Dhaulagiri Trek

Trip Itinerary

Day 01 Kathmandu
In Kathmandu, you will be received at the airport and transferred to your hotel. After a briefing by your tour leader and an overview about the whole program he could welcome you to a meal in one of the better restaurants in the city

Day 02 Sightseeing in Kathmandu
In the morning, there is an option of going for a mountain flight. This is one of the best ways to see the snowcapped peaks of the Himalayan range. It is also one of the closest views of the mountains that you can get without having to go for a trek. The flight is operated at a time period between 7:00 am to 10:00 am only.

In the morning, we will take a guided tour of the city of Kathmandu. A visit to the Boudhanath Stupa is a must. The Buddhist site belongs to the Vajrayana sect of Buddhism but is revered by all. The White Stupa is a massive structure. An air of spirituality looms large and at one moment you will feel the nobility of Buddhist spirituality. Around the Stupa, there are shops selling Buddhist artifacts. After Boudhanath, we head to the Hindu temple of Pashupati Nath. Pashupati simple means “Lord of the Beasts”. This temple is considered the holiest of all temples in Nepal and is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Pashupati Nath is Shiva is good mood. Situated at the banks of the river Bagmati, pilgrims and sages flock the temple. Last rites are performed on the premises of this temple and from afar you can even see a Hindu last rites being performed (B)

Day 03 Pokhara
We will take a morning flight to Pokhara. The flight itself has rewarding views of the Himalayan Range. The flight will take about 30 minutes. Once we reach Pokhara we will take a vehicle and travel 74 km towards Baglung which will serve as the starting point of our trek. The drive will take us about 3 hours (BLD)

Day 04 Tatopani
We start early today upon a trail that follows the bank west of the Kali Gandaki River valley. This trail offers exceptional views of Dhaulagiri to the north. We will first reach Beni which is situated at a height of 870m. This large village is the administrative centre of the district and has a lot of government offices.

Right after lunch we will move to the west on a trail that follows the Myagdi Khola as it moves about the villages of Beni Managalghat, Jyanmara and the little village at Singa. As we cross Singa we will move right across a hot spring and move into cultivated fields. We will soon come across a rather broad trail that takes us to Tatopani. A walk past this village will bring us to a suspension bridge. We set up our camp on the banks of the river. Today’s trek will take us about 7 hours (BLD)

Day 05 Darbang
We will continue on a trail that follows the Myagdi Khola. We will begin early, moving past the small town of Bholamza and carry on across cultivated fields to yet another suspension bridge which we will have to cross. This takes us to the left bank of the river and from here we will keep moving to the west until we reach Simarchor and cross another suspension bridge over the Newale Khola. In a while we will reach Babichor where we will halt for lunch.

From Babichor, take a high meandering path on the mountainside. In a while you will come across terraced paddy fields. Once you reach Ratorunga the trail will run parallel to the river. After walking on a trail that has some ups and downs you will reach the village of Darbang (1120). Today's trek will take us about 6 hours (BLD)

Day 06 Kamlo
From Darbang, you will have to cross the Myagdi River over an elevated suspension bridge, and the trail winds up gradually for another hour. We will then follow the river under cliffs to Phedi and the Marang Khola where we will stop for lunch.

In the afternoon the track moves up quite steeply and moves across a small settlement to a ridge at 1,690 mt. You have spectacular views of the Churen Himal (7371m) and Gurja Himal (7193m) from the ridge. The trail then moves downhill to the valley of Kamlo (1616 mt). There is a small settlement here mostly of the Magar community. The trek today takes about 6 hours (BLD)

Day 07 Baghara
The trail now goes round and falls to the paddy fields which are partly infiltrated by Dhora Khola. Once you cross this river, the main route ascends the valleys, across farmhouses, and moves through a village to a mountain trail then goes round a ridge. The path keeps winding steeply uphill for two hours and comes out at the top of the ridge. Then the path descends gradually to a small farm village at Baghara (2060 mt). Today's trek will be for 7 hours (BLD)

Day 08 Doban
From here you will have to climb a very steep hill and then descend through stone steps perhaps made by locals. There are many cliffs above with huge bee hives and you might see ropes used for collecting honey. The high and winding trail follows the village through a grassy pasture where the ground could be damp and slippery. From here a steep descent will take you to the river’s edge. Follow the river for a little while and the path then follows a sloping mountain and continues through a forested area with many ups and downs. Move further along the grassy area from where you can make the ascent through the forest to emerge to the leveled area of Doban (2490 mt). This trek will take 6 hours (BLD)

Day 09 Sallegari
Trekking 5 hours
Ten minutes past Doban, we will reach a wooden bridge over the Konabon Khola which we will have to cross. Soon we will enter a forested area with where there are excellent views of the west side of Dhaulagiri I. We will move down to the Myagdi River and cross a precarious wooden bridge towards the left bank path of the river. We will again enter a forested area from where through the tree branches we can have wonderful views of the Jirbang Peak (6062m). Soon we will come across a small brook which we will have to cross. A little later we reach a small clearing in the forest at Chartare (2890m). We will keep on moving towards our campsite, which is situated at a place called Sallegari (3060mt). Today's trek will take us about 5 hours (BLD)

