17 September 2024 to 9 October 2024 - Upper Dolpo (Nepal) - (completed! Yay!)

I am currently travelling to Upper Dolpo. Accompanying me are Lama Thapke, Karma Gelek, Palbar and Sonam. I have planned for this journey for a long time but had to cancel it due to various circumstances. This time, I made up my mind to visit Dolpo and the followers of the past Shangpa Rinpoche. I will be going to a number of historical old temples that my previous incarnation had stayed in or did some restoration. If there are opportunities or requests, I may give teachings and initations to the locals. This trip, I also like to retreive my chidlhood footsteps, including the places where I was bullied and tortured by Dawa Pura. I will be circumambulating the Shey moutain which is a holy mountain equivalent to Mount Kailash in Tibet. Daily, the group will need to trek for around 7 to 8 hours. Wherever we visit, we will be making small donations to the old monasteries, schools etc that need help within Dolpo. Dolpo is one of the most remote place in Nepal. There are not many travellers and many inhabitants are poor. With this trip, I hope to help as much as I possibly can and to reconnect with the past Shangpa Rinpoche's disciples. Even though most of them are now elderly and perhaps not may of them are still alive, nonetheless, the immediate next generation learnt of the previous Shangpa Rinpoche and his great activities as a result of their parents or relatives.
Here is Episode 1 of the 24 days Dolpo pilgrimage
Episode 2 of Dolpo trip
Episode 3 of Dolpo trip
Episode 4 of Dolpo trip
Episode 5 of Dolpo trip
10 October 2024 - Day 24
This is the day we return to Kathmandu. We took two flights out before reaching Kathmandu. This Dolpo trek has been phenomenal in many ways. I am update more later. Thanks for following my simple travel log.
Landed at Nepalgunj
Manual check-in
9 October 2024 - Day 23
Final day of this Dolpo trek. After a hair cut, I headed to conduct the last wang (initiation) and teaching of this trip. About 200 people joined the longevity wang program at Dunai gompa. Early tomorrow morning we will try to catch the first flight out.
8 October 2024 - Day 22
We left Tichurong and walked for many hours to Dunai. Finally reached a hotel and showered in the cold water. Heater wasn't working. That was alright as I have a warm dinner after. Elevation here is around 2,100m. As we descend to lower altitudes, the colours of the mountains change to green. Weather is pleasantly cool. It is my first time to Dunai, a small town. I will be giving Amitayu initation at a temple nearby the next day.
Along the way from Tichurong to Dunai
7 October 2024 - Day 21
Today is all about initiation at Drigung gompa. About 600 locals joined and so we have to conduct the initiation outdoors on the temple grounds. It was a moving sight for me. Seeing everyone who made the effort to participate, pushing their hard-earned offerings to me when I firmly refused, old ladies crying when they meet me. I could sense their devotion, especially from those who has seen my past life. I wish I have made this trip earlier. Nevertheless, I am here now once again. There are villages everywhere even at remote places. However, it takes hours on foot to reach from one village to another. Don't judge me but I took my first shower in 20 days! Haha! Not because I didn't want to but it was simply not possible in the locations we were at. Either there were no shower facilties and/or it was simply too freezing cold when we were at higher altitudes. I could only wipe clean like a waterless shower. After today's shower, my body felt softer. Skin is afterall the largest organ of our human body and it protected me from the harsh elements during this Dolpo trek. Thankful for it.
Giving initiation on the temple grounds of Drigung gompa
About 600 locals joined the initiation at Drigung gompa
Villages everywhere. It takes hours on foot to reach from one village to another.
5 October 2024 - Day 19
Past few days of trek was challenging, especially today. As we are walking down the whole day, the knees and legs were not happy about the downhill trek. The roads or trails were rocky, each footing has to be made mindfully. That said, rough roads but breathtaking sceneries. We reached Tichurong Sadul gompa. We were received by so many people today as we arrived. There are two temples repaired by the previous Shangpa Rinpoche. I will be giving Amitayu initiation in both of them. Tonight, some of the villagers are sleeping in the hall of the temple so that they could join the longevity initiation tomorrow morning. One regret I have is my visit to Dolpo is late. Many of the disciples or devotees or people who knew the previous Shangpa Rinpoche have passed away. One senior lady told me she recalled seeing me as a boy, wearing white and a silver ghau, holding onto my mother's fingers as we walked. As we descend, network is creeping in. Sleeping in tents for the night again.
