Upper Dolpo to Jomsom GHT trek
Nepal

• We are Himalayan trekking specialists having operated trips in Nepal for many years. Roland Hunter has designed the itinerary from his first-hand experience of this trek.
• The Mountain Company has organised seven treks to Upper Dolpo since 2010. For more information on how these treks went please take a look at our Trip Reports (see our Reports and Reviews tab).
• For our 2024 departure, we walked out over the Ghami La pass Upper Mustang. This will avoid the new road that has recently been built over our old itinerary following Sangda La.
• Our AITO Traveller Reviews for Upper Dolpo have a holiday rating of 100%. Based on client feedback we won the 2018 Gold Award as AITO Tour Operator of the Year. Read more about our Testimonials and Awards.
• We have included a gradual ascent profile in our itinerary for this trekking holiday. This will help you acclimatise to the high altitude.
• We use Mountain Hardwear Trango 3 tents for our camping treks in Nepal. These are high-quality three-person tents with space for two people plus gear.
• We review weather forecasts for the Dolpo region throughout this trek.
• We send a Thuraya satellite phone on our group treks in Nepal. Your leader will have reliable communications for logistics, planning, and group safety. We use GPS to upload your location daily onto Google Maps to track your progress during the trek.
• We provide the porters with windproof jackets & trousers, crampons, and shelter. We follow International Porter Protection Group (“IPPG”) guidelines.
• We provide a range of tasty meals for breakfast, lunch, and supper. We give everyone in the group a chocolate or muesli bar per day. For breakfast, we provide fresh coffee from our Bialetti Moka coffee machine.
• We bring a comprehensive medical aid kit. There will also be a portable altitude chamber (PAC or Gamow bag).
• Our team with first-hand knowledge of this trek provides pre-trip support. During high season we have someone from our UK Operations team based in Kathmandu.

Flying into Kathmandu on a clear day is in itself an unforgettable experience. The Himalayan peaks are only a short distance north of the capital of Nepal as seen from the plane. After customs, you will pass into the passenger pick-up area outside the building. You will see a Mountain Company signboard. Our representative will be waiting to welcome you to Nepal.

After transferring to your hotel we will give you a full trek briefing. The rest of the day will be yours to explore Kathmandu and to make final preparations for the trek. You will hear the Nepalese word for hello ‘Namaste’, you will never forget that word after this holiday.

We take the flight to Nepalgunj in western Nepal. There are good views of the Himalayan mountains from the right side of the plane. Nepalgunj is the largest city in the Terai with a hot and humid climate.

Important note: there is a safety risk to consider when flying on airlines in Nepal. For information about the aviation risk in Nepal read the relevant sections “Threat and Risk Assessment” and “Internal flights in Nepal”. Please get in touch with us if you would like to discuss this further.

After an early morning start we take a flight to Juphal the main airport of the Dolpa district. After landing at the short takeoff and landing "STOL" mountain airstrip we meet the trek crew. Once the porters have loaded up we start the Dolpa trek. We walk through terraced fields by the Thuli Bheri river and then up to the town of Dunai.

From Dunai we descend to cross a suspension bridge at the confluence with the Suli Gad River. We follow this river for the next three days up to Phoksundo Lake. The entrance to Shey Phoksundo National Park is at Sulighat. This is Nepal’s largest covering an area of 3,555 square kilometres.

For the rest of the day, we hike along a trail passing through forests of pine, fir trees, and giant red cedars. The hillside is covered with lush vegetation and it is likely you will see troops of langur monkeys. We pass the basic houses of Jyalhasa the winter settlement of the villagers from Ringmo. We camp for the night at a grassy campsite at Chhepka. The local women wear Tibetan jewelry with turquoise, coral, and amber necklaces.

The walk today should take about 4 hours to lunch and in the afternoon a further 3 ½ hours to Chhepka.

Today we follow the trail on both sides of the valley with the crossings on good bridges. In some places we walk near the river and at other times on a narrow path high up in the gorge. We see forests of horse chestnut, larch and birch with bamboo stands further up the valley.

In the afternoon the valley widens out and we pass a river confluence. Pugma Khola flows from Jumla and we follow the Phoksumdo Khola. Heading north we reach a bridge that leads to Amchi Hospital. “Amchi” is the name for traditional Tibetan medicine.

It should take about 4 hours walking to lunch and in the afternoon a further 2 ½ hours to Amchi Hospital.

We have two nights at Phoksundo Lake at an altitude of 3,640m for essential acclimatisation. During the day we explore Ringmo village and the Bönpo Buddhist monastery. Bönpos circumambulate chortens anticlockwise rather than clockwise as done by Buddhists.

Beyond Ringmo we enter Upper Dolpo where it is necessary to have the restricted area permit. We follow the western side of Phoksundo Lake along a narrow cliff trail. This is the “Devil’s trail” followed by Thinle in Eric Valli’s film “Himalaya”.

