Nepal Kaze Travel

Rara Lake Trek

RARA LAKE TREK 11NTS/12DAYS
Western Nepal, the area west of the Dhaulagiri range, lies off the beaten track. Consisting of high pastures and valleys forested by oak and pine trees, the region gets little rain and remains agriculturally poor. Buddhism dominates in the highlands while the lowlands are Hindu. The people have a mixed heritage, Tibetan and Indian. Most of the homes are of Tibetan style with flat roofs of packed earth. The ladder to go to the second floor is outside the wall made by dug out steps in a log. Lake Rara, Lake Phoksundo and the Kanjiroba range are the important natural attractions of western Nepal.

Rara Lake, situated at an altitude of 2,980 m within Rara National Park, is the largest lake in Nepal – almost 13 km around. The hills around the lake are covered with pine, spruce and juniper forests which provide the habitat for the red panda, black bear, musk deer and many species of migratory birds. Rara presents a stunning scene against a backdrop of the western Himalaya. Our trek to Rara begins with a flight to the airstrip of Jumla from where we walk up through woods and meadows to Pathmara and on to village of Chautha. Crossing the 3,450-m Ghurchi Lagna pass, there are great views of the Mugu Karnali river and snow covered mountains near the Tibetan border. We continue walking and reach Rara Lake, a picture of solitude in wilderness. The lake is 170 m deep and contains otters and fish. We walk back to Jumla for the flight to Kathmandu.