Shey Phoksundo is one of the deepest lake in Nepal. It is located in the Dolpa Region. With a length of 5.15 km and a depth of 476ft , the Phoksundo Lake is surrounded by snow capped-mountains in all directions.
So here I share with you all my journey to Shey Phoksundo Lake.
I am a guy from Janakpur,Nepal. I was in my home spending my holidays sitting inside and watching TV. Then one day I decided to ask my elder brother to plan for a trip which he agreed to and asked me to come to Kathmandu, from where we would be leaving for Shey Phoksundo along with his friends. I took a flight from Janakpur to Kathmandu on 19th October 2019, stayed at my brother's place at night preparing for the next day to start our journey.
Trek video on YouTube : https://youtu.be/SO-ABqrOaXQ
Kathmandu to Jajarkot
Sunday, 20th October 2019
We started our journey on 20th October 2019 from Kathmandu. We started our day with buying stuffs that would be required during our trek that included things like warm clothes and packed food stuffs. Packed food stuffs are very expensive in those places so one should buy them before hand.
We reached the Gongbu bus stand in Kathmandu _ around 3 pm and united with rest of the group members there. All together we were 8 in number including me. We booked an AC bus from Kathmandu to Khalanga, Jajarkot.
AC was not required but as the route was very long, AC buses have comfortable seats and therefore that's an better option. There are buses also available till a place called Raadee, would suggest one to take a bus directly till raadee as it would save you both money and time.
The bus left gongbu bus stand around 4-4:30 pm.
It's a 24 hours bus journey so be ready with stuffs to pass time. I had downloaded lots of songs and movies on my phone which helped me a lot.
Khalanga, Jajarkot ➡️ Raadee ➡️ Tallu bagar
Monday, 21st October 2019
The morning started with our bus breaking down, which made us take our phones out to click pictures and gave us a feeling that the trip has finally started. We reached Khalanga, a place in Jajarkot around 4 pm.
From Khalanga we had to take another bus to a place called Raadee. The road to Raadee is very bad and the local bus ride more, that's why it's suggested to take a direct bus to Raadee from Kathmandu.
We reached Raadee around 7:30 pm. We wanted to start trekking as soon as possible so we decided to move on, and hired a taxi for Tallu Bagar. It was a two hour journey. On the way we saw a big waterfall but didn't stop because it was dark and we're getting late. We thought of stopping there while returning back.
Around 10 pm we reached Tallu bagar. We had asked our driver to arrange for our food and stay at Tallu bagar before we left Raadee so didn't had bother about dinner as all shops and hotels close around 8-9 pm.
After having our dinner we spent 2-3 hours on our hotel terrace listening to music and looking at sky full of stars. Everyone of us was busy counting the shooting stars and getting lost in the moment.
Tallu bagar ➡️ Sulligadh
Tuesday , 22nd October 2019
Since we had taken a taxi ride from Raadee to Tallu bagar last night we were hoping to reach Suligadh at noon and start walking towards our destination but to our surprise we were told in the morning that we had to take 3 more shared taxis to reach Sulligadh and that would take us the whole day.
The shared taxis there carry around 15-17 people at once in a vehicle which hardly fits around 10-12 people . At first from Tallu bagar we hired a reserve taxi to move fast without waiting it to fill. We paid the surplus amount but the driver added more passengers on the way, we argued against it but it was of no use and being an outsider there it's better to move on peacefully than to get into an argument with an local.
There are places where you need to cross the river. There are no bridge for the four wheelers to cross but for people on foot and motorcycle there are suspension bridges. So you take the suspension bridge, cross the river and get another shared taxi. Like this we changed three taxis from Tallu bagar to reach Sulligadh.
We reached Sulligadh around 7:30pm found a place to stay and ordered food. After having dinner we put our phones to charge and retired to bed. Next morning was the day were to start trekking.
Sulligadh ➡️ Chepka ➡️ Rechi
Wednesday, 23rd October 2019
We woke up at 5 and started getting ready. We took out some extra things that we would not not require during our trek and put them in two of our bags. We left those two extra bags at the hotel, so that we could have the option to carry the rest of the bags turn by turn.
By 6am we were all ready. We had to get a pass for each person to enter the Psey phoksundo national reserve. Each pass costs Rs 100 NRS for Nepalese citizens. We got our passes and started our trek at 6:30 am. The trails took us along the banks of bheri river. One could see rock beds under crystal clear water of bheri river even from great heights.
The narrow trails took us through the rocky mountains, lush green forests, pine trees, across the bheri river via a number of suspension bridges and many man made wooden bridges built by the locals. The beauty of the trail kept increasing the further we walked.
We took small breaks to re-energize ourselves with chocolates and snacks. We had the natural Bheri river water to drink.
After trekking for about 7 hours we reached Chepka. It is one of the major stop for most of the trekkers as most of them stop here for the night and move forward the next morning. But we had planned to walk the whole day and may be even at night in order to reach Ringmo(where Phoksundo lake is situated) in one day to complete our trip as soon as possible.
But after reaching chepka most of us were already tired and realised it would be very difficult for us to walk till the lake but we couldn't stop at Chepka as it would increase the number of days to our trip. So we had noodles and omelette for lunch which took almost 1hours and gave enough rest to our legs and then we left for Rechi at 2:30 pm.