The path ascends to a ridge with views over the turquoise lake. From here you can see the peaks of Kanjiroba (6,612m), Norbung Kang (6,085) and Jhyarko Dingla (5,892m). We descend through stands of birch trees to our campsite on the northern shore of Phoksundo Lake.

From Camp, we walk further up the valley before crossing the river on a bridge. The vegetation here is juniper and azalea. We climb up a scree slope on a trail with switchbacks and exit to grassy slopes. Then we ascend to the ridge and then traverse along into the valley. The Snowfields Camp is next to a river and at the base of Churan La (sometimes called Chutong La) that crosses into Upper or Inner Dolpo. You are likely to see herds of blue sheep in this area. Peter Mathiesson named this Camp in his book “Snow Leopard”.

Today is an essential rest and acclimatisation at Snowfields Camp before crossing the Kang La pass tomorrow. This will also give the guides a chance to check the condition of the pass and break trail through the snow if required.

From Camp, we cross the river and then walk up grassy slopes to join the valley approaching the Churan La at an altitude of 5,380m. In fact there are two passes with the higher one called Churan La to the right. The other pass to the left is an unnamed pass at a slightly lower elevation (both of these are marked on our Google Maps for Upper Dolpo to Jomsom GHT trek). Usually, we cross Churan La (right-hand pass) although if too snowy then we cross the left-hand pass. places to cross the pass and the one to the right is often snowy. Even during June, there can be patches of snow so it is important to have two walking poles and your micro crampons at hand. 

It should take about 3 hours to reach the Churan La pass. The view is spectacular of Kanjiroba to the West, the huge massif of Dhaulagiri East and into Tibet in the North. The descent from the pass is on scree making for a rapid descent down to Hubajung Khola where we have lunch. The valley narrows to a gorge made of stratified orange rock. After an hour we pass a long mani wall and shortly after Shey Gompa is visible down the valley.

Shey is at a river confluence under Crystal Mountain. This peak is so-called because of the veins of quartz. It is the holiest mountain in Inner Dolpa and is known as the younger brother to Mount Kailash in Tibet. Pilgrims make a kora (or circuit) of Crystal Mountain, and according to the lama, this takes them 12 hours. Our camp is below the monastery in a grassy area with several herders’ huts nearby.

From Shey we head East following Sephu Khola. We pass many mani walls and isolated fields. There are also several seasonal settlements for yak herders known as doksas. After one hour we take a trail up a valley heading North East. This opens up into a bowl covered with loose scree in varying hues of yellow and orange.

On reaching the summit of Saldang La we enjoy panoramic views. You can see east into Mustang and west to Crystal Mountain and Kanjiroba. The landscape is like the arid Tibetan plateau with folded strata visible in the rocks.

We descend from the pass keeping to the left. The dusty trail has little vegetation apart from a few isolated pin cushion mosses. After a descent to a stream, we contour further until you see the red and white gompa on cliffs above Namgung. There are stone houses in the village as well as the monastery.

Our Camp is outside the village below the entrance chortens and mani wall. It should take about 3 hours to walk to lunch before the pass and in the afternoon a further 3 hours to Namgung.

After leaving Namgung the trail traverses high above the village. There are good views back to Saldang La crossed yesterday. After a few hours of contouring we reached a crest. From here we see Saldang village below and mountains in Tibet to the North. Look out for eagles soaring high in the skies.

The Dolpo-pa (inhabitants of Dolpo) lead a precarious life in this harsh environment. They grow what they can from this dry land as well grazing large numbers of yaks and goats. To make up their shortfall in food supply they trade with Tibet using large caravans of yaks. In the past they traded salt for grain. This is supplemented by manufactured Chinese goods and yarchagompa collected in the Dolpa area.

We have lunch in Saldang village. Afterwards we take the high level trail to Karang village. In June time the villagers will be busy ploughing and planting their fields. We descend to the valley and walk along the river bank to our camp at Tora Sumda. This is at the confluence of Wagon Khola and Panzang Khola. 

Today is one of the highlights of the trek following one of the most culturally interesting regions on the trek visiting a valley close to Tibet rarely seen by other trekkers. This valley is very rich in wildlife, look out for herds of blue sheep, musk deer, Himalayan fox and snow leopard (in May 2010 we met an American group who saw a snow leopard an hour earlier).

Shortly after Camp, we cross the new bridge over Panzang Khola to the north bank. At Yanjer village we will visit Dolpo’s oldest gompa surrounded by mani walls and nine chortens, after the village the valley narrows to a beautiful gorge with orange and yellow rock.

It is not possible to follow the Panzang Khola direct to Shimen village instead we have to bypass this precipitous gorge by crossing Muri La to the north. Tonight we Camp in a field on the outskirts of Mischagaon village (also known as Mugaon). It should take about 3 hours to walk to lunch and in the afternoon a further 2 ½ hours to Mischagaon.

