Days 01 : Arrival and transfer to hotel.

Days 02 : Preparation for trekking or optional sightseeing.

Days 03 : Day in and around Kathmandu. The time in Kathmandu is short and therefore you will be offered to go on an organised sightseeing by bus; visit Swayumbhunath, Pashupatinath, Durbar Square, Patan and other places of interest.

Days 04 : By bus to Nepalganj in the southwestern part of Terai, the lowland of Nepal. Nepalganj is a rather large town dominated by a Moslem population. Stay the night in a hotel.

Days 05 : From Nepalganj you fly to Jumla, departure at 07.50. Jumla is the administrative centre of Jumla district. Lunch at Jumla. After sorting out the luggage and porters you start the trek to Jharjwala. Cross the suspension bridge over the Tila river and immediately cross another small bridge. Walk along the Tila river on the left side. It is an easy and almost flat trail to Nepal Gaun. You will see some other small villages across the Tila river called Khallabada, Dhalpura, Khambada and Bauli Goun. After crossing the Nepal Gaun, we walk another half an hour more to reach our camp site at Jharjwala on a school's ground. It takes two and half hour to reach Jharjwala from Jumla.

The trail passes through terraced fields of wheat, potatoes and barley. The trail is gentle and you will pass small villages. It is a pleasant trek. You will meet traders from Tibet on their way south with their caravans of pack animals loaded with salt.

Dolpo is one of the highest inhabited plateaus in the world and was closed to trekkers until 1989. It is situated by Nepal’s northwestern frontier with Tibet, encompassing some thirty villages and monasteries at 3.500-5.000 meters. Lower Dolpo, the area open for trekkers, is thickly forested with conifers and cut by gushing rivers. The upper portion is an extension of the Tibetan Plateau and has the same wild, windswept and open spaces characteristic of Tibet. The region was declared a national park in 1984 making it Nepal’s largest National Park. The status has helped preserve not only the wildlife but also the culture. Lower Dolpo is home to the endangered musk deer that may be glimpsed

along the trails and to a great variety of birds. The rarely seen blue sheep, the Himalayan black bear, snow leopard and the Himalayan wolf are also found in Dolpo. Mathiesen’s classic book “The snow leopard” is from Dolpo.

Days 06 : Jharjwala to Muni Kinara: After having our breakfast we ascend to Garikot. Most Chhetri and Brahmin people live in Garikot. You will be ascending gently up to our lunch site near by Gothichaur. The rolling green hills and the beautiful pastures are very scenic from this spot. After lunch we have a brief ascent to Gothichaur Bhanjyang (2820m.) then we descend to Gothichaur. There is a Sheep Farm and Goat Research Centre here. Gothichaur is a valley situated in a big grassy field with myriads of winding rivers and surrounded eye catching green hills. After passing Gothichaur, we will trek along the right side of the Kabila river and after walking for an hour we will cross the Babila Sangu bridge and further two hours will bring us to our camp site at Muni Kinara just below the Muni Goun. We will camp here along the river bank.

The villages you pass are not very much affected by our modern society.

Days 07 : Muni Kinara to Mauri-La Phedi: It takes approximately 15 minutes of almost flat trail to reach to Muni Sangu. We will take the left trail and continue walking along the right bank of the river. After half an hour we will cross a small wooden bridge and continue walking along the river this time on the left bank. After crossing two more wooden bridges we will reach Chorta village, a small settlement of about 26 families of mostly Bhotias ethnic group. You will see the first Chorten of our trek when passing the village. Walk another half an hour for lunch break at Naphakuna. If you are interested, you may visit Naphakuna Monastery, Mathi Chorten and Tala Chorten of the Bon Po
Buddhist above this village.

After lunch we trek about 3 hours to Mauri-La Phedi (aprox: 3400m.) to reach our today's camp. This place is also called Rami Duwa. Rami Duwa is a belief of the villagers' which means "God of Nature". If people make this place dirty they are prone to get sick. Today's camp site will be on a sloppy area.

