Rara Lake Trek

On this day you arrive to Kathmandu and we transfer you to your accommodation. On this day you rest and rejuvenate of days to come. You can as well explore the surrounding and get to know a little about the country and culture.

Accommodation

Hotel in Kathmandu ( 1 Night)

Meals Included

Breakfast only

You will meet your trek leader on this day and he would brief you about trekking to Everest base camp. The back office staff will prepare all required permits for your trekking and you will do the last minute shopping for your trekking along with your guide. While our back office staff get ready preparing permits from the government offices, our guides help you get acquainted with the country by taking you to the most happening market in Kathmandu.

Accommodation

Hotel in Kathmandu ( 1 Night)

Meals Included

Breakfast only

There are several flights in and out of Kathmandu and to Nepalgunj. The flight takes around 45 minutes and you will mostly fly over flat terrain once out of Kathmandu. Depending upon your will to explore Nepalgunj and upon the decision of the group, your flights will be booked as per your convenience. Overnight in Nepalgunj.

There are no flexible options when it comes to flying out to the rural destinations in Nepal and that includes flying to Jumla as well. You will board on your twin otter aircraft early in the morning and become Jumla bound from Nepalgunj airport. The flight will take around 20 minutes through one of the most captivating landscape. Depending on the flight and time of arrival you will either move ahead with the trek or stay in Jumla and begin the next day. If you move ahead with the trek on the same day, you would most probably take the high route if it is not shut by the snow in the region. You will continue walking on the stone paved street and all the way to Jugad valley. Initially the trail gradually climbs past schools and buildings all the way to a school. Beyond the school, the trail enters a forest which soon opens to a pasture land. The pasture land is well known as Chere (3010 m) and it is mostly used for herding sheeps and horses. Beyond this point, the trail gets very steep and climbs all the way to the pass namely Danphe Lagna (3720 m). The trail once again descends from the pass to a pasture land and our campsite of Danphe Lagna by the clear stream. Overnight in Danphe Lagna Camp.

The trail out of Danphe Lagna Camp descends along with the stream. After a place called Tharamara (3280 m), the trail drops rapidly through the forest of fir, walnut and bamboo all the way to Sinja Khola. Once you cross the river, the trails follows the stream all the way to the river bed. From here, the trail once again climbs with the views of Bumra village at the bottom. The climb is pretty serious and the trail almost shoots a place namely Kabra. The place has a basic hotel and an ayurvedic hotel tucked under a huge rock. Keep an eye on this rock as this is no ordinary rock but a source of divine and curative Shilajit. Leaving Kabra, the trail still continues to climb and until the next village namely Bhadgaon which is also known as Bhara. Beyond this noticeably large village, the trail descends to Chaura stream and once you cross this stream you reach the tiny village of Chautha. Overnight in Chautha.

Another day of walking uphill on the trail and the trail immediately pickup beyond Chautha. Around 30 minutes down the trail you would reach a point from where the trail opens up to a wide valley. The trail further climbs to Bhulbhule (3130 m), the Rara national park entrance and checkpoint. Beyond the national park entry point, the trail becomes much steady and climbs gently. As you walk further, you will begin walking on beautiful meadowland with chortens made from local resources, cairns made in the memories of deceased ones and prayer flags atop the pass of Ghurchi Lagna (3450m). The views of Karnali river at the bottom and the mountains in the Tibet looks spellbinding. The trail initially drops gradually on a broad trail, from the pass and then steeply through spruce forest. The trail levels only after gruesome 45 minutes of descends. From here on, it's just a fun stroll to a stream and then walking pleasantly through fairytale like pine forest to Dhotu. Overnight in Dhotu.

The trail once again climbs to the village namely Jhyari at 2630 m. The trail then continues through cedar forest which opens to a huge meadow land all the way at the top at an elevation of 3050 m. The top offers a wonderful views of the lake at the bottom and the views of the mountains on a clear day. From the top, it seems like descending from any corner would take you down to the lake. However, there is only a trail that leads straight up to the lake in the next hour. Once in the lake periphery, walk along the shore to reach to the northern corner of the lake. Overnight in Rara.

Rara is the largest lake in Nepal and is a freshwater lake at an elevation of 2980 meters. The lake 13 kilometers around and it is a day well spent going around the lake and seeing the animals and birds coming to the lake for water. On a clear day, you can see the snow clad peaks surrounding the lake and as well looking the reflection of the same peaks on the still surface of the lake is rewarding. Overnight in Rara.

It's a lot shorter following the same trail back but it's no fun seeing the same landscape seen on your way up. Returning via Gorusinghe you will make a circuit of Rara lake trek. You would make an exit via the western end of the lake and descend via lower route. The lower route has a better trail and the descend is more gradual. You will cross several small streams before climbing uphill through the forest of pine, spruce and rhododendron. Slowly, the uphill walk becomes a steep climb and climbs all the way to the ridge at 3660 meters. From here, you can see the lake on one end and on a clear day, the snow clad mountains on the other. Two trail branches from here, one that is short but very steep and the next one gradual and long. No matter which trail you take, it will take one whole day before you reach Sinja, so we will take the long and gradual trail to Gorusinghe and call it a night here.

The trail is human friendly on this day. The trail drops gradually from Gorusinghe and then first reaches to the stream namely Ghatta Khola and then to Sinja Khola. Once you reach Sinja Khola, the trail is flat and through fertile plains. You will call it a night at Sinja.

You will follow the trail to Sinja Khola and cross it over the wooden bridge. Then the never ending trail climbs all the way to Dhobi Khola. Past Dhobi Khola, crossing the bridge over the stream becomes like a game. You do it over and over. In between, the trail mostly traverses through forest. The trail climbs all the way to JalJala Chaur; a broad meadow land to graze horses. Overnight in Jaljala Chaur camp.

You will walk beyond the campsite of Jaljala chaur to another meadow past a ridge. The meadow rests at an altitude of 3510 meters from the sea level. From here, the trail descends around 500 meters to a stream through scattered house and hamlets. You will then cross the stream and join the high trail to Chere. Once in Chere, you will follow the same trail taken on day one and reach Jumla. Overnight in Jumla.

You will board an early morning flight to Jumla. However, it is requested to keep couple of days aside in case there is no flight on the following day of our arrival in Jumla. Once you fly out of Jumla, you will board another flight to Kathmandu on the same day or fly out early in the morning of the following day. Once in Kathmandu, we will transfer you to your hotel and hence your Rara Lake trek will officially come to end. Thank you for choosing Budget Trekking as your travel partner in Nepal!