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Exploring Rara Lake & Khaptad National Parks

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Exploring Rara Lake & Khaptad National Parks Exploring Rara Lake & Khaptad National Parks ‘far northwest Himalaya trekking around picturesque national parks’ Trip Outlook: Trip Mode: Hotels / Camping on route trekking. Trek grade: Moderate. Highest altitude: 3,692 m at Murma hill view top (optional hike) 3,063 m at Khaptad area. Trek duration: 12 nights / 13 days. Total Trip: 18 nights / 19 days. Season: Mid March to May & September to November Main Attraction & Highlights: Full of enjoyable moments throughout, this trip provides traditional villages, lovely forested hillsides, picturesque landscapes and mountains, around Nepal’s largest lake, Lake Rara, and towards the least visited scenic Khaptad National Park. This is a trek that includes both picturesque national parks with views of the lesser known high peaks of Api and Saipal, dramatic variations from sub-tropical to Mediterranean to alpine climatic zones, awesome views of snow capped mountains, encounters with the traditional mid hills villages of the Thakuri, Chettries, Bhotia’s & Magar tribes in this unspoiled, hardly trekked, remote north- west corner of Nepal. Rara Lake Introduction: A remarkable, picturesque and impressive trek, exploring Rara Lake and Khaptad National Parks. On this journey of a lifetime you will visit one of the most remote and isolated areas of Nepal where the early kingdom of Malla started in the 6th Century. Around Lake Rara the trek offers fantastic views of Api and Saiphal, Kagmara Himal, Kanjibroba, and other peaks of the high Himalaya. This fascinating adventure starts with a scenic 50 minute flight to Nepal’s far south west city of Nepalgunj, located close to India border state of Uttar Pradesh. As you step from the plane you will notice the subtropical climate. From here, another short, sweeping flight to Talcha in Jumla district brings us to the start of our trek, first visiting Lake Rara. The journey heads north passing interesting villages and heavily cultivated farms with an amphitheatre of terraces. The trek takes us through beautiful woodlands of rhododendron, spruce, maples, oaks, pines and fir trees to reach Rara National Park and Lake Rara. This is Nepal’s smallest park but its largest lake with an area of 10.8 sq kms at a height of 2,990 metres. This beautiful lake, surrounded by heavily wooded slopes, is home to many wild animals and exotic birds. It is an ideal habitat for musk deer, Himalayan black bear, leopard, goral, Himalayan Thar and wild boar. The only fish species to be found in the lake are snow trout. Resident gallinaceous birds and migrant waterfowl are also quite commonly sighted in this area. The great - crested grebe, black-necked grebe, and red-crested pochard are seen during winter. Other common birds are the snow cock, chukor partridge, Impeyan pheasant “Danfe” National bird of Nepal, kalij pheasant and blood pheasant. After a time here with a rest day to explore this scenic place, we return to our journey, trekking over several days to the national park of Khaptad, hardly visited by foreign trekkers. Local girl in traditional dress and jewellery Khaptad is another gem of Nepal, located in the far west, about 450 km from Kathmandu. The Khaptad National Park established in 1984, covers an area of 225 km2 and altitude ranges from 1,000m to 3,300m. The name Khaptad comes from the renowned Khaptad Baba who resided in the Ashram in the 1940s to meditate and worship. He spent about 50 years as a hermit and became a renowned spiritual saint. This holy, religious site is where Hindu pilgrims visit to worship Shiva on the full moon of July and August each year. Having explored Khapatad we head south to the road head at Tamil, a town in Bhajang district, for an interesting, but long, drive to the Terai and the town of Dhangadi of Kailali district in the far SW of Nepal. From here, after an overnight stay in an hotel, we fly back to Kathmandu, taking with us many happy memories of our enjoyable and remarkable trip to picturesque Rara and Khaptad National Parks. Beautiful, remote valleys DETAILED ITINERARY: Day 01: Depart UK Day 02: Arrive in Kathmandu and transfer to hotel One of the representatives of Himalayan Expeditions will meet us at the airport and arrange an immediate transfer to our hotel. He will also deliver a short briefing on immediate arrangements. You will spend overnight in a tourist standard hotel on bed and breakfast basis. Day 03: Briefing on trek and its preparations You will have your breakfast at your hotel. Our senior trek leader will deliver a detailed briefing on trek, its practicality and