Along the way to Tichurong. The beauty of nature is untouched.
Nicandra flower that grew everywhere
Rainbow appeared when we arrived
4 October 2024 - Day 18
We were in Tingkyu. Here, I gave chod empowerment as requested by the local practitioners. Will update more later.
Tingkyu village
From the highest mountain of Tingkyu, you can see the Himalaya
Backdrop of the majestic Himalaya
Kulha Pasang Holy mountain
Slept in tents by the river for the night
Traditional dress of Dolpo with silver headgear
The send off photo
3 Oct 2024 - Day 17
I recall having measles as a boy back then. Another boy also had measles but he died from the disease. This was the house mum and me stayed in the upper floor when I caught measles for two weeks and subsequently recovered.
This is another house. This house was the residence of the old lama who kindly offered mum and me nice food. Three days later, he passed away in thukdam. We were and still are so grateful to him.
Sitting inside an old temple called Gekar gompa. In my childhood, I visited this temple with mum and lamas treated us very nicely.
Gekar gompa has a Gekar lama's meditation bed. I was asked to sit there and so I did.
2 Oct 2024 - Day 16
Tarab
Me motorbike backriding from Tarab to mountain pass
With our Jangchub Choeling Monastery's Khenpo Tsondu who moved here to practice
During initiation
Tarab school after program - they requested for group photo
Initiation at Tarab
1 Oct 2024 - Day 15
In this beautiful village of Tingkyu, I met the disciples and followers of the past Shangpa Rinpoche. Everywhere I went and everyone I met told me Shangpa Rinpoche built this and that, he did this and that. There was a river that caused disturbances to the farmers and their fields. The helpess farmers told their woes to Shangpa Rinpoche. He then instructed them to build a stupa. After the stupa was completed, there were no more problems! He was of great help to many and such an inspiration to all. In Tingkyu this morning, I gave longevity empowerment. I was told there about 300 people attended. Later in the day, another village called Polde also requested me to give an initiation and so I obliged and went. There, they showed me the footwear of Shangpa Rinpoche. It looks like a pair of leather boots that are very well preserved til today. Some people also told me how my father looked like. He appeared to be very tanned, probably from the constant exposure to the strong sun at such high altitudes. Apparently some thangka paintings done by my father still exist but I did not have the opportunity to see them. As there were so many people, I could only interact with each individual or families briefly. Otherwise, I may be able to learn more stories about Shangpa Rinpoche or my parents.
30 Sep 2024 - Day 14
This early morning, we did smoke offering as usual. I spoke with monks while waiting for our motorbikes to continue with our journey. There were around 25 monks, I gave them some advice and talked to them. Shortly, the motorbikes from Tingkyu village arrived. We rode all the way to Tingkyu. It was my first time as a pillion rider and was a rather uncomfortable and scary experience. There were no other modes of transportation, besides walking. But that was the fastest way to reach Tingkyu Village. We stopover at a school in Shimen Village where I gave a talk and oral transmission of Manjushree. I donated to the school, wished them well and left. After another 4 hours of motorbike ride, we finally reached Tingkyu Village. Many people from the village and the school received us warmly and grandly. They offered us lunch and a performance of local dance at the school. They then invited us to stay in a house for the night. The house was warm and cosy. It was built with the help of a Netherlander. Here in this house, we finally have network after many days and enjoy surfing the web. Ha Ha!