Days 08 : Mauri-La Phedi to Balanchha (2940m.): Steep ascent to the Mauri Bhanjyang (3780m) which takes abut an hour. A fascinating mountain view of Mt. Kanjiroba at 6883 m can be seen from the pass. We will descend to Nwauli from where the dense forest trail starts. We will have our lunch some where in the middle of the jungle where ever water is available. After passing the dense forest, we will reach Chaurikot Village where about 33 families of high casts ethnic groups live. We will continue trekking for about one and half hour to reach our camp site at Balanchha. We will have a grand view of the Bheri river and some mountain peaks.

Many of the people you meet may not have faced westerners before, nor cameras - which you should naturally be very careful with.

Days 09 : Balanchha to Army Camp (2910m.): We will pass through Jharkot, Rimi, and Majh goun Villages. Rimi is an interesting village where the interaction with the local people is most forthcoming. It also has a primary school, post office and health post but it is not developed. Mainly Chhetri people live in this village. Another two and half hour will bring us to Kaigaun for lunch break. The next village Hurikot is just half an hour away. Hurikot is inhabited by about 33 families of Bhotias ethnic group and a further two and half hours of gentle ascent will bring us to Toijem where we have to show our trek permit. From Toijem an half an hour of short descending and ascending we will reach to our camp site nearby the army camp.

Days 10 : To Kagmara Phedi (4240m.): Today is a hard walking day because we will be ascending almost all the way to our camp site. We will take our lunch near by the river side after walking about four hours. I suggest you to bring some dry fruits because you will need it from now on to boost your
stamina. After lunch we will have another very steep ascend for an hour, then a more gentle ascend through stunted rhododendron bushes to our camp site at Phedi. Remember to walk slowly to let your body adjust and avoid AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness). Kagamara Phedi is a beautiful camp site surrounded by fascinating mountains and alpine scenery.

Days 11 : Rest day at Kagmara Phedi for acclimatisation: After breakfast interested participants may climb up to some surrounding hills about 5000m. Blue sheeps are common in this area and if you are very lucky you might even see the most elusive of the big cats - the snow leopard.

Days 12 : Kagmara Phedi to Lasa (High Camp 4670m ): A steep ascent to the Kagmara Pass (5120m.) which takes about three and a half hours. And a steep descent, about two hours, to camp site at Lasa (High Camp). The local people also call this place Nukha. It is the only feasible camp site because the next camp is three hours or more at Daju. You may have some symptoms of high altitude sickness so please consult with your group leader. Today we will have packed lunch.

Days 13 : High Camp to Pungmo (3180m):We will take our lunch at Daju after a descent of three hours. From Daju the trail is through alpine trees and meadows to Pungmo. It's about two hours walk to our camp site at Pungmo. Phoksundo National Park has built a camp site here just below the Pungmo village. If we have enough time, we will visit Namgyal Gompa at Pungmo.

Days 14 : Pungmo to Ringmo: Trek to Samduwa. It is a gentle descent to the Samduwa and it takes about an hour. The army post will recheck our trek permit here. An hour from the Army check post we will have lunch near by Palam. There is an Ayurvedic Health Post managed by the local Tibetans. There is a National Park office at Palam. From Palam there are three steep ascents before reaching Ringmo. While ascending we will see a beautiful waterfall called Bauligod water fall. Camp by the Phoksundo lake. Ringmo is also called Chho-hyul (Chho-lake, Hyul-Gaon) by the Tibetans.

Days 15 : One day in Ringmo to rest and explore Ringmo, Phoksundo Lake which icy water gives off a turquoise colour on a sunny day. Visit Ringmo village and the very old Pal Santan Thasung Chholing monastery situated by the lakeside.

Dolpo is part of Nepal but its people - in race, religion and culture, are Tibetan Buddhists descended from nomadic tribes who settled here in the tenth century. Being in Nepal, the Chinese occupation and subsequent “cultural revolution” of Tibet did not affect the Dolpo-pa (people of Dolpo) and their religion and culture has survived as one of the best preserved examples of Tibetan Buddhism in the world. In fact, people living in certain pockets of the region practice Bon Po, an animistic religion that pre-dates Buddhism and which, some believe is actually their precursor to Tibetan Buddhism as we know it. You will see Bon Po practised in Ringmo.

