Upper Mustang Trekking - 18 Days

Introduction:
A fascinating, wonderful journey in the Far North Western at Upper Mustang with Great Adventure Treks & Expeditions, this trip begins with a drive or flight to scenic Pokhara, and then a short flight to Nepal’s North West at Jomsom 2,716m Jomsom, a large town and a head-quarter of the Mustang region with a small airstrip just above by the river Kaligandaki, from here heading towards Lomanthang the old kingdom of Mustang.

Mustang has an average elevation of 3,000 meter, situated to the north between World’s 7th and 10th highest Mt. Dhaulagiri 8167m and Mt.Annapurna 8,091 m and is the main Himalayan range and geographically an extension of Tibetan Plateau, this high land wind swept valley is barren with eroded canyons, colorful rock formations.

Fascinating old Tibetan culture, traditions and religions still exists, with a tinge of Shangri-la, and the old walled city of Lho-Manthang where the kingdom lies within its large desert like territory close to the border of Western Tibet.

Well known, intrepid explorers such as Professor David Snellgrove and the Italian scholar Guiseppi Tucci visited Mustang in the 1950’s and it has largely been their tales of a Tibetan like arid region that has placed interest in this once forbidden kingdom area.

After a wonderful time at Upper Mustang return to Jomsom by an alternative route offering you the best of this beautiful country, Great Adventure Treks & Expeditions to Upper Mustang concludes with a memorable journey at Jomsom with a flight or drive back to Kathmandu via Pokhara.

Trip Highlights: “Trekking in remote cultural destination of Nepal on the old Trans-Himalayan Caravan route, ancient Bon-po (pre-buddhist) culture, extension of Tibetan plateau, ancient walled town-village of Lo-Manthang, on the backdrop of the high snow capped peaks.”

 

Outline Itinerary
Detail Itinerary
Cost Include
Cost Exclude

Day 01: Reach Kathmandu and transfer to Hotel.
Day 02: In Kathmandu with half day sightseeing Tour.
Day 03: Fly or drive to Pokhara and transfer to respective Hotels.
Day 04: Fly to Jomsom 2,713m. and trek to Kagbeni 2,810m. 4 hrs walks.
Day 05: Trek to Chussang 2,920m. 6 hrs walk.
Day 06: Trek to Samar 3,290m. 6 hrs walk.
Day 07: Trek to Ghiling 3,600m. 6 hrs walk.
Day 08: Trek to Tsarang 3,520m. 5 – 6 hrs walk.
Day 09: Trek to Lo-Manthang 3,780m. 4 – 5 hrs walk.
Day 10: Rest day for local hike of Lo-Manthang.
Day 11: Trek to Ghami 3,440m. 6 hrs.
Day 12: Trek back to Samar 4 – 5 hrs.
Day 13: Trek to Yak Kharka 3,845m. 5 – 6 hrs.
Day 14: Trek to Muktinath 3,710m. 4 – 5 hrs walk.
Day 15: Trek to Jomsom 3 – 4 hrs.
Day 16: Fly to Kathmandu via Pokhara.
Day 17: In Kathmandu.
Day18: Transfer to airport for International departure.

Day 01: Reach Kathmandu 1,300m. via respective airlines.
On arrival at Kathmandu Tribhuvan International Airport our GA staff will receive will transfer you to respective Hotels, in the Hotel our guide will brief of the Hotel, Kathmandu, Trekking / Camping, do’s and don’t and other related information that you might require while in Nepal with Great Adventure Treks & Expeditions..

Day 02: InKathmanduwith half day tour.
After first night in Kathmandu, you will be well informed on arrival about the time for your half day guided sightseeing tour in Kathmandu at places of interest.

Day 03: Fly or drive to Pokhara and transfer to Hotel.
This wonderful trip begins with an interesting drive or a scenic short flight of 30 minutes to Pokhara a picturesque spot with views of high Annapurna and Manaslu Mountain including the majestic peak of Mt. Machhapuchare in the north, with time to visit the serene lake Phewa (Fewa) close to the Hotel.

