The Trail to Dolpo

The trail to Dolpo

Getting to Chharka safely and without a serious altitude problem was key to the whole trek, and the first five days of the trail from Jomsom is worth a brief description. We tookan early morning flight from Pokhara to Jomsom where we met up with our trek crew. Because of heavy rain in Pokhara and mist in Jomsom this was not as “early” as we had planned but the weather suddenly relented and to our great relief we took off at 08.15. Seventeen minutes later we were in Jomsom to even greater relief! We saw little on the flight but trusted the pilot to find his way between Annapurna and Dhaulagiri through the monsoon clouds. A two-hour walk along the Kali Gandaki brought us to the long bridge across the river at Eklai Bhatti. We were covered in dust from endless jeeps taking Indian pilgrims up to Mukhinath so it was a joy to turn left and make the gentle one-hour climb to Phalyak where we enjoyed one of our two nights in a very pleasant lodge. The second was on the way back and we were not surprised to find that no one had stayed there since we last passed by. Phalyak is a very Tibetan village that overlooks the Kali Gandaki and the trail to the Thorung La beyond. Some large new houses were being built with, we were told, remittance money from villagers resident in New York. The second day started with a climb to the first 4,000m pass. From here, and for the next two hours, we enjoyed spectacular views over Mustang in its wonderful summer colours. At the next pass the trail turned west and climbed steadily around the flank of Dhaulagiri, high above the gorge of the Keha Lungpa River. We crossed nine ridges before a long day finished with a steep descent to Sangdak, a cluster of 20 houses built on the edge of the gorge. This is the summer village. At the end of October, after the buckwheat harvest, the Sangdak people all move on a single day to their winter village called Gok. This is a five-hour walk away, 400m higher, and further up and on the other side of the great gorge, but it gets more winter sun and is sheltered from the prevailing wind. On the third day we continued the high traverse on a steeply undulating trail above the gorge. After five hours, the trail dropped sharply down to the river where we had lunch in baking heat. From this point, an old trail to Dolpo follows the gorge for two days before emerging on the other side of the main passes but it was never suitable for pack animals and erosion has now made it very dangerous on foot, even for the Dolpopa [the people of Dolpo]. After lunch we crossed the river and climbed up a steep and narrow path towards our camping place in a small juniper grove, not far from Gok. At one place, the path was so narrow that the mules had to be unloaded and everybody had to help carry the loads for 200m up the steep path. It was another difficult eight-hour day but we were rewarded with great views down the gorge from our campsite with a glorious sunset over Mustang at the end of it. We knew that all of this was mere prologue to the crucial day of the trek: the crossing of the 5,100m Khag La and the 5,600m Touche La which would take us across the great watershed between the Kali Gandaki and the Bheri, known in its upper reaches as the Barbung Khola. We woke up in cloud. It was a long, rough, and steep climb to a lower pass before we reached the sharp-edged Khag La [also called the Sangdak Pass]. We rode up some of the way but had to dismount for the last half hour because of loose stones and shale on the steep final approach to the pass. From there, we walked part of the way down into a great basin and had lunch beside the river. After lunch we crossed the river and rode up to the Touche La, the highest point of our trek. With the horses we were first up and able to linger to enjoy some glorious views. We walked a little way down, and then the horses arrived to carry us down past the Niwar La which marks the actual watershed. Then the rain and the hail came to give us a good soaking. It was a long trek down the valley to a desolate camping spot at a river junction at 4,800 metres. We shared this with some yak herders from Sangdak. We sheltered in the kitchen tent while the other tents were erected, and tried to find dry clothing. Eventually we got into our tent, the sun came out and we were able to dry out some of the bags and their contents. It had been a ten-hour day but we knew that the way to Dolpo now lay open. Eight hours on an up and down trail the next day, following the line of the river, brought us to Chharka. Early in the day we crossed two rivers, one of which followed a trail that led to Mukut, one of the main villages in lower Dolpo. We were tired after five hard days but the first sight of Chharka, Dolpo’s most iconic village, standing fortress-like high above the Barbung khola, gave us a great lift. We had tried to reach it from Dho Tarap in 2009 but weather and sickness thwarted us. After a cloudy day, we had some brilliant late afternoon light which was good for photography.

