Photo: Sunuwargr · CC BY-SA 4.0National Parks / Mountain / Shey Phoksundo
Est. 1984 · Nepal's largest national park
Nepal's largest and only trans-Himalayan national park — a remote realm of turquoise lakes, snow leopards and the ancient Buddhist culture of Dolpo.
Shey Phoksundo is the largest national park in Nepal — and its only trans-Himalayan one — sprawling across 3,555 km² of the remote Dolpa and Mugu districts in the country's north-west.
Established in 1984, the park ranges in elevation from about 2,130 m near Ankhe to 6,885 m at the summit of Kanjiroba Himal. Much of it lies in the rain shadow of the main Himalayan range, on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau — a stark, arid trans-Himalayan landscape unlike anywhere else in Nepal's park system. The Langu river drains the high Dolpo plateau to the north-east. The park headquarters are at Palam in Dolpa, and a buffer zone covering 1,349 km² was declared in 1998.
Photo: Sunuwargr · CC BY-SA 4.0The Jewel of Dolpo
The park's defining feature is Phoksundo Lake, a pristine alpine lake at 3,612 m, famed for turquoise-blue waters that shift colour through the day. At up to 145 m it is Nepal's deepest lake, and its outlet forms one of Nepal's highest waterfalls at 167 m. The lake was declared a Ramsar wetland of international importance in 2007 and is ringed by Buddhist monasteries.
Wildlife
A 2019–2022 study found around 90 snow leopards here — a density of 2.21 per 100 km², among the highest recorded.
Photo: Tambako The Jaguar (edit by Niabot) · CC BY-SA 2.0The park is one of the world's great snow leopard strongholds.
Vulnerable
Photo: stli_ · CC BY 4.0The bharal, or blue sheep, is the snow leopard's main prey across the high slopes.
Photo: Gurung Pratap · CC BY-SA 4.0Among 32 mammal species, alongside grey wolf, jackal and Himalayan black bear.
Photo: Carsten.nebel · CC BY-SA 3.0Flora & Landscape
The southern slopes carry blue pine, fir, birch and rhododendron forest, but north of the Himalayan crest the land turns arid and Tibetan in character — rhododendron, caragana shrub and willow giving way to bare rock and high desert. It is, in essence, a fragment of the Tibetan Plateau within Nepal's borders.
Photo: Sergey Pashko · CC BY 3.0Culture of Dolpo
The Dolpo region is one of the most culturally intact Tibetan Buddhist (and Bon) areas in the Himalaya. The 11th-century Shey Gompa and the centuries-old Thasung monastery near Phoksundo Lake remain living centres of faith. Humans have inhabited this region for thousands of years, and the park was established in part to protect its cultural and religious heritage alongside its ecology.
Visiting
One of Nepal's most remote and demanding trekking regions — and one of its most rewarding.
Solo trekking is permitted as far as Ringmo village and the lake.
The inner Dolpo areas are restricted — group trekking with licensed guides and special permits only.
Requires both a park permit and a Dolpo restricted-area permit.
Reference
Administration
Each park is managed on the ground by a chief warden who reports into Nepal's Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC).
Wildlife & Ecology
At 3,555 km² Shey Phoksundo is the largest national park in Nepal and the only one to cross the main Himalayan crest into the trans-Himalayan Tibetan plateau. The 2019–22 camera-trap study found 90 snow leopards here — one of the highest densities anywhere in the species' range — supported by a prey base of more than 4,000 blue sheep, tahr and goral. Below the high country lies Phoksundo Lake, 145 m deep and Ramsar-listed, and the 11th-century monastery of Shey Gompa.
Pale, smoke-grey rosetted coat, an exceptionally long thick tail for balance and warmth, large fur-cushioned paws for snow, and a deep chest for thin air. Shey Phoksundo is one of seven Nepali protected areas holding snow leopards and is arguably the most important.
Solitary, elusive and crepuscular. Camera-trapping (319 cameras across the park and buffer zone, 2019–22) identified 62 individuals from 2,703 images, modelled to 90 in the park's 4,156 km² sampling area.
