Upper Mustang Trek - 17 Days

On the second day of the trip, you will go on a guided sightseeing tour in Kathmandu Valley. During the tour, you will visit 4 major tourist attractions of Kathmandu: Pashupatinath Temple, Bouddhnath Stupa, Swayambhunath Temple, and Kathmandu Durbar Square. Pashupatinath is a renowned Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and is always busy with Indian and Nepali devotees. Only a few kilometers away from Pashupatinath is Bouddhanath Stupa, a giant Buddhist stupa encircled by prayer wheels. Swayambhunath is another important Buddhist temple on a small hilltop inside the valley. Likewise, Kathmandu Durbar Square is a former royal palace, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a museum.

While you are on tour, we will arrange the necessary permits required for the trek. You will also meet your trekking guide today. You can spend the evening leisurely and enjoy the nightlife of Thamel. If you haven’t yet gotten the trekking supplies, this is the time for it.

After breakfast at your hotel in Kathmandu, your trekking guide will meet you at the hotel and lead you to the bus station to catch a bus for Pokhara. Driving along the Trishuli and Marshyangdi Rivers on a scenic route, you will reach Pokhara after 7 to 8 hours of bus ride. Pokhara is a tourist's paradise full of natural as well as cultural heritage sites such as lakes, caves, and temples of Buddhists and Hindus along with spectacular mountain views. Once you check in to your hotel, you can head out to Lakeside for an amazing evening.
Option: If you are interested in rafting, you have the option to take 3 hours rafting in Trisuli River on the way to Pokhara. You do not need an extra day to do this as we can stop in between, do the rafting, and continue on our journey.

After a quick breakfast at your hotel in Pokhara, you take an early morning flight to Jomsom. The flight will be short but scenic. Once we land in Jomsom, we begin our trek towards Kagbeni. First, you will cross a suspension bridge and trek along the Kali Gandaki river bank. The trail is quite barren with craggy rocks and sand and is mostly flat, which makes the hike very easygoing. Likewise, the trail is picturesque as you get to see superb views of Mt. Nilgiri, Mt. Dhaulagiri, and Mt. Tukuche on the way. Once we reach Kagbeni and settle in at our lodge, we can explore this little but unique settlement of Kagbeni, with its walled passageways and odd clay effigies adorning the walls. 

Today, we enter Upper Mustang. We start our hike after an early breakfast to avoid the afternoon wind. The trail climbs through rocky terrain alongside the Kali Gandaki River. After several hours of hiking, we will reach the village of Tangbe, inhabiting the Kang Monastery and many caves. The village has a number of chortens and stone-paved homes painted white surrounded by amazing orchards of apples, barley, and buckwheat. We have our lunch at Tangbe and continue our journey crossing several suspension bridges and watching the magnificent views of Mt. Nilgiri and other mountains. The trail climbs steeply before it reaches Chele, where we lodge in a teahouse.

Hiking gets a little more difficult today as we cross the 3,624-meter Taklam La climb and the 3,735-meter Darjori La pass. To distract us from our weary legs, however, there are breathtaking views of the mountains and fascinating caves along the route. The trail begins with a strenuous ascent uphill. You will be trekking through diverse and amazing landscapes, such as steep canyons. One such steep canyon leads to a village, Samar.

From Samar, you will follow your track up a ridge to a village. You will then drop once more to a vast gorge and reach a valley full of beautiful juniper trees. After that, you'll cross a river and climb one last time to reach the mountain pass, then keep going downhill, which will bring you to a little village. After a few hours of walking from the village, we will arrive at Syangbochen, where we will spend the night.

Along with chortens and beautiful towns to see with their barley fields, we have another 2 huge passes to cross today: the Yamada La (3850 m) and Nyi Pass (4010 m). Your journey will begin in Syangbochen hiking through the stunning scenery of the area. Enjoy breathtaking views of the Kali Gandaki gorge and mountains during this ascent. After that, you'll traverse a number of the local communities, like Tamagaon, Chhunggar, and Jhaite. The region's trails offer breathtaking vistas of mountains covered in snow until we reach Ghami, which is the pace for today’s overnight stay.

Starting off on uneven and occasionally slick terrain, today's hike first descends to a suspension bridge spanning the Ghami Khola. The trail then crosses the Charang La Pass (3,870m) and passes along mani walls, which are stone walls with Tibetan mantras engraved into the stone. The settlement of Charang is located at the summit of the Charang Chu canyon. This quaint mountain village offers views of snow-capped peaks in every direction. To the east of this village are a crimson gompa and an ancient fort. After lunch, there's plenty of time to explore the village. We’ll stay the night at Charang today.