29 Sep 2024 - Days 13
We are at Saldang Monastery. This morning, lamas and the locals prepared for initiation. Saldang Lama showed me the spring water that was discovered, dug out and blessed by the previous Shangpa Rinpoche. It is located above the temple. This spring water is the main source of water for the locals to this day. It was said that when Shangpa Rinpoche was digging, he found horse bones. Shortly after, spring water emerged. The locals added pipes to the temple. Every one who visited the spring water will take 3 sips of the spring water as a form of blessings. Next to thsi spring water is a prayer wheel wrapped with animal skin. The roof sheltering this prayer wheel is broken and the wheel is no longer able to spin to due to the weather elements. So the lamas built another prayer wheel nearby. I requested them to repair this old prayer wheel built by Shangpa Rinpoche with my donations. Around 9.30am, I prepared for the inititation of Garuda, Vajrapani and Hagriwa. We did Mahakala tsok offering in the morning. After lunch, I gave initation to about 300 people, some of whom came from other villages. At the end of the initiation, there was tsok song composed by my previous incarnation at Saldang Temple. After initiation was completed, the locals perfomred cultural dance until 10pm at night. Everyone had a good time and was happy. Shangpa Rinpoche brought Kangyur from Trekhyam temple in Lhasa to Saldang Temple.
28 Sep 2024 - Day 12
In the morning, the rain stopped, and we took our breakfast and did a smoke offering. We left from Namgung Temple at 8.30am and trail is good and gentle. I enjoyed walking and admiring the scenery. The trail goes above the Trekhyam cave and temple and so we manage to take some photo of the Trekhyam temple ruins.
After around four hours of walk, we reached Saldang village school. I wished to visit the school and so they organized some programme and lunch for us. I gave a talk an hour’s talk on the importance of education in Tibetan language. I asked the students to raise their hands if the choice of language they wish to converse in is Tibetan. All the students raised their hands unanimously. The students performed a dance and sang a Dolpo song for us. We were offered a lunch of potato momo by the school. After the school’s visit, we walked down to Saldang gonpo and were greeted with a welcome ceremony by monks and residents nearby.
The house where the past Shangpa Rinpoche stayed in Saldang
Trekhyam temple ruins
Rainbow
27 Sep 2024 - Day 11
Milarepa tsog offering inside Threkyam cave
I am sitting at the spot where the old Tseyang Rinpoche's bed used to be. Shedding tears as memories flood back.
After breakfast, I visited Nyichung Dungse Rinpoche’s residence. He invited me to sit on a huge bed of his that has wooden frame encircling it. I playfully teased that I was about to enter a swimming pool.
Rinpoche offered us delicious tsampa soup. After some formal talks, he showed me the treasures collection of the former Nyichung Rinpoches. It was amazing to see the ancient master’s implements and I very fortunately get to receive blessings from these items.
Threkyam cave is one of the highlights of this journey that I have planned for a long time. This is where many masters meditated, including past Shangpa Rinpoche. My excitement to see this place was so great regardless of the poor road conditions and frequent rainfall. Auspiciously, we reach there in no time.
It rained the entire afternoon and so we rested in our tents. Nyijung Dungse Rinpoche invited us to visit the former Nyijung Rinpoche’s temple but the rain pelted even harder and so we continued staying in the tent the whole afternoon and slept early. It rained the whole night too.
Wall paintings in a temple
26 Sep 2024 - Day 10
In the morning, we lit butter lamps and prayed before taking breakfast. After that, as usual we made smoke offering and prepared to leave. I gave some donation to the temple and all the village people kindly sent me off. We walk all the way up to the peak of the mountain at 5,270m altitude. During the descend of the mountain, the lower parts were very colourful with herbs and flora are everywhere. We had a simple lunch by the riverside. After lunch and after an hour’s walk, a beautiful rainbow appeared repeatedly. It was breathtaking to see the stunning view of Thekyam cave and temple with an arcing rainbow. We saw Namgung temple and a small village where we will be camping below us.
Upon arrival of Namgung, it started to drizzle. Nyichung Dungse Rinpoche and the villagers welcomed us at the temple gate. After similar formalities were completed, we headed for our tents to rest up. The light rain continued. With a nice and warm dinner, we returned to our tents, did our own daily prayers and rested for the night.
25 Sep 2024 - Day 9
This is Threkhyam where mother and I lived for more than a year. The roof is gone and wild vegetation grows everywhere.