Day 04:Fly toJomsom 2,713m. trek toKagbeni2,810m 3 – 4 hrs walks.
From Jomsom, the trail leads on the Kali-Gandaki plains, the walk is pleasant with few ups and down to the place of Ekali Bhatti where there ares 5-6 Lodges. From here the trail path diverts two ways the higher up leads to Muktinath, the other one leads to upper Mustang and Tibet via Kagbeni.

Our trail leads past Eklai-bhatti towards North West, the walking gets much easier on the gradual winding route following the Kali-Gandaki River bed towards the windswept village of Kagbeni for the overnight stop.

Day 05:Trek toChussang 2,920m. 6 hrs walks.
On leaving Kagbeni village, the path leads uphill for an hour above the Kali-Gandaki River for a while, the path heads to barren country all the way with few rest stops, passing through few small villages as the walk progress coming to the village Tangbe, then an hour of good walk reaches to the overnight stop at Chusang line up with few trees amidst the red earth surrounding. Chusang lies at the confluence of the Narsang stream and the Kali Gandaki River.

Day 06:Trek toSamar3,290m. 6 hrs walks.
From here trek leads first to Chele village after crossing the stream through the broken canyons and ruin walls of the surrounding cliffs, across the river from Chusang are some interesting eroded red cliffs above the mouths of inaccessible caves, crossing the small bridge an uphill walk for an hour to Chele village, after Chele village the walk gets steeper for an hour up to the ridge at 3,130m, from here a good view of Gyagar across a huge canyon. The trek continues with a slow climb on the windswept landscapes till the pass is reached at 3,540m. From here a gradual downhill walk leads you to Samar for the overnight stop.

Day 07:Trek toGhiling 3,600m. 6 hrs walk.
The walk today leads to a short climb above Samar village to a ridge, with a downhill to a gorge past a chorten painted red, black, yellow and white-all the colours are made from local rocks of the Sakya pa sect of Buddhism.

The journey continues to another valley, on crossing the stream the walk follows uphill path to a ridge at 3,800m, the trail climbs over to another pass, from here the route descends to Shyangmochen, a small settlement with few tea shops at 3,710m. After a break here, trek continues to a gentle climb to a pass at 3,770m reaching a huge valley, from here downhill path towards overnight stop at Geling with its large fields of barley on the outskirt of the village.

Day 08: Trek toTsarang 3,520m. 6 hrs walk.
From Geling, the walk climbs through the fields to the centre of the valley,  below the Tama Gaun village, the walk continues a long climb across the head of the valley to the Nyi la pass at 3,950m, the highest point of this trip.

From here a gradual downhill walk for an hour brings to Tsarang one of the main village of Lo region, an interesting village with a maze of fields, willow trees and a huge white Dzong (Fort), a red monastery perched on the edge of the Kali Gandaki gorge. Tsarang Village has its own electricity system.

Day 09: Trek to Lo Manthang 3,780m. capital of Mustang 4 – 5 hrs walk.
Today’s walk heads at Lo Manthang, beginning with a short descend crossing the Charangchu River with a steep climb on a ridge, then passing through the Tholung valley. Trail diverts north with gentle climb to a large chorten, which marks the boundary between Tsarang and Lo, the climb follows to the stream, reaching a great wide windswept landscape, finally coming to a ridge at 3,850m, a great view of the walled large village of Lo Mananthang, a short descent brings to the stream that outlines the walled village, form here a short climb leads to the southern wall of Lo Manthang village. The only entrance to the village is from the northeast corner, so one has to circle the wall to the main entrance gate sometimes.

Day 10:Rest day for local hike of Lo Manthang.
This large village contains near 150 houses and a number of residents for the Lamas and Monks, the houses are closely lined, the palace and monasteries are in the bottom portion in vertical part of the L shaped houses.

