Upper Mustang

Arrival Kathmandu airport and transfer to your hotel by private vehicle.

Drive to Pokhara, city on the side of Phewa lake. Time permitting take a sightseeing tour around. Walk alongside the lake with Annapurna range in the background.

Early flight to Jomsom by Twin Otter which flies over the river Kali Gandaki, a powerful river which has dug one of the deepest canyons of the world, in between Annapurna and Dhaulagiri mountains.

Then trek Jomsom- Kagbeni (2800m) 3h, with Nilgiri (7108m) towering Jomsom, wind blowing from south to north, our trek starts upstream the Kali Gandaki wide riverbed to reach Kagbeni, the gateway of Mustang. It’s a green oasis at the junction of the Jhong Khola and the Kali Gandaki. Kagbeni looks like a town out of the medieval past, with closely packed mud houses, dark alleys and a large, ochre-colored gompa perched above the town.

Having completed the permit formalities today we enter the restricted area of Upper Mustang. As said to be the desert of Nepal the valley widens with barren and arid surroundings with green villages in the middle that appears more like a mirage which is simply incredible.

Today’s walk is more into undulating trails with couple of steep climb and descents. Despite 6 hour walk the tremendous canyons with its unusual colour that opens out is extraordinary. In this bizarre the farming fields with rich red buckwheat and brilliant green and the south view offering you a panorama of Nilgiri, Annapurna, Tilicho Peak, and YakawaKang adds up to its magnificence.

Within 15 minutes of the start of today’s trek we have already negotiated the first of today’s three high passes, Yanda La, and passed a distinctive red chorten painted with Buddhism’s eight auspicious symbols. A terraced valley with groups of yellowish trees appears and above the village of Ghelung are two red Gompas. Unlike other villages in Mustang, where the houses are built close together and look fortress-like, Ghelung is spread out wide on a patch of green grass and gives the impression of being a fairly affluent little community. Rising above the village are barren, brown hills and we can see the Nyi La pass straight ahead. The path descends gradually towards the Ghami La pass and on the way we see a rundown, deserted village downstream. By now the landscape is even more rugged – a deep riverbed has snaked its way down from the red cliffs and immediately ahead are hills which have the outline and colour of enormous sand-dunes. Another broad valley comes in from the left-hand side and in its centre is Ghami, Mustang’s third largest town, which is high above the river and surrounded by fields.

This short trek to Tsarang takes us into the ‘Land of Chortens”. This trail marks the history and legend of the Indian saint Padmasambhava (750-810 AD), the founder of Tibetan Buddhism who created a fusion of Buddhism with the original Shamanistic religion of Tibet called Bon – whose influence upon the Indian Buddhism makes Tibetan Buddhism so fascinating.

Finally, we get to the plateau of Lo Monthang, ‘The Capital city and the Plain of Aspiration’ of Mustang. The fabled walled city of Lo, the kingdom with a single entrance is a welcome sight! The king, “Lo Gyelbu”, named Jigme Palbar Bista, still resides at his four-storied palace inside the walled city of Lo Manthang.

Lo Manthang the capital city of Mustang contains about 150 houses and has some of the largest and finest Tibetan Buddhism gompas in Nepal. The city itself is absolutely fascinating place with four major ancient Monasteries which are impressive and an enormous 14th century palace imposing 4-storey building in the centre of the city.

After breakfast drive to Jomsom which will tale about 7 hours. Arrive in Jomsom and check in at your lodge

Early flight to Pokhara between huge Annapurna and Dhaulagiri mountains over the Kali Gandaki river. At Pokhara we have to board another plane flying alongside the Himalayan range.

After your leisurely breakfast at the hotel, drive back to Kathmandu approx. 6 hours.

Transfer to airport for return flight.