We leave the Dunai camp early in the morning and head into the Phoksundo River Valley and Thulo Bheri Valley. We shall appreciate Kagmara Peak while on our walk. We eventually arrive at Dhera. People from high altitudes who come down here with their cattle to avoid the frigid winters live there. After several hours of walking through thick jungle, we arrive to Shey Phoksundo National Park in Ankhe. We will set up an overnight camp here.

There are several ups and downs on the route to Sulighat. The hikers find the streams along the route to be quite enjoyable. Above the river, the trail winds through a grassy incline. Though quite narrow, the trail way is equally fascinating. Below your feet, you can see a river running swiftly. We arrive in Ryajik village after a few hours, where we will pitch up tent.

We keep moving in the direction of Phoksundo Lake and Rigmo Village. We stroll to the meeting point of the Pungmo and Phoksundo rivers. The highest waterfall in Nepal, at 300 metres, is available for us to appreciate en route. We eventually arrive at Phoksundo Lake and set up tent for the night.

We will explore Ringmo village and enjoy the lake on our day of acclimatisation.

The Phoksundo Khola trail is a fascinating one. Here is an illustration of a walk-in distant area. Our route passes through a valley, a river, and meadows that are flushing out before arriving at the riverbank, where we will camp for the night.

The route to Phoksundo Bhanjyang is quite difficult. We move through large, jagged rocks. We will reach a location where we can glimpse Kang-La Pass after a strenuous walk. Here at Phoksundo Bhanjyang, we set up camp.

A difficult walk leads to Shey Gompa. We repeatedly pass numerous rivers. On fields, one can observe domestic mountain goats, sheep, and hairy yaks grazing. We are in Shey Gompa now, indicated by a crimson chorten. We set up camp here to spend the night.

Shey, which translates as “crystal” in English, is another name for this monastery: Crystal monastery. It functions as a hideaway of sorts. Shey lamas are housed in Tsakang Gompa, popularly known as the crimson hermitage. It is located on Shey’s northern edge. In Tsakang, several Tibetan lamas have practiced meditation. The Chaiba community owns this Shey Gompa. They are the adherents of Kagyu and Guru Rinpoche, two more names for the saint Padmasambhava. Lama Tenzing Ra-Pa originally constructed this Kagyupa Monastery in the eleventh century. As there aren’t many western tourists here, your experience will be unique.

We set out on a zigzag route over steep terrain that leads to Saldang La. From there, it will take us a little while to trek north to Namduna Gau. There is another monastery nearby named Namgung. It is a part of the Karma-Pa sect.

Our journey continues northward from Saldang. This inner section has not been visited by many tourists. We’ll travel a desolate, wind-swept path with lots of hills and valleys. We travel via Tiling and Lurigaun before arriving at Yangze, where we will spend the night camped.

Sibu and Yangze are connected by two routes. We will take the easier and shorter route back towards Saldang village in order to conserve time and energy. We arrive to Nam Kong Khola after passing by Namdo village and Chaiba Monastery. We will plan our overnight stop in Sibu, which is a couple of hours away on foot.

The trail will continue after Nam Khong Khola. We will next descend sharply to the base of Jeng-La, where we will camp for the night.

After almost two hours of climbing, we will arrive at Jeng-La’s summit. From here, we make our way down a rugged trail that leads to Tarap Valley. We arrive to Tarap Chu by lunchtime. It is 22 kilometres long. We are going to Tokyu Monastery for the night.

Following a little walk through this stunning valley, we arrive to Dho Tarap, where we will spend yet another lovely night. We’ll have ample time to explore other neighbouring settlements.

Today is a day off. You can get Tibetan-style Somba (boots with upturned toes) and clothing spun at home.

We’re going to be travelling for a while today. We move downhill towards a broad valley that eventually narrows into a canyon. By midday, we arrive at the meeting point of Tarap Chu and Lang Khola, which continues eastward as the Tarap River. Our camp will be set up at Kamakharka.

The trek to Khanigaon creates lifelong memories since, at certain points, the valley is so narrow that we have to jump from one side to the other. Occasionally, the path appears to be absent, and we traverse stone slabs fastened to longs that function as a bridge between the walls. It’s an exciting encounter. We finally make it to Khanigaon, where we spend the night after conquering all obstacles.

We travel from Khanigaon to the village of Lalberi. Next, we travel through a gorge and a forest to arrive to Tarakot. The locals refer to this ancient stronghold as the Dzong. To translate, dzong means fort.

Walking beside the Bheri River, we arrive in Dunai. We finish a circuit when we get to Dunai, and from then on, we enjoy the journey while sipping bottles of beer or local brew that Dunai has to offer.

We travel a brief distance to get to Jhuphal, where we pitch up tent.