Dorphu Pema Jong (རྡོ་ཕུ་པདྨ་ལྗོངས།), the full name of Dorphu Valley, can be translated as “the land of the lotus in the rocky upper valley”. It perfectly describes this unique place, where between snow-capped and rocky mountains, conifer forests, hidden lakes, and wild animals, the jewel of nature resides.
Locals describe the valley’s natural richness in a phrase: “Shachen Shachu mizi le, Dorphu lumnak choje yek” (ཤྭ་ཆེན་ཤྭ་ཆུང་མ་བརྩིས་ན། རྡོ་ཕུ་ལུང་པ་བཅོ་བརྒྱད་ཡོད). This means that excluding the two valleys, Shachen and Shachu, there are eighteen valleys within Dorphu. Indeed, the valley is very vast, and there are many paths to walk under the high peaks. As Tibetans, we believe that some mountains are deities: here, Dorgyal Munam (རྡོ་རྒྱལ་མུ་ནམ།), the mountain heart of Dorphu, is the local deity.
Historically, part of this natural environment has been the nomads and seminomads coming from Menshod Town: Dorphu is “the treasure store of local villagers”, as my father says. The people of our village, Karsa, have made their living in Dorphu through various means such as herding animals, collecting caterpillar fungus, and gathering medicinal plants.
This relationship between people and nature, based on deep interconnectedness and respect, is at the core of the seminomadic lifestyle. The activities we offer here give you the chance to explore the beauty of the valley and to experience what it means to be a nomad.
Our Activities & Space
We offer two kinds of activities: Yak-activities and Trekkings. Every activity has a specific fee, but each one includes car ride go and back from Norzi Homestay (Karsa Village), lunch meal, ticket for entering the Scenic area, and guides (Chinese- or/and English- speaking Tibetan guides).
In Dorphu we also have another space: Norzi Nomad Hut. The Hut is in its initial stage, so its availability is limited and on demand.
Experience with Yaks
The yak is the main character of the nomadic lifestyle. Guests can spend a day in Dorphu Valley, herding or/and milking yaks, gaining a glimpse into the special relationship that bonds these animals to Tibetan nomads.
Trekkings
Exploring the nature in Dorphu means walking in a marvelous natural scenery, between rocky peaks, conifer forests, and wild animals. We offer a hiking along the Dorphuchu river and a more challenging trekking to the hidden lake Trama.
Norzi Nomad Hut
In the beauty of Dorphu Valley, the Norzi Nomad Hut offers a place to rest, think, and immerse yourself in nature. From the three rooms, built using local plants and trees, you can observe the slow grazing of yaks, listen to the sound of the birds, and, if you are lucky, spot some wild animals.