Mystique Upper Mustang to Upper Dolpo Trekking via Chharka Bhot
Upper Dolpo trek via mystique Upper Mustang must be the world's most beautiful mountain tour to the unexplored corners of Nepal's restricted area in the hidden paradise in the world. Explore completely wilderness and undiscovered land but have given explorer's entrée to almost every corner of the world. One of the few regions that could escape foreigners was the Mustang, the last forbidden Buddhist kingdom in the Trans Himalaya. Before it was allowed to trek in 1992 for tourism, only a handful of Westerners had visited the area in western Nepal. They spread out reports of a primitive old society that was culturally prosperous and highly civilized, a landscape almost beyond description. It is situated north of the two 8'000 meter peaks, Annapurna I and Dhaulagiri I. The arid place, with snow-capped mountains and barren hills, reaches deep inside the vast Tibetan plateau. Cold winds sweep through narrow canyons and over plains. Erosion has left its marks in bizarre rock formations.
Yet humans have lived in this hostile environment for centuries. They have built their settlements along rivers and creeks, and the villages of whitewashed houses appear like oases in a huge desert. People work as farmers on their fields, sowing and harvesting barley and potatoes, and driving yaks and goats to relatively fertile meadows. High up in vertical cliffs are inaccessible caves where people lived two thousand years ago. Much later, the region came under the influence of the Tibetan Yarlung dynasty. In the 15th century, the independent kingdom of Lo was founded by Ame Pal, whose invitation to the famous Buddhist scholar Ngorchen Künga Zangpo led to a cultural zenith never to be reached again in the following centuries. It was probably thanks to its remoteness that, even in later times of conquest, Mustang was granted large self-government. The destruction of their culture and religion could be avoided, but Hindu culture and tourism are surely a threat these days. Only in 1950 was it officially declared part of Nepal. The years following the Chinese invasion of Tibet proved to be the most difficult ones in Mustang’s history. Large numbers of Tibetan guerilla freedom fighters set up their camps and attacked the nearby Chinese troops, putting Nepal in a delicate situation.
Dalai Lama asked the rebels to stop their fighting in 1970; the Nepalese government arrested and sentenced some of the leaders. It contributed to discovering the scenic and cultural beauties and mysteries of such an area. Our tour plan is to follow the Kali Gandaki from Jomsom to the north for two days, then take the west route to the capital Lo-Manthang, and from there back to Jomsom over the holy site Muktinath. Upper Mustang consists of two distinct regions: the southern part and the northern part, where the languages, culture, and traditions are similar to those of the Tibetan people. This area is considered one of the most interesting and picturesque places in Nepal. The whole area has an isolated and mystical feel to it, enchanting and inspiring visitors to this region. The trek to Lo-Manthang is through high-altitude desert country, climbing in and out of the huge, steep valley of the Kali Gandaki. In some places, the gorge through which the Kali Gandaki River runs is the deepest in the world. This region is full of some of Nepal’s oldest Buddhist monasteries and ancient and isolated villages with quaint white-washed houses.
The Shangri-La of Dolpo was first settled by Rokpa farmers and Erokpa nomads from Tibet in the 10th century. It is one of the highest inhabited places on earth, with scattered fortress-like villages and monasteries nestling among mountains of stark ascetic beauty. Initially very steep and exposed, the way into the valley is quite sensational, affording a breathtaking view of the waterfall where the Phoksundo Khola plunges into the valley south of Ringmo, and back to the west of Kagmara Himal. Upper Dolpo is one of the remotest, poorest, and most backward regions in the whole of Nepal. its difficult terrain and extreme cold weather have been overlooked despite being a land of tourist potential and other opportunities. There are no motorable roads or airports in Upper Dolpo, except the airport near the district headquarters, Dunai, which is a several-day journey from Upper Dolpo. The people of Upper Dolpo are deprived of fundamental rights such as good education, basic medical facilities, and others such as postal and electricity services. The death toll caused by the lack of basic medical facilities is quite alarming. The existing schools in Upper Dolpo have only primary levels and health posts are functional only for a brief summer season. Recently, some Western NGOs and the Nepal Government have supported opening up schools and health posts but due to the insurgency going on in Nepal, these NGOs are apprehensive of fully implementing further programs. Therefore, some of the NGOs are inconsistent in supporting the restoration and renovation of religious monuments, preservation of valuable religious scriptures, artifacts, and unique monasteries in the region, donating Buddhist texts to monasteries and repairing bridges, and renovating and building stupas and monasteries.
