Tsho Rolpa is one of the Biggest Glacier Lake of Nepal which is under the Conservation Project of “Gaurisankar Conservation Area Project (GCAP)” and is managed by National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC). In Sherpa language “Tsho” means Lake, and “Rolpa” as a Rolwaling valley is located at an altitude of 4580M in the Dolakha district. It is also believed that the lake has grown consierable over the last 5 decades due to the glacial melting or Global warming in the Himalayas. The name Rolwaling means, ‘valley carved by a plough’ and its steep cliffs do indeed give the impression of a plough-carved furrow.

Full Video of Tsho Rolpa Trek

The trail of the Tsho Rolpa is one of the finest and well managed route that we have ever been to till date. The swiss project (3years project) at this conservation area is one of the big hand which have made the trail well managed and marked with proper trail mark and information. The first Cantilever bridge in Nepal was Built in Gorkha and Second one is in the Rolwaling valley, so anyone going to Tsho Rolpa will have to cross the Nepal 2nd Cantilever Bridge (Bridge that is only supported on one end).

Another main attraction of this trek is the waterfall that you will see during the Tsho Rolpa trek. There are huge number of waterfalls flowing from the high cliff to the running river Upper Tamakoshi. As soon as your trek start from the Gongar you will witness tons of Waterfalls in this trail.

Travelling Facts :

District : Dolakha
Duration : 5 Night 6 Days
Max Altitude : 4580M
Budget : 6K – 8K
Difficulty Level : Moderate
Best Season : September to mid november, March to May
Major Attraction: Tsho Rolpa Ice Lake, terrace farmlands, panoramic snow covered soaring high Himalayan peaks, majority of Sherpa people and their own traditional culture, a historical place in Dolakha Bazzar, beautiful and scenic Beding and Naa Village.

Itinerary :

Day 1 : Drive from Kathmandu to Gongar Khola (1,350 m) and Trek to Simigaun (2,019 m)

The first day of this Trek will be a bus Ride up to the Gongar Khola or Chet Chet (Chet Chet is 15-20 mins bus ride from Gongar Khola). You can easily find your Ticket from the Purano Bus Park of Ratna Park from “Rolwaling Yatayat” or “Arniko Yatayat”. Each day both of these Yatayat Vendors operates 2 shifts one in 6 AM Sharp and another one in 8 AM Sharp. Make sure you book your ticket a day earlier and confirm a comfortable seat since you will be Travelling (195km Approx. on bus) for about nearly 9-10 Hours.

The driving route is pretty simple which goes all the way from: Ratna Park – Koteshwor – Bhaktapur – Dhulikhel – Dolalghat – Khadichaur – Mude – Charikot (Headquater) – Dolkha Bhimsen – Singati – Bhorley Jharna – Jagat – Gongar Khola and if the time favours you can trek up to Simigaun same day which requires 2 hours of walking from the Gongar Khola.

Distance : 195km Vehicle Ride upto Gongar Khola, 2 Hours Trek to the Simigaun

Highlight of the Day 1 : Bhorley Jharna, Gongar Khola, Upper Tamakoshi River, Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower, Upper Tamakoshi Tunnel, Waterfall Near to the Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project, Chet Chet Suspension Bridge and the Simigau Village.

Helpful Contact Information :

For Vehicle Inquiry

For Hotel Inquiry

Room Rate charge = Rs 500, Non Veg Khana set = Rs 300, Veg khana set = Rs 200 (at Gongar)

Room Rate charge = Rs 400, veg khana set = Rs 200, Red Bull = Rs 200 (at Simigau)

Day 2 : Simigau (2019 m) To Dongang (2800 m)

Day 2 of the Tsho Rolpa trek start’s either from your previous Stay Simigau or if you have only managed to reach the Gongar Khola lately on the previous day then it start’s from the Gongar Khola itself. Simigau Village (2019 m) is located at the top of the hills with the 200 House (Approximately according to one of the hotel owner). People are very nice here and helpful at the same time. This is last place to charge your battery, mobile and all the electronic goods (only some lodge in ‘Naa Village’ have solar charge) and also last place before Beding for the proper Mobile network and only Ntc Network works in this route or Smart cell and CDMA only. Once you reached the Dongang, you are offically entering the “ROLWALING VALLEY”. Rolwaling is an inner Himalayan valley, considered to be a Beyal or holy sanctuary by the local Buddhist Sherpa inhabitants.

Route of the Day 2 :

Simigau – Uttise – Surmuche(2470 m) : 5 KM (Around 3 Hours)

The Trail from the Simigau to Surmuche is pleasant and full of excitements. The lush green foresh with the up and down trail from the Simigau is moderate level of difficulty for the average trekkers where we have to cross the Nepal 2nd Cantilever Bridge. We will be seeing lot’s of Waterfall and fast flowing Rolwaling river with the Rolwaling mountain range on the backdrops. Surmuche have only one hotel for fooding and lodging which have the capacity of providing services to 30 – 35 people.

Room Rate charge = Rs 400, Veg Khana set = Rs 350, Wai Wai = Rs 50 per packet, Ginger Tea = Rs 40, Soup = Rs 100

Surmuche(2470 m) to Kyalche(2760 m) : 3.5 KM (Around 2 Hours)

Surmuch to Kyalche is about 2 hour of walking distance and in between these two stops, we will be crossing some locally invented bridges and yes again Waterfalls on the way. Like Surmuche, Kyalche also have only one hotel providing food and lodging services.

Room Rate charge = Rs 500, Veg Khana set = Rs 350

Kyalche(2760 m) to Dongang(2800 m) : 1.5 KM (Around 40mins)

Kyalche and Dongang is very near to each other and requires about 40mins of walking. There are 3 hotel Available (One hotel among 3 of them only opens in season time, other time owner stay out of village).

