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Mustang, a land where the soul of man is still considered to be as real as the feet he walks on: a land said to be "barren as a dead deer" but where beauty and happiness abound in spite of hardship, was a part of the Tibetan Kingdom of Gungthang until 1830’s. The wall city of Lo Monthang, unofficial capital of Mustang still remains a kingdom within a kingdom. The early history to Lo Monthang is embellished in myth and legend rather than the recorded fact. Mustang has maintained its status as a separate principality until 1951. The king of Lo Monthang still retains his title and he has been given the honorary rank of Colonel in the Nepal army.

Lying beyond the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri massif in central Nepal is the hidden Kingdom of Mustan, an intriguing parched region, forming part of the Tibetan plateau. Untouched by the outside world . , 16th century monasteries remain active, adorned

with unrivalled frescoes, thankas and status of gigantic deities, preserving ancient traditions. Mustang is the land of Barley field’s pastures for grazing herds. These upper reaches of the Kali Gandaki river which has tantalized a generation of trekkers - have recently been opened in 1992. Mustang being a restricted area, there are certain formalities required by the government of Nepal in obtaining a special permit. The journey to Mustang begins with a flight to Jomsom via Pokhara. Two days walking from Jomsom we cross the traditional boundary into the wild lunar landscape of Mustang. Our itinerary allows plenty of time to explore the main town of Lo Manthang, the impressive walled capital. Mustang trek is scheduled during the summer months when the people are most active in the fields, villages and monasteries. The trek ends at Jomsom and from here we fly back to Kathmandu via Pokhara

Detail Itinerary for Upper Mustang Trekking

Day 1      Arrival in Kathmandu airport (1345 meters). There you will be met by our Airport Representative and transferred to hotel by private tourist vehicle. Overnight at hotel.

Day 2     Sightseeing around Kathmandu valley. Your sightseeing trip will start at 9AM in the morning after breakfast. We will provide a private vehicle and professional tour guide. We visit Pasupatinath temple, Buddhanath, Monkey temple, Bhaktpur durbar square and Kathmandu durbar square. The afternoon includes a final briefing and preparations for the trek. Overnight at hotel.

Day 3     Drive to Pokhara (900 meters) 7 hours by tourist bus. Trekking staff will come to your Hotel early in the morning at 6:30AM to pick you up and then the bus leaves around 7:30AM to Pokhara. Overnight at hotel.

Day 4     Morning flight to Jomsom and trek to Kagbeni (2800 meters). Early morning we are flying Northwest from Pokhara toward the great portal between the snow covered peaks of Annapurna and Daulagiri. You will enjoy the well-raised massifs of more than 8000 meters, and the deepest gorge on this planet. On arrival to Jomsom you will meet the rest of the trekking staff, there will be a guide with you from Kathmandu, and start the trek to Kagbeni, the main gate to Upper Mustang. Overnight at Tented Camp

Day 5     Trek to Chaile (3050 meters). The trail leads up towards the east bank of the Kaligandaki climbing over many ridges as it heads north and reaches Tangbe village. The town is a labyrinth of narrow alleys amongst white washed houses, fields of buckwheat, barley, wheat and apple orchards. The Nilgiri peak, dominates the southern skyline of Kagbeni, will be enjoyed all the way by different shapes. Beyond Tangbe we reach Chhusang village in about 1/2 hrs trek and crosses the river and continues north climbing up to a huge red chunk of conglomerate that has fallen from the cliff above, forming a tunnel which the Kaligandaki follows. The trek now leaves the Kali Gandaki valley and climbs steeply up a rocky gully to Chaile. From here the culture changes from the Manangi culture to the Tibetan culture of Lo. Overnight at tented camp.

Day 6     Trek to Geling (3500 meters). The climb continues along steep, treeless, waterless terrain, along the side of the spectacular steep canyon to a pass and cairn of rock. Then the trail makes a long gradual descent to some chortens on a ridge, and then descends further on a pleasant trail to Samar village. We climb above Samar to a ridge, then descend into a large gorge which the trail goes into another valley field, crosses a stream and climbs up to a ridge at 3800 meters. The route climbs over yet another pass, follows a ridge and then descends to Shyangmochen. From there we gently climb to a pass at 3770 meters and descend to Geling Village. Overnight at tented camp.

Day 7     Trek to Charang (3620 meters). From Geling village the trail climbs gently up to an interesting pass Nyi La and descends below the blue, gray and red cliffs. After crossing a steel bridge of the Tangmar Chu (river) you will arrive to a Mani Wall perhaps the longest and most spectacular MANI wall in Nepal. Climbing over another pass at 3600meters, the route makes a long gentle descent to Charang village. The huge five-story white Dzong and red Gompa are the main attractions to visit to observe collections of statues and Thankas as well as many large paintings of seated Buddha’s. Overnight at tented camp.

Day 8     Trek to Lo Manthang (3840 meters). This is an opportunity to visit two other villages on your trek. The trail climbs steadily until Lo-Gekar. Lo-Gekar Gompa is older than Samye Gompa in Tibet and one of the oldest Gompa of Nepal. After visiting Lo-Gekar continue trek to Lomanthang. The trail until Lo-Manthang is fine with some minor climbing. Finally from a ridge there is a view of the walled city of LO. After a short descent, cross a stream then climb up into the plateau of Lo-Manthang. Overnight at tented camp.