The altitude ranges from 2500 m to 5070 m. Dolpo, the best known of the many isolated high Himalayan valleys across northern Nepal, preserves one of the last remnants of traditional Tibetan Culture. Surrounded by high mountains, including the Dhaulagiri massif to the southeast, and cut off by high passes closed by snow half the year, Dolpo is close to Tibet, where people migrated perhaps 1,000 years ago. Dolpo remains a truly isolated corner of Nepal. Time has stood still here for centuries as the inhabitants of Tibetan stock continue to live, cultivate, and trade the way they have done since time immemorial. Shey-Phoksundo National Park in the core of the Dolpo Region is famous for snow leopards. A great Naturalist Rodney Jackson conducted his research on snow leopards in the Shey Phoksundo area. The finally preserved ecosystem encompasses a wild and wonderful variety of plants and wildlife, including the blue sheep and leopard. A trek through Dolpo is an experience not easily forgotten.
Day 01: Join Kathmandu (1300 m) and pick up the airport and transfer to Radisson Hotel.
Day 02: We take a flight to Nepalgunj and transfer to the hotel. Overnight in hotel.
Day 03: Morning flight to Jhupal and trek to Dunai. 3.5 hrs. Stay overnight at a Tented camp.
Day 04: We start the trek to Shyanta (2510 m/82334 ft.). 6-7 hrs. Stay overnight at tented tent camp.
Day 05: Trek to Raichi (2940m/9643ft.). Stay overnight at tented tent camp.
Day 06: Trek to Ringmo Village (3641m m/11942 ft). Overnight in tent.
Day 07: A day for acclimatization at the lake. Stay overnight at tented Camp.
Day 08: Trek to Fulbari (best view). Stay overnight at Tented Camp.
Day 09: Trek to Kharka Campsite (3750 12300ft)
Day 10: Trek to Shey Gumpa. (via Nangdala pass 5350m) Stay overnight at tented Camp.
Day 11: Trek to Namgung Gompa (place of interest). Stay overnight at tented Camp.
Day 12: Trek to Saldang Village (most beautiful village at 3770m). Stay overnight at tented Camp.
Day 13: Rest day in Seltang.Visit to YongjirGompa. Stay overnight at tented Camp.
Day 14: Trek to Nisalgaon
Day 15: Trek to Shimengaon (3850m)
Day 16: Trek to Tinje Gaon (4110m),
Day 17: Trek to Rapka 4535m (6/7 hours)
Day 18: Trek to Chharkabhot (4302m)
Day 19: Charkabot to Yak Kharka (4,780m) 7 hrs.
Day 20: Yak Kharka to Niwar Pass (5490m) Niwar Phedi (4,300m) 8 hrs.
Day 21: Niwar Phedi to Santa (3,909m) 5 hrs.
Day 22: Trek to Kagbeni.
Day 23: Trek to Tsaile
Day 24: Trek to Ghiling
Day 25: Trek to Tsarang
Day 26: Trek to Lo Manthang
Day 27: Trek to Yara
Day 28: Trek to Tange
Day 29: Trek to Tetang
Day 30: Trek to Muktinath
Day 31: Drive to Jomsom and fly to Pokhara.
Day 32: Morning flight back to Kathmandu, free day, trip concludes