Getting to Chharka safely and without a serious altitude problem was key to the whole trek, and the first five days of the trail from Jomsom is worth a brief description. We tookan early morning flight from Pokhara to Jomsom where we met up with our trek crew. Because of heavy rain in Pokhara and mist in Jomsom this was not as “early” as we had planned but the weather suddenly relented and to our great relief we took off at 08.15. Seventeen minutes later we were in Jomsom to even greater relief! We saw little on the flight but trusted the pilot to find his way between Annapurna and Dhaulagiri through the monsoon clouds. A two-hour walk along the Kali Gandaki brought us to the long bridge across the river at Eklai Bhatti. We were covered in dust from endless jeeps taking Indian pilgrims up to Mukhinath so it was a joy to turn left and make the gentle one-hour climb to Phalyak where we enjoyed one of our two nights in a very pleasant lodge. The second was on the way back and we were not surprised to find that no one had stayed there since we last passed by. Phalyak is a very Tibetan village that overlooks the Kali Gandaki and the trail to the Thorung La beyond. Some large new houses were being built with, we were told, remittance money from villagers resident in New York. The second day started with a climb to the first 4,000m pass. From here, and for the next two hours, we enjoyed spectacular views over Mustang in its wonderful summer colours. At the next pass the trail turned west and climbed steadily around the flank of Dhaulagiri, high above the gorge of the Keha Lungpa River. We crossed nine ridges before a long day finished with a steep descent to Sangdak, a cluster of 20 houses built on the edge of the gorge. This is the summer village. At the end of October, after the buckwheat harvest, the Sangdak people all move on a single day to their winter village called Gok. This is a five-hour walk away, 400m higher, and further up and on the other side of the great gorge, but it gets more winter sun and is sheltered from the prevailing wind. On the third day we continued the high traverse on a steeply undulating trail above the gorge. After five hours, the trail dropped sharply down to the river where we had lunch in baking heat. From this point, an old trail to Dolpo follows the gorge for two days before emerging on the other side of the main passes but it was never suitable for pack animals and erosion has now made it very dangerous on foot, even for the Dolpopa [the people of Dolpo]. After lunch we crossed the river and climbed up a steep and narrow path towards our camping place in a small juniper grove, not far from Gok. At one place, the path was so narrow that the mules had to be unloaded and everybody had to help carry the loads for 200m up the steep path. It was another difficult eight-hour day but we were rewarded with great views down the gorge from our campsite with a glorious sunset over Mustang at the end of it. We knew that all of this was mere prologue to the crucial day of the trek: the crossing of the 5,100m Khag La and the 5,600m Touche La which would take us across the great watershed between the Kali Gandaki and the Bheri, known in its upper reaches as the Barbung Khola. We woke up in cloud. It was a long, rough, and steep climb to a lower pass before we reached the sharp-edged Khag La [also called the Sangdak Pass]. We rode up some of the way but had to dismount for the last half hour because of loose stones and shale on the steep final approach to the pass. From there, we walked part of the way down into a great basin and had lunch beside the river. After lunch we crossed the river and rode up to the Touche La, the highest point of our trek. With the horses we were first up and able to linger to enjoy some glorious views. We walked a little way down, and then the horses arrived to carry us down past the Niwar La which marks the actual watershed. Then the rain and the hail came to give us a good soaking. It was a long trek down the valley to a desolate camping spot at a river junction at 4,800 metres. We shared this with some yak herders from Sangdak. We sheltered in the kitchen tent while the other tents were erected, and tried to find dry clothing. Eventually we got into our tent, the sun came out and we were able to dry out some of the bags and their contents. It had been a ten-hour day but we knew that the way to Dolpo now lay open. Eight hours on an up and down trail the next day, following the line of the river, brought us to Chharka. Early in the day we crossed two rivers, one of which followed a trail that led to Mukut, one of the main villages in lower Dolpo. We were tired after five hard days but the first sight of Chharka, Dolpo’s most iconic village, standing fortress-like high above the Barbung khola, gave us a great lift. We had tried to reach it from Dho Tarap in 2009 but weather and sickness thwarted us. After a cloudy day, we had some brilliant late afternoon light which was good for photography.