If you have plenty of time, money, and stamina, there is no more rewarding trek than a long exploration of the Dolpo region in central Nepal. Located to the west of the crowded Annapurna circuit, the Dolpo region was the focus of Peter Matthiessen's novel The Snow Leopard. With everything from wet lowland forests to dry, trans-Himalayan valleys akin to landscapes of the Tibetan Plateau, Dolpo is as geographically and culturally diverse a region as you'll find in Nepal. Because a trek here takes so long and must be done as a fully catered trek due to the lack of lodges, it is a region little traveled by foreigners; consequently, the villages are far less westernized than on the more popular inn-to-inn trekking routes.

Trip Facts
Difficulty rating: Hardcore
When to go: Summer and fall