Upper Mustang-Lo Mangthang

Welcome receive from international airport with garland. Transfer, check-in to the hotel, program briefing in the evening.

After Breakfast, start Kathmandu valley sightseeing including; Shiri-Pashupatinath temple, Budhanilkantha, Boudhanath Stupa. Afternoon, visit Bhaktapur Durbar Square (15km from the Kathmandu). Evening free for self-exploring. Overnight stay at hotel.

After breakfast depart Pokhara by road journey. Check in to the hotel with welcome drink. Dinner and overnight stay at hotel.

After early breakfast, transfer to Pokhara domestic airport. Take a flight (20minutes) to Jomsom with eye-catching views of Annapurna, Manaslu and Dhaulagiri Range. Jomsom is headquarter of Mustang district with the airstrip above the Kaligandaki river, this region famous for apples and its product, afternoon a short walk to Marpha a gem village with whitewashed houses with neatly paved street, meet the people around this villages are of Thakali tribe mostly famous for trade and hotel or restaurant owners. Overnight stay at Trekker’s Lodge.

Start trek after breakfast towards straight right on a gentle path along the Kali Gandaki River Valley for about 4 hours reaching windy Kagbeni Village; A place with Tibetian Culture and Religion also known as door for forbidden kingdom of Upper Mustang. The magnificent views of Mt. Dhaulagiri, Mt. Nilgiri can be viewed from this valley. Overnight stay at Trekker’s Lodge.

After breakfast, trek gently on the winding-up way reaching the canyon of Kaligandaki River gorge following the river upstream with fabulous landscape scenery of red cliffs on both sides. Reach Tirigaon Village, a place where you can see a nice cultivated farmland and cliff canyon of red-colored erosion. Further trek for few hours to reach Tsele (Chele) village; a large village located by Kaligandaki river. Overnight stay at Trekker’s Lodge.

Start trek after breakfast leading to Gyakar Village; a wide barren and arid terrain landscape. Further trek to Samar Village; one of the lovely place in this trek, reach to Bhena and then Yamda La top (3860 m), a small pass offering glorious views of wide valley of Mustang along with peaks of Dhaulagiri range. Overnight stay at Trekker’s Lodge.

Trek start with hard trek leaving river bed and hills behind, climb Nyi La (4010 m) offering a spectacular view of Mustang valley and snow-capped Mt. Annapurna and Mt. Nilgiri. Reach Gami village, explore village and meet friendly monks in the local Gompa. Overnight stay at Trekker’s Lodge.

After breakfast, move towards a small creek flowing on the other side of the pass with welcoming sign of vegetation, flowers and bushes. Reach to ancient village of Mustang, Lo Gekar; a place popular for monastery with a belief of dicovery of scriptures of Padmasambhava. Overnight stay at Trekker’s Lodge.

Walk today leads to the main highlight of this trip reaching the higher side of Upper Mustang at Lho Manthang. A short and half day trekking to Lho Manthang for lunch and overnight stop, this pleasant morning walk follows a gentle path to cross a steel bridge to reach at Marang village, from here the trail winds up to a ridge top, coming across chortens and mani stones in between Tsarang and Lho Manthang, offering amazing views of windswept terrain landscapes and of true Tibetan plateau country with super panorama of Nilgiri’s, Tilicho and Bhrikuti mountains, after a wonderful moment walk leads to a climb at Lo La pass 3,950 meters elevation and looking below views of Lo Manthang walled city with its fortress, and then on the downhill path reaching a stream and an hour walk reaches inside a mystical, medieval walled city of Lho Manthang here check into a lodge for overnight stop for three nights.

An exciting place for rest and free day for two day on this highest overnight stop after a wonderful journey to here, after a lazy morning with breakfast explore the important places if the king of Mustang is around worth a visit to the palace like fort, nearly all the houses are of Tibetan style with its strong influence and way of life also, visit the surrounding villages intact with this large village rather than a city. This amazing place with four major monasteries the Namgyal Gompa, Champa Lakhang (God House), Red Thubchen Gompa, Chyodi Gompa and the great Entrance Hall. Here one can hire a horse known as Tibetan pony for the ride near to Tibetan frontier for interested and eager people.

