Trekking into mysterious barren land of lower Dolpo

• HB Thapa

Trekking into the lower Dolpo region offers trekkers and nature lovers an exotic experience of an off the beaten trail situated in the west-central Himalayan spot of Nepal.

A rain shadow seen towards the Tibetan plateau behind the massive Dhaulagiri massif is one of the unique features of the lower Dolpo area for the visitors and trekkers.

Although this region was opened for the visitors in 1990, yet the trekking area is still considered hidden treasures of Nepal and you need to seek separate individual permission to get to this area for trekking.

It may take around 18-19 days to trek around this lower Dolpo region during which you will be mesmerized to watch the immensely striking sights of the rich diversity of flora, fauna, cultural and scenic beauty of the place and popular Phoksundo National Park in this remote and rugged protected area.

This trek offers you wonderful moments to see the snowy mountains, high passes above 5000 meters, the isolated ancient villages, eye-catching lakes, Buddhist monasteries including gorgeous landscape in the backdrop of pleasing sights of Kagmara and Dhaulagiri peak ranges across the beautiful high passes of Baga-La and Numa-La as high as 5,309 meters.

The trekking region is a mysterious hidden barren valley of magestic villages of locals who are of Tibetan stock. Watching nomadic cultural lifestyles in this region is a rare opportunity for a traveler.

You will also be mystified to see one of the blue colored lakes popularly known as Phoksundo which is considered to be the deepest Himalayan lake.

The yaks ferrying goods from one place to another offers a more charming sight during this trek.  The natural scenic beauty is not limited to this. You will also encounter snow leopard, mountain goat, jackal, blue sheep, black bear, and wolves.

Your journey starts from Kathmandu as you need to take a flight from Kathmandu to Nepalgunj and then taking a flight to Jhupal via Nepalgunj to explore the barren and hidden areas of Lower Dolpo. The return journey is vice versa.

The trekking trail passing through gorgeous gorges, ancient villages, nomadic cultures and ultimately reaching Phoksundo lake (3611.5m) is a really exciting and spectacular experience.

The trek offers a challenge to face the altitude up to 5190 meters with an average walking for 6-7 hours. So, being physically fit is one of the criteria for this trek. The trek becomes all the more exciting and exotic as you encounter challenging passes with high snow-covered Kanjirowa peaks trying to sneer at you.

A famous French geographer and photographer Eric Valli already exposed the beautiful landscape of this remote barren region with Bon-Po culture in his film known as “Caravan.”

Best time

It is suggested that you trek to this mysterious barren and hidden region in between September-December and March-May.