Nepal is a country situated in Southeast Asia, decorated with mountains, rivers, and gorges. People often visit Nepal to get face to face with nature and the mighty mountains. Nepal, since its early tourism years, has been famous for trekking. Here you will find the most challenging treks for adventure junkies, which may last up to a month.
Among many trek routes in Nepal to choose from, the Dhaulagiri trek is considered to be one of the most challenging. This trek is situated in the Annapurna region, which takes the trekkers into the most memorable trek of their lifetime. The trek to the base camp of the seventh highest mountain in the world is a trek through rugged terrain, beautiful snow-covered forests, and icy glaciers.
Many people around the world, including trekkers and adventure junkies, are attracted by this track as it is a little different from other treks as it is considered a challenge by many. The Dhaulagiri Circuit trek takes you to the heart of the Himalayan ecosystem and brings you closer to the friendly locals and their unique culture. You will surely have a conversation to remember with the locals. About their daily lifestyle, how they survive in harsh conditions and the food is a treat to remember to itself.
This trek definitely takes you on a magical journey as you will have to spend several days and nights above 5000m and take you past two 5000m passes in snowy conditions.
Overview: Dhaulagiri Trek
You will land at Tribhuvan International Airport, which is situated in the heart of the capital city Kathmandu. There are lots of places that come under UNESCO World Heritage sites here in the Kathmandu valley. If you want to extend your stay you will have to separate a day to visit this ancient city. From Kathmandu, you can take a vehicle ride to Pokhara city or you can take a flight as well.
From Pokhara, you will have to take a 2-3 hrs ride to Beni, which is the initial point of the trek. For the first few days, you will pass through dense jungles and small villages following the Myagdi river and then to the Chhonbardan glacier. Which is situated at the foot of Dhaulagiri. Slowly, as you escalate and begin to cover higher you will see the vegetation getting slim and witness barren rocky lands filled with snow. During the whole time, you will get a majestic view of the mighty Mt. Annapurna range and ferocious Mt. Dhaulagiri. The small villages get thin and you are left with small lodges with no permanent settlements.
After reaching the base camp and if you want to continue the journey and elevate further which only a few dares to undergo then you can trek the side up to the glacier and through the French pass located at 5,360m and into the hidden valley. Some mountaineers go the trek route to reach Dhampus Peak at 6,060 m.
Continuing over the Dhampus pass you will demote down to Jomsom which is a very steep descent where you will be descending over 2000m in 2 days. This is the gateway to Mustang from where you can get a ride back to Pokhara.