Rara Lake Trek
August 19th, 2010 | Comments: 2
Legend says you can see all of Tibet reflected in the crystal clear waters of Rara Lake. While that might be a small exaggeration, it has accurately been described as “a shimmering blue jewel set in a ring of snowy peaks.”
Rara National Park protects rugged hills forested with ancient blue pine, spruce and cedar. Its visitors are more often birds than people and it becomes busy in November and April when ducks, cormorants and other birds land here during their seasonal migration.
Serene Rara Lake in Mugu, Nepal
The Great Himalaya Trail’s lower and upper routes make a crossroads at Rara Lake but the circuit trek around the region is a wonderful through pristine nature and history.
In some ways this is the ancient heart of Nepal—the nearby Sinja Valley is where the earliest examples of Nepali written script from the 13th Century were found on cliff walls. The Malla, or Khasa kingdom, which reigned from the 12th to 14th centuries, had its capital here and the ruins of its temples are there to be explored. You’ll see ‘Malla stones’—tall pillars of rock inscribed with images of the sun and moon—all around this area.
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Best time to visit is spring as this is when nature is at its best. October to January have clear skies great mountain views. This is a fine winter destination.
On the spare day it is highly advised to trek up to Chuchemara Peak where fantastic views of both the lake and the Tibetan Plateau can be seen.
More treks in Rara Lake, Jumla, Mugu here.
Where i can find the further details of the Great Himalayan Trail? Specially to the west from Rara to Saipal Himal. This is really a rare trek in Nepal.
[Reply]
Eddy De Wilde Reply:
July 17th, 2011 at 9:23 am
Namaste Shekhar
The best advise comes from “trekking and climbing in Nepal “by Steve Razetti (New Holland Publishers) and the map to have is the Helvetas 1/250000 Humla,Jumla,
Mugu,Bajura,Kalikot.(all on one map) both available in Kathmandu. From Jumla you can trek to Rara, descend the Khater Khola to the Karnali.Cross the river at Sukhadik and head up stream.Following the gorge to Simikot will only give you a rare and distant view of Saipal.If you want to see it up close turn up the Kuwadi Khola one day upsteam from Sukhadik.Follow this river all the way to Sankalagna ridge coming down from Saipal.The trail continues to Muchu (2 days upstream from Simikot). By this route Jumla to Simikot will take about 15 walking days. Between the Karnali and Simikot it is best to be self sufficient in food and fuel.The locals tell me that the best time is May-
June and November -December.
[Reply]
Comment by Shekhar — July 7, 2011 @ 9:39 am