This morning after breakfast, we did a smoke offering and then visited the red temple which contains Rinchen Terdzo text brought from Tibet by the former Shey Tulku Rinpoche. It was kept very clean and felt full of blessing. Next to it was his residence which has a nice kitchen and a very small room. I could feel our Kagyud forefather’s simplicity and commitment to lifelong practice without attachment to the world. I started recalling when I was 3 years old, according to HH Karmapa’s instructions, he arranged for me to be under the tutelage of Shey Tulku and to reside in his temple. Somehow, Shey Tulku was in Manang and mother and I waited for years for him to return but to no avail. This waiting time was the hardest time for us, being tormented by Dawa Pura until mother decided we must flee from Dolpo.
Our stay was comfortable, and the resident lama did his best to accommodate us. Before we left Tsakang Temple, I offered some donation to the temple.
After we left from Tsak kKhang, we walked along the kora. We passed by three small peaks that symbolizes Avalokiteshva, Manjushree and Vajrapani. After about an hour and a half walk, we arrived at Sumdo gonpa. This architecture of the temple seemed very ancient. Some lama and residents were waiting to welcome us. How they knew our time of visit is still puzzling to me. These are not cities but remote places with very few visitors. The resident lama Karma is a very humble and very efficient person. He made mandala and body speech and mind offerings to me and later served us with tea and rice.
After the ceremonial rituals, lama and I enjoyed staying in the meadow and chatted about the holy mountain. Below the temple is vast space with a stream of river that flows peacefully. The local head requested me to do a consecration puja for a newly built stupa. Around 2pm, we walked there and did a puja. It was windy and cold in that open space. I gave a short talk on the Mani mantra and gave oral transmission to all present. Gradually, we headed back to the temple, and I casually talk with the Dolpo lama for an hour.
We had a very nice home-cook lunch at the temple. Three ladies prepared all our meals during our stay.
24 Sep 2024 - Day 8
This morning as usual, we departed from the campsite at 7.30am. Today, we must conquer an upward climb to 5,200m above sea level. A lama from Shey kindly sent another lama with two horses to welcome us to Shey. I did not wish to burden the horse, but our guide insisted strongly and so occasionally I rode on it whenever I felt breathless. Once passed the highest point, we could see Shey mountain in front of us. From there, the trail merged to She Kore. Along the Kore, there many unique shapes of rocks. The locals explain the shapes of the rocks as eight stupa, drum, conch-shell etc. After much ascend and descend, finally we reached Tsagkhang gonpa.
Side note, I endured a case of food poisoning from breakfast. And by lunch time I vomited and felt unwell. Remember the black dog that followed us? He started licking my puke. Goodness!
Let’s get back to the story. Above the Tsagkhang temple, there is a stupa of Shangpa Rinpoche. When former Shangpa Rinpoche passed away at Goshar gonpa in Tibet, his body was brought to Dolpo by Dawa Pura. Later, he was cremated, and a stupa was erected to contain his bone relics. When I saw that stupa, uncontrollably I teared. I offered khatag and made a wish that I will give my best to follow his path and footsteps. No words could describe my feelings of that moment. It was as if a sudden reunion of a long-lost father and son. Or alignment of past and present connections. Our khenpo Tsondru also waiting for me by the side of the stupa. Khenpo is from our JangChub Choeling Monastery. Originally from Dolpo, Khenpo went there for serious practice of meditation.
The Tsakhang Temple is one of the oldest temples in Shey area and it belongs to Karma Kagyu tradition. The lama-in-charge and our khenpo welcomed us and I lighted a butter lamp in the shrine hall. We were served tea and rice while they made offerings mandala, body, speech and mind.
The monastery arranged a nice room for me where HH Drikung Kyabgon had stayed for three nights. We all felt very comfortable and chatted with Khenpo and resident Lopon for a long time. I had a very good sleep there that night.
Stupa that contains the cremains of the previous Shangpa Rinpoche. The pinnacle of the stupa is worn out by the weather. I am making plans to restore the pinnacle.
23 Sep 2024 - Day 7
In the morning, we did a smoke offering and then departed from the forest campsite. Today’s trek is climbing mountains all the way. The scenery and colours changed along the way, initially more green and then more beautiful. This is autumn season and so, there was a myriad of tree foliage colours. Nature was filled with colours, flowers, mountains and rocks. It was like the entire spectrum of beautiful colors existed right before my eyes. Some places were so picturesque that the sceneries looked just like artist’s drawings.