After breakfast return journey using the same route for few hours with a nice pleasant walk. The trail heads to the eastward direction making a steep descends leading to a small village of Dhi located on the bank of the Phuyung Khola. From here walk leads to cross a small wooden bridge over the Phuyung Khola and then climbing steeply to another small village of Yara where the Buddhist player flags welcomes you. Afternoon free at leisure to explore this amazing and mystical area with great views of surrounding landscapes. A few hours of walk from Yara village brings to a small settlement of Luri Gompa afternoon with time to visit and explore the Luri Gompa and caves of the Gompas.

Today just a short walk to Luri Gompa area, with lazy and leisure morning few hours of walk from Yara village brings to a small settlement of Luri Gompa afternoon with time to visit and explore the Luri Gompa and caves. It is some of the last cave monasteries in Lo and Tibet. There is no written record exists and construction of Luri Gompa, this monastery with other are closely affiliated with Kagyu sect (one of the sect of Buddhism). The style of painting suggests they were done by Nepalese (Newari) artists working for Tibetan patrons. The cave temple dates from the 13th – 14th century, the central chamber of the Gompa is carved out of the rock creating a domed ceiling on which are painted a series of Mahasiddha, Sakyamuni Buddha and Chenrezig figures etc, which are the true masterpieces. Lining the walls are series of 14th century paintings, which depict India Mahasiddahs. Some are real individual and other mythical.

After an interesting time at Luri and visit to its monastery, morning walk starts on the path leading through grassless and treeless just bare red hill, after crossing a small pass the trail drops directly to Tange village at an height of 3,370m. Tange , 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 also reflect the prosperity and status in the society.

Walking on barren wilderness of red earth landscapes in complete ambiance the path is gentle for few hours with views of distant snow capped peaks and the heading downhill to Tsusang village for overnight stop.

From Tsusang there are two routes leading to holy Muktinath one by normal Kagbeni and the other way by the upper path, as our route leads much shorter than the other on the uphill path for sometimes, walking for few hours on the high trail, and then the trail winds on the gradual with much wider trail to Muktinath for overnight stop, afternoon visit the holy Muktinath temple and its premises.

This sunny, magical valley Muktinath, one of the most sacred of pilgrimage places in all of Nepal and India, here, the natural elements are displayed in miraculous form-flickering blue flames of natural methane gas burn on water, stone and earth in an offering said to have been first lighted by Brahma, the Hindu creator, this natural wonder have awed man from the beginning, for Muktinath sanctity goes back into antiquity of 2,300 years ago. Both Hindu and Buddhist come on the pilgrimage to this sight of natural power. Along the way in the Kaligandaki Valley, the pilgrims search for the black glossy fossils called shaligram (ammonite), those are found in abundance here.

On the outside they look like small rounded rocks but split open they reveal the imprint of ammonites formed 140 million years ago. Because of its wheel-like shape the shaligram is associated with the Hindu god Vishnu.

From Muktinath walk comes to an end of this wonderful trip, today’s walk is quite short for 3-4 hours so enjoy the final day walk to Jomsom town which leads to a gentle downhill and then following several villages, after few brief stop along the way leads to the valley floor and to Jomsom and the end of the long walk of this amazing trips, at Jomsom in the comfort of nice and good lodges and enjoy the party with fellow members and staffs with apple products of Mustang area, as Jomsom, Kagbeni to Marpha famous for apples and its products.

Morning transfer to Jomsom airport for the normal schedule flight to Pokhara on reaching after a short sweeping ride with awesome views of the mountains, at Pokhara for transit to another plane for half hour flight back to Kathmandu, on reaching Kathmandu airport transfer to respective hotels in the hustle bustle of city life.

Last day in the Himalaya and amazing Nepal, as per the international flight transfer to Kathmandu Tribhuvan International airport for the flight homeward bound to respective countries, after a most memorable time and experience in the high Himalaya of Nepal and the service of expert, friendly guides, staff and porters.