GHT Rara Lake & Yari Valley

You will be met by a representative of World Expeditions and transferred to the Radisson hotel. Remainder of the afternoon at leisure. A pre-trek briefing will be given around 4.30-5pm where arrangements will be made for the distribution of your kit bag, sleeping bag and down/fibrefill jacket. This evening we will head out for dinner, this is a great opportunity to get acquainted with your fellow group members.Overnight: Radisson Hotel

Today you have a full day to explore Kathmandu’s bustling streets and significant landmarks. You may wish to start by exploring the city’s two most important World Heritage Listed spiritual sites: Pashupatinath, Nepal’s most sacred Hindu temple and an important cremation site; and Boudhanath, the largest Buddhist stupa in Nepal and the most sacred Tibetan Buddhist shrine outside of Tibet. Alternatively you could wander through the markets and shops of the busy Thamel precinct or explore some more of the city’s significant sites such as Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple) or the World Heritage Listed plazas of Patan, Bhaktapur or Durbar Square.

The flight from Kathmandu to Nepalgunj takes approximately 1.5 hours and is fairly dependable. During the flight we should catch a glimpse of the mountains we will be trekking amongst in the coming days.

Today we will reach Jumla and join with the Full GHT trek group who will be waiting for us. Due to potential flight problems and as a much needed acclimatisation day for us, we will have a full rest day.

Today we will continue towards Khaligaon and Bulbule before we reach Rara Lake.

Rara is Nepal’s largest lake and is surrounded by the protected forests of RaraNational Park in the Karnali district. There is an abundance of wildlife in this area including musk deer, leopard, ghoral, tahr, Himalayan black bear, and the rare red panda. The water of the lake is crystal clear and the area is a stunning place of natural beauty. The Great Himalaya Trail has 2 options in the far west - 1) From Gamgadhi to Simikot and the Yari Valley 2) Cross country from Rara Lake to Kolti and Chainpur and on to the Mahakali Nadi (river) in India. We will travel the Gamgadhi to Simikot and Yari route, as this route travels closer to the centre of the Great Himalaya Range. There is yet to be a crossing found to the Mahakali Nadi, which is further to the west, therefore our finishing point for the GHT is currently Simikot after trekking north to Yari.

Today we leave Rara Lakes and continue our trek to Karnali.

We cross the suspension bridge from Karnali and climb a steep, rocky trail, trending left until we crest a ridge at 2180 metres. We descend to a small river and then another climb brings us through fields and pine forest to a ridge and then a traverse to Bam village.

We follow a trail which contours around hillsides until we reach a stream at Ghachaur. Here we begin a climb to the pass which should take approximately 3.5 hours, from the top it is an easy descent to a pretty campsite by a stream. There is a teashop close by which is 15 minutes before reaching Jogimara.

We make an easy short ascent from Jogimara to a ridge at 3120 metres before a longer descent of 500 metres to a small stream before climbing again, crossing a landslide area. From here we have views of the lower valley and the village of Rimi. We make a long traverse to Deuri, passing by a school before descending to Darma village. Continuing through the village we drop down through a series of steep switchbacks to the main trail by the riverside, and then crossing a suspension bridge over the Humla Karnali and finally a short climb to Piplan.

We continue trekking through the traditional villages of Nimagaon and Korka climbing a series of switchbacks and crossing a basin between ridges before halting at a stream for our lunch break. Climbing once again to the village of Puma we take a right fork and and ascend more switchbacks in pine forest to Apsia Lekh.

Today we have magnificent views of Saipal and surrounding valleys as we follow a contouring trail to Kallas. From here we descend to the river and then climb an easy trail to a ridge and descend once more to the Rodikot Khola. A further east climb of 1.5 hours brings us to our campsite beside the Punkha Khola.

We start with a big climb of 500 metres through steep switchbacks to a kharka at 3512 metres. From here we continue climbing, gaining views north to Simikot and also to the south. We climb to over 4000 metres today before a very steep descent to the Yanchu Khola. We have a few camping options today, and there will more than likely be some livestock grazing in the valley.

Depending on weather conditions today may be a very warm day as there is little shade along the trail. We descend for 15 minutes or so alongside the river before an easy gradient climb to Durpa village and a further descent to the pilgrimage site of Kharpunath. Continuing on another 30 minutes we turn into the Kudila Kola valley. from here we ascend to some teashops and cross a metal bridge before the final set of switchbacks which lead us to Simikot.

We travel through many villages and fields of buckwheat and potatoes, cross rivers and climb ridges. It is a particularly pretty area with many small communities dotted along our trail. The gradient levels out before Dharapori and we finally pass through walnut and apricot groves. Leaving Dharapori we cross over the river and trek along the north side towards Muchu before arriving at our camp for the night at a location called Kermu.

We pass by waterfalls and shepard camps and although reasonably challenging it is a pleasant and interesting trek.

We pass below the Gompa and through orchards and fields before gaining a ridge, dropping into a ravine and climbing up the other side. There are good views of the upper valley from here. We continue on descending and crossing ridges until we make a final climb to Halji. The main crops of this area are millet, barley, wheat, buckwheat, potatoes and radishes.

We follow the trails down to the border at Hilsa and approach the end of our trek in this remote region.

We return to Simikot, and the end of our trek in this very special part of Nepal. There are sure to be big celebrations with our crew tonight, and some well deserved pats on the back for the Full GHT group who have completed a very long walk in the Himalaya!

This morning we fly to Nepalgunj and to Kathmandu, a thrilling flight over forests, fields and villages, with the Himalaya in the background. On arrival, we transfer to the hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure.

After breakfast arrangements cease unless further ones have been made. Those people departing by aircraft will be transferred to the airport and assisted with check-in procedures.