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It's Back for 2009!
An Anniversary Follow the Leader Trip with Cathy Ann Taylor

We are delighted to bring back one of the most unforgettable trips in the Nepal Himalayas: Trekking to Inner Dolpo, guided by none other than our veteran trekking leader Cathy Ann Taylor. Cathy Ann has dreamt of leading this trip for many years, and we’re thrilled that the political situation in Nepal is finally such that we can offer it this spring to help celebrate Mountain Travel Sobek’s 40th anniversary!

Inner Dolpo is one of the most utterly remote and challenging trekking destinations, the high Tibetan valleys are sealed off from the rest of the country by mountain passes over 17,000 feet high, and its people exist in a time warp of Tibetan culture little changed in a thousand years. This is the land of rare Bon monasteries (Bon is the ancient pre-Buddhist religion of Tibet) and the region where we find remote Shey Gompa and Crystal Mountain, both so beautifully described in Peter Matthiessen’s The Snow Leopard. Parts of this trek are also featured in Himalayan Pilgrimage, by the renowned scholar David Snellgrove, and in the movie Himalaya.

This trek is high, tough, and 21days long, following ancient trading routes to the Tibetan border. Trekking over high passes and steep valleys, through villages and monasteries that were once very powerful, we’ll reach the Kali Gandaki Valley at the border with Mustang. We make our way back to Pokhara on one of the most scenic flights in the Himalaya, taking a breath and reflecting on the beauty and power of our journey.

TRIP HIGHLIGHTS

• Trek to Nepal’s Inner Dolpo—one of the most remote trekking destinations in the Himalaya
• Challenging high-altitude trekking along ancient trading routes to the Tibet border
• Visit Shey Gompa and Crystal Mountain, as beautifully described in Peter Matthiessen’s The Snow Leopard

It is my great pleasure to invite you to join me in of the world's ultimate treks to the upper reaches of the Dolpo. Having guided trips for Mountain Travel Sobek for the last 18 years, Nepal has always been a second home and the Dolpo has been my dream trip. Northwest Nepal's mountain-locked Dolpo region long off limits to foreign travelers is a pioneering adventure in the truest sense. A trek to the Dolpo along Nepal's border with Tibet offers the experience of witnessing one of the few remaining enclaves of traditional Tibetan Buddhist culture. Remote villages, farms, nomadic yak herders and legendary monasteries are there to be discovered. I hope you will join me on this wonderful adventure. - Cathy Ann Taylor

Day 1 - Arrive in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Day 2 - Sightseeing in Kathmandu.

Day 3 - Fly to Pokhara, passing over the valleys and rivers of central Nepal and with wonderful views of the Himalaya.

Day 4 - Fly to the Dolpo airport in Juphal. Meet with your Sherpa staff, cooking crew, and horsemen (horses are used for porterage in Dolpo) and trek about three hours to the town of Dunai (6,650').

Days 5-6 - Trek through villages and across ridges to the Shey-Phoksumdo National Park Headquarters at Palam.

Days 7-9 - Hike to Phoksumdo Lake and up through forests of birch and dwarf rhododendrons to a high plateau with some snowfields. Rest day to acclimatize.

Days 10-12 - Ascend the Kang La (17,700') with stunning views of surrounding peaks, then down to Shey Gompa (14,760'), nearby the Crystal Mountain of legend. Here we may have our first views of bharal, or blue sheep. Layover day to explore.

Day 13 - Slow ascent to a 16,430-foot pass, with huge mani walls all along the trail. Descend to the village of Namgung, with views of the monastery across the valley.

Day 14 - Trek to Karang, a large village with over 40 houses and several temples.

Day 15 - Hike to the renowned large gompa complex of Yang-tsher, which dominates the river valley, and on to the village of Mugaon.

Day 16 - Steep ascent to Mushi La pass (approx. 16,600') with views of the Tibetan Plateau, just a day’s walk away. Hike to the village of Shimen, lined with willow trees, and visit the old gompa.

Day 17 - Hike to Tingkhyu, situated in a large, half-mile wide basin at the meeting point of two rivers.

Day 18 - Cross the Kula La Pass

Days 19-21 - Cross the Tasho La Pass and descend into Upper Tarap and the village of Do.

Days 22-23 - Hike through Kanigaon and Tarakot to the lower Tarap Valley

Day 24 - Trek back to Dunai and fly to Juphal.

Day 25 - Fly to Pokhara and connect with flight to Kathmandu.

Day 26 - Morning sightseeing in Kathmandu.

Day 27 - Fly home, or join one of our extensions in Nepal or to India, Vietnam, or Cambodia.

Photo Credits
©Sergio Fitch Watkins (MTS guide)