In Shey Phoksundo, blue sheep (bharal) are the staple, supplemented by Himalayan tahr, goral and seasonally taken domestic livestock. The park supports more than 4,000 individuals of the three main prey species combined.
High alpine and trans-Himalayan terrain between roughly 2,500 m and 5,500 m — broken rock, ridges and cliffs from the Phoksundo basin into Upper Dolpo.
Vulnerable globally. The 2019–22 spatial capture–recapture study modelled around 90 individuals at 2.21 per 100 km². This was the first comprehensive park-scale survey; an older 2009 estimate of 110–130 used very different methods, so the figures are not directly comparable.
Shey Phoksundo was established in 1984 partly to protect Dolpo's culture and partly to safeguard the snow leopard. The recent survey makes it the best-studied snow-leopard population in Nepal and one of the most important reference populations in the central Himalaya. Persistent threats: livestock depredation, retaliatory killing, and very limited park infrastructure.
Almost never directly. Tracks, scat and scrapes in the upper valleys are the realistic encounter; winter, when prey moves lower, slightly improves the odds.
A medium-sized wild caprid whose dense, slate-grey-blue coat gives it both its name and outstanding camouflage on Himalayan scree. Despite the name, not a true sheep — molecular work places it between sheep and goats.
Diurnal and herd-living, often in mixed-sex groups of 20–30, larger in winter. Strong climbers that escape predators by moving onto cliffs.
Grasses, sedges, mosses and forbs of the alpine and subalpine zones.
Open slopes between roughly 3,500 m and 5,500 m, particularly across Upper Dolpo and around Phoksundo Lake.
Least Concern globally. Shey Phoksundo holds the densest blue-sheep populations in Nepal — together with tahr and goral, more than 4,000 prey animals are documented in and around the park (2019–22 study).
Bharal numbers underpin the snow-leopard population. Hunting for meat continues in remote zones; the park's anti-poaching presence and Dolpo's strong Buddhist/Bon prohibition against killing have together kept herds intact.
Open slopes between Ringmo and the Kang La / Shey Gompa area are reliable in autumn.
Small, primitive deer without antlers; males bear protruding canine tusks and a musk gland prized in perfume and traditional medicine. The pressure that follows from that musk is the main threat across its range.
Shy, solitary, mostly nocturnal/crepuscular; sticks to dense forest understorey.
Grasses, mosses, lichens, leaves and shoots.
Forested patches of the southern slopes, typically 2,500–4,300 m.
Endangered globally. Reliable Shey Phoksundo-specific counts are not published; Nepal-wide estimates put the species at roughly 2,000–2,500.
Patient trekkers occasionally encounter one in the forest belt below the treeline — the lower Phoksundo approach is the most plausible.
Large, shaggy wild goat-relative with a striking mane on males. Body length 90–140 cm; males 120–140 kg, females 60–80 kg.
Herd-living, diurnal; grazes precipitous slopes that put it out of reach of most predators.
Grasses, leaves and shrubs.
Steep rocky slopes of the southern (Himalayan) face, typically below the trans-Himalayan crest.
Near Threatened globally. Part of the 4,000+ tahr/goral/blue-sheep prey base for the park's snow leopards (2019–22 study).
South-facing slopes en route to Phoksundo Lake.
A pale-coated wolf of the Himalayan and Tibetan plateaus; genetic work has shown it to be distinct from the holarctic grey wolf, with adaptations to low oxygen.
Pack-living; hunts blue sheep, Tibetan gazelle, marmots and seasonally livestock.
Wild ungulates and small mammals, supplemented by domestic livestock in Dolpo.
Upper Dolpo's open grazing land north of the main Himalayan crest.
Listed as Vulnerable; recognised in the wider park literature as a resident of the trans-Himalayan zone, though precise Dolpo counts are not published.
Conflict with herders is the central threat; community-based livestock-insurance schemes in Dolpo aim to reduce retaliatory killing.
Almost never directly; tracks and howls in the Upper Dolpo plateau are the realistic encounter.
Around 200 bird species recorded — modest compared with the Terai parks, but with strong representation of high-altitude specialists, pheasants and trans-Himalayan species.
