Lower Dolpo Trek
- Duration
- 15 days
- Max altitude
- 3,800 m
- Difficulty
-
Strenuous
Difficulty scale
- Easy Short walking days on good trails below about 3,000 m. Suitable for anyone in ordinary health, including families.
- Moderate 5 to 6 hours a day with some steep sections, reaching up to about 4,000 m. A reasonable level of fitness and a few weeks of preparation walking recommended.
- Strenuous 6 to 8 hours a day, high passes or altitudes above 5,000 m, and remote stretches. Good fitness, prior trekking experience and proper acclimatisation days are essential.
- Very strenuous Long days, multiple high passes or technical sections, sustained time above 5,000 m. For experienced, well-conditioned trekkers only.
- Best season
- Autumn (Sep–Nov) · Spring (Mar–May)
- Group
- Private
- From
- $2,655.00
Overview
The accessible half of Dolpo. Shey Phoksundo lake and the Bon and Buddhist villages around it, without the three extra weeks and the 5,000 m passes of the upper route.
Every departure is private and led by a government-licensed Nepali guide, so the plan flexes to your party and to the mountain. Permits, park fees and local taxes are inside the price you see.
Trip highlights
- Shey Phoksundo lake
- Restricted area with far fewer permits issued
- Camping support throughout
- Shorter than Upper Dolpo, same landscape
Day by day
The itinerary
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Day 1: Arrive in Kathmandu (1,400m) 1,400 m Hotel
Our representative meets you at Tribhuvan International Airport and transfers you to the hotel, followed by the trek briefing.
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Day 2: Kathmandu: permits and preparation 1,400 m Hotel
Dolpo is a restricted area and the permit is issued against your actual passport, in person, through the immigration office. That is the day's real business. Whatever time is left goes on a kit check for a fortnight of camping.
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Day 3: Fly to Nepalgunj (150m) 150 m Hotel
An hour's flight down to the Terai, close to the Indian border. Flat, hot and a world away from the mountains, but it is where the Dolpo flights leave from, so everyone going that way spends a night here.
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Day 4: Fly to Juphal (2,475m), trek to Dunai (2,140m) 2,475 m 2-3 hrs Camp
A small aircraft onto a hillside strip above the Thulo Bheri, and the change in landscape is immediate. A short downhill walk to Dunai, the district headquarters, where the camp crew sorts loads and the police check the permits.
-
Day 5: Dunai to Chhepka (2,838m) 2,838 m 6-7 hrs Camp
Up the Suli Gad, the river that drains Phoksundo, on a trail cut along the gorge wall. The valley narrows and the forest thickens as you climb. Chhepka is a handful of buildings on a flat by the river, inside Shey Phoksundo National Park.
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Day 6: Chhepka to Rechi (3,000m) 3,000 m 5-6 hrs Camp
A gentler day through blue pine and walnut, crossing the river repeatedly. Blue sheep are sometimes visible on the slopes above, and this is snow leopard country, though seeing one is a matter of real luck rather than planning.
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Day 7: Rechi to Ringmo and Shey Phoksundo lake (3,611m) 3,611 m 4-5 hrs Camp
The steep pull up beside the waterfall, the highest in Nepal, and then the lake appears all at once. Phoksundo is an improbable turquoise held in a bowl of bare rock, and the colour is not exaggerated in photographs. Ringmo village sits at the outflow, flat-roofed and stacked with firewood.
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Day 8: Ringmo: rest and the Bon monastery 3,611 m Camp
A day at the lake. Tshowa gompa above the village is Bon, the pre-Buddhist religion of Tibet that survives in Dolpo more intact than almost anywhere, and the caretaker will usually open it. Otherwise the day is for the lake shore, the village and doing very little at altitude.
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Day 9: Day walk along the lake shore (3,800m) 3,800 m 5-6 hrs Camp
Out along the famous ledge trail cut into the cliff above the water, the one that appears in every photograph of this place and in the film Himalaya. It leads to the meadow at the far end where the trade route north begins. We turn around there and come back the same way.
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Day 10: Ringmo to Chhepka (2,838m) 2,838 m 6-7 hrs Camp
Back down past the waterfall and into the forest. Losing height quickly after several days up high, with the walking much easier than it was coming up.