Shortly after leaving Camp, we walk through Mischagaon. After looking around the village we leave by ascending the slopes behind on a good trail up to Muri La. It is a long climb and we cross a ridge before reaching the pass. From the top of the pass, there are superb views over to Dhaulagiri. You can also see the peaks of Tshu Kalpo Kang Serku Dholam and Tripura Thumba.

There is a steep and loose descent from the pass so it is a good idea to bring your trekking pole(s).  After dropping 500m in altitude we will stop for lunch on a grassy area near a river. Afterward we follow a gorge passing a small waterfall to Chanpola Goth. The camp is in a grassy area next to a yak herders’ settlement near a river. North from here is a trail to Tibet where there is trading between Dolpo-pa and Tibetans.

It should take about 3 hours to complete the long ascent to the pass and 2 hours to descent to Chanpola Goth

After leaving camp it takes about an hour to walk down the valley to Shimen in the Panzang valley. This valley is one of the four main valleys in Upper Dolpo. The others being Tarap, Nangkhong and Tsharka. This village has groves of willow and a mani wall over 600m in length. Nearby there are fields of buckwheat, barley and potatoes.

After an hour we walk up alongside the river under overhanging conglomerate rocks. We then climb up to reach Mendo Camp on a grassy shelf. Shortly after you see Pu gompa on the other side of the river. You follow Panzang Khola for a further 1 ½ hour to our lunch spot next to Namygal chorten.

After lunch the valley widens out. After several hours we pass through the hamlet of Phalwa. Tibetans live in this place where the men have red sashes in their hair. Soon after we arrived in Tinje. This is one of the larger villages in Upper Dolpo located in a wide valley. There are extensive fields with two gompas and an old fort.  

The Dolpo-pa artist Tenzing Norbu Lama was born in this village. At a young age he trained in the art of traditional Tibetan thangka painting. Now Norbu’s art is well known.

To get to our camp for the night we walk past the disused airstrip then descend to a grassy area by the river. 

Today it should take about 3 1/2 hours to walk to lunch and in the afternoon a further 3 hours to Tinje.

We follow Panzang Khola past ruins of an old settlement on the other side of the river. After two hours we arrive at the river confluence where we take the left tributary Kehen Khola. We walk for a further hour to reach our lunch spot in a grassy area next to the river.

After lunch we continue walking up the left bank of Kehen Khola. We pass through several doksas before arriving at Rakpa where we camp for the night.

It should take about 3 hours walking to lunch and in the afternoon a further 3 ½ hours to Rapka.

As today is a shorter walk, we usually bring along snacks for the morning's walk and then have lunch after arrival at camp. Our previous groups have seen footprints of the snow leopard along this section of trail. Pokhara camp is located about 1 to 1/2 hours before the Mu La.

Today we have a rest day for the group and trek crew. You can explore Chharka and take some time to relax before the final section of the trek out to Jomsom. In the village, we can visit the two gompas, both Buddhist and Bönpo, representing the two religions of Dolpo.

Leaving Nakham Khola camp, we cross the small river. Then we climb uphill and at the top of the slope, we enter another beautiful valley. Along the way to High Camp, we walk across a moraine-covered glacier. Ghami La High Camp is set in a spectacular location at an altitude of 5,345m.

From High Camp, we turn the corner and follow a valley heading to the South. After ascending for an hour, we get a good view of a high-altitude lake. The trail continues going up on a trail through a boulder field to the summit of Ghami La Pass (5,705m). From the top of the pass, there is a panoramic view of the Dhaulagiri massif, Nilgiri, Araniko Chuli, and its close siblings. Also, there is another beautiful lake on the Mustang side of the pass. We descend from the pass for 1 1/2 hours across another glacier and past several more lakes. Further on, the trail is less steep and we reach the beautiful campsite in a rocky bowl at Kharka (5,390m). In practice, we do not descend too far from Ghami La to Kharka due to the lack of campsites lower down the valley.

We continue descending the main valley and set up camp after about 4 to 5 hours. The trail is a steady gradient for a couple of hours before the valley narrows. Below 5,000m there are some landslides to cross, a river crossing, and another small landslide. The camp at 4,930m is at the last place possible before Ghami village (too far to walk today).

The short route to Ghami village through the gorge is not possible. On leaving camp you must stay on the high ground on the right, traversing landslides and cresting two ridges before you can descend. The scenery is amazing and eventually, after 4 hours or so, you start the long descent to Ghami. There are several river crossings today so please pack your sandals. Ghami village has traditional houses and is influenced by Tibetan cultures and traditions.

We take an early morning flight from Jomsom to Pokhara then onto Kathmandu.

This is a buffer day in case of delays flying back from Jomsom. 

Transfer to Kathmandu airport for the flight back home.  End of trip.