Rolwaling Valley
A steep, off-the-beaten-track trek for anyone wanting to properly unplug for a while.
- Permits
- Gaurishankar Conservation Area Permit (GCAP)
- Guide
- Not required
- Time
- 10–13 days
- Local dog aggression
- Low
- Other dangers
- Cattle, altitude
- Can combine with
- —
Overview
Another proper off-the-beaten-track trek, and a good one if you want to unplug from the modern world for a while. We had no internet the whole way, and power was limited throughout. For the wider background, Wikipedia's Rolwaling Valley page is worth a look; this page sticks to the dog-specific side of things.
This one is a steep climb for most of the way. The first day is especially tough, with a lot of stairs going up for most of the day.
Good to know
When we went, there was a lot of snow at the top, and I don't think I'd have found the way without my guide, Deepak — we were often walking through deep, fresh snow. The dogs loved it. We didn't push on further because of the weather, but there are extensions available from the top to various other places if conditions allow.
I'll be honest: it's not my favourite trek. It often felt like we were just climbing up, up, up — but we still enjoyed it, and it's a genuinely good one if solitude and disconnecting are what you're after.
Photos from the trek
Dog-friendly tea houses on this route
We haven't logged specific tea houses for this route yet — check the Tea Houses page as we add them, or get in touch if you know one that's happy to take dogs.