The school, health post, police post and several important chortens are located outside the walls to the north of the gate and east of the monastic part of the main village; this village is prosperous and maintains a strong sense of community, the people here are known as Lobas, people from Lo, they are very much Tibetan and practice. The Mustang Raja’s palace stands an imposing four storey building in the centre of the city. It is the home of the present Raja, Jigme Parbal Bista, and the Rani (queen), who is from the noble family of Shigatse, Tibet.

Day 11:Trek toGhami3,440m. 6 hrs.
Today’s walks is a descend with few short climb all the way to Ghami, once outside the walled Lo Manthang village-town the path leads to a steady climb to the pass offering the last view of Lo Manthang, the walk from here is on the downhill path all the way to Ghami village. Ghami is another important village of this region.

Day 12: Trek toSamar 4 – 5 hrs.
Trek follows the straight route to Nyi La, with a climb to the ridge and then up hill and meeting the trail from Tsarang. From the top ridge a steep descend all the way to Geling Valley. The trail continues passing Geling to a a gentle downhill path to a small settlement of Tama Gung. Then the trail leads to a stream; the trek climbs to a large painted chorten, from here it is straightforward route to the overnight stop at Samar.

Day 13: Trek to Yak Kharka 3,845m. 5 – 6 hrs.
From here route diverts to the less visited area by the trekkers, the first section of walk heads down hill for three hours passing Chele village and reaching to the Mustang Khola, here onwards leads to an uphill for another two hours to the isolated village of Chhomang at 2,940m.  After this village  walk climbs further up to the ridge, on leaving the village way down below  it is on the gradual uphill trail, then reaching at the overnight stop near the pass at Yak Kharka, depending upon the time of our arrival and the availability of clean water we camp before the pass on the nice grassy field.

Day 14: Trek to Muktinath 3,710m. 4 – 5 hrs.
From here onwards to the main trekking trails coming from the other region of northern Annapurna via Thorang-la or from Kagbeni onwards, the walk from the camp leads to a slow climb for less than an hour towards the pass at 3,970m, after the pass the trail leads downhill all the way to Muktinath on the wider path with panoramic views North Face of Mt. Dhaulagiri Mt. Nilgiri and Tukuche walking near to Muktinath after 2-3 hours of walk, crossing the stream in the gorge with an up hill for an hour till it reaches the village of Dzong, from here the path is almost gradual all the way to Muktinath, and the walk gets much easier to the holy place of Muktinath for the overnight halt with time to visit the holy areas of Muktinath.

Day 15: Trek toJomsom 3 – 4 hrs.
From Muktinath the walk to Jomsom a pleasant journey getting below the high altitude, the trek follows to a descend reaching the Kaligandaki River Valley through old village of Jharkot, after an hour of good trekking reaching at Ekalebhatti, from here onwards gets very windy in the afternoon time, the trail leads to a gentle walk for two hours till Jomsom is reached for the overnight stop.

Day 16:Fly to Kathmandu viaPokhara.
The flight time to Pokhara at morning time, sometimes the flight time can be delayed due to bad weather and other reason, depending upon the flight time this short scenic flight takes about 22 minutes to Pokhara, a panoramic view of the snow capped peaks can be seen from the plane.

From Pokhara another half hour flight reaches you to Kathmandu, arriving at Kathmandu domestic terminal, Great Adventure staff will meet and with complimentary transport you back to the Hotel.

Day 17: InKathmandu free day.
A free day in Kathmandu, please inform GA staff if you would like to go on another short tour in and around Kathmandu Valley.

Day 18: Transfer to airport forInternational departure.
Today as per your international flight time, Great Adventure Treks & Expeditions staff will pick you up for transfer to the airport for your final departure from High Himalayan country, Nepal.

