Rara Lake covers around ten square kilometres at 2,990 m in Mugu district, deep in Nepal’s far west. It sits inside the country’s smallest national park, ringed by blue pine and juniper, with the Himalaya visible to the north. It receives a few hundred foreign visitors a year.
Why so few people go
Access. The far west has little tourist infrastructure and getting there takes effort — fly Kathmandu to Nepalgunj, then a second flight to Talcha airstrip, then a two to three hour walk. Flights are weather-dependent and schedules are loose. That difficulty is precisely what has kept it as it is.
What you do there
Walk the circuit of the lake, which takes four to five hours and can be done in a day. Climb Murma Top for the classic elevated view with the lake below and Himalayan peaks behind. Otherwise: very little, deliberately. This is a place to sit still.
A longer trek
Rather than flying both ways, you can walk in from Jumla over several days, crossing high meadows and Thakuri villages. It adds roughly a week and turns a lake visit into a proper trek through a part of Nepal almost no outsider sees.
Practicalities
- Accommodation is limited — a few basic guesthouses and a park lodge. Camping is common.
- Bring cash; there are no ATMs anywhere near.
- The park entry fee is modest but the flights are the real expense.
- Nights are cold year-round at 2,990 m.
Best time
September to November, and March to May. Winter brings snow that closes the passes and the airstrip. September is especially good — the lake is at its fullest after the monsoon and the meadows are green.
Ask us about Rara if you want somewhere genuinely off the trekking map.
