12 Day Rara Lake Trek

Rara lake at an elevation of 3062m is located in the Rara National Park of western Nepal. Designated as a National Park in 1975, the area is unspoiled in beauty due to its remoteness. There was once a settlement here, but today only the abandoned ruins remain on the northern banks. Wild animals such as the Himalayan bear, the Himalayan tahr, goral, musk deer and the red panda can be found here. This trip is literally "off the beaten track" and is quite different to anything that is seen on other treks in Nepal. Rara is a high altitude lake ringed with forests of pine, juniper and spruce with a back drop of the Himalaya This trek is rather strenuous and is rather expensive due to scarcity of labour and food, nevertheless is ideal for those seeking solace in the solitude of the wilderness.

Day 01: Kathmandu/Nepalgunj
Fly to Nepalgung. Overnight at local hotel.

Day 02: Nepalgunj/Jumla-Padmara
By flight. Jumla town (2340m) is in a valley and there paddy is cultivated (making Jumla the highest place on earth where it is grown). The town is the administrative headquarters of the Karnali Zone.
From Jumla we start walking towards Padmara. There are two tracks leading north to Gumgarhi and Rara. One is a trail leading directly form the north of the town. The other is more popular trek route that turns east of the town towards Dansanhu (2347m) at the confluence of Tila Nadi with Chaudbise Khola. We transverse northeast along the right side of the Chaudbise Khola through pine forests. Two hours further is Urthu (2520m) at the confluence of Chaudbise Khola and Ghurseni Khola. The bridge leads east to Chaudbise area. The trek now ascends steeply through the narrow gorge of the Ghurseni Khola, keeping all the time to its right slope. Padmara (3017m), a Chhetri village at the head of the valley is one hour beyond the canyon head.
Overnight at camp.

Day 03: Padmara/Bumra
The track beyond Padmara continues rising along the north side of Ghurseni stream. We leave the last fields at 3048 meters and climb to the first pass, Khali Langa (3545m), four kilometers from Padmara. We follow down the right bank of stream to a foot-bridge at 3353 meter and cross it to the west side. We continue descending north for one hour through dense forest to reach a log bridge at 2743 meters over Sinja Khola, here called Lah Gad. Cross the bridge to the north side, turn west and climb to Bumra (2830m) about two kilometers further. Overnight at camp.

Day 04: Bumra/Pine
The track beyond Bumra keeps high above the river and skirts two small spurs to reach Bhargaon (2890m) in 1.5 hours. After one kilometer at the end of the fields, the track turns north into the tributary stream of Ghautha Khola. We cross the stream by a log bridge to the west side and climb to Chautha (3100m) in a forest clearing. After an hour the valley opens out into a pleasant meadow. We keep to the left stream until it is joined by a western tributary. Before reaching Ghurchi Langna (3457m) we climb up the narrow gully on the north east slope and skirt north across a series of spurs to reach Pine (2430m)
Overnight at camp.

Day 05: Pine/Rara Lake
RARA LAKE is only eight kilometers west of Pine. It is a short, pleasant trek with fine views to the north. From Pine, we take a trail turning west that transverse a steep north facing slope. After crossing a stretch of fields, we climb a small spur and descend to the stream. We cross the bridge and climb up to the hamlet of Jhari from Pina (2500m). It will take just over two hours to reach Jhari form Pina. From Jhari, we ascend west along a ridge for about 700 meters to reach a low saddle in two hours. The large lake is visible directly north of this saddle. From here, it is pleasant descent to the meadows on the south side of the lake. The village site of Rara (3040m) on the north side is a pleasant two hours walk along the western bank of the lake. Overnight at camp.

Day 06: Rara Lake
Rest day and explore Rara area- Rara area was designated a National Park in 1975 and it takes about eight hours to walk round the lake.
Overnight at camp.

Day 07: Rara Lake/Ghorasain
We walk the lake outlet (2980m) and follow the down stream of Khatyar Gad for an hour. There is a log bridge over the stream below Murma (3139m). Cross the bridge to the south side and clime steadily over the 400 meters to reach an open clearing at 3277 meters. The trail continues climbing south through dense forest until the tree line is reached at 3658m. The ridge continues to south for another 200 meters but it is pleasant trail with distant view of the mountains. There is no pass on this high ridge and the trail turns south-east at an altitude of 3749m and descends by the east side of Chuchemara Danda. It is a fairly steep descent to Ghorasain (3271m).
Overnight at camp.

Day 08: Ghorasain/Sinja
From Ghorasain there is trail down the valley to Botan (2895m). A more interesting trail with better scenic prospect is to climb Diyabala Danda due south of Ghorasain. The climb begins immediately west of Ghorasain and takes about an hour through forest to top the crest at 5351 meters. The trail then skirts south-east above the high fields of Lumsa. There are good views to the south along the Sinja valley. The trail descends to Okharpati village (3100m) on a high shelf above Mindrabali Gad. The descent from Okharpati to Sinja takes less than two hours.
Overnight at camp.

Day 09: Sinja/Chere Chaur
We cross the log bridge over Sinja Khola to the east and follow the south bank of Jaljale Gad beyond Kotgaon near Lamathada. We follow the stream for another five kilometers due east. Then we ascend the ridge(2865m) briefly to descend to the same stream again. The trail clings to the south side of the stream all the way for another nine kilometers. The trail twists and turns along the stream but it is a pleasant trail amidst forest wilderness.
Finally, the trail climb east along a gully to ascend a pass at 3597m. We descend east along a wide meadow into the headquarters of Ju Gad that drains to Jumla town. Descend east along the stream and transverse another kilometers to Chere Chaur (2987m). Overnight at camp.

Day 10: Chere Chaur/Jumla
Chere Chaur is a delightful alpine pasture where flowers are in profusion during later summer. It provides good views of the Jumla town, Tila valley and Chyakhure Lekh beyond. The return to the town cam be pleasant descent in slow stages.
Overnight at camp.

Day 11: Jumla/Nepalgunj/Kathmandu-By flight
Transfer to hotel. Overnight at hotel.

Day 12:
Departure to airport for onward flight.