Day 1: Kathmandu to Tansen, an attractive hill town with a bazaar frequented by hill peoples.
Days 2-4: The trail leads through terraced fields and forests; hill country with some beautiful valleys inhabited by Kham Magar, one of Nepal's most delightful ethnic groups.
Days 5-7: The broad Dhorpatan Valley has vistas as wide as the American west. Its population is a mixture of Nepali and Tibetan, refugees who settled here in the 60s and the small Bon monastery is worth a visit. Ascend toward the pass through forests of blue pine and black juniper.
Day 8: From the wide, open plateau of the Jalja Pass the views are of Dhaulagiri, Annapurna, Machhapuchhre and the remote peaks of Nepal's western Himalaya.
Days 9-13: Small farming communities inhabit the deep narrow valley of the Myagdi Khola. The trail winds through pine and rhododendron forests and follows rudimentary bridges over raging streams and waterfalls cascade down the valley sides. You may be lucky and see the elusive blue sheep or the rare miniature rhododendron.
Day 14-18: The stony moraine of Dhaulagiri Base Camp commands superb views down the glacier and of the impressive peaks of Dhaulagiri II, III and V. Austere and beautiful the summit of French Pass, surrounded by numerous peaks is a magnificent vantage point. Below is Hidden Valley, so named because it is only visible from French and Dhampus Passes. From Thapa camp make the steep descent back into the forests towards Jomson.
Day 19: Fly from Jomson to Pokhara for a connection to Kathmandu.
Day 20: Depart
Geographically the Dhaulagiri is a land of dramatic contrast. Moving from the semi-tropical regions thick with ferns and forests through hillsides ablaze with rhododendron into the alpine wilderness of snow-capped peaks and glaciers. This is a tough, yet spectacular trek surrounded by the colossal peaks of Dhaulagiri. Much of the route is on snow and glacier as it crosses French Pass and traverses the head of Hidden Valley to cross Thapa Pass.
