Mustang Trek– The Forbidden Himalayan Kingdom

Once you reach KTM airport and finish with the immigration and custom formalities be
prepared to confront the confusion outside the airport which is common in most of the south
Asian countries. As you walk out of the Exit door into the passenger pick up area you will see
hundreds of people with different sign boards in their hands, taxi drivers looking for fares,
hotel touts looking for customers and porters trying to help with the luggage for tips. Please
remain calm and do not walk out of the restricted area into the crowd straight away. Remain
there and try to find the Hi On Life sign board. Once you spot it, walk straight to the signboard
and identify yourself. From here we will take care of you. When you arrive to your hotel you
will be briefed about your activities and “do’s and don’ts” while your stay in Kathmandu. When
you arrive to your hotel you will be briefed about your activities and “do’s and don’ts” while
your stay in Kathmandu. We will also collect some documents from you. Please have the
following things handy when arriving.

1. Travel/ Medical Insurance (photo copy)
2. 3 passport size photos
3. Photocopy of your passport.

In the evening we will go for a traditional Nepali dinner at Kathmandu’s finest Nepali
restaurant.

After breakfast you will be taken for a half day city tour where you will be visiting some
historical temples and monuments. You will end your sightseeing with a lunch.
After your lunch you will return to your hotel and your Group leader will give you your trek
briefing and issue you your ‘trek pack’ consisting of a duffle bag, down jacket/or fleece sweater,
sleeping bag, inner liner for your sleeping bag and rain poncho. Your afternoon is free for you
to do your packing and purchasing your last minute items for your trek.

Drive to Pokhara: 205 Kms,
Time: 6 hours

We depart from the hotel early in the morning. We drive west of Kathmandu following the winding road over the valley alongside the Trishuli River brings us to a small bustling highway junction called Muglin. Here we cross a suspension bridge and leave the East West Highway and continue on the Prithvi Highway that connects Kathmandu and Pokhara. After the suspension bridge over the confluence of Trishuli and Marshyangdi, we drive alongside the Marshyandi River towards Pokhara. On a clear day, the mighty ranges of Annapurna, Ganesh and of Manaslu are intermittently in view.

Upon arrival to Pokhara, we check in to our hotel. The rest of the afternoon is free to explore the town.

Flight: 25 mins
Trek: 3 hours

Early morning flight to Jomsom which takes about 25 min. The views of the Annapurna range and Dhaulagiri range are spectacular.
The plane actually flies through the world's deepest gorge, with Annapurna I (8091m) on the right and Dhaulagiri (8167m) on the left. We will spend some time in Jomsom allowing our porters to arrange their loads and then trek for 2 1/2 hrs to Kagbeni. The entire trail to Kagbeni is on the Kaligandaki river bed. Kagbeni is the entry point of the restricted region of Mustang.

There is a trail up the east bank of the Kaligandaki that climbs over many ridges as it heads north and reaches Tangbe village. The town is a labyrinth of narrow alleys amongst whitewashed house, fields of buckwheat, barley, wheat and apple orchards. Nilgiri peak, which dominates the southern sky line at Kagbeni, continue to loom massively at the foot of the valley. Beyond Tangbe, we reach Chhusang village and crossing the river, continue climbing north up the trail to a huge red chunk of conglomerate that has fallen from the cliff above, forming the tunnel through which the Kaligandaki valley and the climbs steely up a rocky gully to Chele at 3030m. The culture changes from the Manangi culture to the Tibetan culture of Lo.

The climbs continues along steep, treeless, waterless terrain, along the side of a spectacular steep canyon to a pass and chain of rock at 3540m. Then the trail makes a long gradual descent to some chortens on a ridge, before descending further on a pleasant trail to Samar. The Annapurna, still dominated by Nilgiri, is visible far to the south. The trail climbs above Samar to a ridge, then descend into a large gorge and the trail goes into another valley field, crosses a stream and climbs up to a ridge at 3800 Mt. The route climbs over yet another pass, follows a ridge and then descends to Shyangbochen. From there gently climb to a pass at 3770m and descend to Geling.

From Geling, the trail climbs gently to most interesting pass on your trek, Nyi La and descends beneath blue, grey and red cliffs across the valley to a bridge over the Tangmar Chu(river,) then climbs past what is perhaps the longest and most spectacular mani(prayer wall) in Nepal. Climbing over another pass at 3600m, the route makes a long gentle descent to Charang. The huge five-story white Dzong(fort) and red gompa(Buddhist temple) contains a fascinating array of statues and Thankas as well as many large paintings of seated Buddhas.

The trail descends about 100 metres from Charang, crosses the Charang-Chu, climbs steeply up a rocky trail to a cairn on a ridge and continues to climb. Finally from a ridge at 3850m, 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.

Another day in Lo Manthang gives you the chance to explore its many sights; the Tall Champa Lakhang(God house,) the red Thugchen Gompa, Chyodi Gompa and the Raja’s Palace; as well as to gaze at the surrounding panoramic views of the Tibetan Plateau.

Another day for sight seeing around Lo Manthang.

This is an opportunity to visit two other villages on your return trek. The trail climbs steadily to the pass marked by a cairn, offering a last glimpse of LO Manthang. The trail contours past two small ridges and valleys and across a ridge at 4070m then descends across to the south through two more valleys, meadows and a stream. The trail then makes a long rocky descent to Gekar. LO Gekar Gompa is older than Samye Gompa in Tibet and one of the oldest Gompa in Nepal. Then crosses a ridge after a little climbing and drops down steeply to Thamar village. The trail descends along the side of the stone walls and fields of extensive villages, then climbs to a ridge. It is a short descent to Ghami.

From Ghami the trail climbs to Nyi La and descend to Samar through the same route.

We trek back the same trail as we had taken on the way up.

A very short walking day to Jomsom. The afternoon can be utilized walk around the beautiful village of Jomsom.

We normally reach Pokhara early in the morning, so you can have a leisurely day. Overnight in Hotel.