Jumla to Rara trek: days, route, season, permits and cost

The walk from Jumla to Rara Lake is the long way in: instead of flying to Talcha, trekkers start in Jumla and cross into Mugu on foot, and the lake is the end of the walking rather than its middle. Rara National Park is the smallest national park in Nepal and sees few visitors². Sources disagree on how long the walk takes, so this page names the source beside each day count. The short flight-and-walk version is on the Rara Lake trek page, the town is covered in Jumla, and the other long routes are in the treks hub.

Route and days

Three figures conflict. Buddha Air’s May 2018 page puts the trek from Jumla at about 3 days, on a route it calls well facilitated with homestays and restaurants¹. The Nepal Tourism Board park page lists a 2.5-day trek via Jumla⁶. Magical Nepal sells a longer camping version: 12 days from Nepalgunj, with nine on the trail and 10 nights in tents². It lists the trek as moderate, with trail days averaging 6 hours of hiking². The days that name stages between Jumla and the lake are:

That is 5 trekking days from Jumla to the lake on Magical Nepal’s plan, against about 3 days on Buddha Air’s account^2,1. The operator’s listing runs on to 12 days and gives Nepalgunj as the end point, though day 12 flies on to Kathmandu².

How hard is the Rara trek?

Magical Nepal grades its Jumla to Rara trek moderate². Days on the trail average 6 hours of hiking, and the longest stage in the table is 7 hours, from Chala Chaur to Sinja Valley². Camps sit between 2,490 m and 3,055 m².

The operator requires a minimum of two trekkers for the camping trek, and one porter carries up to 20 kg for two². The Nepal Tourism Board lists 2.5 days via Jumla, while the operator’s plan spreads the walk over 5 trekking days^6,2.

Highest point

Magical Nepal lists the maximum altitude of its trek as 3,410 m, the height of Muldi Viewpoint on day 8². The same page’s description mentions a couple of passes at around 3,500 m, so its own figures differ². The camps on the way to the lake sit between 2,490 m at Sinja Valley and 3,055 m at Chere Chaur².

Magical Nepal gives Rara Lake as 2,990 m in its description and in the day 7 detail, and 3,010 m in the day 7 heading². Jumla, the start of the walk, is at 2,540 m².

Season

On Magical Nepal’s itinerary the best times are spring and autumn, and the monsoon is not recommended because the trails are wet and slippery².

At the lake, December to March brings temperatures below freezing and heavy snowfall that blocks the way⁵. April to June is warm in the region⁵.

Weather delays are possible on the mountain flights in Magical Nepal’s package².

Permits

Rara National Park charges an entry fee per person per entry. In October 2026 the Nepal Tourism Board park entry-fee table listed it as follows, with children under 10 free³:

In October 2026 the Department of Immigration’s trekking route and permit fee table listed Mugu at USD 100 per person per week, with USD 15 per day beyond 1 week, for Mugumakarmarong Rural Municipality, wards 1 to 9 only⁴. The table does not name Rara Lake or the Jumla approach.

Magical Nepal’s package lists both a Rara National Park entry permit and a restricted-area permit, and arranges them before departure². The rules for each are in national park fees and restricted-area permits.

Costs

In October 2026 Magical Nepal’s page for the 12-day trip showed two per-person figures, USD 2,260 and USD 2,470, under a 9% off label². The package includes the Kathmandu to Nepalgunj and Nepalgunj to Jumla flights and tent accommodation on the trail, with one porter carrying up to 20 kg for two trekkers².

Lunch and dinner in Nepalgunj, tips and personal expenses are excluded². The same listing requires a minimum of two trekkers for the camping trek².

A horse ride toward the lake cost Rs.1200 in May 2018¹. Domestic flight fares to the Jumla and Talcha airports are covered in flights to Jumla.

Getting to the trailhead

The trailhead is Jumla. Magical Nepal flies Kathmandu to Nepalgunj on day 1 and Nepalgunj to Jumla on day 2, a 20-minute flight². Jumla Airport and Talcha Airport in Mugu are the nearest airports to the lake⁵.

There is no road to the lake: Rara Lake has no connection to the national road network and can only be reached from the nearest town, Jumla, by trekking⁵. Nepalgunj is the gateway to remote districts such as Jumla, Mugu and Humla²; see Nepalgunj for that city.

For the shorter way in, a flight from Nepalgunj or Surkhet lands at Talcha, though Buddha Air’s May 2018 page called flights from Nepalgunj to Talcha irregular¹.

Rara Lake and the national park

Rara Lake lies at 2,990 m and is the largest lake in Nepal². Blue pine dominates the lake area, with coniferous forest across the park⁶. The Nepal Tourism Board lists endangered red panda and musk deer among the park’s wildlife, with Himalayan black bear and leopard⁶.

The lake area is home to 214 bird species, including a good number of migratory birds². The Nepal Tourism Board lists 214 species at Rara in winter⁶.