Rara Lake

Rara is the largest lake in Nepal, about eleven square kilometres of very deep, very clear water at 2,990 metres, ringed by blue pine and spruce, with snow peaks behind it. The national park around it is the smallest in the country and one of the least visited.

Getting there is two flights and a walk, both flights are weather-dependent, and the whole trip falls apart if you are on a tight schedule. That is the honest first paragraph, and everything good about Rara follows from it: almost nobody makes the effort, so there is almost nobody there.

The lake

Deep enough that the colour changes through the day from near-black to a hard blue. It drains west through the Nijar and eventually into the Karnali. There is a snow trout in it found nowhere else, and three fish species here are endemic to the lake.

You can walk the whole shore in a long day, about thirteen kilometres, mostly easy, through pine forest and open meadow, past Murma Top on the ridge above the southern shore, which is the viewpoint people come up for at sunrise. From the top the Himalaya to the north is visible on clear days.

There are no boats for hire in any organised sense and swimming is possible and extremely cold.

The park

Just over a hundred square kilometres, established in 1976, and the wildlife list is Himalayan rather than tropical: Himalayan black bear, red panda in the higher forest, musk deer, ghoral, Himalayan tahr, leopard. Red panda are present and seeing one is unlikely.

The birds are the more reliable interest, over two hundred species, including Himalayan monal, blood pheasant and cheer pheasant.

Two villages, Rara and Chhapru, were relocated out of the park when it was created and moved down to the Terai. The meadows where they stood are still visible.

Getting there, in detail

The flight route. Kathmandu to Nepalgunj on a jet, overnight in Nepalgunj, then a small aircraft to Talcha airstrip, which sits above the lake. From Talcha it is roughly three hours’ walk down and round to the lakeside. The Talcha leg is short and is cancelled often, cloud, wind, or not enough passengers.

The trekking route. Fly or drive to Jumla and walk in over two to three days across passes around 3,500 metres, through Sinja valley, which was the seat of the medieval Khas kingdom and has ruins and inscriptions along the way. This is the better trip if you have the time, and it is what turns Rara from a destination into a journey.

Build two spare days into any Rara itinerary. Not one. Flights out of Talcha are cancelled routinely and there is no road alternative that does not take days.

Where you sleep

A small number of very basic lodges and a park guesthouse near the lake, plus camping. Electricity is solar and intermittent, there is no wifi worth the name, food is dal bhat and whatever has been carried up. Bring a sleeping bag rated for the season and a headtorch.

This is the poorest region of Nepal by most measures. Karnali province has the country’s worst road access and the thinnest health provision, and the difference between here and Pokhara is not subtle.

Practical things

• Altitude. 2,990m is not dangerous but flying from Nepalgunj at 150 metres to Talcha in an hour is a fast gain. Take the first day slowly.
• Cold. Nights below freezing outside the summer months, and snow from December to March.
• No ATMs, no card payment, no reliable phone signal. Carry all your cash from Nepalgunj.
• Everything you bring in has to leave with you. There is no waste collection.