter remote villages and the old fashioned people dwelling there who still practice their culture unspoiled from modern civilization and technology. Trip to Dolpo takes you to a completely different world from the one you live.
Trip Notes
•We reserve the right to change and that the program may be reversed. Things can happen that make it impossible to meet them as planned. If any meeting or plan would not be feasible, we always try to find an equivalent alternative. In Nepal, you always have a plan B and C!
•What follows is a general flow of events. Expect the unexpected and prepare to be flexible
•A trekking permit is a must to travel to controlled areas. Permit, however, is issued only to groups. Individual trekkers will not be issued trekking permit
This is going to be the first day of Nepal adventure. At the arrival section of Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, one of our representatives will be waiting with a placard-carrying your name on it. The airport representative will explain the program upon arrival and escort you to the hotel on a private vehicle. Overnight in Kathmandu.
Today we drive all the way to Nepalgunj. The city lies in the Terai region of Nepal which is plain lands. Nepalgunj is very close to the Indian border and the Bardia National Park. People and culture here are highly influenced by Indian culture. Overnight at the hotel.
Today we take a brief 35 minutes flight to Juphal. Juphal is the starting point for our trek, from Juphal we hit the road and commence the trekking. The trail descends and skirts through local villages. We start our trek as we walk downhill to camp by the river at Sulighat (2,050m). Stay overnight at Rupgad.
From Rupgad, we head towards Chepka by following the trail that goes along the Suli Gaad River. We skirt numerous villages including Jyalhasa; Temporary winter settlement for the people of Dolpa and their cattle. Stay overnight at Chepka.
Leaving Chepka we hit the trail to Sanduwa, we cross rives many times today. The trail ascends to narrow gorge through lush forests of bamboo and conifer. The valley-wide opens at the village of Renje beyond which the trail climbs upwards further to reach Samduwa. Stay overnight at Samduwa.
Today we head to Ringmo along with the Samduwa the river which later becomes the Phoksumdo Khola. We Trek via Palam and enter the Dolpo National Park. From a ridge above the valley, we are rewarded with the first glimpse of Phoksumdo Lake. Descending through the forest we climb to the Dolpopa village of Ringmo (3,600m). Stay overnight at the camp near the lake.
Besides the exquisite lake, there is much to explore nearby. We observe the culture of Ringmo village and its monasteries. Many beautiful glaciers can be found near and above the lake area. There are many monasteries (Gompas ) and Bon-Po religious sites at the park.
Today we enter the restricted area of Upper Dolpo to the Shalla Ghari, we reach there through the route where the epic movie called Caravan by Eric Valli was filmed.This route is said to be used by traders of Dolpo and Tibetans. On the way, we are blessed with beautiful mountains view, Lane Ringmo, and the dark green pine forests. Stay overnight at Shalla Ghari.
Today is a strenuous day of us crossing the Kang La (5,350m). We climb for about 2-3 hours before we reach the pass. From the pass, we descend to the valley and follow the river to Shey Gompa. The vintage monastery is set dramatically beneath crystal mountain. We stay overnight at Shey Gompa.
Today our bodies need rest and acclimatization to get used to the altitude. We spend the day going out and about in Shey Gompa. We also visit Tsa Kang Monastery, perched on a ledge of a cliff-face. Stay overnight at Shey Gompa.
Today we head east side towards Namgung, on the route we cross the Shey La Pass (5,100m) from where we can view Tibet in the north and Mustang in the east. From the pass, we descend for a while to reach the pasturelands of Namgung. Overnight at Namgung.
Today we start the trek by passing through Namgung Khola, then we steep descent to the village of Saldang. Saldang is the largest village in Inner Dolpo. We stay overnight at Saldang.
Today we take a much-deserved rest day after strenuous trekking. On free time we can hike up to beautiful Karang Village which is 1-2 hours far from the Saldang
The trail take a steep climb and takes us to the summit of the Jeng La (5110m). From the Jeng La pass we are offered with the spectacular vistas of south to Dhaulagiri. From there we take the down path to the Tarap Valley and follow a stream that takes us to Tokyu Village, Stay overnight at Tokyu.
Dho Tarap is a highlight of this trek. It is a wonderful settlement that portrays the rustic attributes of Dolpo. Dho Tarap situated above a wide valley and was a famous trading point to the traders of Tibet and Mustang in the ancient days. Today we cross the traditional Tokyu Village (4,209m) to reach the magnificent village of Dho Tarap.
After the stay at the wonderful place Dho Tarap and finishing the morning breakfast we move our feet for Simara. 6-7 hrs continuous walk through the Mirbubane Khola Dovan we reach our destination.
We have our hearty breakfast and head towards Laini. We pass via Nawarpani Dovan (3,780m) and Chhyugar (3440m). Laini is a great campsite which has cascading waterfall nearby.
