Upper Mustang Trek is a beautiful adventure that goes up to Lo Manthang in the Himalayas. This spectacular region was a restricted region until early 90’s. The remote area that is almost isolated from the modern world is a hub for cultural and natural wonders. The remoteness of the region itself is an attraction that has been blessed by the nature.
Overview
The weathered terrain, rugged landscape, simple life style yet with inspiring grandeur and wonderful culture make the trek in this beautiful region a trip of life time. Upper Mustang Trek is such a wonderful journey to one of the highly and well preserved area and civilizations in the world. The region has a very rich Tibetan Buddhist culture that is completely untouched by the modernity.
Journey to this wonderful part of the world is an inspiration from many ways. Adventure walking through the wonderful Kali Gandaki River valley then up towards the color changing landscape of upper Mustang shows us the culture practiced there. Ancient wall caves are major attractions of the region. High pass walking; trail traversing up and down the hill; enjoying the views of the Himalayan peaks; all of these wonders make this trip truly a life time experience.
Trip Highlights
- Cultural sightseeing tour of Kathmandu.
- Beautiful adventure trekking in the upper Mustang
- Deeper natural and cultural exploration of the Mustang region
- Lo Manthang exploration
- Trekking over Mui La pass at 4,170m
Itinerary
Today is the day of your arrival in Kathmandu, Nepal. As soon as you come out of the Kathmandu airport, you will find our representative waiting for you in the waiting area right outside the arrival lounge. You will be warmly greeted and welcomed by the representative and led to the vehicle. Our vehicle will take you to the trip hotel, most of the time in Thamel, that is 20-30 minutes drive, depending upon traffic, from the airport.
After you check into the hotel, you can take relaxing time on your own as there are no activities scheduled for today, except our trip briefing meeting. We will let you know about the briefing timing upon your arrival.
Enjoy your breakfast at the hotel. We come to take your for a wonderful cultural heritage tour of Kathmandu valley. As part of the tour, we are going to visit four of the UNESCO Heritage monuments in Kathmandu valley. The places we visit today are incredible mixture of culture, history, spirituality, art and stories. Overnight in Hote.
Swoyambhunath
Believed to have been created on its own, this Budhhist stupa is the oldest of all the monuments in Kathmandu valley. Standing atop a small hillock, Swoyambunath, known as monkey temple amongst tourists, provides a fascinating view of the valley, surrounding hills and snow-capped mountain at the distance on a clear day.
Patan Durbar Square
One of the three medieval palace squares, Patan Durbar Square holds its medieval art and architectural grandeur. Amazing skill of the artisans is evident in each and every building that stands in the square. The square comprises of medieval palace, temples and museum.
Pashupatinath
This site is the most sacred Hindu temple area in the country. But, as the temple is strictly a Hindu only area, non-Hindu tourists go there to watch the unique Hindu cremation rituals on the bank of River Bagmati. The death rites of Hindu family there are so engrossing and heart-touching which make you feel the moment. It’s not any kind of intrusion in being there and watching somebody being cremated in an open ground. It’s a great cultural experience.
Boudhanath
This giant Buddhist stupa is considered as the biggest one in the world. This small square with giant shrine has a powerful presence of the spiritual vibrations. It’s an important pilgrimage site for the people following Tibetan Buddhism.
We take early morning breakfast and get ready to drive to Pokhara. Situated 200 kilometers west of Kathmandu, Pokhara is a blessed city with beauty of nature and is the gateway to Annapurna region trekking. We drive along the highway that passes through several beautiful towns and runs along the river in most of the parts. The peaceful rural setting of Nepal looks fascinating during the drive. About 7 hours on the road brings us beautiful rural views along the highway before reaching Pokhara. Once we reach Pokhara, we can take leisurely wanderings around the serene lakeside.
We get ready for the early morning flight to Jomsom. A short but spectacular flight along the Annapurna range and then deeper into the gorge between Annapurna and Dhaulagiri has breathtaking view of the mountains. We enjoy the short and stunning flight and land at the small airport of beautiful mountain town of Jomsom.
