 |
| Shey Phokshundo Lake as seen on the way to Chholophu |
Key Trip Details
- Duration: 9 Days +
- Transport: Local Bus from Kathmandu to Dunai
- Starting Point: Gongabu Bus Park, Kathmandu
- Difficulty: Moderate to Hard (due to grueling bus rides, steep terrain, and long walking days)
- Altitude: 3660 m at Ringmo and 4100 m at the highest view point
My trip to Phoksundo lake was on the 16th of June 2026 so if you are reading this much later some things might have changed. Shey Phoksundo Lake has been on my list of places I wanted to visit for the longest time. Now that roads connect Kathmandu to Dunai this trek has finally become much more feasible compared to the multiple weeks it used to take walking from Jajarkot.
I got my tickets directly from Gongabu Bus Park. I highly recommend doing this because online prices were almost 2000 rupees more than the actual price at the bus park. I will include a photo of the business card for the person I dealt with at the end of this post.
Day 1: Departure from Kathmandu The bus leaves from Gongabu Bus Park. They asked me to arrive around 11:00 am but we did not leave until 1:30 pm. They also pick up travelers from Kalanki. The bus ride is supposed to take around 32 hours but you should add at least 6 extra hours due to road conditions. Our bus had a flat tire twice and I talked to a lot of people who had similar experiences.
Day 2: Arrival in Dunai While the bus normally reaches Dunai around 3:00 pm or 4:00 pm our bus was very late and we arrived at around 9:00 pm. Fortunately the bus stop is right next to Dunai Bazar so finding a hotel for the night was not difficult. We stayed at the Namaste Restaurant and Lodge. We had a room with a direct view of the Bheri river from our balcony. I will add a photo of this below.
Day 3: Dunai to Chepka We started our journey towards Chepka. You first need to go through the Shey Phoksundo National Park check point to get an entry ticket. To get on the trail you walk in the direction of the bus stop, cross the bridge, turn left, and keep following the river. The check point is about a 40 minute walk. Once you have your tickets you just follow the river. There is signage throughout the trail but some of it is confusing so please ask returning trekkers or locals if you are unsure. The trail for this day is quite barren and can get very dusty during high winds so I recommend bringing a mask. It takes around 7 hours to reach Chepka. That is probably as far as you can get on day three because the next available accommodation is another 2 hours away. If you get too tired there are hotels available 1 or 2 hours before Chepka. I highly recommend taking your time as it is a long journey. We stayed at the Shey Phoksundo Gateway Hotel. The food there was the best we had on the entire journey to the lake. We actually came back for lunch on our return trip because it was so good.
Day 4: Chepka to Jharana Hotel If you leave Chepka early in the morning and maintain a steady pace you can reach the lake. We decided to take it slow because we were quite tired from the bus ride and the barren walk the day before. The trail becomes much greener with forest covering most parts of it so you are not exposed to the sun like on the first day. The terrain also changes significantly. We had lunch at Raychi which is around a 4 hour walk from Chepka and spent about 2 hours resting there. At around 5:00 pm we reached Jharana Hotel. I originally thought this was the name of a place but it is actually a single hotel. This spot is about a 10 minute walk from Saijal which is a village with plenty of accommodation, health posts, and schools. If you prefer a secluded spot I recommend Jharana Hotel. To get to Jharana Hotel you need to pass Saijal, cross the bridge, and walk another 10 minutes. Alternatively you can stay in Saijal for more hotel options. If you reach this area early you can keep walking and reach the lake on the same day. We chose to stay and continue our walk the next morning.
Day 5: Jharana Hotel to Ringmo We left Jharana Hotel and walked towards Ringmo. This is the village right next to the lake. The terrain is quite steep and barren and takes around 4 hours to complete. I took an extra hour because I was taking a lot of photos. We finally reached Ringmo and stayed at the Kanjiroba Hotel. This hotel is located right in front of the lake and offers a fantastic view. We arrived quite early at around 11:00 am and looked around the lake before it started raining. We spent most of the day indoors enjoying the view from the hotel and then walked around the village and the lake in the evening.
Day 6: Ringmo to Chholophu Many people go to the view point for sightseeing on this day and return to Jharana Hotel. That is a perfectly fine plan but we decided to go to Chholophu. This is a village on the other side of the lake. The route is the same one used for the view point and is straightforward as you just follow the trail along the side of the lake. It is steep and uphill and gets extremely windy after 12:00 pm. I highly recommend starting your day very early so you can return before the winds kick in. We walked for about 7 hours to reach Chholophu. There is a tea house with accommodation available but we were carrying our own gear and decided to camp for the night. I was busy with my camera and we stopped frequently to enjoy the views so it took us longer than normal. Without heavy bags and distractions it will probably take around 5 hours.
Day 7: Chholophu to near Chepka We walked a lot on this day and aimed for Chepka which is roughly 13 hours of walking. I actually recommend stopping at Jharana Hotel instead and aiming for Dunai the following day. We pushed ourselves to the limit and had to set up camp about 1 hour before reaching Chepka because it got very dark and I could not walk anymore.
Day 8: Near Chepka to Dunai We completed the walk to Chepka and had brunch at the Shey Phoksundo Gateway Hotel. The food was still the best and did not disappoint. We then continued our walk to Dunai and returned to the Namaste Restaurant and Lodge. Along the way we called the same person who booked our bus to Dunai and he gave us the contact information for someone who could get us a bus back to Kathmandu. You can also just ask for bus or jeep prices at the bus stop if you arrive before 6:00 pm and confirm your tickets then.
Day 9: Dunai to Pokhara We chose to take a bus to Pokhara instead of Kathmandu. The bus ride is way too long and we wanted to rest in Pokhara before heading home. I highly recommend breaking up the trip like this because a 36 hour ride on a local bus with limited options is brutal. Your legs will swell significantly but walking around will help the swelling subside quickly.
Please look at the images below for more information.
 |
BATTALION Transport Pvt. Ltd. Hemraj Vishwakarma 9844946299, 9812563010 |
 | ||
The hotel we stayed at in Dunai.
|
 |
| Gateway Hotel, Chhepka |
 | ||
Jharana Hotel. I guess they need to update their boards and add more relevant information.
|
0 Comments