Jomsom – Dolpo – Juphal
or Jumla
Dolpo! The word conjures
up visions of mysterious monasteries of snow leopards and blue sheep.
A land beyond the Himalaya.
Laying in western
Nepal, Dolpo is one of the most remote of Nepal’s regions. By special
permit, we are able to offer this-day trek through upper and lower
Dolpo.
Our route follows much
of the route taken by Peter Mathiessen and George Shaller as described
in " The snow Leopard”.
We trek 200 miles
, averaging 10 miles a day.
We spend 6-8 hours a day trekking. Several layover days are planned.
Porters carry a day pack with the things you need for the day.
Participants should
be in good shape. We are at high elevation much of the time on this
trip. Five passes, over 16,500 feet, are crossed . Steep climbs
and descents are made.
Day
01 |
By flight/ bus or van, to Pokhara, and rest of the days
on Phewa lake, with the Annapurna Range rising to 26,000
feet north of us. |
Day
02 |
Today we fly from Pokhara to Jomsom (elevation 8900 feet),
the administrative centre for the Mustang district to Nepal.
En-route we fly between Annapurna I (26500 feet) ad Dhaulagiri
(26,800 feet). It is a spectacular flight. We meet our porters
in Jomsom. From here we trek up the wide, Kali Gandaki Valley
to the Fortress - like town of Kagbeni (9200 feet). The
scenery around us is spectacular . To our south are the
galciated peaks of the Himalaya. To our north is the drier,
dessert - like countryside of the Tibetan plateau, a maze
of barren high mountains. (8 miles). |
Day
03 |
Climbing 3000 feet out the Kali Gandaki Valley, we have
excellent views of the Annapurna Range, Muktinath and Mustang.
We traverse into the spectacular Chalung Khola, climbing
and descending side canyons along the way, to the village
of Sangdak, elevation 12,500 feet. (15 miles) |
Day
04, 05, 06. |
We ascend the convoluted Chalung gorge, then climb 400 feet,
to 16,800- foot, Sangdak Pass, the eastern entrance to Dolpo.
The scenery is magnificent. This has got to be one of the
grandest viewpoints in the world. Descending the pass we
follow the Thajang Khola to the village of Chharka, 13,500
feet elevation. (25 miles) |
Day
07, 08, 09 & 10. |
From Chharka we climb 3000 feet to Chharka Pass (16,500),
then descend into the Keheng Khola. This is one of the most
remote regions in Nepal, an area where there could still
be the magnificent Marco Polo sheep or the Tibetan wild
yak. The landscape is Arctic desert , barren in places with
alpine meadows in others. We hike past the very Tibetan
villages of Tinje, Shimengaon and Saldang. (50 miles) |
Day
11 & 12. |
Entering Phoksundo National Park, we climb 3000 feet over
a 17,300 - foot pass and descend , to famous Shey Gomba,
elevation 13,950 feet. We spend a layover day here watching
blue sheep, looking for snow leopards and wolves and touring
the monastery. (10 miles). |
Day
13, 14 & 15. |
Leaving Shey Gomba we climb 3200 feet over a 17200- foot
pass. Views of the 22,000-foot peaks of the Kanjiroba Range
are excellent. We descend 5000 feet into the Phoksundo River
drainage and work our way along beautiful Phosksudo Lake
(12,000 feet). We find ourselves perched on cliffs, high
above the lake. If you don’t like heights you won’t enjoy
this section. A layover day is planned at the lake. (16
miles) |
|
Ringmo – Sepka 2700m, Sepka – Dunai, 6hrs. Then observes
the village, Dunai – Juphal 2 ˝ hours. And back packing
etc. and Juphal – Nepalganj-Kathmandu by flight |
Day
16 & 17 |
From Phoksundo lake we descend past the spectacular waterfall
draining the lake. Leaving the main route we follow the
Durjam Khola through the village of Pungmo (9600 feet),
to the base of Kagmara Pass. Since crossing the last pass
we have entered the lusher side of the Himalayas. Beautiful
forests of pine, spruce, hemlock and birch are common.(18
miles) |
Day
18 |
Climb 3000 feet to the summit of Kagmara Pass( 16,800).
Descend along Kagmara Glacier , 3000 feet to Kagmara Phedi
camp. (8 miles) |
Day
19 & 20 |
Descend Garpung Khola 8 miles to Hurikot and the park boundary.
Continue down 2 miles to the Bheri River, at 8600 feet elevation.
Contour through villages and apple orchards past potato
and corn fields, climbing to camp at Mauriya Phedi, elevation
10,200. (20 miles) |
Day
21 |
Ascend steeply, 2300 feet, through forests of pine and oak,
across avalanche tracks to Mauriya Pass (elevation 12,500).
Views of the snowy peaks to our north and east are exceptional.
Descend steeply, 2600 feet, through birch, oak and rhododendron
forests to Chotra, elevation 9900 feet (7 miles). |
Day
22 & 23 |
For the next two days we descend the Tila valley through
spruce forests, past barely fields and rice terraces, irrigation
works and water driven mills, to Jumla, elevation 7700 feet,
the administrative centre for the region. (20 miles) |
Day
24 & 25 |
From Jumla we fly to Nepalgunj and fly to Kathmandu |
Cost: Please contact
us.
Minimum Group size: 4
Season: May - October
Grading: 4
Departure date: as per your convenience.
Included:
- Daily itinerary
as described,
- all inclusive camping
or lodge trek with English speaking guide and porters,
- all meals on trek,
- all fees and land
transportation,
- camping gear such
as twin sharing tent,
- mattress,
- toilet tent,
- dinning/kitchen
tent,
- necessary staff.
Not Included:
- Bottled beverages,
- tips,
- items of a personal
nature,
- delay due to weather,
- equipment failure
or situations beyond our control.
For
More Information: info@ecotrek.com.np
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