Dolpo, August 2025 – Trip report - Himalayan Adventure Labs

Temo dhu-ka? (How are you?)

It was a smooth flight from Kathmandu to Nepalgunj, one of five major cities along the Terai, close to the Indian border and a gateway to the northwestern districts on the Great Himalayan Trail. Our destination was Dolpo. The plan was to connect Shey Phoksundo with Jomsom in the Mustang district, crossing five passes above 5,000m.

We stayed overnight in Nepalgunj, and the next morning, we arrived at the airport, which was still closed at 5:30 am, to board Summit Air’s 19-seater Let L-410 to Juphal Airport. The flight was canceled due to poor visibility. The next day, we tried again, only to meet the same fate. We decided to take a jeep, a journey of over 1.5 days, to get to our trailhead at Suligaad.

Even before the trip, we realized we could use some help with our gear, so we asked for assistance from Baljit BK, a local from Juphal who works as a porter during the season. Dhanyabadh Baljit dai. Six days after leaving Kathmandu and following the raging Phoksundo River at the peak of monsoon season, we made it to Shey Phoksundo. “Shey” means lake in Tibetan. Shey Phoksundo is ethereal; it makes you want to pinch yourself to ensure you’re not dreaming what you are seeing in front of you.

We gave ourselves an extra day in Shey Phoksundo to acclimatize. At the same time, we decided to take a horse, Tangba, and a horseman, Tenzing, for the next leg of our journey. Rishi and I stocked up on snacks—spicy fish, dried noodles, and candies—for the trail ahead to the lush green Maduwa Khola valley. We were incredibly lucky to spot a Himalayan wolf next to our camp in Temche, also known as Baga La basecamp.

Over the next two days, we crossed two passes, Baga La (5,169m) and Numa La (5,309m), and experienced a yak herder’s hut in between these two passes at Danigar.

We took a much-deserved break at Dho for two days while reassessing our plan, ultimately deciding to loop back to Suligaad due to a lack of time and logistical issues. The return journey was no less adventurous, involving a river crossing with Tangba, our beloved horse companion. After the river crossing, we stopped at Nawarpani (where blue sheep came to drink water), and there we learned something interesting from our host: “Kaike” is a local language spoken in her village of Sahartara and is regarded as a language spoken by the gods. Only three villages speak the language: Sahartara, Tarakot, and Tupatara.

Thankfully, our flight from Juphal took off this time. One realization I had on this trip is that while the mountains are amazing, having great adventure partners in Sharon, Tony, and Rishi made our Dolpo trip worthwhile, even through delayed starts and changes of plan.

I will let the pictures below speak about the nature of our trip.

Nya temo har (I’m well.)