Dhaulagiri Circuit Trek

Sixteen days round the seventh-highest mountain on earth — two passes above 5,200 m, full camping, no teahouses.

The hardest thing we run, and the one we are proudest of. The Dhaulagiri Circuit goes round the back of an 8,167 m mountain on a route with no lodges, no villages above Boghara and no easy way out once you commit — a full camping expedition with tents, a kitchen crew and porters carrying everything. You walk up the Myagdi Khola into the Chhonbardan glacier, camp at Italian Base Camp and Dhaulagiri Base Camp under the north face, then cross French Pass at 5,360 m into Hidden Valley, sleep at 5,200 m, and cross Dhampus Pass at 5,250 m to drop into Mustang at Marpha. It requires previous high-altitude experience, and we will say no if you do not have it. It is also, on a clear morning at French Pass, about as good as trekking gets.

Why you'll love it

• ✓French Pass 5,360 m and Dhampus Pass 5,250 m in one route
• ✓A camp at Dhaulagiri Base Camp under the 8,167 m north face
• ✓Glacier walking on the Chhonbardan, and a night in Hidden Valley at 5,200 m
• ✓Starts on the Beni road west of Pokhara and finishes in Mustang at Marpha
• ✓Two acclimatization days and a weather buffer day built in

Day by day