| Trip code | |
| Package name | Upper Mustang Trekking in Nepal |
| Duration | 16 |
| Max. elevation | 5000 m |
| Level | MODERATE |
| Transportation |
|
| Accomodation |
2 Nights tourist standard hotel in Pokhara B/B plan Stay at selected teahouse during the trek |
| Starts at | Kathmandu |
| Ends at | Kathmandu |
| Trip route | Kathmandu, Pokhara, Jomsom, kagbeni, Lomanthang |
| Cost | USD 0 per person |
Upper Mustang Trekking in Nepal
Upper Mustang trekking is a moderate and a remote routes in the north of Annapurna at an average altitude of 4000 m that combines adventure, culture, and natural beauty, making it a must-do for any trekker enthusiast visiting Nepal. This region is known for its unique landscapes, with its desert like terrain, deep canyons, and towering peaks. The word “Mustang” is derived from Tibetan word which means fertile plain in Nepali.
Upper Mustang trekking is an exotic tour and one of the most mysterious trek that brings you into the hidden world of the old Buddhist kingdom of mustang also called Lo. Moreover, Lo- manthang, chooser cave and Ghar gompa is the major attraction of this trekking. The trail takes you through ancient monasteries, traditional villages, and Buddhist temples, providing insight into the rich culture and history of the upper mustang region. It is also well- known for “Last Forbidden Kingdom” because of its unique landscapes and preserved Tibetan culture.
The inhabitants of mustangs’ mainly celebrate Lhosar, Tiji, Saku Lugka and Duk Chu festivals. They celebrate Tiji festival at Lo- manthang in the middle of May. It lasts for 3 days. Similarly, horse festival or yartung mela known locally marked in the august full moon day lasts for 3 or 4 days starts in Lo- manthang and travels downwards, with horse races, archery, dancing and festivities all the way. The people in upper mustang follow Tibetan Buddhist culture and speak traditional Tibetan Languages. On special occasions, they invite Lamas to perform religious rituals at their home. The township abounds with mani walls, numerous chortens and monasteries.
Permits for Upper Mustang Trekking
It is a restricted area that was opened for trekking in 1992. As it is restricted area, special permits are required to visit this region which can only be obtained through a registered trekking agency in Nepal.
1 Annapurna Conservation Area Permit (ACAP)
2 Restricted Area Permit
Travel Insurance
Any trek in Nepal, including the Upper Mustang Trek, needs travel insurance. The trek includes high-altitude trekking, which may be physically challenging and dangerous. Travel insurance can cover you financially in the event of an accident, a medical emergency, a flight cancellation or delay, or lost or stolen luggage.
When buying travel insurance for the Upper Mustang trek, ensure that it covers high- altitude trekking and emergency helicopter evacuation, as these can be expansive without insurance. Depending on your plan, you can also obtain additional coverage of activities like hiking, mountaineering and adventure sports.
Guide and Porter
It’s always suggested to trek with a knowledgeable experienced licensed guide or join a trekking agency to assure safety and utilize your time in a best way. Moreover, according to Nepal tourism board all the trekkers are required to gain services of licensed trekking guide and to acquire (TIMS Cards) through authorized trekking agencies with the government of Nepal.
Significantly, Nepal Holiday Treks and Tours Pvt. Ltd. is a reliable and reputable company registered with the government of Nepal that can provide you helpful, friendly, English speaking with technically competent government authorized license holding guide and porter with their insurance. As they are highly experienced trekking guide prompt in safety performance and always carry essential safety equipments, first aid kids and gear.
The ideal season for visiting Upper Mustang
Trekking to the Upper Mustang is appropriate in every season but the best time allows you best experience till the end. Generally, the different season will offer you with different topography, wildlife, and encounter.
Autum Season (September- November)
The autum months are the time of the harvesting season with the hours of daylight and the hours of night are the same. The temperatures are mild, the weather is relatively unchanged, the clear skies provide astonishing mountain views, and the day time walking temperature are also the most pleasant overall. However, the high mountains are still cold and lower elevations are warm. Along the trail, you will witness yellow, orange, red, and brown leaves on the trees.
Spring Season (March- May)
It is the pre- monsoon period when nature regenerates its lost beauty. You can explore a wide variety of flowers blooming making colorful hills such as magnolia, Nepalese national flower Rhododendron and other variety of wildflowers in various part of the country.
Spring is the advantageous season to tackle treks with high passes. The temperature of surrounding begins to rise allowing stronger sunlight and the days grow longer.
Summer (June- August)
In the context of Nepal, monsoon and summer season are combined. It is blazing hot for the first few weeks and begins to rain by the mid of the season. So, due to the continuous rain showers, the paths are slippery and muddy. Summer is best for adventure seekers and nature lovers. It is a time where wildflowers are in full bloom and the foothills are lush.
Winter (December- February)
Winter is the months for snow fall, icy- cold season of the year, but the lower region trek is entirely enjoyable at this time. However, winters are hard for Upper Mustang trekking, as the local migrate to Pokhara or Kathmandu. So, it is not favourable time to trek.
Notably, high altitude areas above 3000 m will be snowy and very cold, so winter is also great for an easy trek (Ghorepani poon hill trek, Panchase trek, Khopra Dandatrek among others) and hiking such as Annapurna base camp trek, Mardi Himal trek, and Jomsom Muktinath trek.