  • Pick up from airport and transfer to hotel
  • Accommodation in kathmandu  as your Budget.
  • Accomodation in pokhara as your Budget.
  • Kathmandu valley sight seeing and prepare for trek
  • An  professional Sherpa Guide with Government License
  • Sherpa porter who will carry your baggage (2 person 1 sherpa porter)
  • Food in Trekking (Breakfast, Lunch , Dinner)
  • All Accommodation during Trekking(Tea House/ Camping)
  • Necessary Trekking permits
  • TIMS (Trekkers Information Management system card)
  • Necessary Equipment (sleeping bag and Down Jacket)
  • All programme as per Itinerary
  • Necessary flight Ticket/ Land Transport(Domestic only)
  • Food , salary  Transport, clothing for Guide and Porter
  • Insurance for Guide and Porter
  • Rescue  Help
  • Restricted Area Permit
  • Lunch and dinner in kathmandu and Pokhara
  • Any kinds of Drinks (soft and Hard Drinks)
  • Visa, international flight ticket
  • Personal Nature expenses
  • Tips for Staffs
  • Rescue and Evacuation cost

Outline Itinerary

Day 01: Reach Kathmandu and transfer to Hotel.
Day 02: In Kathmandu with half day sightseeing Tour.
Day 03: Fly or drive to Pokhara and transfer to respective Hotels.
Day 04: Fly to Jomsom 2,713m. and trek to Kagbeni 2,810m. 4 hrs walks.
Day 05: Trek to Chussang 2,920m. 6 hrs walk.
Day 06: Trek to Samar 3,290m. 6 hrs walk.
Day 07: Trek to Ghiling 3,600m. 6 hrs walk.
Day 08: Trek to Tsarang 3,520m. 5 – 6 hrs walk.
Day 09: Trek to Lo-Manthang 3,780m. 4 – 5 hrs walk.
Day 10: Rest day for local hike of Lo-Manthang.
Day 11: Trek to Ghami 3,440m. 6 hrs.
Day 12: Trek back to Samar 4 – 5 hrs.
Day 13: Trek to Yak Kharka 3,845m. 5 – 6 hrs.
Day 14: Trek to Muktinath 3,710m. 4 – 5 hrs walk.
Day 15: Trek to Jomsom 3 – 4 hrs.
Day 16: Fly to Kathmandu via Pokhara.
Day 17: In Kathmandu.
Day18: Transfer to airport for International departure.

Detail Itinerary

Day 01: Reach Kathmandu 1,300m. via respective airlines.
On arrival at Kathmandu Tribhuvan International Airport our GA staff will receive will transfer you to respective Hotels, in the Hotel our guide will brief of the Hotel, Kathmandu, Trekking / Camping, do’s and don’t and other related information that you might require while in Nepal with Great Adventure Treks & Expeditions..

Day 02: InKathmanduwith half day tour.
After first night in Kathmandu, you will be well informed on arrival about the time for your half day guided sightseeing tour in Kathmandu at places of interest.

Day 03: Fly or drive to Pokhara and transfer to Hotel.
This wonderful trip begins with an interesting drive or a scenic short flight of 30 minutes to Pokhara a picturesque spot with views of high Annapurna and Manaslu Mountain including the majestic peak of Mt. Machhapuchare in the north, with time to visit the serene lake Phewa (Fewa) close to the Hotel.

Day 04:Fly toJomsom 2,713m. trek toKagbeni2,810m 3 – 4 hrs walks.
From Jomsom, the trail leads on the Kali-Gandaki plains, the walk is pleasant with few ups and down to the place of Ekali Bhatti where there ares 5-6 Lodges. From here the trail path diverts two ways the higher up leads to Muktinath, the other one leads to upper Mustang and Tibet via Kagbeni.

Our trail leads past Eklai-bhatti towards North West, the walking gets much easier on the gradual winding route following the Kali-Gandaki River bed towards the windswept village of Kagbeni for the overnight stop.

Day 05:Trek toChussang 2,920m. 6 hrs walks.
On leaving Kagbeni village, the path leads uphill for an hour above the Kali-Gandaki River for a while, the path heads to barren country all the way with few rest stops, passing through few small villages as the walk progress coming to the village Tangbe, then an hour of good walk reaches to the overnight stop at Chusang line up with few trees amidst the red earth surrounding. Chusang lies at the confluence of the Narsang stream and the Kali Gandaki River.