Khana Rs 300, Room Rs 300 (2 bed in room)

Total Distance of the Day 2 : Approx. 10km, 6-7 Hours Trek

Highlight of the Day 2 : Mountain view of Gaurisankar and some other rolwaling range, Nepal 2nd Cantilever Bridge, Waterfalls, Suspension Bridge, Wooden Bridge and fast flowing Rolwaling River.

Day 3 : Dongang (2800 m) to Beding Village (3690 m) to Naa Village (4183 m)

Day 3 of this Trek is going to be start from the very beginning of the Rolwaling Valley “Dongang”. The start of the this day will be welcoming you with the natural pavement on the floor and the dense lush green forest covering you on the top with the mesmerizing sound of the same Rolwaling River. There are few uphill climb but not only the uphill but you will be experiencing up and down until you reach the valley of the Beding. In between Dongang and Bedig you can see very few tea shops which are open for day time only, one of them is at Thanding Kharka. Once you reach the Beding you will see lot of Yaks and Naks, Sherpa Community and the Beauty of the Real Rolwaling. You can spend your overnight here in Beding for better altitude acclimatization (Highly recommended). But if you have limited days and only if comfortable with the altitude you can march toward the Last Village before the Tsho Rolpa “Naa Village”.

Route of The Day 3 :

Dongang to Thanding Kharka : 4.5 Km, 2 hrs
Thanding Kharka to Beding: 5.5 Km, 2 hrs
Beding to Naa Village: 3.2 Km, 2 Hrs

Total Distance of the Day 3 : 13.2 km, 6-8 hours

Recommendation : Visit the Upper cliff Monastery (Cave) at Beding, Better to stay overnight in Beding for Better acclimatization.

For Hotel Contact Information :

Highlight of the Day 3 : Entrance of the Rolwaling Valley, Suspension and locally invented wooden Bridge, Many Waterfalls, Beding and Na Village, Rolwaling Mountain Range, Sherpa Culture, Monastry in Beding and Naa Village, Cave and monastry on the top of the cliff in the Beding Village and many more.

Day 4 : Naa Village (4183 m) to Tsho Rolpa Lake (4580 m) to Beding Village (3690 m)

Day 4 begins from the Naa Village of the Rolwaling Valley. Naa Village was previously used to call as ‘Nay’ but later it was changed as ‘Naa’. There are 20 Houses in the village out of which 4-5 houses are running as Hotel and Lodges. Naa and Beding village people shift to the respective village according to the climate, hence those who have their house in Beding have their another house in the Naa as well. Since, Naa is at the altitude of the (4183 m), in the Nepali Month of Poush to mid Falgun every villagers shift to the Beding Village due to the extreme coldness and off-season of their hotel business as well. Like Beding, There are 2 Monastery in the Naa as well which is close to one another.

To reach the Tsho Rolpa Lake ( Tsho mean Pokhari in sherpa Language) from Naa village, we have to walk for about only 2 hours (4.5 km). Tsho Rolpa is one of the biggest glacial lakes in Nepal of it’s kind which has grown considerable over the last 5 decades due to the glacial melting or Global warming in the Himalayas. The Color of the Tsho Rolpa lake is not Blue or Torquoise like other lake in high Himalaya but the color is very plain and appears in white color most of the time. The Lake is surrounded by the beautiful tall and giant Rolwaling Mountains. You will be lost in the beauty of the Tsho Rolpa Lake and it’s Surrounding.

Highlight of the Day 4 : Rolwaling mountain range, Tsho rolpa lake, Naa village and many more.

Additional Information : You can reach the Namche Bazar by crossing the Tashing Lapcha Pass which will require additional 3 days to reach the Namche. There is another lake in the Rolwaling Valley known as Dudhkunda, you can go to the Tsho rolpa and Dudhkunda at once as well but Dudhkunda is little technical than Tsho Rolpa but not that much.

After Visiting to the Tsho Rolpa Lake, we had a lunch in the Naa village and went to the Beding for our day 4 Overnight, however if you want to go upto Dongang you can but you have to prepare the time accordingly.

 

Day 5 : Beding Village to Gongar Khola

Day 5 begins by downhill trek all the way from the Beding village to the Gongar Khola. The route is the same trail that you have climbed before already so you can calculate the amount of the time and the speed that you require to reach your destination. The walk will be pretty easy for you since you just have to walk down the same route and the walk from Beding Village to Gongar Khola is your last day in the Rolwaling Valley.

Day 6 : Gongar Khola to Kathmandu

Reserve your ticket a day before leaving for kathmandu from Rolwaling Yatayat or Arniko Yatayat to grab the comfortable seat of your choice. The Day 6 is same way riding back to your hometown, you will be having lunch in the middle of the ride either in mude or dolakha or the place where driver might assist you.

P.S: Manage 1 or 2 more additional day for the trek in case of sickness or bad weather it can be recover.

Useful Mobile App

You can download “MAPS.ME”, which is also a offline map for you.
If you are travelling in a group and need to manage the combine money of a group, Download “Money Lovers” Apps. You will definitely not regret using these 2 app.

Note: Travelling Nepal Tips team just try to make your Travelling more easy and more accessible to the lodge so that even if you reach late while trekking and need some help from local while in emergency it might be helpful. Travelling Nepal Tips team don’t know them individually nor they know us. We just collected some of the contact number while we travel this trekking route.

We hope our information might help you in many way while trekking to the Rolwaling Valley. If you have any question and suggestion about this trekking route you can simply email us to our Email Address : travellingnepaltips@gmail.com. We will be happy to hear from you.

Regards,
Happy Journey