It rains all the year round in Nepal and as the wise old saying, ‘when it rains, it pours’, especially during the monsoon season. The season lasts for about 3 months, starting from June to August, basically leaving every places wet and muddy. While many of us like to stay close to our home and enjoy the rainfall or have a nice cup of tea, for some of us monsoon can be surprisingly exciting and adventurous to plan our trip to some of the amazing trekking regions. Nepal offers few routes along the Great Himalaya Trails that lies in the rain shadow areas.
Mostly, monsoon is understood as high temperatures, heavy rainfall, slippery roadways and frequent delays in transportation plus abundant leeches. As luck would have it for the wanderers, there is no stop in visiting the dry areas on leeward side of mountains that block the passage of rain producing weather systems. These areas, generally, receive much less rain though one cannot guarantee on cent percent.
The north side of Himalayas in areas like Upper Mustang, Dolpo, Rara and the Tibetan plateau regions can be special for exploration. The perks of having cheap and accessible accommodation, lush green vegetation, incredibly beautiful waterfall, less risk of avalanche and lower chance of altitude sickness as well as low number of tourists passing on the trail allowing more intimacy and peace with the nature is unbeatable compared to the trekking done during any other seasons.
However, we suggest you to pack a light-weight rain jacket or rain ponchos and carry around everywhere. Our recommended treks for the season are;
- Upper Mustang Trek
Upper Mustang makes up the most arid trail and one does not have to worry about the rains at all. The high altitude mountain passes to the deepest George, i.e., Kali Gandaki, one gets to experience astounding landscapes throughout the entire journey. Of course, not to forget the much talked forbidden kingdom, Lo Man Thang on the way. Several other beautiful villages like Kagbeni, Chhuksang and Ghame also fall on the same trail.
- Dolpa Circuit
Trekking to the upper region of Dolpa district presents a full, rustic journey to the rough mountains, ancient monasteries and Gompas allowing one to draw in the pure Buddhist culture and villages of Westen Nepal. The deepest lake of Nepal, Shey-phoksundo (145 m) is nestled in Dolpa and it is dearly enjoyed by the visitors for incredible natural and cultural experiences.
- Rara Lake Trek
The highlights of this trek are Rara National Park, the biggest lake in the country—Rara, Himalayan flora and the variety of birds found in region. One might get drenched in occasional showers as it is not as dry as Mustang or Dolpa but the crystal clear waters of Rara, alpine meadows surrounding the lake and the wilderness and solitude mixed with the sense of feeling happy soil through the course of off-beaten tracks is worth all the effort.
- Annapurna Circuit (Upper Parts of Manang)
The upper sections of Annapurna Circuit, towards Manang and the Thorong La Pass crossing into Muktinath are dry and fall under the rain-shadow region. Annapurna Conservation Area is a very popular destination for trekkers and one can surely have a blissful journey of the splendors with beautiful clear skies, fascinating landscapes, sparkling clean air and stunning snow-cladded peaks.
- Humla’s Limi Valley Trek
Limi valley is the one of the remotest, yet incredible valley of Humla district lying in the northwest region of Nepal. It is very close to Tibet border and offers amazing landscapes and surrounding views of Himalayas. This trek gives an awesome experience of getting closer to the village life of Upper Humla, enjoying the nature at its best including rivers, mountains, rocky trails, forests, birds and wildlife.
