
Phoksundo Lake
Phoksundo lake is an alpine fresh water lake located in Shey Phoksundo National park with an elevation of 3611.5m in Dolpa district of Nepal. The immaculate emerald lake is really an alluring sight for the eyes to behold. The maximum depth of Shey Phoksundo is 145 meters/476ft. Apart from its captivating beauty it also holds a great significance in Bon religion as well. It is not just a source of water or a marvel of nature, but they are also our faith, the water of such sources is considered holy. The National park is filled with different variety of flora and fauna. You will enjoy the magnificent views along with discovering the wilderness in the park.
Yearly hundreds of pilgrims visit this sacred lake to take a bath in the holy water of this lake. The religion of Dolpa is divided into two parts, in the upper Dolpa, one can find the privilege of traditional Tibetan culture, and in lower Dolpa, there are Buddhism and Bon including the Ringmo Village.
Shey Phoksundo Park has many religious sites including gompas. The most famous one is Shey Gompa, which was built during the 11th century. Near the lake of Shey Phoksundo, there is Thashung Gompa which was built about 900 years ago.
Shey Phoksundo Lake is one of the best trek destinations you can go for in Nepal. Your journey to Shey Phoksundo Lake begins with your arrival in Kathmandu. From Kathmandu, you will have to take another flight of 55 minutes to arrive at Nepalgunj. You can choose to stay and have a rest at Nepalgunj. Then after Nepalgunj, you have to fly to Jufal, which takes around 40 minutes. Jufal is the starting point of your real trek towards Shey Phoksundo.
Your trekking from Jufal takes you with many descends and ascends delightful and dense forest. You will walk along the bank of Bheri River and reach Dunai, after about 4 hours of walk.
From Dunai, you will continue your trek, crossing the suspension bridge over the Bheri River and continue to walk towards Suligad. You will find the upriver trail is mostly through the shrubs. Crossing the wood bridge at Kagbeni, you will continue to walk uphill. The narrow trails of the trek will lead you to the wide riverside of B’onpos from the village Ringmo. Then you will walk the uphill, through the beautiful forest of oak, maple, and pines and a quick mild descend to the wood crossing. Now, you will arrive at Chepka crossing a small rivulet at Shyangta.