Finally, around 2pm, we arrived at our campsite. This place is 4,700 metres high approximately. Just after we reached, it started to rain again. I am writing this travel log inside the tent. Sleep in the tent was good. I had about seven hours of sleep though not deep. Note to self - bring ear plugs for sleeps in tents in the future.
22 Sep 2024 - Day 6
We began our journey by climbing a mountain at 7.30am. Along the way, I could see the changing shape of the lake as the path meanders. It took almost half a day of climbing and descending till we reach the starting point of the lake which is a stream of river. There, we set up our lunch camp site.
From here onwards, we could not sight any settlement, except one or two temporary tea stalls. We walked up and down continuously. Around 4pm, we reach a forest campsite which is located between two big rivers surrounded by tall and majestic rocky mountains. This place is like no man’s land, but one big black dog welcomed us. Our guide said this dog came from Shey and has owner. The kitchen prepared a very delicious thenthuk soup for us that warmed our bodies. This place is about 3700m in altitude and in the evening, it started to get very cold. It rained for two nights continuously. The sound of the rain on the tents was disturbing and it made us worried for tomorrow. Sleep was not deep but very intermittent.
The black dog from Shey that followed us and has an owner.
21 Sep 2024 - Day 5
We departed from Renchi at 7.30am. We walked along the river side, took some pictures and enjoyed nature’s beauty. I did not really feel tired during the whole journey. Around lunch time, we reached Chepka. At Chepka, I saw the locals welcomed us from some distance with drinks and khatag. They requested for house blessings. One elderly man named Karma Yigdruk was waiting for me. He seemed to be a distant relative of mine who has settled in Chekpa with five sons. In fact, he kindly sent his son to Dunai with a horse for me to ride. I did not ride the horse even though he insisted many times. If I can walk, I do not wish to burden an animal. From the Chepka to Phoksundo, the journey was tough but rewarding. There was a magnificent and huge waterfall with rainbow. My tiredness was somehow lost, and I started capturing the moment with my camera. After nine hours of walk, we finally reached Phoksundo at around 2.30pm. I felt a little hungry and lucky me, food was ready on table. After lunch, we relaxed in our tents. Next, we visited an old Bon temple near the lake. The lake is so pristine blue and clean and by far the most beautiful I ever seen. Local Bon villagers believe the lake has local gods. Strangely, this lake doesn’t have fishes. Occasionally, swans may appear and enjoy the water. One old monk told me that the Bon temple is approximately 500 years old. Even though the religion of the entire Phoksundo village is Bon, we were warmly welcomed with tea and juices. And oh, we did bless their homes as per their request.
The tent was comfortable and last night's sleep was good. We started our trek from 7.30am this morning.
Chunuwar, Dolpo
Took a short teabreak at a teahouse before continuing with our journey on foot.
Another teabreak. We take tea drinking seriously.
Solanum etuberosum (wild potato flower)
We reached Lake Phoksundo Lake earlier than expected. Altitude is about 3,640m above sea level. Everyone is doing well.
My tent is right next to the beautiful Lake Phoksundo with its alpine fresh water.
20 Sep 2024 - Day 4
This morning, we started our journey at 8am. It was a little tough but pleasant. By evening, we reached Renchi where there is guest house called Pahuna Ghar. We slept in tents in their garden. It was my first experience sleeping in a tent. It was very clean, and I slept pretty well. Network is poor so I probably can't upload much.
19 Sep 2024 - Day 3
Getting ready to start another day of travel by jeep. Our road trip started from Damachaur Rukum this morning.
Photos above were taken near the guest house this morning.
At Triveni Rukum and finally we crossed to the border of Dolpo. These must be mountains of granite.
Taking a break for lunch at Tripura Sundari. Quite an adventurous jeep ride. Roads are extremely rough and we crossed the pebbled river. The jeep needed some repairing. After lunch we will reach Dunai in about an hour's time. Dunai is a village and also the district headquarters of Dolpa District. Dolpo? Dolpa? Tibetan language དོལ་པོ was transliterated into Dolpo and people inhabitants in Upper Dolpo region is called Dolpo Pa. Later, the name Dolpo became Dolpa. These days, Dolpa and Dolpo both are popular.