Shey Phoksundo is Nepal's only fully trans-Himalayan national park: south of the main crest lies a forested Himalayan slope; north of it lies the cold, arid Tibetan plateau. More than 200 plant species are recorded in and around the park, including some of Nepal's most valuable medicinal herbs.
Species pages
Long-form, sourced editorial on the species this park protects — their populations, their recoveries, the policy and the science behind them.
Plan Your Visit
Practical context for visitors arriving from another country — how to get here, how long to stay, what you'll actually see, and whether this park fits the trip you have in mind.
Shey Phoksundo is Nepal's largest national park, covering the trans-Himalayan Dolpo region in the far west. Getting there is a serious undertaking — typically a flight from Kathmandu to Nepalgunj, then a small STOL flight to Juphal (Lower Dolpo), then a multi-day walk in. Phoksundo Lake itself sits at 3,611 m. There is no road to the park interior.
This is the Nepal of Tibetan-Buddhist and Bön-religion villages, juniper-and-pine slopes above 3,000 m, and the country's deepest, most photographed lake. It's also the most reliable snow-leopard landscape in Nepal in scientific terms — though the cat is almost never sighted by visitors. Upper Dolpo (restricted) reaches behind the main Himalayan rain shadow into a landscape closer to Tibet than to Nepal's middle hills.
May to early November is the realistic window. June to September is monsoon — but Dolpo sits largely in the Himalayan rain shadow, so it remains trekkable when most of Nepal is wet. The shoulder months (May, October) are the conventional sweet spot. Winter closes the high passes and most upper villages clear out.
Dolpo is a landscape trek and a cultural trek before it is a wildlife trek. Mammals here are exceptionally hard to see despite being genuinely present.
Season note. The Phoksundo waterfall and the lake's most photographed colour are at their best in clear post-monsoon light (October–November). May has wildflowers and lower-elevation rhododendrons.
Upper Dolpo permit fees are published in USD and change periodically — we don't quote the figure rather than risk being out of date. Bring passport-size photos and clean USD or NPR cash for the trailhead permit checks.
Day-by-day plans for the most common ways to visit. Realistic timings, honest pacing.
Visitor Guide
Nepal's largest park — the trans-Himalayan wilderness of Dolpo, with turquoise Phoksundo Lake and ancient Bon and Buddhist culture.
Remote, demanding trekking. Inner Dolpo is a restricted area requiring a special permit and travel as a group with a licensed guide.
More than 200 bird species; around 32 mammal species and 29 butterflies. Himalayan medicinal herbs include yarshagumba, jatamansi and panchaule.
Trans-Himalayan flora with a Tibetan Plateau character — Nepal's only trans-Himalayan national park.
Specific lodge names and availability. Fees, hours and operators change — confirm current details with the DNPWC and Nepal Tourism Board before travelling.
The Upper Dolpo restricted-area permit (group + licensed guide) and opening arrangements. Fees, hours and operators change — confirm current details with the DNPWC and Nepal Tourism Board before travelling.
Visitor-centre information. Fees, hours and operators change — confirm current details with the DNPWC and Nepal Tourism Board before travelling.
Home to the Dolpo people, among the most intact Tibetan Buddhist and Bon cultures in the Himalaya.
Established in 1984; the largest national park in Nepal (3,555 km²), with a buffer zone added in 1998 — created partly to protect cultural and religious heritage.
Dolpo Buddhist/Bon festival dates and specific tour operators. Fees, hours and operators change — confirm current details with the DNPWC and Nepal Tourism Board before travelling.
From the Journal
The snow leopard is the Himalaya's most elusive cat. A handful of Nepal's high-mountain parks protect it — including one with among the highest densities anywhere on Earth. Here is where it lives, and why you will rarely see it.
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From the country's largest lake to a sacred high-altitude pilgrimage site and a turquoise jewel deep in Dolpo, some of Nepal's most beautiful water lies inside its national parks. Here are the ones worth the journey.
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Every national park in Nepal charges an entry fee, and some trekking areas need special permits on top. Fees vary by park and change over time — here is how the system works, the one fee we can state for certain, and where to confirm the rest before you travel.
Read story →From the deserts of Dolpo to the grasslands of the Terai.
