Shey Phoksundo Lake trek: route, days, permits and costs

Shey Phoksundo is the walk in from Juphal to a lake inside Shey Phoksundo National Park, Nepal’s largest and only trans-Himalayan national park². The Kathmandu Post reported in October 2025 that 19,537 tourists had visited the lake over the previous five years¹. This page follows one operator’s 12-day itinerary³ stage by stage; other far-west routes are in the treks hub, and the walk beyond the lake is in Upper Dolpo trek.

Route and days

The trek begins at Juphal, reached by air from Nepalgunj, and descends into the Thulo Bheri valley before climbing to the lake³. The trail passes Suligad, Kagni, Chhepka and Tapriza on the way¹. Mission Summit Treks counts three walking days from Dunai to Ringmo³.

Its 12-day itinerary lists these altitudes and walking times³:

Day 2 in Kathmandu is set aside for trekking preparation³. The day 7 text gives six hours from Jharana hotel to Ringmo, against 5 to 6 hours in the day list³. Day 11 flies Juphal to Nepalgunj and on to Kathmandu, and day 12 is the flight home³. Accommodation is tea house, and the operator’s page notes camping remains an option³.

Highest point

Sources give three figures. The Kathmandu Post’s October 2025 report puts the lake, locally called Rigmoh, at 3,611 m¹. Wikipedia gives 3,612 m². Mission Summit Treks gives 3,641 m for the Ringmo overnight stop, which it labels Ringmo Phoksundo Lake³. This page uses 3,611 m for the lake and 3,641 m for the Ringmo stage.

The same operator lists a maximum altitude of 4,300 m for the trip³. No stage in its own table is higher than 3,641 m³.

The lake is up to 145 m deep², and the park covers 3,555 km2 across Dolpa and Mugu².

Season

The Kathmandu Post’s October 2025 photo caption says October is a suitable time to visit the lake¹.

In peak season tea-house rooms can run out, and trekkers then stay in tents³.

Permits

The lake lies in ward 8 of Shey-Phoksundo Rural Municipality¹.

In October 2026 the Department of Immigration’s trekking permit table listed Lower Dolpa at USD 20 per person per week, then USD 5 per day beyond 1 week⁴.

In October 2026 the same table gave the Lower Dolpa area as Shey Phoksundo Rural Municipality wards 8 and 9 and Jagdulla Rural Municipality wards 1 to 6⁴, and Upper Dolpa at USD 500 per person for the first 10 days⁴. See restricted-area permits.

Park entry is a separate fee per person per entry. In October 2026 the Nepal Tourism Board’s table listed Shey-Phoksundo National Park as follows, with children under 10 free⁵:

Other parks’ charges are collected in national park fees.

Costs

In October 2026 Mission Summit Treks listed a foreigner price of USD 2,000 per person for a group of 2 to 4 people and USD 1,850 per person for a group of 5 to 8³. Its inclusions are the domestic flights Kathmandu to Nepalgunj and Nepalgunj to Juphal both ways, tea-house stays, and a guide and porter with one porter per two trekkers³.

Its exclusions include extra nights in Kathmandu, international flights and insurance, and tips³. In October 2026 the Nepal Tourism Board’s table put foreigner park entry at NPR 3,000 per person per entry⁵.

Getting to the trailhead

The fast way in is by air. The Nepalgunj to Juphal flight takes 35 to 45 minutes, and Juphal sits at 2,475 m³. Air services to Dolpa are irregular¹. Details of operators are covered in flights to Juphal.

Overland, many tourists travel from Nepalgunj through Surkhet, Jajarkot and Rukum to Dunai, the Dolpa district headquarters, then walk via Suligad, Kagni, Chhepka and Tapriza¹. Mission Summit Treks gives the distance from Kathmandu to the lake as 313 km³. For the district itself see Dolpa.