Upper Mustang Trek
is historical, cultural and panoramic. Upper Mustang, Dolpo, Mugu, Manaslu, Tsum, and Kanchenjunga regions still hide pristine Tibetan culture, Tibetan Buddhism and untouched Shangri-las.
Highlights:
Enjoy walking within the picturesque landscapes of Upper Mustang. Upper Mustang is a spectacular highland renowned for being a photogenic country. Walk into great walls of the canyon and eroded high cliffs within windswept terrain. Explore impressive villages interwoven with ancient Bon and Buddhist culture. Enter the former walled kingdom of Lo-Manthang with grand views of mountains.
Trek Profile:
Upper Mustang Trek takes you around the high country, similar to Tibetan landscapes and culture. Upper Mustang extends southwest Tibet and an ancient Trans-Himalayan Caravan route between Nepal and Tibet. Upper Mustang has discovered several massive cave monasteries dating back to the 11th century and hundreds of caves inhabited by people in ancient times.
Upper Mustang Trekking fascinates all travellers with its wild and scenic landscapes, with views of high snowy peaks, eroded canyons, cliff walls, and windswept terrains that change colour with sunlight.
Unfortunately, the upper Mustang remained once a forbidden country and remained a restricted area for entry until 1992. Finally, trekking to Mustang was allowed in 1992 with a special permit costing a minimum of $700 per person for ten days and 70 dollars for each extra day for extension. Currently, it is a minimum of $500 and $50 per day for an extension. The living monasteries here date back to the 7th century, earlier than the Samye monastery, the first monastery in Tibet.
The trip to Upper Mustang starts with a short scenic flight from the beautiful city of Pokhara to Jomsom. The flight enters Jomsom, flying between the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri Mountains, over the Kali Gandaki valley, the World’s deepest gorge, offering an incredible vista.
Jomsom is the headquarters town of the Mustang district and home to the Thakali people, where our walk begins and ends. From Jomsom, the walk leads into the wide Kaligandaki River valley to Kagbeni, an impressive village of Tibetan-style houses with a checkpoint, the gateway to Upper Mustang and beyond the Tibet border.
Most of the walk follows the Riverline, the ancient lifeline, into the windswept country through the high canyon and wind-blown hills and cliffs, passing villages adorned with Bon and Buddhism monuments with prayer walls and spinning prayer wheels.
After visiting several major villages, the trek enters the former forbidden walled kingdom of Lo-Manthang, an exciting town/village to explore and soak into ancient culture and customs ruled by the Raja or king of Mustang until 2018. The Nepal Government scaped the kingship of the petty states and rulers in 2018. Once at Lo-Manthang, we visit its historical monuments and sites dispersed into its walled city and surroundings and head back to Jomsom and Kathmandu with short internal flights.
Arrive in Kathmandu, customs and immigration formalities and claim your baggage, which takes some time. Upon exiting, the arrivals get a traditional welcome from the Happy Feet Nepal representative and transfer to the hotel. Reach the hotel and the rest of the day is free with the possibility of optional excursions (not included), but you can ask to organize any tours or stroll through its vibrant streets.
Kathmandu, the capital and heart of the country, with three medieval cities, symbolizes Nepal’s everything. Having lived through the several ruling dynasties of Buddhists and Hindus, the culture and society of Kathmandu Valley have evolved through time to give it more than a unique feature. Today it is an urban city, and still rapidly increasing, that has its ancient myths and, at the same time, is testimony to the greatness of people who have lived there for time immemorial.
Free day in Kathmandu in preparation for the trek, or one can join in our tour around Kathmandu at places of interest as Kathmandu city and the valley steeped with World Heritage Sites.
A 30-minute flight.
Leisurely wake up, breakfast, and a short drive to the airport to board a flight to Pokhara. A 30-minute of scenic flight to Pokhara provides a half-day time in Pokhara. Arrive at Pokhara, transfer to Pokhara Lakeside, and get your room distributed. The remaining time is free for resting and refreshment. In the evening, we stroll around the lake of Pokhara and choose one of its best restaurants for a hearty dinner.
A 4-hour Trek.
Morning transfer to Pokhara airport for a short scenic flight to Jomsom of little more than 22 mins facing a panorama of Machhapuchare, Annapurna Dhaulagiri range, Nilgiri, and Tukuche Peak, then at Jomsom, the headquarter town of Mustang district located in Kaligandaki River valley.
After rest and refreshment, start the first day’s walk to Kagbeni, heading towards the northwest for the first overnight stop at Kagbeni, an ancient village with a monastery. Kagbeni, with a checkpoint, is the gateway to Upper Mustang and towards the Tibet border. It is interesting to observe strong Tibetan customs and lifestyles beginning from here.
A 4-hour Trek.
Morning walks towards the higher country of Upper Mustang, with a slow climb into an exposed valley, enclosed within colourful eroded canyons and high cliff edge dotted with cave holes used as permanent dwell in ancient times. Currently, they are unreachable in the high windswept and time-worn walls.
