Rara Lake trek: route, days, season, permits and cost

The Rara Lake trek starts at Talcha airport: the operator version flies in, walks to the lake and spends its days around the shore¹. The longer approach is on foot from Jumla⁴. This page sets out the stages, the high point, the season, the permits, the costs and the ways to the trailhead. The district is covered in Mugu, and the other long routes are in the treks hub.

Route and days

Nepal Vision Treks sells Rara Lake as an 8-day trip that starts and ends in Kathmandu¹. Its stages:

The operator lists teahouse, lodge or tent accommodation for the trek¹. A road version also exists. A May 2018 Buddha Air 6-day package flies Kathmandu to Surkhet, drives 20 km by jeep to Guranshe, reaches Kalikot headquarters about 7 hours later, then takes 9 hours by jeep from Manma to Salleri, where the lake is a 40-minute walk from the park entrance⁴. That route is by jeep, not on foot, and it is the one to read about in Mugu’s road section.

Highest point

The high point of the Nepal Vision Treks route is Chhuchemara Hilltop at 4,090 m, reached as a day hike on day 4 from the lake¹. The operator lists 4,090 m as the maximum altitude of the trip¹.

The lake sits at 2,990 m on the operator’s figure¹; the Rara Lake encyclopaedia entry gives 2,975 m³. The route stages above use the operator’s 2,990 m. Talcha airport, where the walk starts, is at 2,950 m¹.

A second viewpoint is Murma Top, south-west of the lake at 3,726 m; it is a hike of 3 hours, and a visit means a night inside the park⁴. The lake itself is 5.1 km long, 2.7 km wide and up to 167 m deep³.

Season

Nepal Vision Treks gives September to November and May to June as the best months¹; the trip header on the same page lists March to May and September to November¹. The first range is the one in the operator’s FAQ.

From December to March temperatures are below freezing, and heavy snowfall blocks the way to the lake³. April to June is warm in the region³. In the summer months wildflowers carpet the forest floor on the path to the lake⁴.

Flights from Nepalgunj to Talcha are irregular⁴. The wider picture for the far west is in best time to visit west Nepal.

Permits

Permits for the Rara Lake area are set by two bodies, and both publish their rates.

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 week⁵. The area it names for that row is Mugumakarmarong Rural Municipality, wards 1 to 9⁵.

The park fee is separate. In October 2026 the Nepal Tourism Board’s park entry-fee table listed Rara National Park as follows, with children under 10 free²:

Nepal Vision Treks’ package states that entry fees, permits and a TIMS card are included¹. For how each system works, read restricted-area permits, national park fees and the TIMS card.

Costs

In October 2026 Nepal Vision Treks listed the 8-day trip at USD 2,390 per person¹. The same page showed open-group departures on 21 to 28 October 2026 and 26 October to 2 November 2026 at that price¹.

The package covers airport and hotel transfers in Kathmandu, a deluxe twin-share hotel there, full board during the trek, a government-registered guide and one porter for every two trekkers, permits, entry fees and a TIMS card¹. It excludes visa fees, international airfare, most lunches and dinners in Kathmandu, and travel and rescue insurance¹.

The May 2018 Buddha Air page priced a horse ride from Salleri toward the lake at Rs 1,200⁴. Domestic flight fares to Talcha are covered in flights to Talcha.

Getting to the trailhead

The trailhead is Talcha airport. Flights from Nepalgunj or Surkhet land there⁴, and Nepal Vision Treks’ 25-minute flight leaves from Nepalgunj¹. Flights from Nepalgunj to Talcha are irregular⁴. The nearest airports are Talcha Airport in Mugu and Jumla Airport³.

On foot, the way in is from Jumla: trekking to Rara takes about 3 days, and the route has homestays and restaurants⁴. The lake has no connection to the national road network and can only be reached from the nearest town, Jumla, by trekking³. Start with Jumla to Rara on foot and Jumla.

By road, the May 2018 itinerary drives to the border of Rara National Park; vehicles are not allowed inside without permission, and the park entrance at Salleri is a 40-minute walk from the lake⁴.