Mustang is the hinterland enriched with
mainly barren ridges, deep canyons, eroded
cliffs and Moraine valleys. Its landscape
is unrivaled for it has a stupendous wilderness,
pristine scenery, snow capped peaks, spectacular
16th century monasteries and many other
unique attractions. The view of wind swept
Kali-Gandaki valley, vast spaces around
Kagbeni and vast ridges that straggle high
mountains provide a mind-blowing experience.
Nepal’s Mustang region preserves a
life almost unchanged for centuries. It
lies hidden behind the Himalayan giants
of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna at the very
roof of Asia on the arid Tibetan plateau.
It has long been isolated from the outside
world (and only opened to trekking groups
since 1992!). As you make your way through
this secluded land, you’ll pass brightly
painted chortens (Buddhist shrines) and
tiny villages guarded by enormous monasteries.
Vistas include unusual and arresting views
of the snow-covered Himalaya to the south,
and desolate high plateaus, deep canyons,
and an ocean of windswept hills the colors
of a desert sunset to the north. Once at
the walled capital city of Lo Manthang,
you’ll absorb a great sense of timelessness
and appreciation for an ancient culture
as you discover the ruins of old forts,
monasteries rich in art and history, and
caves replete with magnificent religious
statues.
Mustang is the old kingdom of Lo. Actually
the capital of the Mustang district is Jomsom,
but the real Tibetan style district lies
north of Kagbeni and is usually referred
to as Upper Mustang. The real capital, Lo
Manthang, where the present king lives,
is a fantastic square-walled town sitting
on the ‘Plain of Prayers’. The
small kingdom of Mustang, closed to westerners
until 1992, is an enchanting land of windswept
vistas, red walled monasteries, and feudal
towns. This tiny kingdom was not only a
major corridor of trade from the 1400's
to before the Chinese occupation of Tibet,
but also figured importantly into early
Buddhism in Tibet. Local legend tells the
tale of the great founder of Tibetan Buddhism,
Padmasambhava, who before building Samye
(the oldest monastery in Tibet) came to
Mustang to stand guard against and do battle
with the evil powers out to destroy Buddhism.
The temple of Lo Gekhar in eastern Mustang
was built by Padmasambhava after his triumphant
battle and still stands guard today.
Outline
Itinerary
Day
1
Drive
from Kathmandu to Pokhara (914m.)
which takes about six hours.
You depart for the six hours
drive to Pokhara (915m,), 200
kilometers west of Kathmandu.
As you climb out of the Kathmandu
valley, only to quickly descend
again to the Trisuli River,
you follow upstream to its junction
with the Marsyangdi River. You
follow the Marsyandi gently
up through heavily terraced
fields and small hill towns
to the Seti River that takes
you directly into Pokhara. Having
pleasant weather, Pokhara is
tourist's paradise with full
of natural as well as cultural
heritage sites such as lakes,
caves, temples of Buddhist and
Hindus along with mountains.
You can observe views to the
north across the hills and Phewa
Tal (lake) to the white peaks
of the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri
ranges. This drive will take
most of the morning, leaving
much of the afternoon to fall
in love with its beauty. You
can also fly from Kathmandu
to Pokhara which takes about
25 minutes.
Day
2
Fly
from Pokhara to Jomsom (2700
m.) and it takes about 25 minutes
and trek from Jomsom to Kagbeni
(2810 m.) which takes about
four hours. You take the early
morning flight which again will
give close-up views of the Annapurna
range, Dhaulagiri and nearby
satellites, 20 minutes flight
in a small aircraft. Directly
north of Jomsom is the pretty
village of Kagbeni, There are
about 80 families living here,
most of them traders who are
the link in the chain between
modern Nepal and the Tibetan-type
people of Mustang. Just out
of Jomsom you cross a small
hanging bridge and then walk
along the banks of the Kali
Gandaki. The trail is quite
barren with craggy rocks and
sand and is mostly flat, which
makes it very easy going. This
very easy, enjoyable start is
at the same time picturesque,
with views of big peaks all
around such as Dhaulagiri (26,794ft),
Tukuche (22,703ft) and in the
west the awesome mountain above
Kagbeni, Nilgiri (22,769ft).
Over to the south and south-west
can be seen the entire Annapurna
Massif. You are more than likely
to meet Indian pilgrims on their
way to and from Muktinath on
this stretch, and other Europeans
for an hour or two who will
be on the world-famous Annapurna
Circuit. Upon reaching Kagbeni
there is a taste of scenes to
come in Upper Mustang, what
with its narrow alleyways and
tunnels, irrigation canals,
green fields of wheat and barley
and a large red gompa. At the
police check-post at the north
end of the village there is
a sign saying ‘Restricted
area, tourists please do not
go beyond this point’.
Here you will complete your
paperwork formalities for you
to enter this long-forbidden
region of Nepal. ACAP have set
up a very interesting information
post here with displays of Mustang
artifacts and photos.
Day
3
Trek
from Kagbeni to Chuksang (2900
m.) which takes about five hours.
You trek right up the river
valley, but you use a combination
of the high trail and the riverbank
pathways. The trail then widens
significantly revealing an endless
stretch of sand but the path
is kept interesting by the passing
of mule trains bearing goods
from Mustang and Tibet. On the
west bank of the river are some
caves and Gompa Kang. Unlike
most monasteries in Upper Mustang
which are of the Sakyapa sect,
Gompa Kang is of the Nyingmapa
sect. You stop for lunch at
the village of Tangbe, where
you come across the first black,
white and red chortens that
typify Upper Mustang. The little
town is a labyrinth of narrow
alleys among white washed houses,
fields of buck wheat and barley
and apple orchards. Nilgiri
Peak continues to dominate the
southern skyline. Chusang village
is only about 2hrs walk beyond
Tangbe at the confluence of
the Narshing Khola and the Kali
Gandaki. There are three separate
parts to this village and some
ruined castle walls on the surrounding
cliffs. Across the river from
Chusang are some spectacular
red organe pipe eroded cliffs
above the mouths of some inaccessible
caves.
