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Day 01
– Kathmandu to Nepaljung
Fly to Nepalgung, a
small town near the Indian border in the Terai
region of Nepal, and stay overnight in this
transit city. |
Day 02
– Nepaljung to Dunai (2796m)
via Juphal (2354m)
We will leave early in the morning on the only
flight out to Juphal. It is a short flight with
wonderful views of the precipitous hillsides and
river valleys. The airstrip at Juphal is at an
altitude of 2354m, so we will have a relatively
easy trek as we walk along the Thuli Bheri River
to Dunai |
Day 03
– Dunai to Tarakot (2550m)
We follow our trail eastwards out of Dunai,
along the south bank of the Thulo Bheri
ascending slowly upstream on a good trail. We
will cross the river many times as we will come
closer to our campsite below the fortress of
Tarakot village. After dropping our luggage it
is worth a climb to the village for a look
around (5 hrs). |
Day 04
– Tarakot to Khanigoan (2540m)
The trek of today to Khanigoan goes alongside
terraced fields following the Barbung Khola
river and crosses to the western bank just below
its confluence with Tarap Khola. After a few ups
and downs the trail crosses this river on a
120m-long, high suspension bridge. At 2540 meter
there is a place to camp on the banks of the
Tarap Chu (chu is Tibetan for river) in a lovely
cedar grove (4 hrs). |
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Day 05 –
Khanigoan to Chheur
(3610m)
The Tarap Valley narrows up in a tight V
shape gorge ahead. The new trail here is
excellent, with stone steps and tunnels
blasted out the rock through the
steepest part of the gorge. The river
drops steeply alongside the trail – 600
meter in only 3 kilometre. Finally the
gorge opens up at Lahini at 3160 meter. Beyond
this the trail passes through grassy
meadows, gravelled river beds and one
can see waterfalls spraying from the
rock walls. We continue climbing over
ridges, with the usual ups and downs, to
another crest at 3600 meter. The trail
stays high for a while before descending
to a rushing side stream, the Tilba
Khola, at 3570 meter. We have to climb
one more ridge to arrive at our campsite
at Chheur, where there are large rose
shrubs, yellow poppies and
magenta-blooming legumes (6-7 hrs).
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Day 06
– Chheur to Sishul Khola
(3770m)
Our trail stays at the west bank of the river,
making some short climbs before reaching Nawor
Pani, a shelter at 2620 meter. The valley turns
a bit to the west as the trail makes its way to
a grassy meadow and crosses and recrosses the
Tarap Chu a few times on a series of log and
stone bridges. After crossing the Tarap Chu on a
very short bridge where the river emerges from a
narrow, steep gorge we climb further on the east
bank through a true trans-Himalayan landscape to
a chorten (Buddhist prayer temple) on a ridge at
3870 meter. We enter ‘blue-sheep country’ now;
there are numerous herds living among the yellow
rocks and cliffs. We descend from here to the
Sishul Khola river, where there is a grassy
campsite (5 hrs). |
Day 07
- Sishul Khola to Do Tarap
(4080m)
We start by climbing gently to two weatherworn
chortens atop a ridge. From here the trail is
rocky as is traverses beneath cliffs to a bridge
at 3890 meter where we cross to the east bank.
