Rolwaling Valley Trek

After breakfast in Kathmandu, we take a local bus to Jagat today; it is about 196 km to east from Kathmandu, takes 9-10 hours via Lamosangu (750m.) Charikot (1980m.). Overnight in Jagat in lodge or home stay. 

This is not a very long day, but it is a hot and steep ascent. As you leave Gongar you start walking north up the new road. After about 45 minutes you'll get to Chetchet, A cluster of dwellings on the right side of the road. At this point you leave the road and follow the trail that heads down through Chetchet. After about ten minutes you'll get to the bridge that crosses the Tamakoshi River. As soon as you cross you start ascending. Follow the trail until you get to the lovely village of Simigaon. The lodges are on the ridge at the top of the village, so you still have about 40 minutes of walking the minor trails through the village until you get to the lodge. The village itself is beautiful. It is spread all over the side of the hill, and you can spend the rest of the day walking around. There is also a monastery on top of the ridge. Overnight in lodge or home stay.

As you start walking from Simigaon, you take the trail the heads out towards the other side of the ridge and up the Rolwaling river valley. Most of the day you'll be walking inside a forest, but the way is rather clear, and if you stick with the main trail there is little chance you'll get lost. After about one hour of ups and downs you'll see two small shacks. This is a good place to refill some water since from here you are only ascending and there won't be too many places to rehydrate on the way. From here you enter a Rhododendron forest and you star ascending. It is a rather steep way up and after about two and a half hours and a couple of small bridges you get to a small teahouse where you can take a break. This teahouse is not open all the time so don't count on it for food or supplies. From here you keep ascending. The higher you go the more the forest is governed by Juniper and Rhododendron. After about three hours you'll get to Gyalche. There is a lodge here, and it is possible to stop here for the night if you wish. Half an hour down the trail is Dongang, which is located on the bank of the river. There are two places to stay in Dongang, and both of them are run by very nice ladies. The one run by Zangmu Sherpa is lovely. overnight in lodge or homestay. 

This is also a day long ascent, and possibly the hardest day of this trek because of the altitude gap. Although most of the maps may suggest otherwise, since 2010 the wooden bridge crossing from Dongang is almost out of use and there is a new bridge up the valley. As you leave Dongang you head north along the main trail and past the scolding NMA sign ("no one profits from illegal mountaineering. So stop doing it right now."). After about two hours you get to a bridge and cross the Rolwaling Khola. From here the valley starts opening up a bit, and you get some nice views of Chekigo (6257m). After about one hour you cross the Themlung Khola which comes down straight from Gaurishankar, and you get a chance to look up the Themlung valley and get a close look of Gaurishankar. From you here soon enough you'll start passing some random houses, most of them probably locked and the owners are grazing their yaks somewhere higher. It is still three hours of ascent up to Beding, passing the villages of Jobalu, Nyiamare, Ramding and Chhimu Golche before reaching Beding. If you are trekking in spring, these villages will probably be empty since their residents are grazing their yaks in higher pastures or working as climbing Sherpas for the season. 40 minutes before Beding you pass the regional Lama Monastery School, and they'll want to see your permits. From here it's a rather short walk to the village. Beding itself is beautiful and the valley starts widening up at this point, giving you some fine views of the mountains surrounding it. It is also the biggest village in the Rolwaling valley. Overnight in lodge or home stay.

When not handled seriously, altitude can be a serious trek-killer. A day to acclimatize is highly recommended. Beding itself is picturesque, and there are some good acclimatization walks around the village. On the mountainside in front of the village there is a big boulder marked with prayer flags, which is a nice viewpoint offering very good views of Gaurishankar's north face and the neighboring peaks. There isn't any clear trail that goes up, and you'll have to cross some bushes to get up there. There is also a small Gompa beautifully built into the cliff above the village. Both of them are around 4000m, so they can be a good choice for acclimatization walks. *From Beding it is possible to take a side trip up to Menlung La (5616m), where you can get some superb views of Melungtse and into Tibet. Those of you who do plan to continue to Menlung La are urged to take at least one more day fully acclimatize, since the high camp before the pass is around 4900. The trail up is steep and tricky so try and find someone local to guide you.Overnight in lodge or home stay. 

This day depends a lot on how you acclimatized. If you are well acclimatized, then this walk should not be a problem. If you are not sure, or wish to make a short day, it is possible to go up to the lake the next morning and then just keep going down from Na. The trail from Beding is clear, and this part of the trek is just spectacular. As you ascend, the valley slowly opens up, and from a V-shaped valley it is gradually becoming a U-shaped valley. The sides of the valley are filled with icefalls and waterfalls, and at this point there are no trees, only grassland and some Juniper bushes here and there. After about two hours you reach the village of Na, which is situated on the north bank of the river. You can put your backpack at one of the lodges in Na, and take only water and warm clothes up to the lake. From Na you take the trail that goes north up the valley. After ten minutes you cross the Rolwaling Khola and from there you keep walking for about an hour on the right (south) bank of the river. After one hour of walking you'll get to second bridge and cross the Rolwaling Khola again - still one more hour left to get to the lake. From here you keep going on the bank of the river, until the main trail forks left and up to the lakeshore. To get back to Na you take the same trail you took on the way up. It should take about an hour and a half to reach Na. *There are two interesting side trips around Na. One is to another alpine lake called "Dudh Pokhari" (27°53'28.388"N, 86°27'57.278"E. Meaning 'milky lake'), which is located up the Ripimoshar Glacier. It is possible to do a one day round trip to both lakes from Na. This would be a long day, and you should consult locals in Na about the condition of the trail from Tso Rolpa to Dudh Pokhari, which is not very clear and is changing all the time since it is over the end of the Ripimoshar Glacier. The second is to the small monastery located about 30 minutes before Na, a bit northern to the trail. There is also a big Mani Wall and a mural on one of the big boulders.

This is the day you start descending, following the same trail that you took on the way up. Those of you who wish to go up towards Dadlung La should turn at the bridge after Niyamare.

Still on the same trail back. Ask the lodge owners to sort out your bus ticket to Kathmandu for the following morning. 

We take the local bus to Kathmandu, this is a long day ride. It could be about 11 hours bus ride to Kathmandu.