Day
4
Trek
from Chuksang to Samar (3150
m.) and it takes about three
and half hours. There is a distinct
change here, not only in the
topography, but also in the
culture, lifestyle and people,
and the settlements become more
scattered, smaller and more
basic. The people of Lo or Mustang
do practice agriculture, but
because of the lack of rain
and fertile soil, cultivation
is in sheltered plots of land,
scattering the brown landscape
with patches of green. Continuing
north, you reach a huge red
chunk of conglomerate that has
fallen from the cliffs above,
forming a tunnel through which
the river flows. A steel bridge
spans the river just in front
of the tunnel and north of here
the Kali Gandaki becomes impassable
on foot. The trek now leaves
the valley and climbs steeply
up a rocky alley to the village
of Chele. Watch out here for
the ferocious Tibetan mastiffs
which are chained to many of
the houses. From Chele you climb
a steep spur and then continue
ascending along the side of
a spectacular steep canyon to
a pass. Beyond the pass you
descend on a pleasant trail
to Samar, situated in a grove
of poplar trees. This is a major
stopping place for horse and
mule caravans.
Day
5
Trek
from Samar to Geling (3510 m.)
which takes about five hours.
You climb above Samar to a ridge
and then descend into a large
gorge past a chorten before
entering another valley filled
with juniper trees. You then
cross a stream and after climbing
to a pass, you descend along
a ridge to Shyangmochen a tiny
settlement with a few tea shops.
Nearby is Rangbyung, a cave
containing stalagmites which
have formed in the shape of
chortens and one of the holiest
places in Mustang. The trail
climbs gently from Shyangmochen
and you enter another huge valley
before descending to Geling
with its extensive fields of
barley. As in all the settlements
of Mustang, the white and ochre-painted
houses are constructed using
mud and stones, with roofs made
of twigs, straw and a mixture
of mud and pebbles.
Day
6
Trek
from Giling to Ghami (3490 m.)
via Ghami La (3520m.) and it
takes about five hours. From
Geling the trail climbs gently
through fields, up the center
of the valley, passing above
the settlement of Tama Gun and
an imposing chorten. You then
begin a taxing climb across
the head of the valley to the
Nyi La [3840m]. The descent
from the pass is quite gentle
and about half an hour further
on we come to a trail junction;
the right trail is the direct
route to Charang, the left trail
leads to Ghami. Ghami is a large
white-washed village sheltered
by overhanging cliffs.
Day
7
Trek
fram Ghami to Tsarang (36200
m.) which takes about five hours.
Today's walk is through perhaps
the driest part of Mustang,
and much of your energy will
be spent negotiating loose,
dry soil. However, the magnificent
views of the countryside, from
the gentle contours of the north
to the rugged mountains in the
east and west, are a source
of inspiration. Finally, you
come to Charang, a large spread-out
village at the top of the Charang
Chu canyon. At the eastern end
of the village is a huge dzong
[fortress] and a red gompa which
houses an excellent collection
of statues and thangkas.
Day
8
Trek
from Tsarang to Lo-Manthang
(Mustang) (3730 m.) and it
takes about three hours. You
will spend part of the morning
exploring the interesting
village of Charang and its
large monastery, before setting
out for Lo Manthang. You climb
gently above the valley to
a large isolated chorten that
marks the boundary between
Charang and Lo. The trail
then broadens and eventually
you get our first view of
the walled city of Lo Manthang.
The city has only one entrance
so you circumambulate the
wall to the gate on the north
east corner.
Day
9
Rest
day at Mustang. Today is free
to explore the fascinating city
of Lo Manthang, untouched since
the 14th century. The city contains
about 150 houses, as well as
residences for its many lamas.
There are four major temples
within the city and one of these,
Champa Lhakang, contains a huge
clay statue of Buddha as well
as elaborates mandalas painted
on the walls. The king's palace
is an imposing building in the
center of the city and is occupied
by the current King and Queen.
Although his duties are largely
ceremonial, the King is respected
by the people and consulted
about many issues by villagers
throughout the kingdom.
Day
10
Trek
from Lo-Manthang to Ghami (3490
m.) which takes about six hours.
You continue your journey on
the highland route, crossing
alpine meadows before dropping
down a steep eroded alley to
Dhakmar for lunch. After lunch,
you walk through the pretty
valley, climb to a ridge and
descend from there back to Ghami.
Day
11
Trek
from Ghami to Chuksang (2900
m.) and it takes about six hours.
You trek through wide and gentle
path with some ascends and descends.
The trail passes through desert
like places though you can see
some small thorny bushes. On
the way, your trail goes along
the river. You come across with
some small streams. To reach
from Ghami to Chuksang, you
cross Kali Gandaki river. .
Day
12
Trek
from Chuksang to Muktinath (3795m.)
which takes about seven hours.
The trail follows gently ascend
and winding path passing through
almost desert like places. On
the way, you see at a distance
some agricultural fields, apple
orchard and some human settlements.
You can enjoy beautiful deserted
landscape, Caves, old Tibetan
Style Villages, apple Garden,
Yaks Herds, Sheep Herds, straight
up to the Muktinath, visit Monastery
believed to be built in 15th
century, walk about twenty minute
to Muktinath Temple, where you
can enjoy a holy bath of 108
Taps, Visit Monastery, Natural
flaming and Hindus Temple. The
people of Muktinath are close
to the life style,culture, religion
and idea of Tibetan people.