Day 9     Visit Namgyal Gompa and Tingkhar. It takes around 2 hours to Namgyal Gompa. Namgyal Gompa situates on a hilltop, which serves as an important monastery of the local community and also as a local court. After visiting Namgyal Gompa continue the tour to Tingkhar, which is a village of around 40 houses, the last main village to the northwest of Lomanthang. After visiting Namgyal Gompa and Tingkhar return to Lomanthang. Overnight at tented camp.

Day 10   Trek to Dhi (3410 meters). From Lo-Manthang the trail walks straight till Dhi pass 4100meters and descends down to Dhi village. 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 of whole Lo-mathang and it seems more prosperous and it is settled in a very suitable place. Overnight at tented camp.

Day 11   Trek to Tange (3370 meters). From Dhi the trail goes through the river for around 2 hours and crosses a river from Damodar Kunda, one of the sacred lakes, there is no bridge on the river so we need to walk across in bare feet to cross this river. After crossing the river the trail climbs up till high above a pass of 3850 meters. The trail goes through a grassless, treeless bare hill. After the pass the trail again drops directly to Tangbe village at an elevation of 3370m.Tangbe is a small village of around 30 houses but most of the houses are attached each other. On the rooftops one can see piles of dry woods, which also reflect the prosperity in their society. Overnight at tented camp.

Day 12   Trek to Tetang/Chusang (3022 meters). The trail walks through a steep ridge of hills providing some fine views of wind carved hills. Tetang village is formed between 2 hills; they should have found it a safe place to avoid the b wind that hits the entire Kaligandaki valley. Tetang is the upper village of the Chuksang, which we visit on the first day entering to Mustang from Kagbeni. Overnight at tented camp.

Day 13   Trek to Jomsom (2713 meters). This is the last day of the trek. The trail goes through the village of Jharkot where one can visit the Jharkot monastery, Tibetan herbal medical center and the old fortress of Jharkot, once served as palace. Continuing the trek towards Jomsom one will enjoy the view of the Kaligandaki valley and Kagbeni village the entry point to Mustang. We get a round trip of our trek in Ekle Bhatti visiting all the surprises of the human effort in this corner of the World of such an isolation and solitude. Arrive to Jomsom, celebrate the last day of the trek will in Jomsom with all the trekking staff. Overnight at tented camp.

Day 14   Morning flight to Pokhara. Today 30 minute morning flight takes us to Pokhara from Jomsom. Once we arrived at Pokhara airport, we then drive to hotel. In the afternoon we will have sightseeing tour around Pokhara valley, which covers Fewa Lake, Devi’s water fall, Museum, Tibetan refugee settlement and Gupteshower cave. Overnight at hotel.
Day 15   Leisure day and Sight in around Pokhara. It’s also spare day in case of bad weather in Jomsom. Overnight at hotel.

Day 16   Drive back to Kathmandu (1345 meters). Overnight back at the hotel in Kathmandu. If you are interested in continuing on to the Chitwan Jungle Safari, River Rafting Adventure or any other tours you can start today.

Day 17   Transfer to international airport for your final departure. The trip ends, our Airport Representative will drop you to the Kathmandu International Airport for your final flight departure from Nepal.

Upper Mustang Trekking

Upper Mustang Trekking

Altitude Sickness

Clothing

   1. Down- or fibre-filled jacket for cold seasons (winter treks)
   2. Pile jacket or jumper (sweater)
   3. Hiking shorts (for men) or skirt
   4. Waterproof jacket, poncho or umbrella
   5. Hiking pants
   6. T-shirts or blouses
   7. Underwear
   8. Sun hat
   9. Swimwear (optional)
  10. Footwear
  11. Trekking or running shoes
  12. Camp shoes or thongs
  13. Socks (polypropylene)

Other equipment

   1. Backpack or daypack
   2. Sleeping bag (optional)
   3. Maps, compass & guidebook (optional)
   4. Water bottle
   5. Torch (flashlight) and batteries

Miscellaneous items

   1. Toiletries
   2. Towel
   3. Laundry soap
   4. Toilet paper & cigarette lighter
   5. Pre-moistened towelettes
   6. Sunscreen (SPF 15+)
   7. Small knife
   8. Sewing kit
   9. Iodine, water purification tablets or filter
  10. Medical & first-aid kit *
  11. Duffel bag (if you have a porter)
  12. For treks with longer stay above 4000m
  13. Clothing
  14. Insulated pants
  15. Nylon windbreaker
  16. Nylon wind pants
  17. Long underwear
  18. Woolen hat (or balaclava)
  19. Gloves
  20. Gaiters
  21. Footwear
  22. Mountain trekking boots
  23. Socks (wool) to wear with boots
  24. Socks (light cotton) to wear under wool socks
  25. Down booties (optional)

Miscellaneous items

   1. Goggles or sunglasses
   2. Sunscreen for lips
   3. Optional equipment
   4. Photographic Gear
   5. Camera & lenses
   6. Lens cleaning equipment
   7. Film (about 20 rolls)
   8. Navigation Aids
   9. GPS unit
  10. Altimeter
  11. Thermometer

Miscellaneous items

   1. Binoculars
   2. Books/magazines
   3. Small duffel bag or suitcase (to leave behind in Kathmandu)
   4. Padlock
   5. Stuff sacks & plastic bags

Departure Date for Upper Mustang Trekking

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