Upper Mustang- The Forbidden Kingdom

Upon your arrival at the Tribhuwan International airport a representative from Naata Trek and Tours will be waiting for you at the airport displaying a playcard imprinted with your name. He/she will then transfer you to the designated hotel. In the evening we can enjoy a welcome dinner hosted by Naata Trek and Tours. During the dinner we can enjoy Nepalese cuisine which will introduce us to the country’s food culture.

We will have a pre trip meeting after breakfast where you will be introduced to your Guide. During the meeting you can assure yourself with any queries regarding the trip.
We visit Boudhanath Stupa, one of the biggest Buddhist shrines in the world, where we observe Buddhist monks praying in the monasteries surrounding the stupa. After Boudhanath Stupa we visit Pashupatinath Temple, the most famous Hindu temple in the country, located on the banks of the holy Bagmati River. Here we see Hindu holy men (sadhus) meditating, pilgrims bathing and occasionally funeral pyres burning on the ghats. We will also visit Bhaktapur Durbar Square, which is a collection of pagoda and shikhara–style temples grouped around a fifty-five window palace of brick and wood. The attraction of the Bhaktapur Durbar Square is the Lion gate, the Golden gate, the Palace of Fifty-Five Windows, art galleries, the Statue of King Bhupatindra Malla.

We have breakfast then leave for Pokhara, a major tourist hub in Nepal owing to the popular Phewa Lake and the mountains in the distance. Upon our arrival in Pokhara we will be transferred to our hotel and we can freshen up enjoying the views of Dhaulagiri (8,167m), Manaslu (8,156m) and Machhapuchre (6,993m) and many more. We can also boat on this holy lake and in the evening we can stroll around the lakeside and enjoy the sunset.

Today we will take an early morning domestic flight to Jomsom, a famous place for its apples, strong winds and not to mention the landscapes whilst enjoying the views of the grand mountains and the deepest gorge on earth.
We start our trek walking along the rims of the Jomsom valley and reach Eaklibatti, a village located between the banks of two rivers. We stay the night in Kagbeni.

We trek alongside the Kali Gandaki River after getting our permits checked. We walk on sand cutting through the strong winds after which we ascend on a hill. We reach Tangbe village and beautiful it is due to its narrow alleyways, white-washed houses, barley and buckwheat fields and apple orchards. Continuing our walk, we pass through another village and cross a river. We walk on a ridge and after a short while we reach Chele Village. We stay the night in Chele.

We walk on a bit difficult trail today than what it was before. We cross two passes today, namely Taklam La Pass (3,625m) and Dajori La Pass (3,735m). On our way to Taklam La Pass we can enjoy great views of Tilicho, Yakawa Kang and Damodar Danda and also pass by Ramchung Cave. Then, we descend to Samar village and walk on a trail over it to reach a ridge. We descend further on a steep trail onto a stream and finally reach the village of Syangboche. We stay the night in Syangboche.

We start the day by ascending to the yamda La pass at 3,850m and on our way we pass by a few teahouses, chortens and small villages. We then enter a Poplar forest and trek through barley fields and reach Nyi Pass (4.010m). From here, we decend to Ghami which is one of the biggest villages in the Lo region. The village is a beautiful one with field surrounding the entire village. We stay the night in Ghami.

We descend on a rough as well as slippery trail and then cross a bridge over the Ghami Khola. We start to ascend from there on and on our way we pass by beautiful mani walls which is the longest mani wall of Nepal. Next, we cross the Tsarang La Pass at 3,870m and reach Tsarang village. The village lies on top of Charang Chu canyon with a huge fortress and a red gompa sitting proudly to the east. We stay the night in Tsarang.

We start off our day descending to a canyon and cross a river after which we begin to climb uphill to Lo La pass at 3,950m. We can applaud the beautiful Lo Manthang village from the top of the pass. From the pass we descend to the beautiful walled village of Lo Manthang. The views of Mount Nilgiri, Tilicho and Annpurna I, Bhrikuti Peak and Damodar Kunda from Lo is quite pleasing to the eye. We stay the night in Lo-Manthang.

We utilize the day off to take a tour of the villages nearby and not walking further uphill today helps us to acclimatize. Lo Manthang is beautiful walled town on the remote Upper Mustang region of Nepal. We take a tour of the three major gompas of the towns in Jhampa, Thupchen and Chhoeda. These gompas are probably the oldest gompas in Nepal and thus have gone through major restorations. We can also trek to Tingkhar, beautiful village located on the north-west region of Lo-Manthang. We stay the night in Lo-Manthang.

We take on a different trail when returning from Lo-Manthang. Our trail first passes through Gyakar village which houses a century old Ghar Gompa complimented by beautiful rock paintings. According to a local legend, anyone who makes a noble wish at the Gompa will have it fulfilled. After exploring the Gompa we continue our trek to Drakmar where we stay the night.

We start early today in order to avoid the strong wind that run through the trail today. Our trail passes through fields and a dry before reaching Ghiling. The strong winds that work against us can make the walk comparatively taxing. The village of Ghiling on the whole is dry but still we get good views of Dhaulagiri and Nilgiri mountains. We can also take a tour of the village in the evening. We stay the night in Ghiling.

We have breakfast and continue the same trail as the one that goes up to Lo Manthang. On the way back we are accompanied by views of the Himalayas and the warmth of the small villages. We stay the night in Chhuksang.

Today is the last day we trek and it a relatively long one too. After walking for a short while the trail of Mustang ends and we join the trail of the Annapurna Circuit. We stop for lunch at kagbeni and continue our trek to Jomsom. We stay the night in Jomsom.

We catch an early morning domestic flight to Pokhara. The flight itself is a rewarding one as the airplane passes through a gorge between Annapurna and Dhaulagiri mountains. We arrive in Pokhara and have the rest of the day to ourselves. We stay the night in Pokhara.

We have breakfast and start the drive back to Kathmandu. The windy roads along the river banks and rolling hills will no doubt leave you wanting for more. After we reach Kathmandu, we have time to do some souvenir shopping.
In the evening Naata Trek and Tours will organize a THANK YOU farewell dinner program and we will no doubt have a good time talking about our journey together.

Our trip comes to an end today. A representative from Naata Trek and Tours will escort you to the international airport to bid you goodbye.