We spend some time to get ready for the first day of trekking adventure in this wonderful mountainous region. The walk today takes us to Kagbeni along the Kali Gandaki River. The trail goes on easy inclines almost throughout the day but it can get extremely windy in the afternoon. The windy trail can be a little difficult to walk with the wind and all the dust rising around. But, anyway, the walk today is a first fantastic day in the mountains to create a wonderful impression of trekking in the mountains.
On the second day of the walk today, we trek to Chele. It’s lovely walk that is quieter than yesterday as we leave the jeep track to Muktinath. The track that we take today has some beautiful views and involves some uphill walking. We pass the villages of Tangbe and Chhusang and cross a river before making final ascent to Chele village. We pass through a beautiful apple orchard along the way. Chele offers an impressive landscape view that is enticing.
The walk from Chele to Geling today is a steep uphill traverse on the first part. The trail goes uphill towards a pass and descends to Samar on a pleasant atmosphere around. We can enjoy the view of dominating Nilgiri Mountain and Annapurna at distance. From Samar, another climb up the hill tests our endurance throughout until a ridge. The trail then descends to Syangmochen before making the final climb and gentle descent to Geling. With so many curving walk up and down the hill, we are pretty much tired by now and deserve relaxing moments.
We are enjoying the walk on the dry yet beautiful Upper Mustang region. Our walk for the day today takes us to Dhakmar for overnight stay. The walk to Dhakmar brings us face to face with the wonderful landscape in the region. We enjoy the walk along the spectacular trail that takes us to the destination.
On the trail to Tsarang today, we have to trek over a 4,000 meters pass called Mui La pass that stands at 4,170 meters above sea level. The walk up to the pass challenges us with a tough uphill section but the it’s worth taking the challenge as we get rewarded with spectacular view from the pass. Later we descend towards Tsarang after spending some time at the pass. Tsarang is a beautiful village that showcases the local culture and life style that is untouched by modern civilization.
We reach the ultimate destination of this trek. The walk from Tsarang to Lo Manthang goes steep uphill on the first part. It climbs up to a ridge from where we can see Lo Manthang down below on the other side. Lo Manthang, the beautiful walled city, in Upper Mustang is a cultural hub of the people who follow Tibetan Buddhism. The culture there is so unique and life so untouched by modernity that we are going to enjoy it. We descend down to Lo Manthang and stay overnight there.
As Lo Manthang is our final destination on this trek, we take an extra day here to explore around and immerse into the natural, cultural, and spiritual beauty of this place. Talking to locals here reminds us of how powerful the simplicity in human life is. Their simple yet so charismatic life style and cultural wonders are fascinating. We take some walking exploration of the walled city and around.
We are returning back on our adventure trekking journey to the Upper Mustang region. We trek all the way back to Dhakmar. Traversing the section of the trail in between and through a pass, we walk back to Dhakmar for overnight stay.
Our walk today takes us to Syangbochen leaving the upper Mustang region behind. We descend to the lower region of Mustang. The first section of the walk goes towards the village of Ghami and walks even further down to Syangbochen to stay overnight.
We enjoy our breakfast at the lodge and get ready to walk for the day to Chhusang. Our trek descends a good elevation. When we reach Chhusang through the amazing terrains and magical landscapes around, we will drop our elevation almost by 900 meters. Once in Chhusang, we can go for exploration of the area for a while or just laze around.
After breakfast, we descend to Kagbeni village on the bank of Kali Gandaki River. From Kagbeni onwards, we trek along the Kali Gandaki River to Jomsom. The trail can get windy during the afternoon as it lies in the valley between two gigantic mountain ranges. Dhaulagiri and Annapurna. Once we reach Jomsom, we can laze around the beautiful town.
We take early morning breakfast and go to airport to board the flight to Pokhara. Another short but spectacular flight takes us to Pokhara. Once we check into hotel, we will have free time to relax and enjoy time on our own. The easy laze around helps us get some relief from the tiredness of walking through the rough and weathered terrain of upper Mustang for several days.
Early in the morning, after breakfast, we get on the bus to drive back to Kathmandu. About seven hours of overland journey takes us back to Kathmandu. Once we are in Kathmandu, we go to hotel and spend the whole day at leisure on our own. Finding relieving massage, good food, souvenir shopping, and wandering around can keep you busy for the day.