Walk heads on a gradual path with grand views of Nilgiri, Dhaulagiri, Mustang Himal and Tilicho to reach Chussang/Tsusang for the first overnight stop into Upper Mustang territory.
The village of Chhusang is a lovely farm area with a few trees of Willow, Juniper and Poplars surrounding the village. The dry, cold and harsh environment survives a few vegetation and trees in the upper Mustang. In the afternoon, take a tour of the village.
A 6-hour Trek.
At Chhusang, we cross a stream past broken, eroded canyons resembling ruined castles with high cliffs and walk proceeds with the country’s spectacular scenery.
After a scenic walk of an hour, reach Chele or Tshele village for a brief stop and see around its village and life bases. From Chele, the trail gets steeper for an hour with a climb to a ridge at 3,130 metres, overlooking views of Gyagar across a vast canyon.
Trek continues with a slow ascent to a small scenic pass above 3,540 metres, and a gradual descent brings us to Samar for an overnight stop in a lovely local lodge.
A 6-hour Trek.
Walk today leads to a short climb above Samar village to reach a hill ridge top, and then descend into a gorge past prayer wall and religious monument(Chhorten painted red, black, yellow and white colour). Go through a scenic valley within sparse juniper vegetation, cross a stream, walk uphill to a ridge at 3,800 metres, and climb over another pass to reach down Shyangmochen, a small settlement at 3,710 metres altitude.
A short rest and a gentle climb over a pass at 3,770 metres to enter a huge valley with a downhill walk to Gelling, our overnight stoppage, surrounded by large barley fields.
A 5-hour Trek.
The morning begins with a slow climb past crops fields leading below Tama Gung village, and a long ascent across a valley above Nyi La pass at 3,950
metres. This pass rewards you with stunning Mustang terrain rimmed by white snow-capped peaks. Nyi La is the trek’s highest point and the southern boundary of inner Lomanthang.
From Nyi La, downhill to a junction, the right path leads to Tsarang while the left leads to Ghami village. Walk below the high hills facing grey and red cliffs across the valley to cross a steel bridge over Tangmar Chhu (water/river) and climb past a long and magnificent stretch of the Mani (prayer) wall, the longest in the region.
There is a final climb at 3,600 metres, and descends to Tsarang or Charang for an overnight halt. Tsarang is a lovely ancient village with a maze of fields, willow trees, a five-storey white-coloured Dzong, and a Monastery known as Tsarang Gompa, situated on the edge of the Kali Gandaki gorge.
A 5-hour Trek.
Today we reach our highlight destination Lomanthang, the former walled kingdom or forbidden kingdom of Lo. The morning starts with a short downhill to cross Charang Chhu and then a steeper climb to a ridge to enter Tholung valley. The trail diverts towards the north and gradually slopes to a large Chorten, marking the boundary between Tsarang and Lo. The climb follows a stream, enters a wide windswept valley, and reaches a pass at 3,850 metres with views of the walled city, Lo-Manthang. A short descent to a stream that outlines the walled city and a short climb brings us to the southern wall of Lo Manthang city. On entering the former forbidden kingdom of Lo Manthang, get checked into a local lodge/guesthouse with time to browse its alley and narrow streets with shops and stores. Lomanthang has some luxury accommodations rating 4-star for luxury seekers.
Rest day to explore Lo Manthang, a large village with more than 150 houses, which includes many residents for monks. The houses here are packed closely with common courtyards and with flat roofs. Lomanthang has a school, health post, police post, and several important Chorten outside the walls to the north of the gate and east of monastic areas. Despite the apparent squalor of Lo Manthang, the village is well-off and maintains a strong sense of community. Here people call themselves Lobas, which means people from Lo. Interwoven with strong tantric Buddhism practice and a trade-based economy, Mustang once enjoyed its full sovereignty and prosperity. The people here still trade to the south to India and continuously with Tibet. A four-storey Palace of Lomanthang stands in the centre of the city. It is the home of the former Raja (king), Jigme Parbal Bista, and the Rani (queen) from the noble family of Lhasa and Shigatse in Tibet. On this day, we take tours on horse, including the Namgyal Gompa and Champa Lakhang (God House), Red Thubchen Gompa, Chyodi Gompa and the Entrance Hall with special permission to visit the palace interior.
A 5-hour trek
After an exploratory time at Lo Manthang, we initiate the return trek to Drakmar via the Lo Gekar monastery. The morning starts with a steady climb to a pass offering the views of Lo Gekar Monastery, Charang, and Mornag and the last glimpse of Lo Manthang. Then descend to Lo Gekar (Ghar Gompa), the oldest of older than the Samye, the first monastery of Tibet. In November 2021, the Embassy of the USA in Nepal announced $285,000 from the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for the restoration and seismic strengthening of the Lo Gekar Monastery. Visit the monastery and have lunch and rest here. A final climb and 500 metres descend Dagmar village in the afternoon, with ancient caves in its red sand cliff.
A 5-hour trek.