Day 06:Trek toSamar3,290m. 6 hrs walks.
From here trek leads first to Chele village after crossing the stream through the broken canyons and ruin walls of the surrounding cliffs, across the river from Chusang are some interesting eroded red cliffs above the mouths of inaccessible caves, crossing the small bridge an uphill walk for an hour to Chele village, after Chele village the walk gets steeper for an hour up to the ridge at 3,130m, from here a good view of Gyagar across a huge canyon. The trek continues with a slow climb on the windswept landscapes till the pass is reached at 3,540m. From here a gradual downhill walk leads you to Samar for the overnight stop.

Day 07:Trek toGhiling 3,600m. 6 hrs walk.
The walk today leads to a short climb above Samar village to a ridge, with a downhill to a gorge past a chorten painted red, black, yellow and white-all the colours are made from local rocks of the Sakya pa sect of Buddhism.

The journey continues to another valley, on crossing the stream the walk follows uphill path to a ridge at 3,800m, the trail climbs over to another pass, from here the route descends to Shyangmochen, a small settlement with few tea shops at 3,710m. After a break here, trek continues to a gentle climb to a pass at 3,770m reaching a huge valley, from here downhill path towards overnight stop at Geling with its large fields of barley on the outskirt of the village.

Day 08: Trek toTsarang 3,520m. 6 hrs walk.
From Geling, the walk climbs through the fields to the centre of the valley,  below the Tama Gaun village, the walk continues a long climb across the head of the valley to the Nyi la pass at 3,950m, the highest point of this trip.

From here a gradual downhill walk for an hour brings to Tsarang one of the main village of Lo region, an interesting village with a maze of fields, willow trees and a huge white Dzong (Fort), a red monastery perched on the edge of the Kali Gandaki gorge. Tsarang Village has its own electricity system.

Day 09: Trek to Lo Manthang 3,780m. capital of Mustang 4 – 5 hrs walk.
Today’s walk heads at Lo Manthang, beginning with a short descend crossing the Charangchu River with a steep climb on a ridge, then passing through the Tholung valley. Trail diverts north with gentle climb to a large chorten, which marks the boundary between Tsarang and Lo, the climb follows to the stream, reaching a great wide windswept landscape, finally coming to a ridge at 3,850m, a great view of the walled large village of Lo Mananthang, a short descent brings to the stream that outlines the walled village, form here a short climb leads to the southern wall of Lo Manthang village. The only entrance to the village is from the northeast corner, so one has to circle the wall to the main entrance gate sometimes.

Day 10:Rest day for local hike of Lo Manthang.
This large village contains near 150 houses and a number of residents for the Lamas and Monks, the houses are closely lined, the palace and monasteries are in the bottom portion in vertical part of the L shaped houses.

The school, health post, police post and several important chortens are located outside the walls to the north of the gate and east of the monastic part of the main village; this village is prosperous and maintains a strong sense of community, the people here are known as Lobas, people from Lo, they are very much Tibetan and practice. The Mustang Raja’s palace stands an imposing four storey building in the centre of the city. It is the home of the present Raja, Jigme Parbal Bista, and the Rani (queen), who is from the noble family of Shigatse, Tibet.

Day 11:Trek toGhami3,440m. 6 hrs.
Today’s walks is a descend with few short climb all the way to Ghami, once outside the walled Lo Manthang village-town the path leads to a steady climb to the pass offering the last view of Lo Manthang, the walk from here is on the downhill path all the way to Ghami village. Ghami is another important village of this region.

Day 12: Trek toSamar 4 – 5 hrs.
Trek follows the straight route to Nyi La, with a climb to the ridge and then up hill and meeting the trail from Tsarang. From the top ridge a steep descend all the way to Geling Valley. The trail continues passing Geling to a a gentle downhill path to a small settlement of Tama Gung. Then the trail leads to a stream; the trek climbs to a large painted chorten, from here it is straightforward route to the overnight stop at Samar.