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Day 11: Chhepka to Dunai (2,140m) 2,140 m 6-7 hrs Camp
Down the Suli Gad gorge to the Thulo Bheri and back to Dunai. Warmer air, terraced fields and the first vehicles in over a week.
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Day 12: Dunai to Juphal (2,475m) 2,475 m 2-3 hrs Teahouse
A short climb back up to the airstrip. The crew winds up the camp here and the evening is the end-of-trek one.
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Day 13: Fly Juphal to Nepalgunj, then on to Kathmandu 1,400 m Hotel
Both flights in one day when the weather cooperates. Juphal is a morning-only strip and cloud closes it often, which is why the spare day below is part of the plan rather than an extra.
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Day 14: Spare day in Kathmandu 1,400 m Hotel
The buffer for a weather-delayed flight out of Juphal. If everything ran on time, the day is yours.
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Day 15: Departure 1,400 m
Our representative takes you to the airport about 3 hours before your onward flight.
Altitude profile
The climb, day by day
Comfort tiers
Choose your level of comfort
| Amenity | Standardfrom $3,185.00 | Comfortfrom $3,758.30 | Luxuryfrom $4,618.25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kathmandu hotel | 3★ | 4★ | 5★ |
| Trail accommodation | Standard teahouse | Best lodge in each village | Premium lodge where the route has one |
| Porter support | Shared porter | Private porter, lighter load | Extra porter, carry almost nothing |
| Transfers | Shared | Private | Private, throughout |
What's included
Included
- Included: All airport transfers in a private vehicle
- Included: Four nights' twin-sharing accommodation with breakfast at a 3-star hotel in Kathmandu
- Included: One night's accommodation with breakfast at a standard hotel in Nepalgunj
- Included: Twin-sharing tented accommodation for 8 nights on the trek, and one teahouse night at Juphal
- Included: All meals on the trek: breakfast, lunch and dinner, cooked by our own kitchen crew
- Included: Boiled and treated drinking water throughout the trek
- Included: Flights Kathmandu to Nepalgunj to Juphal and back
- Included: Dolpo restricted area permit and Shey Phoksundo National Park entry fee
- Included: A government-licensed, wilderness first-aid trained, English-speaking guide
- Included: A full camp crew: cook, kitchen staff and porters, with all their wages, meals, insurance and equipment
- Included: All camping equipment: two-person tents, dining tent, kitchen tent, toilet tent, table, chairs and kitchen utensils
- Included: Duffel bag, down jacket and sleeping bag on loan for the trek
- Included: A comprehensive first aid kit, including a pulse oximeter
- Included: Trekking map and trip completion certificate
- Included: All government taxes and official expenses
Not included
- Not included: International airfare and the Nepal entry visa
- Not included: Travel insurance, which must cover helicopter evacuation from a remote area with no road access
- Not included: Lunch and dinner in Kathmandu and Nepalgunj
- Not included: All drinks, including bottled water, alcohol and soft drinks
- Not included: Personal trekking clothing and equipment
- Not included: Tips for the guide, cook, camp crew and porters
- Not included: Extra hotel nights and costs caused by the Juphal flight being delayed or cancelled beyond the spare day already in the itinerary
- Not included: Extra costs caused by weather, landslides, illness, early departure or any other event beyond our control
- Not included: Anything not listed under what is included
Your team
Led by a licensed guide
Every route is led by a government-licensed guide from our team. Licences are on record with us before departure, and you'll meet your guide once your trip is confirmed.
Guide language(s): English, Nepali
Group-size pricing
Walk together, pay less
Every trip is private, so the guide, permits and transfers cost the same however many walk. Sharing them is why the per-person price falls: arithmetic, not a sale.
| Group size | per person | You save each |
|---|---|---|
| 1 trekker | $3,185.00 | base rate |
| 2 to 3 trekkers | $2,655.00 | $530.00 |
| 4 to 6 trekkers | $2,495.00 | $690.00 |
| 7 or more | $2,335.00 | $850.00 |
Per person, including permits, park fees and taxes. Nothing is added at checkout.
Weather
What to expect, month by month
- Autumn (Sep–Nov)The most reliable trekking season: clear air, stable weather and cold nights, right after the monsoon clears.
- Spring (Mar–May)Warmer than autumn, with rhododendron forests in flower and slightly hazier mountain views as the season goes on.
Traveller reviews
What trekkers say
Why book with us
Every trail, one licensed team
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