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Holidays

Dolpo to Mugu Trek

Nepal
1 review
Available Departures: Sep, Oct

28 days from

US$5,830

without flights
Walk & Trek
Guided Group
TOUGH TOUGH

A trek on the Great Himalaya Trail from Phoksumdo Lake and Shey Gompa north of Kanjiroba across rarely travelled passes to Mugu

Trip Code: DTM
Holiday Grades
          

Our Holiday Grades Explained

To show the relative difficulty of our holidays, each trip is graded on a scale of 1 to 12, with 12 being the most challenging. Although we have tried to make our grading system as clear as possible, it cannot take into account your personal interests, abilities or experience. If you have any questions about the nature of a particular trip or its suitability for you, please read the 'Is this holiday for you?' section or contact us.

 1 - 3 LEISURELY
1 - 3 LEISURELY

Suitable for most people in good health, holidays at this grade include only limited amounts of activity.

View leisurely holidays
4 - 6 MODERATE
4 - 6 MODERATE

Suitable for reasonably fit individuals, such as weekend walkers and cyclists. There can be the occasional more difficult day.

View moderate holidays
7 - 9 CHALLENGING
7 - 9 CHALLENGING

Physically challenging holidays, where you need to be prepared before you go.

View challenging holidays
10 - 12 TOUGH
10 - 12 TOUGH

Our toughest holidays, involving many long days, often in isolated areas. A high level of fitness and previous wilderness and mountain experience is essential.

View Tough holidays

Dolpo to Mugu Trek

Highlights
  • One of the great trekking challenges of the Nepal Himalaya
  • Beautiful Phoksumdo Lake, one of Nepal’s special places
  • Bhijer, Pho and Mugu, three of the most remote villages in Nepal
  • Views of the little-known Kanjiroba Himal from the Nyingma Gyanzen La
  • FREE Sleeping bag and down jacket hire is available for this holiday

At a Glance
  • Group Size 5 to 13
  • 23 days trekking
  • Max altitude - 5500 metres
  • Join In Kathmandu

Accommodation & Meals
  • All meals included
  • 1 nights Guesthouse
  • 23 nights Camping
  • 3 nights Hotel with swimming pool
Overview

Beyond Dhaulagiri (8167m), the world’s seventh highest summit, the high and wild territory of Dolpo extends for scores of kilometres, northwards into Tibet and westwards to the remote district and settlement of Mugu. Accessed by way of the airstrip at Juphal, the few fortunate travellers who visit Dolpo each season confirm that it’s home to some of the best trekking in the Himalayas. A network of scant trails penetrates this far-flung region and links together its steep-sided valleys, villages and age-old Buddhist monasteries.


The Dolpo-pa are of Tibetan stock and make their livings from herding goats and yaks and growing a few hardy crops in irrigated fields alongside their stone-built and fortress-like villages. Trading across the border into Tibet has also traditionally been important here and continues to this day. Over the course of 3 decades, numerous KE groups have visited Dolpo and undertaken a variety of different itineraries; but we have never attempted anything quite as ambitious as this. North of the stunning Phoksumdo Lake and Shey Gompa our route continues via Samling Monastery to Bhijer and Pho, then northwards again towards the Tibetan border, before finally turning westwards to cross the Nyingma Gyanzen La (5500m) and 2 further 5000 metres passes in the course of a long and difficult passage to Mugu across the north-western corner of the Shey Phoksomdo National Park. Supposedly an old smugglers route, this is also one of the variants of the Great Himalaya Trail; but almost no-one ever treks this way. From Shey Gompa to the airstrip at Talcha, close to Rara Lake, there are 2 full weeks of trekking that make up one of the most challenging and exciting traverses in the Nepalese Himalaya. On the middle section of about a week there are no villages and the chances of meeting anyone other than the occasional yak herder is almost nil. However, the rewards are immense. This is really remote, almost off the map, trekking and the scenery is second to none with magnificent views from the high passes, south to the little-known Kanjiroba Himal and north into Tibet. A KE group completed this challenging trekking adventure in October/November 2023 and it is highly recommended for experienced Himalayan travellers.

Is this holiday for you?

This trek through the Shey Phoksumdo National Park offers a variety of trekking conditions from well-maintained paths between villages to rarely used trails over rock and scree. With many long trekking days, several 5000-metre pass crossings and the passage of several long sections of difficult and steep-sided valley with the probability of a number of unbridged river crossings, this will undou …

This trek through the Shey Phoksumdo National Park offers a variety of trekking conditions from well-maintained paths between villages to rarely used trails over rock and scree. With many long trekking days, several 5000-metre pass crossings and the passage of several long sections of difficult and steep-sided valley with the probability of a number of unbridged river crossings, this will undoubtedly be a tough trek and we have given it our second highest trekking grade. A good level of fitness is needed for this trip and a head for heights is also required as there will be some tricky and exposed trails which could involve the setting up of a safety line at times. This holiday will provide a challenge even for fit and confident trekkers with appropriate experience of high-level Himalayan travel. The information that we have included about daily distances, height gain and the number of hours of trekking is based on the actual experience of a group completing this itinerary, but you should be prepared for considerable inaccuracy in these figures. This is a camping trek with a full Nepalese crew, spacious 2-person tents, foam mattresses, a dining tent with a table and chairs and a toilet tent. However, please note that there are likely to be one or two less than ideal camping places where we can set up only a restricted camp.

Why KE?

Pioneering Treks

This route from Dolpo to Mugu is one of the great trekking challenges of west Nepal and has been on our radar for many years. Having run the trip very successfully in 2023, we would recommend this trek for any of our committed Nepal afficionados.

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