Day in Kathmandu to submit the applications by the trek participants to obtain the special permits. Guests are sometimes asked by government officers to present themselves at the office.

PM: Half-day sightseeing tour of Kathmandu.

In the afternoon, go on the sightseeing tour of the Kathmandu city including: Temple of Pashupatinath, one of the holiest pilgrimage shrines of Hindus; Boudhanath Stupa, one of the biggest stupas and Hanuman Dhoka Durbar Square.

EVE: free for pre trek preparation.

Overnight at the hotel in Kathmandu.

Transfer to the domestic airport of Kathmandu for the 45-minutes flight to Nepalgunj. Upon arrival at the Nepalgunj Airport, transfer to the hotel.

Overnight at the hotel in Nepalgunj.

Early morning transfer to the Nepalgunj Airport for the 40-minutes flight to Juphal. Upon arrival start trek to Dunai. Follow the trail eastwards of Dunai along the south banks of the Thulo Bheri. Trek duration: 2 hours.

Dinner and Overnight at Dunai.

Cross the steel suspension bridge following the trail through the Thulo Bheri. Walk through Suli Gaad to Raktang (2,260 m). Cross the west bank & trek to Jyalhasa. Keep walking upstream to another bridge to the east bank to Ankhe Khola. Trail through ups & downs to Rahagaon & Parela to the high ridge above. After descending on a rocky path, arrive at Chepka (2,670 m). Trek duration: 5-6 hours.

Dinner and Overnight at Chepka.

Climbing over a small ridge, cross to the west side to avoid a large ridge & returning to the east side along the riverside to the rocks & sticks forming dyke. The trails make several ups & downs through the forests to a bridge to the Renje. Trek duration: 6 hours.

Dinner and Overnight at Renje.

Climb over a ridge and descend to a wooden bridge & then continue its ups & downs along the valley floor to the Suli Gaad. A wooden bridge leads to the western bank of Phoksundo Khola, the trails follows the west bank of the river. Trek to Sumduwa, cross the bridge & climb through a forest of big cedars to Palam (3,710 m). The route switchbacks steeply on a sandy trail to the dusty switchbacks at 3,780 m. From the ridge you can see the spectacular views of Phoksundo Lake & 200m high waterfall. Steep decent trail in birch forests to the upper you will be in Ringmo village. Cross a bridge & follow a trail north to the ranger station at Phoksundo Lake. Trek duration: 7 hours.

Dinner and Overnight at Phoksundo Lake.

The lake is spectacular. It is 4.8 km long, 1.8 km wide and is said to be 650m deep. It is known for its aquamarine color-a greenish blue similar to a special Tibetan turquoise. There is no aquatic life in the lake, which helps to make the waters brilliantly clear. If you toss a rock in, you can watch it for a long time as it sinks to the bottom. According to legend,

Phoksumdo Lake was formed by a spiteful female demon. In Buddhist Himalaya David Snellgrove recounts how the demon was fleeing from the saint Padmasambhava and gave the village people a turquoise after they promised not to tell that she had passed by. Padmasambhava turned the turquoise into a lump of dung, which upset the local people so much that they revealed the demon’s whereabouts. She in return, caused the flood. It is said that you can see the remains of a village below the surface of the lake.

This is Bon-po country, where people practice a shamanistic religion that predates Tibetan Buddhism. Much of Bon-po symbolism is the opposite of Buddhist practice. You should walk to the right of the ancient mud chortens, which are inscribed with swastikas that have their arms pointing in the opposite direction to the Buddhist version. Instead of the Buddhist chant of “Öm Mani Padme Hum”, the Bon-pos chant “Om Ma Tri Mu Ye Sa Le Du”, which Snellgrove found untranslatable except that Sa Le Du in Tibetan means “In Clarity Unite”. A trail leads from the lakeside through juniper trees to the white Pal Sentan Thasoon gompa that overlooks the Lake. This is a Bon-po gompa said to have been built 60 generations ago. There are five other private gompas in various houses of the small monastic community near the lake. The insides of the temples contain dusty Buddhist paintings and statues, but the trappings also reflect the animistic elements of the Bon-po religion, so some of the chapels are reminiscent of an ancient witch’s cavern. A donation to the ragtag collection of dirty monks will gain you entrance to the gompas; if you’re traveling with sherpas they will be as fascinated as you by the strange iconography and practices of the Bon-po religion.

Dinner and Overnight at Phoksundo Lake.

From Ringmo, at the southern and of Phoksundo Lake, the trail contours on a rocky ledge as it stirs the western lip of the lake. A precarious trail suspended on a gangway of wood supported on pegs driven into crevices in the rocks signals the remoteness of the area you are about to enter, Beyond a stream, the trail makes a steep climb onto a hillock overlooking the lake. It descends and continues above the lake on an up-and-dawn trail to pine forest, then makes a steep climb descent to the westernmost edge of the lake. Where the Phoksundo Khola enters the lake, there is a lush meadow that opens up into a long valley. Continue through the valley, crisscrossing the Phoksundo Khola and avoiding thorn bushes. The valley has steep sides with tundra and occasional boggy marsh underfoot. Trek duration: 7 hours.

Dinner and Overnight at Phoksundo Khola.

Continue along the level path that now heads due north though a glacial valley. At the confluence of the Phoksundo Khola and another mountain stream there is an old wooden bridge. You should take the barely discernible path to the northeast up the valley. There is no trail, as such, so you need to climb over rocks and boulders and ford the stream that rushes down the steep incline of the valley. Along climb brings you to a sheep meadow where the trail veers up a steep ravine. A hard climb to the top brings you to yet another valley where you can see the Kang La, the pass leading to Shey Gompa. If you are in good shape and the porters agree, you might make it on to Shey in the same day, or you can camp before the pass in the place that Peter Matthiessen christened ‘Snowfields Camp’. Trek duration: 6 hours.

