Six Indian tourists have gone missing during a trek to Shey-Phoksundo Lake in Nepal after heavy snowfall swept across the high Himalayan region, and rescue teams are struggling to reach them through deep snow, harsh terrain and a complete absence of mobile phone coverage. The group, comprising two women and four men, lost contact while travelling through the remote Dolpa district, and a specialised unit of the Nepal Army has been deployed to find them.
The tourists were heading towards Shey-Phoksundo Lake, described as the deepest lake in Nepal, when they disappeared. They had been travelling from Ward Nos. 4 and 8 of Dolpo Buddha Rural Municipality towards the lake, and were last reported missing in the areas around Numla Pass and Bagla Pass, between Ward Nos. 4 and 8 of Shey-Phoksundo Rural Municipality.
Officials say the group became stranded while returning from Dho towards Phoksundo Lake, a high-altitude route that crosses exposed mountain passes where weather can change with brutal speed.
Dolpa Chief District Officer Junu Hamal confirmed that the tourists became stranded on the return leg of their journey. She also said the group had been warned by local residents about the difficult weather and mountain conditions but proceeded with the journey.
That detail, reported by multiple outlets, underlines a recurring danger in Himalayan trekking: routes that look passable in the morning can become treacherous by afternoon, and warnings from people who know the mountains are sometimes set aside by visitors determined to complete an itinerary.
Local guides suspect the trekkers became stranded after intense snowfall linked to the atmospheric influence of Cyclone Arnab in the Bay of Bengal. The cyclone, developing over the bay, has disturbed weather patterns far inland, dumping snow on high passes that were already entering the cold season.
In Dolpa, where settlements are scattered and roads are few, a single heavy snowfall can cut off entire valleys, bury trails under metres of snow, and make even short journeys dangerous.
The greatest obstacle facing rescuers is communication, or rather the absence of it. Shey-Phoksundo Rural Municipality Chairman Dhawa Samduk Gurung said mobile phone communication is unavailable in the mountain passes between Wards 4 and 8, making it difficult to obtain information about the tourists' whereabouts and current condition. Without phone signals, the missing group cannot call for help, and search teams cannot narrow down their location from a last known signal.
Rescuers must instead work from the group's planned route, reports from guides, and ground searches across a vast and hostile landscape.
Dolpa Deputy Superintendent of Police Anil Raj Giri said that, according to the latest information, the six Indian tourists remain out of contact. Authorities have requested the concerned agencies to arrange a helicopter for search and rescue operations, but deploying aircraft in the region is itself hostage to the weather.
Heavy snowfall, low cloud and high winds can ground helicopters for days, and even when they can fly, spotting a small group in a snow-covered wilderness of ridges and valleys is a formidable task.
A specialised unit of the Nepal Army has been deployed to conduct search operations on the ground and assist in the rescue effort. Army mountain teams are trained for high-altitude operations, but the conditions in Upper Dolpa test even experienced personnel. Deep snow slows every step, the risk of avalanches rises after fresh snowfall, and the thin air at altitude exhausts rescuers quickly.
Thick snow cover also hides trails, landmarks and footprints, erasing the very clues searchers depend on.
The scale of tourism in the region adds context to the incident. According to the District Administration Office, a total of 244 tourists have reached Upper Dolpa in the current season. Of these, 149 are Nepali nationals, 44 are from SAARC countries, and 51 are citizens of other foreign countries.
The figures show that Upper Dolpa, once one of the most isolated corners of the Himalayas, now draws a steady stream of visitors, including many from India, drawn by the stark beauty of the high valleys and the famous turquoise waters of Shey-Phoksundo Lake.
That growing popularity is itself part of the story. Data cited by local authorities show that 4,882 tourists visited Phoksundo Lake during the first 11 months of the fiscal year 2025/26, a striking number for a destination that can only be reached after days of trekking through remote country.
The lake, set within the Shey Phoksundo National Park, has become a bucket-list destination, featured in travel writing and photography that rarely conveys how quickly conditions can deteriorate or how limited rescue infrastructure remains.
For Indian travellers, Nepal's trekking regions hold a particular appeal. No visa is required, the cultures are familiar, and the Himalayas on the Nepali side offer routes that feel both adventurous and accessible. But the same accessibility can breed complacency.
High passes in Dolpa sit at altitudes where snow can fall even outside the depths of winter, where weather forecasts are unreliable, and where a delay of a few hours can mean the difference between reaching shelter and spending a night exposed to the elements.
The incident also highlights the strain on local administration in remote districts. Dolpa's officials must coordinate police, army, local government and helicopter operators across an area with almost no communications infrastructure, while also managing the wider flow of tourists in the region.
The chairman's frank admission about the absence of mobile coverage is a reminder that in much of the high Himalayas, the safety net that urban travellers take for granted simply does not exist.
As of the latest updates on Sunday morning, there was no word on the condition of the six missing tourists, and officials were careful not to speculate. Families in India will be waiting for news, and the Indian authorities are likely to be in touch with their Nepali counterparts through established channels, although no official statement on consular assistance had been reported at the time of writing.
The immediate priority remains the search: getting a helicopter into the air when the weather allows, and getting ground teams to the passes where the group was last reported.
The coming hours and days will be critical. In high-altitude cold, exposure is the most urgent danger, and every day without shelter reduces the chances of a safe outcome. Rescuers will be hoping for a break in the weather, a window clear enough for a helicopter to search the passes, and for the group to have found some form of shelter, whether a herders' hut, a rock overhang or a snow cave, while they wait.
Until contact is re-established, however, the fate of the six tourists remains unknown, and the mountains of Dolpa keep their silence.
(Reporting based on Mathrubhumi and Online Khabar.)