Upper Mustang Trek (Drive & Trek) – 16 Days

Our trekking staff will pick you up from the hotel at 6:30 am and escort you to the tourist bus station. The bus to Pokhara leaves at around 7:30 am. Pokhara is a beautiful valley set on the banks of Phewa Lake.

The city is also known for its panoramic views of Annapurna and Machapuchare (the shape of a fish tail) in the north, Dhaulagiri in the west, and Lamjung Himal and Manaslu in the east. It is smaller and much less hectic than Kathmandu, hence providing the perfect starting point for our Upper Mustang Trek.

Early morning you will be flying northwest from Pokhara towards the great portal between the snow-capped peaks of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. You will enjoy the well-raised massifs of more than 8,000 m and the deepest gorge on this planet.

On arrival at Jomsom, you will meet the rest of the trekking staff. From Kathmandu, you will have a guide with you. You start to trek towards Kagbeni, the main gate to Upper Mustang and the trek will take you around 4 and half hours to reach Kagbeni.

Today we might have a long day as the itinerary includes a drive and a trek. First, we’ll take a beautiful drive from Kagbeni to Samar, which is at 3,600 m. It will take us there in approximately 2 to 3 hours.

After reaching Samar, we’ll have our lunch there. After having our lunch, we will begin our about 2 to 3 hour hike from Samar to Chungsi Cave Monastery. The Chungsi Cave Monastery is a monastery inside the cave. Similar to this, we will climb for around 30 minutes to reach Syangboche Monastery at 3,850 m after touring Chungsi Cave Monastery. In Syangboche, we’ll explore the monastery and again have our drive towards Ghami.

After having a day full of driving and a trek, we’ll stay for a night in Ghami. Along the trail, we’ll be walking and exploring the dry and desertic landscape of Mustang.

While on your trek, you have the chance to stop by two additional settlements. The climb to Lo-Gekar continues. One of the oldest gompas in Nepal is Lo-Gekar Gompa, which is older than Samye Gompa in Tibet. Inside the gompa, it is thought that “Padmasambhava” meditated.

The Ghar Gompa, which dates back to the year 1200, is a short distance away from there where they worship Guru Rinpoche as their main figure. The Gompa is renowned for its rock carvings as well.

It takes roughly three and a half to four hours to get here from Ghami. The Ghar Gompa is said to grant the wishes of everyone who makes a wish there. After an hour of Ghar Gompa exploration, the journey continues in the direction of Charang, where we will spend the night. Charang can be reached from Ghar Gompa in 2 to 3 hours.

We arrive at Lo-Manthang, our final stop, on day 6. It will take us another 2 to 3 hours to drive from Charang to Lo-Mangthang on our trip.

Every hike or journey to the Upper Mustang ends in Lo-Manthang. It is the capital of the ancient city of Upper Mustang and is located at a height of 3,810 meters above sea level. In addition, the settlement is completely surrounded by walls, earning it the name “walled city.”

Additionally, the settlement is thought to include 12 caves with old Buddhist paintings that are located at the edge of a 14,000-foot steep cliff. While exploring around the city on this day, we’ll be walking for 3 to 4 hours.

From Lo-Manthang, the trail walks straight to Dhi Pass (4,100 m) and descends to Dhi village within 5 to 6 hours of the trek. 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 in all of Lo-Manthang, and it seems more prosperous and settled in a very suitable place. We then cross a river and follow a path along the left bank of the river to Yara village at 3,650 m.

From Yara, the trek to Luri Gumba will take roughly three hours. The Nyingma Kargyupa Sect of Tibetan Buddhism is linked to Luri Gumba. One of the most well-known gompas in the area, it is perched on a 100-meter-high cliff of sharp rock.

The monastery has a distinctive building inside the cave with two chambers and natural pillars made of sandstone. We’ll hike back to Yara for the night after exploring Luri Gomba.

The trek departs from Yara and traverses a river from Damodar Kunda, one of the holy lakes, for around two hours. You must cross this river with bare feet because there is no bridge across it. Following the river crossing, the trail ascends steeply to a 3,850 m pass.

The trail winds through a hill that has no trees or grass. Following the pass, the trail descends once more swiftly to Tangye hamlet, which is located at a height of 3,340 m.

Tangye is a small village with about 30 homes, although the majority of them are connected to one another. The prosperity of their civilization is also reflected in the piles of dry wood that can be seen on the rooftops. On this day, we’ll examine the Tibetan way of life and the massive little stupas.

We will trek across the dry, desolate land of this trip as we make our way toward Tetang. We have attempted to avoid the transportation route as much as possible on this trail. Until we reach the “pa- pass,” we will be trekking along this trail without any teahouses.

Yes, by barren land, we mean that there aren’t any places to refill your water, therefore on this day, we’ll be carrying our packed lunch. We’ll arrive at the “pa-pass,” where you can finally find water to refuel, in approximately 3 to 4 hours. Finally, after crossing the Pa Pass, we will arrive at “tetang,” which is our final stop for the day.

Since there are no tea houses along our route, please be aware that we will be carrying our packed lunches with us. In order to stay hydrated in between the trails, don’t forget to pack a water bottle with 4 to 5 liters of water.

This is the last day of the trek. After crossing the picturesque Mani walls, we continue on our path through the hamlet. Following the plateau, we continue to climb till we get to a little pass, from where we can see the majestic Muktinath temple and high mountains in the distance. We proceed past the kani (gate) on the path that would take us to the Muktinath temple. We walk around the temple and take a short break.

Muktinath is a sacred Hindu and Buddhist temple located at an elevation of 3,760 m above sea level. Additionally, it is one of the highest-altitude temples in the world. Muktinath means “Liberation Arene.” It is believed by the devotees that washing yourself in the 108 watercourses of Muktinath will give you liberation.

After staying the night in Muktinath and seeing the surrounding area, we’ll board a local Jeep and head back to Jomsom. The trip there will take about an hour.

As a result, once we get to Jomsom, if the weather cooperates and we get lucky, we’ll take a flight to Pokhara; otherwise, we’ve built in an extra day to our schedule in case something goes wrong or there is a flight delay.

Therefore, we will either wait for better weather or swap to a locally accessible vehicle, such as a Mahendra Scorpio or a Bolero and drive toward Pokhara. Please be aware that your airfare cost will be repaid in this situation when the vehicle price has been appropriately adjusted.

Besides, if we arrive in Pokhara without any unfortunate circumstances, we’ll use this spare day as an exploration day in Pokhara. Additionally, we’ll also have our farewell dinner today at the end of the day.

We will be driving back to Kathmandu in the morning on the Tourist bus.

It’s the end of our exciting journey in the Mustang Region! Today we conclude our Upper Mustang Trek. One of our airport representatives will accompany you to the International Airport for your flight back home. We bid you farewell and hope you’ll travel to Nepal again.