We continue climbing up the canyon alongside the
river. It will not be long before we see the
white Ribo Bhumpa gompa ahead of in Do Tarap. We
will continue with a short climb alongside a
line of ancient chortens to Do Tarap, where
there is a camp site in a grassy meadow south of
the village (4 hrs). |
| Day 08 - Visit the
monasteries, or at the festival |
| Day 09 - Buddha Ribo
Festival 2011 |
| Day 10 - Buddha Ribo
Festival 2011 |
Day 11 – Do
Tarap to Tok-khyu High Camp (4390m)
Our path heads west out of Do Tarap past a
cluster of stone house and past the Crystal
Mountain School, which is the first serious
attempt to bring education to this remote
region. Beyond the school a trail leads uphill
to Ga Kar (‘white mountain’) village. We
continue our way up the valley to Trangmar (red
cliff) and Dorje Phorba gompa at 4170 meter. We
continue on to Tok-Khyu village at 4180 meter
and from here it is about an hour further
following the stream to the campsite at 4390
meter (6 hrs). |
Day 12
– Tok-khyu High Camp to Pelungtang
(4465m)
We will have to start early to pass the Numa La
pass (5318m) under the best circumstances. We
have to climb steeply up a grassy slope to a
ridge where there are several mani walls and a
chorten at 4580 meter. We climb further up along
a moraine to Numa La pass, which is about 4 hrs
past our high camp. On a clear day we will have
excellent views of Dhaulagiri I (8167m). From
the pass we descend into an U-shaped, rocky
valley. We follow the river here downstream and
cross it on a combination of rocks and logs and
climb back up again on the south bank which
climbs gently but continually to a good camp
site in a meadow at 4465 meter. This area is
known as Pelungtang; tang in Tibetan means
meadow (7 hrs). |
Day 13
– Pelungtang to Dajok Tang
(3800m)
Today is a tough day when the pass is covered
with snow, but it is not really difficult when
the route is clear. It takes about 3 hrs to
reach the Baga La pass (5190m) marked by prayer
flags and cairns. From the pass one can see
several snow clad peaks including the Kanjiroba
massif. We descend steeply down from the pass
until our trail levels out staying high above
the stream until we enter a huge valley at 4390
meter. From here we make a final descent on
steep switchbacks to Dajok Tang (‘prayer flag
meadow’) at 4080 meter. The stream drops besides
the trail in an impressive series of step-like
waterfalls. This is truly a spectacular valley,
with a large moraine, said to encompass a lake,
at its head and numerous waterfalls shooting of
near-vertical rock cliffs. We continue for a
short while before reaching our campsite of
today (6 hrs). |
Day 14
– Dajok Tang to Phoksumdo Lake
(3730m)
The trail today remains on the right bank of the
Sanu Bheri. It is a magnificent trek with
wonderful views every step of the way. In some
places there are broad meadows and in others the
valley teeters along steep hillside. Along the
trail we will see Norbu Kang (6005m), Kagmara
peak and other peaks of Kanjelaruwa. Eventually
the trail emerges onto an area with thorny
shrubs and descends a bit, then climbs on a high
Cliffside trail to a ridge at 3780 meter. From
here is a great view across the valley to the
huge waterfall formed by the Phoksumdo Khola
river. The trail levels out again and re-enters
the forest as it climbs to another ridge at 3820
meter. It descends gently through a blue pine
forest to the national park camping ground near
Phoksumdo Lake. It’s a spectacular lake of 4.8
km long and 1.8 km wide. It is said to be 650
meter deep. There is no aquatic life in the
lake, which helps to make the water brilliantly
clear and it has an aquamarine like colour. |
Day 15
– Phoksumdo Lake to Renje
(3010)
Today we descend to the village of Renje, first
crossing the picturesque village of Ringmo, with
its flat roofed stone houses and many
mud-plastered chortens and mani walls. Ascending
through birch forests we will follow our trail
past the spectacular 200 meter high waterfall
coming from Phoksumdo lake, this is the highest
waterfall of Nepal. We keep following this river
downwards crossing it many times till we reach
our campsite at Renje (5 hrs). |
Day 16
– Renje to Chepka (2670m)
Also today we will follow the river further
downwards making many ups and downs alongside
it. We will go through forests of firs and
larches till the trail becomes more rocky and
forming a dyke on the side of the river. If we
are lucky the small village of Chepka has just
been restocked by cargo helicopters and we will
be able to buy some refreshments like soft
drinks or cold beers. We will camp on a meadow
next to a walnut grove (5 hrs). |
Day 17
– Chepka to Juphal (2490m)
Today we walk to the region famous for its
lotus-like plant called chuk, which is used to
make vinegar and medicines. We pass through the
villages of Ankhe, Rahagaon and Parela, meaning
‘eye’, ‘eyebrow’ and ‘eyelash’ respectively. We
keep walking downstream following the river to
Dunai. From here we ascend to Juphal climbing
through wide meadows. In Juphal we will spend
the night in one of its hotels where a well
deserved hot shower awaits us (7 hrs). |
Day 17
– Juphal to Nepalgunj/Kathmandu
From Juphal we fly back to Nepalgunj and then
fly to Kathmandu. |
