This area of Nepal was closed to tourists until 1989 and it remains a quiet corner, with a 'restricted permit only' entry that will, we hope, remain a taste of Tibet in Nepal. The route was 20 days of trekking and camping, going up and over 3 passes of about 5200m.
Nick, still unaccustomed to small aeroplanes, found himself muttering Praise the Jewel in the Lotus (Om Mani Padme Hum) as the very basic18 seater wobbled its way towards a short airstrip of gravel perched precariously on a ridge - this was Juphal.
We were one day late arriving at Juphal (fog caused the flight from Nepalgunj to be cancelled) which was the starting point of our 20 day journey, but the weather was good in Dolpo and we were fortunate to have missed the horrendous storms caused by Cyclone Hudhun and which resulted in many deaths in the mountains of Nepal. The journey from Kathmandu was a 2 stage flight via the Nepal/India border town of Nepalganj - a linear hot and dusty town which remains work in progress!
We were now well used to a "big group" style trekking trip and the 9 others trekkers plus a UK leader meant we needed the assistance of 17 horses, 3 Sherpas, 4 cooks and several local horsemen. The work ethic of the Nepali team was phenomenal. Preparation of "bed tea" starts before dawn, breakfast is cooked, then as we set off trekking everything has to be loaded onto horses or carried in porters baskets, lunch is served en route (when all the Nepali team have a huge plate of Dahl Baht) and all the tents are pitched before we arrive at camp, and finally there is the preparation of an evening meal for us all - this finishes their day by about 8pm. Our 3 Sherpas were highly experienced, Sonam - the boss (Sirdar), was a calm and confident foreman who appeared every day looking as if he was dressed for the office or a round of golf - he coordinated everything and everyone with authority and good humour. Dorje, an Everest sumitter, had little English but copious energy for work and finally Nawang the smiling and chatty youngster who's patience was infinite. Our cook Junay and his helpers, as always, produce miracles on a Primus stove ranging from rice, lentils and vegetables to chips, pizza and cake.
Our route began through tree lined valleys and deep gorges then wound it's way to high camps before a pass. Unfortunately the profile of the journey was not always that good and our first pass required a camp site step-up from 3700m to 4700m which was an excessive increase in altitude and resulted in Bill, a very nice 73 year old needing a rescue back to Kathmandu. This was not without drama as the first helicopter was unable to take off from the gorge leaving the pilot stranded with just a T-shirt and unacclimatised to the altitude. A second machine soon arrived and all was well but that was the end of the trek for Bill.
The first rest/acclimatisation day was spent at Ringmo on the banks of the holy Lake Phoksumdo, the deepest in Nepal, amazingly blue, but lifeless.
The continuing trail has an intricate, but quite delicate track carved out of it's western cliffs, very overhanging and built up with stones and trunks precariously balanced over the steep cliffs. This route was made famous in Eric Vali's film Himalaya in which a yak slipped and plunged into the lake.
After the lake we climbed over the Kang La (5344m) and entered Inner Dolpo to reach Shey Gompa for our second rest day. Rob Fraser, our UK leader is a photographer dedicated to his art and he took every opportunity to photograph and interview people with his 1920's style large format camera complete with cape. After taking their portraits he takes an instamatic photo of them which they can keep. His work in the mountain environment is unique, you can visit http://i-porter.co.uk to see a project where he lived and worked as a porter carrying trekker's bags in the Khumbu region of Nepal.
The people of Dolpo are Tibetan in appearance and speak a dialect of Tibetan, and the Gompas and houses are very traditional in style.
We had one brief snow shower at Shey Gompa but otherwise enjoyed excellent weather, although the temperature inside the tent on high camps (4800m) did go down to about minus 12 degrees Celcius.
We visited Crystal Mountain School, in the village of Tarap in outer Dolpo which is part funded by a French charity. The children had excellent English and were very keen students. A greenhouse project to grow vegetables at the school had an unexpected spin-off. They found that it enabled them to extend the winter teaching as it provided a light and warm place to study. There were several copy greenhouse/conservatories also built in the town that enabled general indoor jobs to be done by everyone deeper into the winter months when temperatures fall.
It was when Nick tried to count in Tibetan that a large crowd of school children appeared around him who were very amused to see him struggle to count to 5!
In Saldang we visited a house where a puja (blessing) was taking place and we were welcomed into their home. The kitchen was the hub of activity.
The last few days of the trek were along a 'road' which was very much still under construction, as always thoughts turned to the end of the trek when we would be able to have the first proper shower for 20 days, all manner of different foods, and a comfy bed! The Dolpo Trek was spectacular in terms of scenery, people and Tibetan culture, although we did not see much wildlife except for Bharal (blue sheep) and Lammergeiers.
We went to see Amrit and family for a farewell Anu tea today before our evening flight to Kota Kinabalu. We are very sad to leave Nepal after 80 days, we have been here during the monsoon but now winter is setting in with cool dry air and the peak tourist season is well under way, Thamel is getting a face-lift with new road surfaces and prayer flags but I am sure we will be back in the future.