Day 13: Trek to Yak Kharka 3,845m. 5 – 6 hrs.
From here route diverts to the less visited area by the trekkers, the first section of walk heads down hill for three hours passing Chele village and reaching to the Mustang Khola, here onwards leads to an uphill for another two hours to the isolated village of Chhomang at 2,940m.  After this village  walk climbs further up to the ridge, on leaving the village way down below  it is on the gradual uphill trail, then reaching at the overnight stop near the pass at Yak Kharka, depending upon the time of our arrival and the availability of clean water we camp before the pass on the nice grassy field.

Day 14: Trek to Muktinath 3,710m. 4 – 5 hrs.
From here onwards to the main trekking trails coming from the other region of northern Annapurna via Thorang-la or from Kagbeni onwards, the walk from the camp leads to a slow climb for less than an hour towards the pass at 3,970m, after the pass the trail leads downhill all the way to Muktinath on the wider path with panoramic views North Face of Mt. Dhaulagiri Mt. Nilgiri and Tukuche walking near to Muktinath after 2-3 hours of walk, crossing the stream in the gorge with an up hill for an hour till it reaches the village of Dzong, from here the path is almost gradual all the way to Muktinath, and the walk gets much easier to the holy place of Muktinath for the overnight halt with time to visit the holy areas of Muktinath.

Day 15: Trek toJomsom 3 – 4 hrs.
From Muktinath the walk to Jomsom a pleasant journey getting below the high altitude, the trek follows to a descend reaching the Kaligandaki River Valley through old village of Jharkot, after an hour of good trekking reaching at Ekalebhatti, from here onwards gets very windy in the afternoon time, the trail leads to a gentle walk for two hours till Jomsom is reached for the overnight stop.

Day 16:Fly to Kathmandu viaPokhara.
The flight time to Pokhara at morning time, sometimes the flight time can be delayed due to bad weather and other reason, depending upon the flight time this short scenic flight takes about 22 minutes to Pokhara, a panoramic view of the snow capped peaks can be seen from the plane.

From Pokhara another half hour flight reaches you to Kathmandu, arriving at Kathmandu domestic terminal, Great Adventure staff will meet and with complimentary transport you back to the Hotel.

Day 17: InKathmandu free day.
A free day in Kathmandu, please inform GA staff if you would like to go on another short tour in and around Kathmandu Valley.

Day 18: Transfer to airport forInternational departure.
Today as per your international flight time, Great Adventure Treks & Expeditions staff will pick you up for transfer to the airport for your final departure from High Himalayan country, Nepal.

Cost Include

  • Pick up from airport and transfer to hotel
  • Accommodation in kathmandu  as your Budget.
  • Accomodation in pokhara as your Budget.
  • Kathmandu valley sight seeing and prepare for trek
  • An  professional Sherpa Guide with Government License
  • Sherpa porter who will carry your baggage (2 person 1 sherpa porter)
  • Food in Trekking (Breakfast, Lunch , Dinner)
  • All Accommodation during Trekking(Tea House/ Camping)
  • Necessary Trekking permits
  • TIMS (Trekkers Information Management system card)
  • Necessary Equipment (sleeping bag and Down Jacket)
  • All programme as per Itinerary
  • Necessary flight Ticket/ Land Transport(Domestic only)
  • Food , salary  Transport, clothing for Guide and Porter
  • Insurance for Guide and Porter
  • Rescue  Help
  • Restricted Area Permit

Cost Exclude

  • Lunch and dinner in kathmandu and Pokhara
  • Any kinds of Drinks (soft and Hard Drinks)
  • Visa, international flight ticket
  • Personal Nature expenses
  • Tips for Staffs
  • Rescue and Evacuation cost
Enquiry

Trip Facts

  • Moderate / Adventurous
  • Camping
  • Private vehicle & flight
  • Yes
  • April - May - September - October
  • Thakali, Mustang tribes of Bon & Buddhist religions

Gallery

  • Upper Mustang Trekking

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