Days 16 : Ringmo to Sepka: It is a long day walk in a rough and risky trail. Walk very carefully, you may fall into the river. Descend all the way to Reji for lunch which takes about three hours. After lunch trek four more hours to Sepka (Chhepka) for the camp.

Days 17 : Sepka to Dunai: About 45 minutes descent to the Sangta where after 30 minutes we will cross a small wooden bridge and cross another bridge on the left bank of Phoksundo river. We will continue along the river to Suligad for lunch. After lunch we will walk one and half hour along the Bheri river to reach our camp site at Dunai. Dunai is the district headquater of Dolpa.

Days 18 : Dunai to Juphal: After breakfast we will walk about an hour on a flat trail along the Bheri river and then a gentle two and half hour ascent to Juphal for our lunch and last overnight camp.

Days 19 : Fly from Juphal to Nepalganj. By bus you go directly to Tansen, which is one of the nicest little towns in Nepal according to my subjective opinion but also according to many others' including Nepalese people. You stay at Hotel White Lake View situated in the middle of Tansen.

Days 20 : Kathmandu valley open for own initiatives, shopping or optional sightseeing at your own cost.

Days 21 : Departure transfer to the airport for onward destination.

Days 01 : Katmandu. Airport - hotel transfer.

Days 02 : Katmandu. Day at leisure.

Days 03 : Katmandu - Nepalganj by plane.

Days 04 : Nepalganj - Juphal (2250 m) by plane. During the flight, we can enjoy a superb panorama on the Annapurnas, the Dhaulagiris and the Manaslu. We start our trek with a 3-hour walk towards Dunai (2150 m).

Days 05 : Dunai - Tharakot (2700 m) in 5 h. The trail goes along the Thulo Bheri river towards Tharakot. This village was an ancient fortress and a caravan stop.

Days 06 : Tharakot - Lahini ( 3200 m) in 5 h. Steady ascent by steep trails through fir and juniper forests.

Days 07 : Lahini - Naure Odar (3100 m) in 6 h. The narrow trail goes through the Tarap Khola gorges.

Days 08 : Naure Odar - Dho (4000 m) in 6 h. We come out onto the Tibetan plateau. A tough walk through a vegetation thinning out, towards Dho, the main village of the valley.

Days 09 : Acclimatization day at Dho. We will visit the three main villages of the Tarap valley and the Ri Bhumpa Gompa and Bon-Po Gompa monasteries.

Days 10 : Dho - Camp at 4100 m (before the pass) in 5 h. In this region, men trim their hair with red threads and wear them in a chignon as the Khampas from Tibet. Women wear heavy silver headgears.

Days 11 : Camp at 4100 m - Nun La Pass (5360 m) - Camp at 4200 m in 6 h. From the Nun La, literraly " salt pass ", views of the Annapurnas, the Dhaulagiri and the Nilgiri are superb. We then descend the other side of the mountain and establish the campsite at 4200 m.

Days 12 : Bivouac - Bagla La Pass (5090 m) - Roman (3800 m) in 5 h.. The emerald waters of the Phoksondo lake and the picturesque village of Ringmo form one of the most beautiful himalayan landscape.

Days 13 : Roman - Ringmo (3510 m) in 2 h . Gentle walk around the lake and visit of the Tesu monastery. The monastery leads the whole life of Ringmo, inhabited by " Bothias ", an ethnic originally from Tibet.

Days 14 : Ringmo - Chepka (3000 m) in 6h. Along the Phoksundo Khola river, the route crosses woody and verdant areas. The high point of this leg is a spectacular 330 m waterfall, the highest one in Nepal.

Days 15 : Shepka - Dunai (2550 m) in 6h. Uneven route along the river. We will probably have the occasion to come across goat caravans, loaded as mules and bringing the salt back from Tibet.

Days 16 : Dunai to Juphal. Walk about one and half our along the Bheri river and ascend to Juphal takes about 2 and half hour and overnight camp

Days 17 : Fly Juphal - Nepalganj - Katmandu and overnight at Kathmandu

Days 18 : Katmandu. Free day in Kathmandu for shopping or optional sightseeing.

Days 19 : Departure transfer to the airport for onward destination.