The Kingdom of Mustang was a forbidden land till recently when it was finally opened for trekking. Famous for being an important salt trading post in the Trans Himalayan belt, the Upper Mustang receives a limited number of trekkers every year. Lo Manthang (Mustang), located north of the main Himalayan chain bordering Tibet, is a stretch of dry and arid land with villages between the altitudes of 3,300m and 4,000m and passes not lower than 4600m. This is a route where you are likely to come across some very important historical sites. Just recently, an 800 year old cave and religious carvings have been discovered en route!
Highlights
Overnight Hotel. Included meals: breakfast. Alt: 820m/2,690ft.
We will leave Kathmandu in the morning and go to Pokhara by tourist bus. The night will be spent in a hotel right by the Fewa Lake.
Overnight Hotel.Alt: 2,720m to 2,810m/9,217ft. 9 hours.
Taking a morning drive from Pokhara, all the way to Kagbeni passing through Tatopani and Marpha. We follow along the Kali Gandaki River and reach Kagbeni by late afternoon. There are a couple of lodges and shops along with few small monasteries that are worth a visit. We will register at the checkpoint in Kagbeni before entering the Upper Mustang region. Disposing of plastic bottles and other packaging by the way side is not allowed inside the Upper Mustang region and should be carried back.
Overnight Hotel. Included meals breakfast lunch and dinner.
Alt. 3,050m/10,004ft. Trek 5 hours
Starting our first full day of trekking, we leave Kagbeni early in the morning. In case of clear weather we will be able to see some of Nepal’s most stunning peaks from quite close, such as Niligiri (8,652m) and Dhaulagiri (8,167m). After around 3 hours, we stop in Chhusang for lunch. The population consists mostly of a local ethnic group of Tibetan ethnic descent. Their language is quite similar to other Tibeto-Burman languages like Tamang.
After lunch we continue walking along the Kali Gandaki River towards Chele – today’s destination. It is a small village with a couple of homestays. Local specialties like Tibetan bread and the salty Tibetan tea can be tasted.
Overnight Teahouse/Homestay. Included meals breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Alt. 3,570m/11,709ft. Trek 6 hours.
At first, the trail leads us uphill. After 2 to 3 hours of walking through rough sand and stone formations with very less vegetation we reach Samar, a small village with 10 to 12 houses, where we take our lunch break. The local population originally immigrated from Tibet but by now they have mixed with different Nepali ethnic groups. From Samar two trails lead to Ghiling, today’s destination. The shorter one includes a couple of extreme uphill and downhill sections, the longer one requires more time but ascents much more moderately. This way should be chosen by those interested to see a cave system not too far from Samar. Guru Rinpoche used to meditate in one of the caves and Buddhists – locals as well as pilgrims – still come to worship the huge statue in the shape of the Guru Rinpoche that can be found inside the caves. At least one monk is always there to keep watch. One is welcome to make a small donation of NRs. 100, which is used for maintaining and in return you will get to light a candle, and enjoy some Tibetan tea. As the trail continues we reach Syangboche, a small village with a couple of homestays and lodges that invites to take another break and maybe visit the two local monasteries.
One the other hand the short way offers a beautiful scenery with stunning views of some of the highest peaks, including Niligiri and Dolpo. Ghiling is reached in the afternoon. It is quite a big village with two monasteries and a couple of stupas that can be visited. The night is spent in a homestay-like lodge.
Overnight Teahouse/Homestay. Included meals breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Alt. 3560/11676ft. Trek 6 hours.
Overnight Teahouse/Homestay. Included meals breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Alt. 3,809m/12,493ft Trek 5 hours.
Today’s trek is quite moderate having only a couple of slight uphill sections. The trail leads us through some unique landscapes with fascinating rock formations and reliefs which seem to change their colour according to daylight and weather conditions. There are no villages on the way, only a 200 to 400 year old stupas, so packed lunch is required. After approximately 6 hours, we reach Lo Manthang, the capital of the Kingdom of Upper Mustang. After taking a short rest, one can walk around and visit the three monasteries inside the palace premises. Being the biggest settlement of Upper Mustang, Lo Manthang has a couple of grocery and tea shops and 5 to 6 proper guest houses.
Overnight Teahouse/Homestay. Included meals breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Alt. 3,809m/12,493ft.
We will spend the next two days in Lo Manthang, having enough time to explore city and surroundings. Most probably we start the day visiting a monastery about 2.5 hours from Lo Manthang by walking. One can also go by horse which takes only around one hour. The monastery is connected to a cave system and another couple of monasteries which were built during Nepal-Tibet War. The invading Tibetans had closed the water, so people hiding in the caves would die from thirst. However, the locals used a trick to free themselves from this hopeless situation by applying oil on hair and skin. From the distance it looked like water. The Tibetan troops got confused – how did they still get water even though all the water lines were blocked? So they stopped the blocking, as it was apparently not effective at all and the locals survived. Visitors nowadays have to pay NRs. 200 at the entry of each monastery. Apart from the fascinating cave system one has a superb view of the surroundings.