preparations. After the briefing, our well-versed tour guide will take you to explore some of major cultural and historical World Heritage Sites of the Kathmandu Valley. You will spend overnight in a tourist standard hotel on bed and breakfast basis. B Day 04: Fly to Nepalgunj We will fly to Nepalgunj after our breakfast. It takes 55 minutes to reach Nepalgunj. We will drive to hotel. The rest of the day will be free to explore. While in Nepalgung we can visit Bageshwari Temple and Lord Shiva Temple, the only temple that depicts Lord Shiva with a moustache. We can also visit nearby Rupadiya on the Indian border by taking a horse drawn carriage called a Tanga. BLD Day 05: Fly to Talcha Airport (2752m) and commence trekking to Rara Lake (2980m) A 35 minutes early morning flight will take us to Talcha. The flight will offer views of amazing landscapes of the mid-western region. We will enjoy breakfast in one of the hotels of Talcha before setting off on our trek. This will give time for the crew to organise our kit. The trek to Rara Lake takes about 3 – 3.5 hours. After just one hour we can see changes in the landscape and vegetation. After another hour we get our first views of the lake. Our camp is on the lakeshore, the deep blue waters reflecting the hills around us. BLD Day 06: A day at Rara Lake to rest and explore in and around Rara Lake A short hike to Murmatop is possibly the best way to enjoy the view of Rara Lake, Nepal’s largest lake. Murmatop also offers magnificent views of the Kanjirowa Mountains. Returning to camp in the afternoon we will experience the splendour of a sunset and moonrise reflected in the still, clear waters of the lake. BLD Day 07: Trek to Srikot (2041m) Today’s walk is mostly downhill. We head towards Khaytad, following the Khaytad River. There will be plenty of opportunity to experience a wide variety of bird and animal life. After an hour or so we will reach the village of Majghat where we will be able to have a tea stop. Continuing downhill we will reach Murma, a large area of pastureland, an ideal place to relax, watching the world around us. We will meet local people in their traditional attire, speaking their native language and smoking their hookah. Lunch will be taken at Jhaudi Khola. The afternoon walk will take us through the villages of Bapeni, inhabited by Brahmins and Chhetris, Jam, Nigalbot, Masane and eventually reaching Sirkot where our camp will be near the primary school, so expect some young visitors who will be fascinated by our presence. 7-8 hours walk. BLD Day 08: Trek to Jhugala (1141m) We again pass through several villages, giving us an insight into the daily lives of the inhabitants, the largest being Majchaur, which is a bustling market area with lodges and many shops. This may be a place to linger in for a while to absorb the atmosphere as the local people go about their daily lives. An hour beyond Majchaur, we reach Paukipani where teashops serve freshwater fish for snacks, which might assuage our hunger as it is another hour to our lunch stop at Bira Bagar, a riverside village. In the afternoon we cross many suspension bridges as waterfalls cascade down the hills to the river. The Khaytad Khola, which we have been following for three days, joins the Karnali River in the village of Rega. We now follow the Karnali to Jugala and our campsite, which offers great views of the river. 7-8 hours walk BLD Day 09: Trek to Kolti (1453m) After breakfast, we cros the Karnali River on a suspension bridge and by doing so we leave Mugu District and enter Bajura District of the Far-west region of Nepal. After a walk of about an hour we reach Chepi, a small village on the banks of the Karnali. The trek then progresses towards Kurane Jugala, about 45 minutes onward from Chepi. After another couple of hours we reach Alange Chaur and beyond that our luch stop at Chulighat Badhu. After lunch we continue along the banks of the Karnali River through Chuligadh and Badhu Bagar, where we leave the Karnali and follow the Kundana River, pass through several villages before reaching Kolti and our camp for the night. 8 hours walk. BLD Day 10: Trek to Porakhe Lek (2706) Today’s trek is mostly uphill. We pass through Kumrakot, Ser Katiya, Samal, Ananda Nagar and Pandusen before reaching our lunchtime destination of Pirekot. The major inhabitants of this region are Brahminss, Chhetris and Sherpas. Continuing our climb after lunch we pass through more villages, Chadi Pani, Angau Pani and Paurekhe Khad. From here the trail is narrow and slippery, but after an hour we reach Porakhe Lek, a hilltop village where our camp is and from where we gain panoramic views of the surrounding hills. 7 hours walk.
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