This morning was slightly chaotic as we needed to rent a jeep that can drive on very rough roads and even water. After driving on the rugged roads, we crossed a bridge on foot. Our belongings were carried across the river by local ladies, and we paid them for their services. From there, we found a pleasant driver who is a Gurung. Happily, he drove us but along the way, his jeep also started to have issues with front wheel bearing. We waited at Tripurakot and same time had our lunch at a simple riverside restaurant. Then we managed to get a small truck like jeep. This old noisy vehicle somehow got us to Sulighar near Dunai where the road ends. When we arrived, several villagers from Dunai were waiting and welcomed us with drinks and snacks. From Sulighar at 4pm we start our trek to Kakani and stayed overnight at Kakani. We stayed at Sunita guest house. Thankfully, this guest house has electricity, and we charged all our batteries. However, wifi and phone signal were non-existent. Looking back on today's journey, it was quite an adventure because we encountered a land slide that wiped out the entire trail. It was quite treacherous as tones and gravels kept falling. Our guide looked up and asked us to walk on. We walked on gravels, somehow without fear or thoughts. Each footing was not stable due to freshly fallen dirt. We obeyed the guide and walked faster. Recalling back, that was the most dangerous part of the trek, thus far. Kind of live or die scenario. After that, the path was smooth. We kept on walking up and down along a beautiful river with crystal clear water.
Our humble abode for the night 19 Sep 2024.
This was the beautiful river we trekked along.
The landslide that we encountered
18 Sep 2024 - Day 2
Early morning, we tried to get a flight to Dunai but the second flight was cancelled due to weather conditions. So, we decided to go by road. We took a public bus for a part of the journey until another jeep was arranged for us by our Nepali friends to continue with the journey. We had dhal bhat during lunch break. Met a senior Swiss gentleman who has visited Dolpo many times. This trip, he is travelling to Humla. After driving in the local jeeps for some time, it started showing a first gear problem, and the car could not drive well. Somehow, the driver brought us up to Jajarkot where we managed to change another jeep. With a better jeep and a nicer driver, we reached Tallu Bagar. We stayed overnight at the guest house Thuli Bheri. The irony was I had the best sleep in the worst guest house!
Network is poor. May not able to update soon.
Stopping to buy mineral water
Bardiya National Park
Lunch venue
Vegetarian dhal bhat for lunch
Back on the road after lunch.
Jajarkot in the distance
Changed jeep after the first one had gear issues.
Khalanga, Jajarkot
Evening
Managed to get network back. We reached the guest house around 8pm on 18 Sep 2024. Accomodation was basic with washroom on an upper level. Below are a few more photos.
17 Sep 2024 - Day 1
Evening flight from Kathmandu to Nepalgunj. Flight was about an hour, we reached Nepalgunj at 6pm. Checked into hotel Siddhartha.
17 Sep 2024 afternoon - Kathmandu domestic airport. Photo taken by Lama Karma Gelek
17 Sep 2024 evening - Arrived at Nepalgunj Airport
ཐང་དང་རི་ཀླུང་བགྲང་ལས་འདས་པའི་ངོགས།Beyond countless plans of valleys and mountains,
རི་བོ་འབྲུག་སྒྲ་ཞེས་པའི་གནས་མཆོག་རི།The summit beckons with its thunderous roars,
བཀའ་བ་ཁྱད་དུ་བསད་ནས་བསྐྱོད་པ་ཡིས།Embarking on this journey of adventures and hardships, ཚེ་རབ་བསགས་པའི་སྡིག་སྒྲིབ་སྦྱངས་བར་སྨོན། Sincerely wish for the elimination of sins and obscurations from all rebirths. ཞེས་པ་འདི་ཡང་དོལ་པོར་བསྐྱོད་སྐབས་བལ་ཡུལ་གནམ་ཐང་དུ་བྲིས་པ་དགེ།།Thus written in Kathmandu airport, heading for Nepalgunj to start Dolpo pilgrimage. May it be auspicious.
Shangpa17 Sep 2024
17 Sep 2024 evening - Arrived at Siddhartha Hotel to rest for the night.