Today’s hike takes us to the former capital of Kingdom Lo and our trek’s destination, Lo Manthang. Before embarking on your journey to Lo Manthang, you will explore the large monastery in Charang. The trail ascends above the valley to a large isolated chorten that marks the boundary between Charang and Lo. After descending into a canyon and crossing a river, we reach the summit of Lo La Pass (3950 m), from where we get the first glimpse of Lo Manthang. The King of Lo used to reside in this walled settlement, which is currently the site of numerous fascinating and vibrant Buddhist celebrations. The surrounding mountains, which include Bhrikuti Peak, Annapurna I, Nilgiri, and Tilicho, add to the ambiance of the area.

Today, you explore the surrounding areas of Lo Manthang. The 6-meter wall is one of its most noticeable and appealing features. Beautiful towers can be found throughout the walled city of Lo-Manthang. Numerous sites with cultural and religious value can also be seen within this fortified city. Visit Namgyal Gompa and Tingkhar in Lo Manthang. Namgyal Gompa situated on a hilltop serves as an important monastery of the local community, and also as a local court. After visiting Namgyal Gompa continue the tour to Tingkhar, the last main village to the northwest of Lo-Manthang.

Other significant landmarks include the Thubchen Monastery, King's Palace, museum, Jampa Monastery, locations of Thangka paintings, and others. This region still has about 900 Lo families residing in it. Instead of moving to other areas, this particular group of Lo marries members of their own community. The kind of Tibetan Buddhism they follow is called Bonpo.

Following our exploration of Lo-Manthang's stunning sites, we resume our journey with a strenuous climb to Chogo La (4,230m). You will have a fantastic adventure along the amazing mountain pass that runs across the area. We'll then follow the path that takes you to Lo Gekar after traversing the mountain pass. The main draw of Lo Gekar is the Ghar Gompa and its beautiful rock paintings. Following that, the trail leads to Muila Bhanjyang, where you may enjoy breathtaking views of the surrounding mountain range. Lastly, the course leads you to the stunning village of Dhamkar where you will spend the night at a teahouse.

As usual, the day hike begins from Dhamkar after a warm morning breakfast. The trail first drops down to Ghami Village. While ascending past earlier trails, you will reach Nya La Pass and then hike down to Jhaite. Once you reach Jhaite, you will eat lunch, rest for a while, and proceed to Syangbochen. After several hours of hiking, you will arrive at Syangboche, where you will spend the night again at a teahouse.

Today’s hike passes by a number of the area's most significant monuments, including the well-known Ranching Chungs Cave. Buddhist pilgrims value this cave greatly as a historical site. Legend has it that Guru Rinpoche meditated in this cave sometime in the 8th century. After your exploration of the cave, you will cross Djong La Pass and Taklam La, and descend along the trail to the river, then again climb uphill. Eventually, we will reach Samara, where we will have lunch and rest for a while before descending to Chhusang Village for a few hours. We will be staying at a guesthouse in Chhusang tonight.

We bid adieu to Upper Mustang today and make our way into the lower reaches of the area at Jomson, also known as Lower Mustang. On our last trekking day, we start from Chhusang after breakfast and reach Kagbeni for lunch. This time, we will explore the town a little more and look back warmly up the Kali Gandaki gorge to the Kingdom of Lo, where we had spent the last 9 days. As we make our way from Kagbeni to Jomson, our journey actually rejoins the Annapurna Circuit journey. We spend the night at a mountain lodge in Jomsom.

We get up early today in order to make the early flight to Pokhara. Now that we have seen the mountains from every aspect, they appear to have an additional meaning for us.

Once you have settled into your Pokhara hotel, you are free to explore the city. Go for a boat ride or kayaking in Phewa Lake, and visit the World Peace Stupa and other cultural and natural sites of Pokhara. In the evening, you can shop for some souvenirs in Lakeside. Maybe you want to celebrate the end of your trek with a few drinks and some dancing, given the area's lively bars and nightlife. Or just spend a peaceful evening by the lake.

We head back to Kathmandu, saying farewell to Fishtail and the Annapurnas. Get some rest on the road since you'll want to come to your farewell dinner tonight to celebrate the conclusion of your adventurous trek to Upper Mustang. Prior to that, you have time to stroll around Thamel, go shopping again, have a massage, or enjoy a cup of coffee at one of the many eateries and cafés in the area.

On the last day of your trip, you will be transferred to the international airport at your scheduled time for your final departure to your loving home or your next destination.

We hope you had a pleasant trekking journey with us. Remember us for your upcoming trips to Nepal. Have a safe flight!