Dhaulagiri Circle - French Col Pass Trek - 21 Days

Upon landing in Kathmandu, you will be greeted and escorted to the hotel by a representative from Himalayan Trekkers. 

After assisting until you check-in at the hotel, you will be on your one for the rest of the day. 

After breakfast, you will discover the cultural and historical sites that include a few of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as Pashupatinath Temple, Boudhanath Tempel, Swoyambhunath Stupa, and Kathmandu Durbar Square. 

After sightseeing, we gather at our office and discuss about the trekking trip that starts tomorrow. 

We have two options: either we fly to Pokhara and drive to Beni or we can drive to Beni from Kathmandu. The drive will be long and hectic as you have a long trip ahead. So, you are suggested to fly from Kathmandu to Pokhara and from Pokhara, you drive to Beni and meet all the camping crew members and a final check of all the things before we start our memorable trek.

Our trekking journey begins along the Myagdi Khola passing through several villages before reaching Darbang where we stop for lunch. After we cross the suspension bridge, we start the climb to Dharapani. This village is mainly inhabited by the Gurung and Chettri communities. Here we have our first view of the Dhaulagiri located to the north.

Overnight. 

After breakfast, we start our walk through Takum and Sibang villages. These are prosperous villages with many terraced fields mainly growing rice and wheat. Also, we can have a good view of Gurja Himal and Putha Hiunchuli located to the west. After crossing Dhara Khola on a suspension bridge we continue to Muri. Most of the people living in this village belong to the Magar community.

Overnight. 

From Muri, we climb down a steep slope to the bridge crossing over the Muri Khola. After passing through dense bamboo stands, the trail opens up into several clearings with fields and farmhouses. Further north the valley widens and the trail is exposed in places. We camp on the grounds of the primary school in this village.

Leaving Boghara we walk through the trail following the west bank of Myagdi Khola through an undulating trail in the forest. You gaze up the cliffs high above the trail and you can see honeycombs from where the villagers collect honey. We stop for lunch at Lipshe at 2,080m. After a short break, we continue walking through the forest until we get to a clearing in the forest at Dobang.

Today's trail continues through the dense, lush vegetation of ferns, bamboo, and rhododendrons. We cross over to the east bank of the Myagdi Khola on a new cantilever bridge and then camp at a clearing in the forest at Sallaghari.

From Sallaghari, we walk through the forest of pine trees, rhododendron, and birch. Then we will come across heather, juniper, and azaleas. The trail traverses through the forest and then climbs to a grassy area on the lateral moraine where Italian Base Camp is located. High above the camp is the impressive west face of Dhaulagiri with Tsaurabong Peak visible on the other side of the valley.

After all these days of traversing this one day is kept for a bit of relaxation, exploration and acclimatization. One can easily explore the area around the Italian Base Camp or stay put at the campsite. This test is important because you need to acclimatize with the weather conditions as well as the topography. From here onwards it is a climb to a higher altitude towards the Dhaulagiri Base Camp for which you need to healthy, fit and fine.

From the Italian Base Camp, the trail descends steeply down the lateral moraine to the glacier. There are ropes fixed here to help the group and the trek crew. We cross the glacier with the help of these ropes and then traverse along the moraine on the left side of the Chonbarden gorge. We walk along talus in the remarkably narrow Chonbarden gorge to the snout of the Chonbarden glacier and then continue for another hour to Glacier Camp. There are many ledges leveled in the ice of the glacier for our tents.

This day is meant to be used for acclimatization which is very necessary before we proceed forward to the Base Camp tomorrow. There is an optional day walk up the glacier towards the Base Camp to a large moraine ridge from where you can see the Tukuche, Little Eiger, and the valley heading towards the French Pass. 

Today, we follow a rough trail along the moraine that is covered by the glacier and heads towards Dhaulagiri Base Camp. From the Base Camp, the view is impressive with Dhaulagiri I, Tukuche Peak, and Little Eiger in front of us. Further to the west stands tall Dhaulagiri II (7,751m) and IV (7,618m). One can also see the start of the climbing route through the snowfall.

This is another necessary day of acclimatization before crossing the French Pass and going over to our campsite in the Hidden Valley at 5,100m.

At some point today you will be given a preliminary about the use of ice axe and crampons. This is especially for those trekkers who are using it for the first time. These basic mountaineering skills will be required for crossing the high passes to Jomsom.

After an early breakfast, we start to walk along the moraine strip to cross over the left of the Upper Chonbarden glacier. The walk to French Pass is comparatively easy as we ascend angled snow slopes. The walking down from the pass is on moderate snow slopes as we enter the hidden valley. After a long walk and descent, we arrive at the camp next to the river that is close to the Base of Dhampus Peak. 

Note: Since we cross the French Col one of the adventurous passes of the world, you can extend 2 days to climb the Dhampus peak paying extra cost to save time, energy and money.  Please enquire with Himalayan Trekkers team before confirming the trip.

Please note that we will only cross the French Pass on Day 14 if everyone in the group is sufficiently acclimatized. If anyone needs more time then we will delay by a day. There are a number of options for day walks around Hidden Valley; one of the best is to walk up on a ridge on the western side which gives you a beautiful view of the Dhaulagiri, Nilgiri, Annapurna and the lower parts of the Hidden Valley.

This is a long day and by far the toughest on Dhaulagiri Circle Trek. After an early start from the camp, we start the climb up a moderate snow slope to get to the Dhampus Pass. From the summit of the pass, the trail descends for about 100m before we start to traverse left into Kali Gandaki valley. There is a very long traverse across the snow which usually takes about four hours before starting the steep descent to Yak Kharka. Throughout this walk, there are stunning views of Nilgiri, Tukuche, Dhaulagiri I, Mukut Himal Tashi Kang, Sita Chuchura, and the western end of the Annapurna Massif.

We have to climb down for a long time to reach the village of Marpha located in the Kali Gandaki Valley. Marpha village boasts of a Buddhist monastery, Tibetan whitewashed houses, and paved streets. It is also famous for its apple orchards. So one can take a break here and enjoy a glass of apple juice at one of the lodges. In Jomsom, we stay at one of the lodges located near the airport.

Since Jomsom lies in the mountainous region so there is always an early flight to Pokhara as in the morning the days are clear.

Pokhara is also known as the “city of Lake” and is one of the most popular places for foreigners after Kathmandu. There are lots of interesting things to see in Pokhara. So when you are in Pokhara don’t miss to visit the popular landmarks of Pokhara.

Note: Those who have limited time can fly from Jomsom to Pokhara and also can fly to Kathmandu on the same day using a connecting flight or can drive from Pokhara to Kathmandu. Also, this place lies in a mountainous region so there is limited flight.

Today either you can fly to Kathmandu and witness an aerial vista of changing natural vegetation with the Himalayan Range or you can drive from Pokhara. The drive will be scenic and you will get the opportunity to experience the highway of Nepal.

Check-in at the hotel and relax once in Kathmandu. . 

You can depart from Kathmandu to your home country or extend the trip and head for another trip within or outside Nepal. 

We look forward to assisting you with your next journeys.