New trekking route to Tilicho Lake in operation

Myagdi: A new trekking route to the Tilicho Lake has come into operation recently.

The Lake situated at 4,919 meters above sea level in the Manang district is known as the highest lake in the world.

The new trekking trail begins from Thini of Gharpojhong rural municipality-5 at Jomsom, Mustang district. The previous route was from Chame of Manang district which went through Khangsar.

Gharapjhong rural municipality’s Chairperson Mohan Singh Lalchan informed that the domestic tourists have begun trekking to Tilicho Lake from Jomsom via Thini, Namakhu Lake, Nilgiri Icefall, Chema Tal and Masokondo Pass.

The new footpath for trekking has been opened by the rural municipality in support of the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP). The local government had allocated Rs 5 million for the new trail while the ACAP had spent Rs 1 million for the same, according to the Gharapjhong rural municipality.

Chairperson Lalchan shared that tourists can reach Tilicho Lake and return via the same route within two days. According to him, the natural reservoir is a two-hour drive from Jomsom and a six-hour-long trek in the new trekking trail.

Since there are no hotels and restaurants on this route, the trekkers ought to arrange meals and accommodation for themselves, he said.

Tula Buda Magar of Myagdi district shared that he recently hiked to Tilicho Lake via the new trail.

“It took me an hour on foot from Mesokondo Pass to reach there. The exhaustion I had experienced during the arduous uphill trek was mitigated after delighting in the panoramic view of the blue crystal clear reservoir,” he recalled.

The new trekking trail includes informative sign boards, added Pramod Raj Regmi of the ACAP, Jomsom.