A farewell dinner is scheduled for this evening. We will let you know the departure time for dinner once we reach Kathmandu.
The final day of the trip, we drive you to airport for your scheduled flight homebound or other destination. We will pick you up 3 hours prior to your flight schedule.
The Trip Cost Includes
- Airport Pick and Drop for both International and Domestic flight by Private vehicle.
- Welcome, Farewell dinner with cultural program.
- 3 Nights Tourist Standard Hotel Accmmodiation in Kathmandu with B/B basis.
- Half Day Guided Cultural Tours in Kathmandu with all the Entrance fees.
- 2 Nights Tourist Standard Hotel Accmmodiation in Pokhara with B/B basis.
- Transportation from Kathmandu-Pokhara-Kathmandu by Tourist Coach.
- Transportation from Pokhara-Nayapul-Pokhara by local jeep.
- Standard Lodge Accommodation (best available) with twin sharing basis during the trek.
- Full Board Meals (3 Meals a day) while on the trek.
- Trekking Permit (ACCAP) and Trekker's Information Management System (TIMS) card fees.
- Professional & highly expertise Government Licensed holder Trekking Guide.
- 2:1 Porters to carry luggages.
- All expenses of the staffs (Guides/Porters) that includes Food, Accommodation, Salary, Insurance, Equipment during your travel period.
- All the necessary trekking gear for porters like jacket /trousers, trekking shoes, gloves, shocks, sunglasses etc.
- Friends Adventure Team's Sleeping Bag, Walking Poles and Duffel Bag, to be return after trip completed.
- Comprehensive First Aid Kit.
- Arrangement of all rescue and evacuation promptly, in Worst Condition
- Group Trekking Gears.
- Trekking Map, Friends Adventure Team's special Souvenir.
The Trip Cost Excludes
- Meals in Kathmandu and Pokhara.
- Any packed food/snacks, aerated drinks, energy drinks, mineral water, alcohol, cigarettes, chocolates, nutria-bars.
- All desserts, sweet things like chocolate, cake, pie, pudding.
- Items of personal nature, Laundry Expenses.
- Clothing, Packing Items or Bags, Personal Medical Kit, Personal Trekking Gears.
- Any additional staff other than specified.
- Medical and Travel Insurance and Emergency rescue by any means of Transportation including Helicopter evacuation if required.
- Rescue, Repatriation, Medicines, Medical Tests and Hospitalization expenses.
- Airfare of international flights.
- Nepal entry visa fee (Visa issuance is easy at the arrival).
- Gratuities to guide, porters and driver (Not mandatory but expected as customizetripomary thank you for the service).
- Any other item not included in "Cost Includes" Section.
Frequently asked Questions
Upper Mustang Trek is a Medium difficult trekking route. So any fit person can do this trek, even if you do not have any previous experience. You should be aware of what to expect and mentally prepare for it. Then, as long as you will to, you can.
On average, you walk about 4 to 6 hours per day. One or two days can be as less as 3hrs and one or two days can be as long as 7hrs.
The highest altitude reached is 4170m. This is the elevation of Mui la pass (4170m). Mui la pass (4170m)is the highest we will climb in this trek.
Yes, you can charge batteries en route. Charger should be brought. There are hot shower facilities as well. You may have to pay certain amount for both ($1-$2). Negotiate. Also, hot water facility could be free at lower elevation.
No. There are no ATMs on this trek route. You will have to draw enough cash in Pokhara or Kathmandu. There are a number of ATMs in these cities. Everything is paid in Nepali rupees. So money should be exchanged before the start of the trek.
Yes. Internet can be accessed in most places. Sometimes, there might be some technical problems. Internet in Nepal is not as fast as you are used to and at times you can just lose connection.
Not really. It depends on you. If you want, Upper Mustang Trek can be done independently. You could hire a guide and a porter by yourself instead of going through an agency or not hire a guide at all. Although, not having a guide can be a little problematic during off season.
It really depends on you. Is it your first time in Nepal? How confident are you of being able to find your way around? How pressed on time are you? If you go through an agency, it will be costlier but everything will be planned. You will only have to come, trek and return.
For Restricted Area Trek, pay for guides range from $20 to $30 per day and porters take $15 to $25 per day.