Today we head to Tarakot leaving Kanigaon behind, we cross the latter via a high suspension bridge. We walk high above the river and then descent to Tarakot where we stay overnight. Tarakot has Gompa where we can visit during the day time.
For nights in cities, we use standard/superior standard/deluxe rooms whereas, during the trek we use camping for our clients. We also arrange sleeping bags for our clients, on their request.
We believe in operating small intimate group to provide personal attention and services to our guests. Small groups can enjoy the trek hassle free and enjoy the customized trip according to their need and suitability. We do not incorporate more than 14 People in a group, unless we get special requests from our clients.
Yes, Nepal can proudly boast as one of the safest countries in South Asia for women, you will find people very friendly and respectful especially towards women. Locals are very respectful and welcoming toward women and tourist in general and our guides will make sure you are comfortable and safe while trekking in remote areas.
We make sure to take security measures during trek to make your trip delightful. We hire experienced and license holding guides to safeguard your life in mountains. We suggest you to follow the guide’s instruction carefully and take responsibility for personal belongings. Always keep your valued belongings near you and lock the door from inside during the night.
During camping, our expert camping cooks prepare a wide range of delicious meals empowering you with enough strength for your strenuous climbing. All the cooking materials will be carried by our porters.
There are plenty of water stations on each stop on the route. You can easily fill up the bottle from the open taps. We recommend that you bring water purifier tablets with you or at least get it from Kathmandu before you depart for trekking. You can also buy mineral waters but we usually recommend tap water which is pure and it helps us not promoting plastic bottled water.
We use private transportation sightseeing inside the Kathmandu Valley. And we use domestic airlines to fly from Kathmandu to Nepalgunj and Nepalgunj to Kathmandu. We do drop and pick up from the starting and ending point of trek on private car or jeep.
Before coming to Nepal make sure that you are covered by insurance policy for the altitude of 5500 meters. In the case of an emergency like altitude sickness, dehydration or any medical conditions ask your tour leader/guide to contact us as soon as possible so that we can manage/arrange helicopter for the rescue. Then you will be transferred to hospital for the treatment.
Trekking in Upper Dolpo Trek is a little bit hard and tiresome activity that requires a lot of physical movement so pack your active wears and trekking pants for at lower altitudes. Weather at high altitude is unpredictable so carry a light weight waterproof jacket along with thick down jacket, pant and thermal inner wear t to escape severe cold. Needless to say that, Good shoes are very important for trekking in rough and snowy terrain, so invest on good quality shoes or rent it from us in a minimum price. As you are trekking in remote village try to wear modest clothes to quickly get up with the local people without hesitation.
We contact the lodge/guesthouse owner for reservation of the room before trekking on a particular day. On other days, porters reach the destination on advance and book the rooms for you. But there are always going to be exceptions but even in those cases, we may have to be flexible about very basic sleeping arrangements. We always try to make sure that we have everything well arranged.
All our Guides are trekking experts holding license from Nepal Tourism Board, Nepal Government. They are the most valuable assets of the company. Guides know the trekking route like the back of their hand and use their expertise in ensuring your safety in the mountains.
While trekking in higher lands you need to pay for charging the electronics upon request to the owner. The best idea always is to bring your power bank with you. It's easier and cheaper.
In some village, you can make local and international calls from telephone provided by the guesthouse owner after paying the price directly. Our guide also provided with a mobile phone in case of emergency you can call from his mobile and make a call.
If you need extra day to complete the trekking, you will need to inform the guide in advance and the guide will let the company know. Adding a day to trekking can result in many changes in other arrangements such as transportation, guide's schedule, flight details, hotel bookings and all, so we really don't recommend this to our clients unless there's an emergency cases. But it is true that those changes could be made but it will cost extra. The best way to do it is to inform the agent company about it.
Before coming to Nepal make sure you are covered for diphtheria & TB, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, malaria, typhoid, polio and tetanus. Make sure you are in best shape to complete the trekking without any complication.
Usually, we have to walk about 7-9 hours a day. But it should not be taken as certain thing because the hour of walk depends on client's speed. So it's really relative.
To confirm your booking, a deposit of 15% of total trip amount is required if you are booking at least a year in advance before trip departure date. If booking is made between 100-364 days before the trip departure, you'll need to pay 20% to confirm the trip. If payment is made between 99-60 days, 25% of the total trip amount will need to be paid and if booked between 59-30 days, 50% of the total trip amount needs to be paid and finally, if you are booking 29 days prior to trip departure, then 100% payment should be made. The payments can be easily made by the bank transfer. The due balance is payable on arrival in Kathmandu with cash (preferably USD/EURO) or card on POS/credit card machine. Please note that non refundable fee is 10% or $200 whichever is greater.
You cannot use the credit card during the trek. You have to withdraw the money before you start the trek. You can use credit card only in Kathmandu and Pokhara.
You have to carry your personal bags with water bottle and medicines remaining bags will be carried by porters to make you easy to trek. The weight limit for porters is 15 KG.
