UPPER DOLPO AND SHEY GOMPA-THE BON KINGDOM

"Journey into the remote cultural destination of Nepal"

Dolpo is the most remote and least developed district in Nepal. Although a few anthropologists and geographers had explored the region, the entire district was closed to trekkers until 1989 when the southern part of Dolpo was opened to organized trekking groups. Peter Matthiesen’s book ‘The Snow Leopard’ and Snellgrove’s Himalayan Pilgrimage have contributed to the mystique and attraction of Dolpo. Lying midway between the Tibetan Plateau and the Dhaulagiri Himal range is the highest inhabited land of Dolpo. Geographically a southern extension of Tibet, it lies within the borders of the kingdom of Nepal, since 1984 has been the country’s largest national park and conservation, the park sustains an abundance of wild life including Musk Deer, Himalayan Blue Sheep and the legendary elusive Snow Leopard, as well as being home to a fascinating race of Tibetan speaking people. The hardy highlanders of Dolpo are traders, exchanging barley for Tibetan rock salt and they take their yaks onto the Tibetan plateau during the summer for grazing. Nepal’s first English subtitled movie on Dolpo ‘The Caravan’ or the ‘Himalaya’ was a huge success and was nominated for the Oscar Award in the best foreign language film category. Boundaries of the park include within 3,500 square kilometers of land, mostly above 4,000 meters. Before 1989, when the southern regions were opened to trekking groups, very few explorers had visited the area. Two notable visits were the first mountaineering expedition by Dr. Herbert Tichy in 1953 based in Kaigon and the other visit by John Tyson in the early sixties. Dolpo, one of the most beautiful treks in the remote far corners of Nepal, very rarely visited by outsider. Dolpo was first explored by David Snellgrove's in 1956, this area was also visited by Peter Mathiessen in 1970, and the account of his journey is well described in his classic novel “The Snow Leopard". From Jhupal village, we begin this wonderful adventure, encountering interesting places, people, villages, valleys and serene forest of pines, oaks and rhododendron, the trek passes many gigantic mountain ranges and over the Numala pass at 5,400m till we reach the Phoksundo lake at Ringmo village in the "Phoksundo National Park". At Ringmo, the highlight of our trip we will have two nights here to enjoy the beauty of the deep blue waters of the Phoksundo lake and the surrounding snow peaks of Kanjiroba Himal, with time to visit the nearby isolated village of Ringmo and its Monastery. Our classic journey continues to the amazing country of Crystal Mountain at Shey Gompa, following the ancient Trans Himalayan Trade route and back to Jhupal for the flight back by an alternative route, giving you more opportunity to explore this fascinating wild west of Nepal.