14-Day Lower Dolpo Trek from Jumla

After being picked up in the Kathmandu Tribhuvan International Airport by one of our representatives, they will transfer you to the hotel. Once there, you will get a short briefing of your trip and have the rest of the day off. Overnight at Hotel.

On the second day of the tour, we will visit some of the World Heritage Sites of Kathmandu. These include Durbar Square, the sacred Hindu temple of Pashupati Nath, the famous Swayambhu Nath ‘Monkey Temple’ , and the Bouddha Nath Buddhist shrine. You can also make last minute purchases of personal items and prepare for the next day. Overnight at Hotel.

In order to get to Dolpa, we will  fly to Nepalgunj first. Nepalgunj is a steaming hot city in South Western Nepal. It is close to the Indian border and culturally resembles India more than Nepal. Once there, you can take a rickshaw for a ride in the town, and stop by the bazaar where you can see horse carts full of colorful people going to or coming from the Indian border. The Bageshowri temple is one of Nepal’s most important Hindu temples and is worth a visit as well. Overnight at Hotel.

After an early rise, a morning plane will take us to the town of Jumla, which lies on the banks of the Tila Khola river. Jumla is one of the highest rice-growing areas of the world, where the unique ‘red’-rice is grown.

We will start our trek from Jumla on a trail that leads past several water-driven mills before dropping to the confluence of the Tila Khola and the Chaudhabise Khola. From there, we will climb gently alongside rice terraces to the village of Dochal Ghara at 2530 meters. Then, we will follow a trail through a forest of maples and walnuts until we reach a meadow. In season, the wildflowers that grow in this meadow include cinquefoils, terrestrial orchids, forget-me-nots, mints, buttercups, primulas, edelweiss and gentians. Beyond the meadow, the trail will take us up to a rocky cairn at Pattyata Lagna (2830m), and then we will descend into a magnificent alpine amphitheatre towards Gothi Chaur close to the stream at the bottom of the valley. At the spring we will arrive to, there are some 13th century Malla dynasty stone carvings. Overnight at Camping.

After ascending through fields of barley and buckwheat we will arrive at the trail junction at Muni Sangu, a small settlement where we can see peculiar carved wooden faces, called dok-pa that are supposed to offer protection from evil spirits.

As we keep on, we will stay on the southern side of the river as the valley slowly becomes narrower. We will continue going onwards to Changrikot (a series of houses built into the hillside on the opposite side of the river at 2900m). Then, we will finally cross the river and climb towards the grey stone houses of Chotra (3010m). The village has typical mani walls which are carved stone walls with Tibetan Buddhist prayers, and a kani which is an arch, decorated with paintings on the inside. A short distance from this stop is the Tibetan settlement of Naphukana where we will set camp.  Overnight at Camping.

On day 7 we will take a steeper trail that will lead us past rocky fields to forests of oaks and birch trees strangled with Spanish moss. The climb will end at the Mauri lagna (‘honey pass’) at 3820 meters. From this pass, we will get good views of the snowy peaks of Gutumba (5608 m) and Mataumba (5767 m) to the north-east and Bhalu Himal (5460 m) to the south. We will descend from here to the Bheri valley to the large Khampa settlement of Chaurikot at 3060 meters. Shortly after we pass this village we will find some excellent campsites. Overnight at Camping.

We will slowly descend to the village of Rimi where the amusing faces of the dok-pa will peek at us from the top of houses. After crossing the stream, we will arrive in Kaigaon (2610 m), where we will find the first shop since leaving Jumla. We will slowly descend along the side of a large valley to a few campsites in the forest. Overnight at Camping.

We will start the day by climbing to the Balangra La pass at 3760 meters, from where we can see Dhaulagiri Himal on clear days. From then onwards, the trail levels out and continues through a treeless, waterless area. Then we make our final 500 meter descent through a rocky area to the stream just below Tibrikot, where we can make a good campsite. Tibrikot is a picturesque village on a promontory overlooking the Thulo Bheri valley. Overnight at Camping.

We will begin by making a short climb to the temple of Tibrikot, dedicated to the Tripura Sundari Devi goddess., From there, we will descend past extensive rice terraces to a long suspension bridge. Our trail will continue with a few ups and downs to the village of Dunai. Overnight at Camping.

Juphal is  famous for its lotus-like plant called chuk, which is used to make vinegar and medicines. On our way there, we will pass through the villages of Ankhe, Rahagaon and Parela, meaning ‘eye’, ‘eyebrow’ and ‘eyelash’ respectively. We will keep walking downstream and then ascend to Juphal through wide meadows. In Juphal we will spend the night in one of its hotels where a well deserved hot shower will await us. Overnight at Camping or Lodge.

Early morning flight to Nepalganj.
This is a wonderful 35-minute flight over the Himalayan foothills, with fine views of the main peaks including Annapurna and Dhaulagiri to the north. You will then connect with the flight back to Kathmandu. Overnight at Hotel.

After a fun packed journey you will have a full day at leisure on your own. Otherwise,  if you wish to extend your trip with us for an additional fee, we can organize to explore the Thamel for one last day shopping and evening farewell dinner at a Nepali restaurant.
Overnight at Hotel /B.

GuideSource will transfer you to the International Airport for your departure flight.