After getting back to Lo Manthang in the afternoon, one can visit the 400-years-old royal palace and even meet the current king of Mustang, but on appointment basis though. He will answer all kinds of questions related to Mustang’s rich culture and history.
Overnight Teahouse/Homestay. Included meals breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Alt. 3,809m/12,493ft.
The first half of the day can be spent doing a horse ride to an ice lake 2 hours from Lo Manthang. Stunning mountain views as well as interesting rock formations and sceneries make this a worthy trip. After getting back to Lo Manthang most people prefer to simply relax and gain some new energy for the remaining days. In the afternoon one can go on a walk to a small river surrounded not far from he city surrounded by salt mines. Locals can be watched mining the salt.
Overnight Teahouse/Homestay. Included meals breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Alt. 3820m/12529ft. Trek 6 hours.
Having gained new energy after two days of rest in Lo Manthang we should feel quite easy on today’s route. We return on a different route that we came by, which is a constant mix of slight uphill and downhill sequences through the stunning scenery of Mustang. After a couple of hours we reach Loghykar Gumba, a Tibetan monastery that was founded by the Guru Rinpoche around 600 years ago before he crossed the border to Tibet. It is therefore older than the still existing monasteries in Tibet. Its luscious red color is said to be the blood of the demons defeated by Guru Rinpoche. A similar story is told about the red hills around the little settlement Dakmar. They have their unique color apparently due to blood shed during fights between locals and invading Tibetans. One should take notice of the magnificent view before reaching Dakmar, where we will spend the night in one of the two homestay-like lodges.
Overnight Hotel. Included meals breakfast and lunch.
Alt. 3,660m/12,004ft. Trek 6 hours.
From Dhakmar it takes around 30mins to reach Ghami, which is on the route that we came by on our way up to Lo Manthang. We cross Ghiling where we take out lunch break to reach Samar another 2 to 3 hours later. Samar is a small settlement of 10 to 12 houses with a couple of lodges which we had already crossed on our 4th day.
Overnight Hotel. Included meals breakfast. Alt. 2,980m/9,774ft.Trek 5 hours.
We stay on the road that we had come by. The trail leads us downhill to Chele where we probably stop for lunch break. From there we continue walking along Kali Gandaki River to reach today’s destination Chhusang after a total of 5 hours.
Overnight Hotel. Included meals breakfast. Alt. 4,077m/13,373ft to 3,760m/12,332ft.Trek 6 hours.
From Chhusang we take a different route than we came by, which leads us mostly uphill towards Gya La Pass (4077m), which has to be crossed before entering the Muktinath Valley. From the pass, we can catch stunning views of some of the highest peaks of the Himalayas, including Niligiri and Dhaulagiri as well as the beautiful Muktinath Valley and the Thorung La Pass on 5416m, which is part of the Annapurna Circuit Trek. The Gyu La Pass itself is marked by a large number of prayer flags and a couple of stone shrines. From here we continue walking downhill until reaching the Muktinath River after approximately 1 hour. From here it takes another 20 mins to reach the famous site Muktinath, a sacred place for Buddhists as well as Hindus. As today’s trek takes almost 7 hours one will be quite exhausted by the time Muktinath is reached. Anyone who has still some energy left, can visit the temple complex with the famous eternal flame and 108 water taps. However, this excursion can also be postponed for the next day. The night is spent in one of the various lodges in Ranipauwa, the settlement next to Muktinath.
Overnight Hotel. Included meals breakfast and lunch.
Alt. 2,720m/8,921ft. Trek 6 hours.
If not already done, one can visit Muktinath’s famous temple in the morning. After that we walk downhill for around 2 hours, appreciating stunning views of the Muktinath Valley until we reach Kali Gandaki. We keep walking along the river until reaching Jomsom another 2 to 3 hours later. The night is spent in a lodge in Jomsom.
Included meals breakfast. Alt. 820m/2690ft.
There are several daily flights that connect Jomsom with Pokhara. After reaching Pokhara, we spend the night in a hotel in Lake Side before returning to Kathmandu the next day.
Upper Mustang lies in the rain-shadow region of the Himalayas in northwestern Nepal, bordering Tibet. It is part of the Mustang District and was once the forbidden kingdom of Lo.
The trek typically takes 12–16 days, including travel time to and from Kathmandu. The trekking portion itself is about 10–12 days, depending on your route and pace.
The trek is moderate in difficulty, with daily hikes of 5–7 hours. It involves walking on dry, rugged terrain and ascending to altitudes over 4,000 meters. A reasonable fitness level is required.
