Jumla to Juphal via Bagala and Tarap Valley

Dolpa became part of Nepal 200 years ago when the Gurkhas gained control over the region. Ties of blood and religion made the district a natural refuge for Tibetans who fled the Communist Chinese ‘liberation’ of Tibet in 1959. Within Dolpa’s ring of massive mountains live a people economically and culturally disrupted by their estrangement from Tibet. It has much in common with Ladakh, Zanskar, Lahul and Spiti in India, and with Mustang its eastern Nepali neighbor. 1,000 year old Buddhist monasteries dot the Shey and Ban Tshang Valleys. The principal religion in Dolpa is Tibetan Buddhism. Dolpa has a subsistence economy, based on livestock and barley cultivation wrested from the steep mountain sides at elevations as high as 4,000m. Two groups of ethnic Tibetans make up Dolpa’s sparse population. The Rungba, or ‘valley farmers’, whose yellow village houses belong to the monks while those painted white belong to the lay population. The Drok are nomadic yak herders. Interestingly, Drok girls mix grease and black root extract to use as a sun block on their faces at high altitudes.

Itinerary

Day 01: Fly to Nepalgunj
Day 02: Fly to Jumla
Day 03: Gothichaur – Naphukana
Day 04: Naphukana – Basala
Day 05: Basala - Hurikot
Day 06: Hurikot – Toijam
Day 07: Toijam – Kagmara Phedi
Day 08: Kagmara Bc – Rest
Day 09: Kagmara Bc – Lasa
Day 10: Lasa – Sumduwa
Day 11: Sumduwa – Phoksundo Lake
Day 12: Phoksundo Lake
Day 13: Phoksundo – Dajok Tang
Day 14: Dajok Tang – Pelungtang
Day 15: Pelungtang – Numala Bc
Day 16: Numala Bc – Do Tarap
Day 17: Do Tarap – Rest Day
Day 18: Do Tarap – Sishul Khola
Day 19: Sishu Khola – Chheur
Day 20: Chheur – Kani Goan
Day 21: Khani Goan – Tarakot
Day 22: Tarakot – Dunai
Day 23: Dunai – Juphal
Day 25: Juphal – Nepalgunj – Kathmandu.