From Drakmar, a beautiful trek of one and a half hours, full of grand vistas, brings us to Ghami village. The trail involves some minor climbing and descending. From Ghami, we retrace the path we walked while trekking up to Lo Manthang.
A 7-hour trek.
Breakfast and visit a Self-Emanating Buddha (Rangjyung cave) cave, a not to miss place below the Shyangmochen village. Then retrace the trail downhill to Samar andChhuksang village, where we cross the bridge over River Kali Gandaki and take a minor ascent to Tetang village. The trail has fine views of wind-carved barren hills and the village of Tetang, formed between 2 hills. Tetang is the upper village of Chhusang, which we visited on the first-day trek. The Tetang village is settled between the two hills to avoid the strong wind that hits the entire Kali Gandaki valley. From Tetang, it takes one day to arrive at Muktinath and to Jomsom via Kagbeni.
A 6-hour trek.
From Tetang, the morning starts with a gradual climb to the Ngyu Pass, taking 3:30 hours. The trail provides a fine panorama of Tukche, Dhaulagiri and Nilgiri and a luxuriant green valley full of flowers (Aug-Sept). From Ngyu Pass, there is an open view of the Muktinath area at a distance of 2 hours walk. Muktinath means God of salvation, is a holy place for Buddhists and Hindus and visits thousands of pilgrims yearly. Muktinath offers grand views of Yak Kawa Kang and Thorang peak to the north, Dhaulagiri, Tikche Peak, and Dhampus Peak to the southwest and Tilicho and Nilgiri to the east.
A 5-hour trek.
In the morning, visit the Muktinath temple, Dzarkot, Dzarkot monastery, a herbal medical centre and Dzarkot fortress. Then initiate the last day of the trek via Lupra Gonpa. The trail offers some of the finest views of Mount Dhaulagiri, Tukche, Nilgiri, Tilicho and Kali Gandaki valley. Trekkers less frequent this circuit; therefore, we take this route and visit a small but beautiful and authentic Lupra village and its monastery. After Lupra village, we see the Thini village, opposite the Jomsom airport, with a good view of Jomsom, Kali Gandaki valley and Dhaulagiri. A short descent from Thini crosses the bridge over Kali Gandaki and enters Jomsom. After seeing extraordinary human effort in this corner of the World, the trek ends back at Jomsom with a beautiful circuit! The evening is a special occasion, a farewell party with your porters and Sherpa friends who take a separate 24 hours long bus drive to Kathmandu.
Morning short walk to Jomsom airport and board a Twin Otter/Dornier. Enjoy a grand vista of the Nilgiri, Dhaulagiri, and Annapurna ranges as the flight lifts above Kali Gandaki River gorge, the deepest gorge in the World with two eight thousand mountains standing on both sides. The grand scenery lasts until the flight lands at Pokhara. The Lamjung, Annapurna range and Fishtail, the most beautiful mountain, greet us as we exit the plane. Take a short drive to the hotel at Lakeside, leisure time for rest and refresh. Lunch and stroll around the shore of Phewa Lake and choose a restaurant for dinner and overnight.
A leisurely breakfast.
Today, visit Pumdikot Shiva Temple and Peace stupa. You get picked up from your hotel and drive 15 kilometres to Pumdikot. Visit the newly built Shiva Temple on a beautiful hilltop enjoying the grand views of Mount Annapurna, Mount Lumjung Himal, Sarangkot, Pokhara city and its Phewa Lake. Then enjoy a beautiful walk down to where the Peace Stupa graciously stands. Enjoy the site’s views, visit the stupa, explore, and enjoy another lovely short walk down to Phewa Lake. Then cross the lake through a rowing boat across Lake Phewa or down to Fishtail Lodge for Lunch with grand views of the Himalayas and Lake.
After lunch, visit the International Mountain Museum, a not to miss site. Then, the evening is back to the hotel and around Phewa Lake for a lovely evening walk while selecting a restaurant for dinner.
There are options of taking a short 30-minute flight to Kathmandu or a scening drive. If chosen to drive, we will visit Bandipur for lunch. Bandipur is an old town between Pokhara and Kathmandu, 8 kilometres southwest, above the Dumre Bazaar.
A reserve day to make sure of a trouble-free itinerary. If all goes well, use the extra day to visit some of the medieval towns of Kathmandu, such as Bhaktapur, Patan, Boudhanath Stupa and Swayambunath Stupa, some of not to miss sites in the Kathmandu valley when you are already here.
Breakfast and the rest of the day are leisure on your own. The Representative of Happy Feet Nepal will arrive at your hotel with transport three hours before your departure flight time. Get escorted from the hotel to the International Departure Terminal, see off formalities, and go through the immigration and departure.
April to October, including the wet season of July and August, are good times to visit as Upper Mustang falls within rain-shadow areas like the Tibetan plateau, with very little rain. But the best time is from May to September to see the full scale of greenery and cultivated fields bloomed in buckwheat flowers and its surrounding hill carpeted with multi-coloured flowers.
