Dolpo is a hidden valley created by a Buddhist deity for his worshippers. Today, it is celebrated as a sample of original Tibet. Blue sheep, Himalayan black bear and the snow leopard are the most talked about fauna of this region.

Dolpo is located inside the Shey Phoksumdo National Park of mid-western Nepal, behind the Northside of the Dhaulagiri massif towards the Tibetan plateau

Cut off by a series of very high passes, closed by snow most of the year, Dolpo remains truly an isolated corner of Nepal. Time had stood still here for centuries, so has the inhabitants’ way, since time immoral. The finely preserved ecosystem encompasses a wild and wonderful variety of plants and wildlife, including the blue sheep and snow leopards. A trek through Dolpo to Mustang is an experience not easily forgotten.

Dolpo region is a remote district in Nepal and is situated in the Trans Himalayan region of mid-western Nepal. It was open to trekkers in 1989 however the inner Dolpo was not opened to 1992. Part of the region lies in Shey Phoksundo National Park, the largest designated park in Nepal, covering an area of 35555 kmsq. The park is home to the most beautiful and deepest lake in Nepal – Phoksundo Lake. This is a freshwater lake located at an altitude of 3610m. The village of Ringmo sits on the landside dam that formed the lake some 35,000 years ago.

The sparse, agro-pastoral population, known as Dolpopa in standard Tibetan and Dhol-wa in the local dialect, is connected to the rest of Nepal via Juphal airport, which can be reached in three days by walking. The region is sparsely populated with estimates up to 18,000 only.

The Dolpopa are generally adherents of Bon Po religion whose origins predate Buddhism but whose modern form is officially accepted as the fifth school of Tibetan Buddhism. The remote region has preserved its Tibetan culture in relatively pure form, making it attractive to Westerners. Dolpo was the location for the 1999 Oscar-nominated film “Himalaya”.

There are sixty-four big and small monasteries in Dolpo. Most of the monasteries are built on the high mountains tops. Some of them are even found around rocky isolated surroundings. Since it is believed that the followers of spiritual world should live peaceful and isolated life, most of the monasteries are found in calm and lonely places.

Some of the well-known monasteries are: Shey Tsakang Monastery, Shuktsher Monastery, Yangjer Monastery and Shey Gumba Monastery among others.