The trail from Chepka to Rechi was a long and tiring one. After walking for about 2 hours the trail started to become more difficult and with more steep climbs. After walking till 6pm we were so exhausted that we wanted to stop any moment. It was already dark and we had no idea how far was Rechi. We kept walking,walking and walking for another half an hour, then we saw some lights glowing in a village which brought smile to our faces. Finally we reached Rechi at 6:35 pm. We were so tired that some of didn't want to have dinner but just sleep but eventually everyone did have dinner.
Rechi ➡️ Ringmo
Thursday, 24th October 2019
We started walking early morning before sunrise, and left rechi at 5:30 am. We planned to reach Phoksundo lake as soon as possible and also go to the view point. After walking for an hour we reached a place called Saijjal (Samjhana Hotel) at 6:40 am. Had tea and some biscuits there and left for Ringmo village.
From Saijjal to Ringmo the whole trail we had to climb uphill. The trails were narrow here and a bit difficult too, one has to be very careful while on this trail. The views on the way were beautiful. Just before reaching Ringmo village one could see the beautiful Phoksundo waterfall on the way.
We reached Ringmo at 10:25 am. We went to search for the Himalayan Hotel. We had heard about this hotel a lot. We booked our room and ordered lunch. Till now we did not had even a glimpse of the Phoksundo Lake, when suddenly the hotel owner told us how close we were to the lake and that we could see it from their terrace.
After having lunch we went to the lake side to take pictures and spend some time. It was nothing less than a heaven to the eyes.
After sometime at the lake side we started our trek towards the view point. After walking for some time we found the way to be closed. We stopped by a place there spent some time playing with stones and taking pictures. It was then when I felt that I was at the destination and was now enjoying truly, forgetting about everything and living in the moment. My legs were not paining anymore, I wasn't tired anymore, I was capturing the views and moment through my eyes, making beautiful memories.
When we returned to our hotel we came to know that the route we took for the view point was the new one and was closed and we were supposed to take another one. But we had no regrets as we enjoyed a lot and that the lake looked beautiful from everywhere we looked from.
Ringmo ➡️ Chepka
Friday, 25th October 2019
We woke up at 6:30 am to see sunrise. The view of the lake at sunrise is same as during day time and not so different as the sun rises from the direction opposite to the lake. We celebrated birthday of one of our members-Biraj Dai. Had our breakfast and left the hotel at 8:45 am. We wanted to reach Sulligadh by night.
Going downhill was less tiring but more difficult and painful to our toes and knees. We kept walking. I along with my brother walked continuously and consistently without stopping much till chepka and ordered food for everyone. Till the time everyone reached Chepka it started to get dark and everyone was tired and not in a condition to walk further. But somehow I'd say that one can return back to Sulligadh in one day if he/she can walk - it is possible,but it would have been a lot tiring and from point of enjoying a trip it's good to take rest and go.
Chepka ➡️ Sulligadh ➡️ Raadee ➡️Jajarkot
Saturday, 26th October 2019
We woke up early and started our walk till Sulligadh.
We reached Sulligadh around 10-10:30. Took our luggage that we left at the hotel, had breakfast, changed our clothes and left Sulligadh around 11:50 am.
We got the taxi from Sulligadh straight away without waiting. We changed taxis and luckily we didn't had to wait much anywhere. But the taxis were all full and we had to go back with much more difficulty getting stuffed inside those vehicles. We reached Tallu bagar at night, hired another taxi for Raadee. Had dinner at Raadee and booked another taxi for Nepalgunj - the nearest airport. I planned to fly back from Nepalgunj to Kathmandu and then back home on 27th October itself as we had the festival that day i.e Tihar/Dipawali, and I didn't want to miss that. We traveled in the taxi whole day and night.
Nepalgunj ✈️ Kathmandu
Sunday, 27th October 2019
After traveling for the whole day and night the previous day we finay reached Nepalgunj on 27th morning around 9:15.
We went straight to the airport and luckily I got a ticket for Kathmandu. Others were not sure about going but eventually they decided to fly back home and took a flight at the night.
It was a wonderful and a memorable trip. We traveled, walked, saw the beautiful Phoksundo lake, made memories, got back home on time and celebrated the festival with our families. It couldn't have been any better.
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Brief Itinerary
Day 1: Kathmandu - Jajarkot
Day 2: Jajarkot - Raadee - Tallu bagar
Day 3: Tallu bagar- Sulligadh
Day 4: Sulligadh - Chepka - Rechi
Day 5 : Rechi - Ringmo { Shey Phoksundo Lake }
Day 6: Ringmo- Chepka
Day 7: Chepka - Sulligadh - Tallu bagar - Radee - Jajarkot ( day and night continuous travel)
Day 8: Nepalgunj - Kathmandu
Where to stay in Phoksundo?
- Himalayan Hotel and Lama Hotel are most popular but we preferred Himalayan Hotel as it had better rooms and a better view. Also the service and hospitality we received was great.
Budget?
- at least 20,000 per head
What to Eat?
- Eat the local food which consists of rice,dal, veggies, achar/chutney. Or have noodles.
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