Altitude Sickness
Generally altitude sickness occurs when you travel to a high altitude too quickly. Headache, nausea, tiredness etc are the symptoms occur when your body tries to adjust to the lower air pressure and lower oxygen levels at high altitudes. When it comes to this illness, one should be pro-active and notify the guide as soon as possible.
Fitness/ Experience
Physical fitness level, health, and medical required for upper mustang trekking. The trekking trail of upper mustang is a moderate and adventurous. You will be regularly hiking for around 5 to 6 hours on average depending on the destination. So, this trek is not recommended for trekkers who are suffering from chronic ailments or have heart or lung diseases. It is better to avoid this trip.
However, all the trekkers having an average level of fitness can easily complete this trek. If you have any kind of previous trekking experience or regular exercise it will be an added advantage but not compulsory.
Foods and lodging
The accommodation in the mountains and remote villages are generally modest and basic. The room, shower and rest rooms are available in a twin- shared basis. The mountain teahouse provides rooms with just a bed, pillow, and blankets but the view is spectacular from the rooms. The standard lodge has two single bedrooms with mattresses, pillow, warm blankets, attached bathrooms and hot water.
Teashops and lodges usually provide plentiful and delicious foods which suits the preferences of various trekkers such as Nepali foods, Indian, Italian, Tibetan and Continental food. All the foods will be cooked by the local cook by using local vegetables so the taste would be very local. Moreover, you should definitely try some other local foods of Nepal such as Thakali Khana and momo, Dhindo and Gundruk, Sel roti, and Nepalese curd.
During the trek, we will ensure accommodate you to the best available tea houses with great views, sceneries, and serve with organic, healthy and hygienic foods.
We take the tourist bus for kathmandu to Pokhara early in the morning.
20min flight and 4hrs walk respectively: Early morning we are flying North West from Pokhara towards the great portal between the snows covered peaks of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. We shall enjoy the well-raised massifs of more than 8000 meters, and the deepest gorge on this planet. And we start our trek from the main gate to Upper Mustang with a beautiful trail from Jomsom towards Kagbeni.
The trail leads up towards the east bank of the Kaligandaki climbing over many ridges as it heads north and reaches Tangbe village. The town is a labyrinth of narrow alleys amongst white washed houses, fields of buckwheat, barley, wheat and apple orchards. The Nilgiri peak, dominates the southern skyline of Kagbeni, all the way by different shapes. There are too many Nepali and Tibetan songs sung portraying the beauty of Chossang.
Today’s walk is more into undulating trails with couple of steep climb and descents. Despite hours of walk the tremendous canyons with its unusual color 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 Yakawa Kang adds up to its magnificence.
We keep up our trek, crossing the river to the Kali Gandaki valley and climbs steeply up a rocky gully to Chaile. From here the culture changes from the Manangi culture to the Tibetan culture of Lo. The climb continues along steep, treeless, waterless terrain, along the side of the spectacular steep canyon to a pass and cairn of rock. Then the trail makes a long gradual descent to some Chortens on a ridge, and with a further descent before coming along a pleasant trail to Samar village. We climb above Samar to a ridge, then descend into a large gorge, which the trail goes into another valley field, crosses a stream and we to our destination.
We have interesting red cliffs, blue sheep sightings on our way. We shall be crossing steel bridge of the Tangmar Chu (river) and arrive to a Mani wall perhaps the longest and most spectacular Mani wall in Nepal. The huge five-story white Dzong (fortress) and red Gompa are the main attractions to visit and observe collections of statues and Thangkas as well as huge paintings of seated Buddha’s.Ghar Gompa is another main attraction for the day. It is the oldest and unique Gompa built during the eighth century. The Gompas, Mani in this area are all found in red and white color. According to the legend, a famous Rinpoche (Padma sambhava) once came here and fought a big demon which he tore apart and the remains of the demon spread to every direction. So it’s pretty interesting how there is no any sign of vegetation or animals and the sight is creepy.
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 Buddhist 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 center of the city. The main attraction sites in this area are: Nyphu Cave monastery built into the side of a soaring cliff. 2500 years old Jhong Sky Cave that has more than 44 compartments and gives u the pre historic settlement of humans. Thinkar summer palace and the extraordinary ancient monasteries inside the walled city itself which is exceptional.
Further more we are here to get physically acclimatized and have many more to explore from the previous day around Lo Manthang.
From Lo-Manthang the trail walks straight till Dhi pass 4100 meters and descends down to Dhi village. The trek from Lo Manthang to Muktinath is harder, but more rewarding and interesting than the west side of the valley. Dhi village is one of the best villages of whole Lo-mathang and it seems more prosperous and is settled in a very suitable place. And we reside to Sara.
The trek continues crossing the rivers and through a grassless, treeless bare hill. After the pass the trail again drops directly to Tangye village at an elevation of 3370m.Tangye is a small village of around 30 houses but most of the houses are attached to each other. On the rooftops one can see piles of dry woods, which is believed to reflect the prosperity in their society.
The trail walks through a steep ridge of hills providing some fine views of the wind carved hills. Tetang village is formed between 2 hills, they should have found it a safe place to avoid the strong wind that hits the entire Kaligandaki valley.
And we slide back and exit from the restricted area of Mustang and stay overnight in Kagbeni.
Again we make a one day trip to Jomsom and overnight stay there.
Early morning we fly back to Jomsom and again to Pokhara. And rest here in Pokhara exploring the city since we have a whole day left.
We take the tourist bus from Pokhara. And we shall be in Kathmandu for your respective departure according to your scheduled plan.