Day 10 Italian Base Camp
We will move uphill across beautiful rock caverns. Another 2½ hrs of climb will lead to a vacant lot almost like a clearing in the forest. Continue following the trail ahead that will lead to the forest area known as the Italian Base Camp (3590 mt). The trek will take approximately 5 hours (BLD)

Day 11 Italian Base Camp
Rest and acclimatization
Since we hiked to greater heights in such a short time it becomes extremely necessary that we are well acclimatized before moving further. Therefore we will take a full day rest. From the camp there are wonderful views of Dhaulagiri I. You can also see the Manapati and the Tsaurabong Peak (BLD)

Day 12 Dhaulagiri Depot Camp
We will move early in the morning today. Today we will be moving downhill and then follow a trail into the valley floor and right into the moraine of Chhonbarban Glacier where camp will be set. This is a short trek (BLD)

Day 13 Dhaulagiri Base Camp
The trail then leads into a rocky area, and ascends the mountainside with a steep hill towards the end. After crossing this steep hill, the route narrows until you cross one glacier and descend to another glacier that actually originates from the west wall of the Dhaulagiri. You climb the opposite bank to a wide grassy area in a shallow valley of Pakhaban. Pakhaban also serves as a beautiful campsite with an imposing view of the West wall of Dhaulagiri I and to the rear the huge stonewalls from Tsaurabong Peak. You have to then follow a moraine from Pakhaban to a rocky ridge, which finally descends to the glacier again. Following this as the valley bends you will enter right into the Dhaulagiri Base Camp (4750 mt). From here the peaks of Dhaulagiri I, II, III, and IV are clearly visible from here. This trek will take us about 5 hours (BLD)

Day 14 Hidden valley via French Pass
Leave the glacier and climb a terraced hill to the right bank, which runs along right next to the glacier for a while. You will then have to reach across the moraine and enter through a gently sloping incline to the right side. You have to tag on this valley to the French Col, 17,585ft. From here, there is an amazing and wonderful view of the Himalayan peaks in all directions, including Sita Chuchura, Mukut Himal and Tahshikang. All these peaks surround the Hidden Valley. To the right you can see Tukche Peak West and to the rear rests Dhaulagiri I. A gentle fall along the snow-covered backdrop finally ends at the wide Hidden Valley exposes itself before you. This trek will take us about 5 hours (BLD)

Days 15 - 16 Hidden Valley Camp
Exploration Day
The Hidden Valley is a beautiful area which offers excellent views that cannot be seen from anywhere else in Nepal. This is a wonderful place for rest and exploration.

Day 17 Yak Kharkha
A short climb further up north will take you to Dhampus pass (5120 mt). From the pass you can see the Thapa peak close by. Once the pass has been carefully crossed the magnificent panorama of the Annapurna massif and the Nilgiris reveals itself in full splendor. We will be now high above the Kali Gandaki valley. Soon we will reach our campsite at Yak Kharkha. Trek for 5 hours (BLD)

Day 18 Marpha
The path descends zigzagging at mountainside. You start with a sharp descent along a narrow mountain path to a ridge from where Dhaulagiri is visible again. You wind around to the right and descend down by a long climb along a steep mountainside, zigzag path. The final descent of the day brings us to Marpha Village (2665 mt). Trek for 4 hours (BLD)

Day 19 Marpha
Rest day
We will use this day for resting and exploring the wonderful views from here (BLD)

Day 20 Kalopani
You will have to follow the path on the left bank along the Kali Gandaki River which will take you up to Tukche village.

This village was once served as the centre of salt deals with Tibet. We will descend towards Larjung and halt there sometime for lunch.

After lunch we will walk towards the fertile and in the meantime see the southern side of the peaks of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna. The valley tapers from here and we will soon arrive at Kalopani (2560 mt), which is a beautiful small village. We will halt overnight here. This trek will take us about 6 hours (BLD)

Day 21 Tatopani
Today we will head down towards the banks of the Kali Gandaki River. We will have to follow the Annapurna circuit route, which is along the Kali Gandaki River. A little later you will reach Ghasa.

The trail now moves high above the Kali Gandaki River and passes through many narrow gorges, regarded as the deepest and steepest in the world takes us to Tatopani which literally means "hot spring". If it is the autumn season there maybe plenty of oranges to be found in and around Tatopani. This will take us about 7 hours (BLD)

Day 22 Baglung
We will retrace our steps back to Baglung. This will take us about 7 hours (BLD)

Day 23 Pokhara
We will take a coach from here and drive towards Pokhara. After reaching Pokhara we can spend the rest of the day relaxing in our hotel (B)

Day 24 Kathmandu
Right after breakfast we will take a flight back to Kathmandu (B)

Day 25
Departure day. We will transfer you to your airport after breakfast (B)

Note: This Trip can be Customized according to your Requirements. If you wish. Please email us with any questions or comments.
B: Breakfast, L: Lunch, D: Dinner