The very mention of the name Dolpo usually fires the imagination of any Himalayan connoisseur. This is a remote and isolated region of Nepal and where the pre-Buddhist Bon Po faith still exists. Trekking in Dolpo has always been considered very special, particularly those following the route taken in Peter Matthiessens novel “The Snow Leopard” over high passes to fabled Shey Gompa and beyond.
Prayer flags mark a high point in the trail where a trekker is rewarded with their first glimpse of Phoksundo lake
This short Dolpo trek ventures as far as the scenically located Phoksundo Lake and takes advantage of the handful of very simple and basic trekking lodges that have appeared along the trail to make it a more viable and affordable short Dolpo trek proposition. This linear route to the most spectacular and deepest lake in Nepal still requires two separate domestic flights to reach the trek start and end points. Thus even though the trek to Phoksundo Lake is moderate there is a real sensation that you’re in a special, remoter part of the Himalayas.
Although the advent of teahouses has increased popularity, it is still very much considered a lesser trekked route. The trek profile is rather simple. Primarily you are trekking the course of the river that flows from Phoksundo Lake upstream or downstream. For those that make the effort and venture here the rewards are many.
A much, much longer and altogether far more challenging undertaking that treks deep into the heart of Inner Dolpo and over several high mountain passes too is our Dolpo & The Crystal Mountain Trek.
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