Located on east of upper mustang, Damodar Kunda is just a small lake at an elevation of 4890 m from sea level. This is just a lake for westerners, where as for Hindu and Buddhist devotees, this is more than a lake. It’s a holy lake, where thousands of devotees take a sacred bath each year. Similar to Upper Mustang, Lo Manthang trek you can visit Damodar Kunda during monsoon. There is a stunning viewpoint little higher than lake area. You can witness the existence of Tibetan Plateaus, Damodar Himal and Annapurna Massif on the south. It is a combination of three different small lakes. Collectively it is known as Damodar Kunda. However, three lakes do have three different naming. They are Kamandalu Kunda, Dudh Kunda and Rakta Kunda. Each of these are described in the holy book of Hindu with great significance.
This holy lake can be explored as a part of Upper Mustang Trek. For this you need to allocate five more days. We will take a side trip from Yara to the lake. It is completely isolated from nearby villages. The only options are camping trek. Few more porters are required with experienced guides for the trip. Several other climbing peaks are close by lake area.
This is on the north east of main Jomsom Lo Manthang trail and very close to the Tibetan border. Unlike others, we had very special online map of Damodar Kunda. You can browse our online map anytime, but make sure about good internet connection. Apart from regular trekking, few devotees take an organized helicopter tour from Pokhara as well. After India, people from USSR frequently visit the holy lake. Some adventurous group traverses all the way to Nar Phu in Annapurna from here as well.
Similar Upper Mustang RAP is required to trek Damodar Kunda. Also Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) entry permit. All you need is to extend the duration of Upper Mustang RAP by couple of days depending on itinerary chosen. If you are looking for Damodar Kunda Trek, August is the most recommended month. Try to allocate your itinerary in such a way that, you will reach the lake on the full moon of August. Every year on the full moon of august, a festival happens. We will organize this trip in 2016 only. This year in 2015, we still had a lot of things to deal with after devastating earthquake. For more information about Upper Mustang, return to our homepage.