Dinner and Overnight at Snowfield Camp.

Climb up the steep hill littered with slate towards the pass. The climb is physically demanding especially when you slip and slide on the slate dump. From the top of the Kang La at 5400m elevations, you can look down upon a large valley, which is bisected by a gushing over. Descend steeply to the valley floor and make a long, meandering trek along the banks of the river, crossing and re-crossing it several times. Notice the mud caves on the bank of the river and the hills overlooking the river. A red chorten heralds the gate to Shey Gompa. Continue along the path to a large meadow where hairy yaks and hundreds of sheep can be found grazing. There are a few nomads’ huts. Cross the river for the final time across a quaint wooden log bridge and climb up to the Shey Gompa compound at approximately 4500m.

The Gompa itself is not large, and there are no artefacts or paintings of note in its premises, except for an ancient Tibetan scroll that describes the myth of the Crystal Mountain and Shey Gompa. The monk who accompanied our trekking group managed to get hold of this manuscript and read it from over to cover. According to the book, in a crater in the mountain ranges that dominate Shey Gompa, there is a holy lake. When a pilgrim makes nine circumambulations of this lake the water turns into milk. A sip of this milk, and the pilgrim can see Mt. Kailash in the distance.

A caretaker lives in a hut adjacent to Shey Gompa. To the east of the Gompa is the trail that leads to Saldang village, and eventually to Kagbeni via Charkabhot or south to Tarap. To the west of the Gompa, a narrow yak trail climbs up the valley floor to the remote village of Phijergaon. Trek duration: 5 hours.

Dinner and Overnight at Shey-01 Gompa.

Rest day for acclimatization & explore around Shey Gompa.

Dinner and Overnight at Shey- Gompa.

Trek east from Shey Gompa & across the Shey La (5,010). Turn north & descend before climbing again to Namgung. Trek duration: 8 hours.

Dinner and Overnight at Namgung.

Traverse high above the Namgung Khola to Karang. It is also possible to descend to Saldang on the banks of the river, but this village holds little of interests. Trek duration: 7-8 hours.

Dinner and Overnight at Karang.

Descend to Torak Sumdo (3,670 m), the confluence of the Namgung and Polang Kholas, & cross the northern bank. Climb to Yanger Gompa (3,750 m) and trek along the river to a side valley. There are a few campsites alongside the stream. Trek duration: 7-8 hours.

Dinner and Overnight at Mugaon. 

Continue up the valley to Mugaon and climb towards the Mushi La at 5,030m. Descend towards Shimen Village.

Dinner and Overnight at Shimen.

Descend to Shimen village & make a long trek upriver through Pha (4,090 m) to Tinje.

Dinner and Overnight at Tinje.

Trek to Rakpa start passing the runway of the mysterious Tinje Airport to a trail junction, where a high route leads to Tarap. Continue southwards to the campsite on the banks of river at Rakpa. Trek duration: 7-8 hours.

Dinner and Overnight at Rakpa. 

Start a long climb to the Chharka La (4,920 m) from Rakpa. The trail then descends along the side of the valley, making a big drop into a side valley, then a long traverse down to the picturesque village of Chharka on the bank of Barbung Khola. Trek duration: 7-8 hours.

Dinner and Overnight at Chharka.

Climb to a crest and descend again to the river. Follow the right fork southward, climbing in and out of side valley on a rough trail. The valley narrows, then emerges into a big meadow and climbs to the Norbulung. Trek duration: 6-7 hours.

Dinner and Overnight at Norbulung. 

Climb to a yak pasture at Molum Sumna and on to a crest. Make a long traverse across meadows to the foot of the Sangda La, then a long, steep final climb to pass the switchback down to the Sangla Phedi. Trek duration: 7-8 hours.

Dinner and Overnight at Sangda Phedi. 

Climb to lower Shangri-La, and then descend through loose shale towards the village of Sangde Ghunsa (4,190 m). Drop to the Chalung Khola, crossing and climbing steeply up the opposite bank. A long traverse leads to a cairn and then a set of steep switchbacks descends to a stream. Another climb to the compact settlement of Sangda ends a long day. Trek duration: 7-8 hours.

Dinner and Overnight at Sangda. 

Climb the hill behind Sangda and spend most of the day making a high traverse, crossing nine ridges to a final crest. Descend into the Kali Gandaki valley, traversing under high cliffs and descending to the large village of Dhagarjun. Trek duration: 7-8 hours.

Dinner and Overnight at Dhagarjun.

Climb to a ridge and make a final descent on a dreadful trail of loose rocks to Jomsom. Trek duration: 3-4 hours.

Dinner and Overnight at Jomsom.

Early morning transfer to the Jomsom Airport for the 25 minutes flight to Pokhara. Upon arrival at Pokhara Airport, transfer to the hotel in Pokhara.

Overnight at hotel in Pokhara. 

Transfer to the Pokhara Airport for the 30 minutes flight back to Kathmandu. Upon arrival at Kathmandu, transfer to the hotel in Kathmandu.

Overnight at the hotel in Kathmandu.

After breakfast, met by the tour guide & the waiting vehicle, and start a half-day sightseeing tour of Bhaktapur city. Bhaktapur city or the city of devotees situated at an altitude of 1,401 m, is 12 kilometers east of Kathmandu. Bhaktapur covers an area of 4 square miles and is shaped like a conch shell. It is now included in the list of the world heritage sites. Pottery and weavings are its traditional industries.

Overnight at the hotel in Kathmandu.

Transfer to the Tribhuvan International Airport for the final departure from Kathmandu.